I am having trouble locating my past threads on this subject. Having used QTP for audio recording, I now wanted to burn a movie. Quick Time Player seems to be preset to open the webcam, as though assuming that I want to make a movie of myself, which I don't. How do I override this? The movie is in a separate file location and I want to burn it to a blank DVD. Thanks in advance. This is on Monterey.
MacBook Air 11″, macOS 12.7
I would first recommend you look at Store information on CD and DVD discs on Mac - Apple Support.
if that doesn't get you there, you might want to look at the free app Burn. it is what I use. and if you need more functionality than burn provides, you may want to look at Roxio Toast 20 to get greater functionality.
I want to burn it to a blank DVD.
QuickTime Player is not a DVD-Video authoring software. It is a media player, that can also do some basic recording (camera/mic to file).
Your Mac doesn’t come bundled with DVD-Video authoring software (anymore). You would need to use third party software, if you want this disc to be playable on a standards-compliant set-top DVD player connected to a TV. I can attest for both the softwares mentioned by Jeffrey; they work well.
Burning a regular file to DVD-R without authoring would be readable on computers only, depending on the chosen file system (ISO 9660 or UDF for compatibility, or HFS+ for Macs only).
There is virtually no need to burn discs anymore in 2024. Many TVs can play .mp4 files without authoring, directly from USB stick, or through a HDMI connection, or through AirPlay streaming. The only reason to burn a disc is legacy use by acquaintances that refuse to get with the times. It’s possible, but DVD-Video is also SD low resolution (480p NTSC/576p PAL), while HD or more is attainable by not doing DVD-Video.
QuickTime Player records video in MOV format. If it's just a compatibility issue with the format, you can use Handbrake to convert it to MP4 format. It will be more convenient to store and play it as a video.
If you want to burn it to DVD for other purposes, you need to install dedicated DVD burning software. Here are my recommendations:
1. Burn and DVDStyler. They are both free, just the menu templates are outdated.
2. Cisdem DVD Burner. Not free, can make beautiful menus, and easy to use.
3. Roxio Toast 20. More expensive and suitable for professionals.
jeffrythefrog, Thanks for being helpful though I did not mean to neglect this thread. Once I had my video made I just had to move on to other tasks. I had downloaded the movie here on the Mac, stored it on my network drive and use Windows 10 to burn the disc. Your link is helpful with the drag and drop method.
Urquhart1244, Forgive my lateness in attending to this thread I started. Thanks for bringing me up to date. This disc I intended to give to someone else so that he and his family could watch it together. Besides VLC Player, which I don't think either downloads or burns, my other apps look like they can only download.
Nancy Zeng, Forgive my late acknowledgment and thanks for the recommendations. I already have something on this Mac with a similar name but for other purposes, Cisdem Document Reader. At least one participant here on this thread doesn't think QTP has any video burning capabilities. At this time I would not know how to disable it from showing my webcam image. Those Roxio programs I may have on my Windows 10.
This disc I intended to give to someone else so that he and his family could watch it together.
Try making an educated guess. Will they be wanting to play this on a set-top DVD player (or Blu-ray player) connected to a TV, or will they be playing this from a USB stick in a TV, or will they be playing this on a computer? The latter two options make it much easier on your part (no authoring needed).
Besides VLC Player, which I don't think either downloads or burns, my other apps look like they can only download.
VLC is mainly just for playback of media files on a computer. Its strength is that you don’t have to worry about what types of files those are. It can do a bit more than this core functionality, but I don’t think that applies for what you are aiming to do.
If you want to burn to disc, for something playable in a set-top player connected to a TV, then you’ll need DVD/Blu‑ray authoring software. Others have mentioned examples in this thread, and any of those are fine. As ‘Burn’ is free and not complicated, first see if that does what you need or expect from a DVD disc. You can always decide to put more effort in with fancy menus and more elaborate software, but you may not need that for this project.
With the term “authoring”, we mean preparing for the very narrow specification of requirements as needed to be able to burn a valid disc (for a playback on a set-top player). Preparing with the frame size (width and height in pixels), and frame rate, codecs, and other video and audio parameters that the format requires. Quite often, this necessitates a conversion from the source format. Authoring software can help automate this process, as it knows what is needed.
Urquhart1244, I used Windows Media Player to burn that disc. For viewing I had to show him on his laptop that he had to open a file. I guess he thought it would work automatically upon loading the disc. For that I believe the option is ISO image. Having used WMP, I knew for him it would play back on something he had.
Movie/Video Burning With Quick Time Player
