disk image moved between machines--shouldn't this work?

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disk image moved between machines--shouldn't this work?

Hello, I am having a problem making a functional DVD. Here's the scenario:

I have a MacBook Pro (2009) with iMovie '09 installed, and I have a project I want to burn. The optical drive is broken, and the smart folks at Apple decided that they'd make it impossible for my shiny new external superdrive to work with my MacBook Pro. BUT, I also have a MacBook Air 2012 which can use the superdrive just fine. I can't transfer the iMovie project between machines--iMovie '11 has some terrible bugs when you try to import still photographs. So my solution was this:

--on the MBP, export the movie from iMovie as a quicktime .mov,

--open the .mov in iDVD (after experimentation, this gives MUCH better results than choosing "export to iDVD" in iMovie)

--in iDVD, save as a disk image

--copy the .img file (using a thumb drive) to the MBA

--Use Disk Utility on the MBA to burn the disk image just transferred onto a DVD using the external superdrive

Could someone tell me where this elaborate chain is likely to go wrong? The first disc I tried creating like this could be played on a computer using VLC (and the menu was operational, it wasn't just reading the video file), but it didn't work on either of the regular DVD players I tried.

Any help troubleshooting would be greatly appreciated. Here are the details of all the settings:iMovie 09 -> export using quicktime -> file type .mov -> compression type H.264, Frame rate current, Key frames automatic, compressor quality Best, encoding Best Quality, Data Rate automatic. In iDVD Preferences I chose NTSC (I'm in North America), encoding Professional Quality, and the correct DVD type (dual layer). In Disk Utility on the MBP I just dragged the transferred .img file into the left-hand pane, selected it and hit Burn.

When I transferred the .img file, that was all I transferred between machines.

Thank you!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 17", early 2009

Posted on Nov 4, 2012 2:03 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 5, 2012 12:25 AM in response to montagular

Hi

the USB-Memory must be as any external hard disk - Mac OS Extended formatted - to be able to hold VIDEO AS .img files etc. in one piece.

If not it will break at approx 4Gb and will not be mended automatically or by any ease at all.

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 2

montagular Author

Level 1

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Nov 5, 2012 5:18 AM in response to Bengt Wärleby

Thank you Bengt - but actually the .img file was only ~700 MB (it's a short film).

Should it have worked, in this case?

Also, I have an external HD that was given to me by another Mac user a few years ago. How can I find out whether it is formatted as Mac OS extended? I have been using it with no problems so far, but never with .img files or anything as big as 4 Gb.

And lastly I read elsewhere that DVD-R would be more reliable than DVD+R. This was a few years ago though. Is it still true? And I think that if the DVD was able to be read on another computer, then it could not have had burn errors right? There must have been something else wrong. If you can let me know how to find out whether my HD is Mac OS extended format, I can try again, transferring it with that, in case even below 4 Gb there are problems.

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Answer 3

Nov 5, 2012 5:57 AM in response to montagular

the .img file was only ~700 MB (it's a short film). Should it have worked, in this case?

Don't know - May be ?

How can I find out whether it (the ext Hard Disk) is formatted as Mac OS extended?

• Select it on DeskTop/Finder (one Click)

• then go to File and down to Show Info - or - [cmd+I]

• read formatted as : nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

And lastly I read elsewhere that DVD-R would be more reliable than DVD+R.

DVD+R are a more modern format and by so more reliable - BUT OLD DVD-Players can not read them so I chose them due to not knowing what player it will be played on.

And I think that if the DVD was able to be read on another computer, then it could not have had burn errors right?

No - but different devices has better or worse Error Correcting Functions - so keeping the amount of Burn Errors dowm = More devices can play them.

Good Luck.

Yours Bengt W

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Answer 4

J Keller

Level 4

2,750 points

Nov 6, 2012 11:23 AM in response to montagular

Hello, montagular.

Bengt has some good thoughts. Regarding your basic question, an image file (.img) should be portable from one Mac to another. One problem is that dual-layer image files can be troublesome -- here's a start on that discussion -- search if you'd like more info: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4218292?start=0&tstart=0

In terms of workflow, I use Roxio Toast to "Copy" the disc image to physical media. You need to create a video DVD as your end product rather than a data DVD. Depending on the software you're using to burn the physical DVD, the steps to accomplish this may be different.

John

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Answer 5

mishmumken

Level 5

4,000 points

Nov 8, 2012 7:15 AM in response to montagular

montagular wrote:

The first disc I tried creating like this could be played on a computer using VLC (and the menu was operational, it wasn't just reading the video file), but it didn't work on either of the regular DVD players I tried

I'd like to add this to the good advice already given by Bengt and John: You need to check the disk image on your MBP before transferring it. My workflow would look like this:

• Create the disk image in iDVD. Mount it and launch DVD Player. Test everything.

• Transfer to external storage (formatted as HFS+ as said above)

• Transfer to MBA and check again with DVD Player. If OK so far the only thing that could go wrong is burning.

• Burn at slow speed (2x - 4x) using high quality DVD-R media. Verbatim has a good track record around here.

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