How do I watch a DVD playing remotely on my MacBook Air?
I have the DVD in my MacMini's SuperDrive and have tried a couple of things, but it seems I'm not doing something right.
MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 11.6", 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5, 2GB
Have you listed the drive in the Mini as SHARED, so that the Air can connect to it? Once its shared, you just go into the Finder and select Remote Disc, and you should see your Mini there, available to share the drive. If you DONT have the SHARE CD/DVD option in the settings, you have to download the small program that makes it available. Hope it helps
You cannot use Disc Sharing to watch a DVD movie.
This document outlines the provision.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2057
To quote from the document:
MacBook Air and Mac mini do not support playing DVD movies or audio CD media with Remote Disc. In addition, some discs, such as game discs, may be copy-protected and are therefore unusable. To play DVD movies, audio CD media, or copy-protected discs on the MacBook Air or Mac mini, use the MacBook Air SuperDrive.
Your choices are this.
1) Use MBA Superdrive
2) Use another compatible external DVD drive on the MBA
3) Use the Mac Mini to rip the DVD using software designed for the task. And then use VLC or iTunes on the MBA to watch said ripped file (depending on file type the DVD is converted to). Legal and copy-protection conversion restrictions apply.
Ahh. I didnt read the OP post completely. I didnt realize it was a MOVIE he was trying to use. Good call.
I do have DVD and CD Sharing checked on the Mini. The DVD showed up on my Air but when I click on it, it doesn't play. What am I doing worng?
I'm a woman, btw. Oh, darn. I thought I could do this. Bummer. I don't have a MBA SuperDrive.
As SP stated, you CANNOT watch a movie using the Remote Disc software. It has to do with copyright protections. Your only choice for watching MOVIES, is to either buy the external SuperDrive, or another external drive that works with the Air. Alternately, as he already stated, you could RIP the DVD on your Mini and transfer it to your Air, playing the file with a media player.
Thanks. I should have marked SP Forsyth's post as the correct answer, but can't now.
I was not aware that watching DVD's from a shared drive was supposed not supported on the Air. I followed the following directions and had success streaming a DVD from my 13" Macbook Unibody to my daughter's 11" Air via VLC:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Play-a-DVD-on-a-MacBook-Air-using-Remote- Di/
The MBA SuperDrive costs $79. You can pickup an external USB DVD drive on eBay for around $25. I did and it works fine. However, the SuperDrive looks nicer and it's much easy to tote since it is selfpowered and smaller than a no-namer DVD drive like I have.
Alternatively using shared DVD in Ubuntu: http://www.cornext.com/2012/04/auto-mount-cddvd-drive-using-devmon-in.html.
If you use VLC you can: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
See here: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Play-a-DVD-on-a-MacBook-Air-using-Remote- Di/
How do I watch a DVD on my Air?
