Ventura 13.7.1 and my old iDVD will not play dvds from external drive

I have transferred old movies, 8mm, and Super 8mm, and even some 16mm, to dvd's via a transfer service.


When I try to open iDVD, eventually it opens but does not recognize the dvd on my desktop. The dvd is in an external drive, which the iMac recognizes but which iDVD will not play.


Is there an upgraded player available?

Thanks Doug Aitken

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.7

Posted on Feb 8, 2025 6:58 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 8, 2025 8:03 AM

iDVD is for creating DVD-Video discs – not for playing them. Apple (unfortunately) abandoned it long ago.


The DVD Player player application is for playing DVD-Video discs.

  • In old versions of Mac OS X, you can find it in the Applications folder.
  • In Ventura, it is hidden away in Macintosh HD > System > Library > CoreServices > Applications > DVD Player.

It should run automatically when you insert/mount a DVD-Video disc. If not, you can use Spotlight to find it.


This will only help if the discs that the transfer service gave you are DVD-Video discs. If they are just data discs, containing video in some format, you'll need to find something else with which to play that video.

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2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 8, 2025 8:03 AM in response to Douglas Aitken

iDVD is for creating DVD-Video discs – not for playing them. Apple (unfortunately) abandoned it long ago.


The DVD Player player application is for playing DVD-Video discs.

  • In old versions of Mac OS X, you can find it in the Applications folder.
  • In Ventura, it is hidden away in Macintosh HD > System > Library > CoreServices > Applications > DVD Player.

It should run automatically when you insert/mount a DVD-Video disc. If not, you can use Spotlight to find it.


This will only help if the discs that the transfer service gave you are DVD-Video discs. If they are just data discs, containing video in some format, you'll need to find something else with which to play that video.

Feb 8, 2025 8:47 AM in response to Servant of Cats

Thanks for the quick response. I misspoke on my original question. I should have said, "dvd player" not iDVD.


Problem remains the same however, and I reckon this dvd is not formatted correctly. I should have also mentioned that some others have played ok. It always takes me a bit of time to find the dvd player in apps, so I will just move it to the dock.

Thanks again.


Doug

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Ventura 13.7.1 and my old iDVD will not play dvds from external drive

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