wayneNdc
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: how to get dvd-rw disks to play on my superdrive?

I have some TV shows on old Sony DVD+RW disks that I used to play on my PC but won't play on my new Macbook? My computer won't even show me the files when I open the DVDs in folder view. A two-finger click shows lots of options, including rewrite and erase, but no "play" option. Is there a driver that I need to download? How can I get my DVDs to play on my superdrive?

MacBook, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), I also have an iPhone 6-plus

Posted on Jan 24, 2016 12:58 PM

by Old Toad,Solvedanswer
Old Toad Old Toad
Level 10 (141,304 points)
Mac OS X
A:

First, using RW disks for creating video DVDs is a terrible idea.  They are not designed for that type of use.

 

You can workaround it by copying the Video_TS folder to a flash drive or other device from your PC, copy it to your Mac and open it with DVD Player.  Use the File ➙ Open DVD Media menu option:

DVD Player001.jpg

That will work.

 

If you want to create another video DVD you'll need to get an applicant that can burn video DVDs from existing Video_TS files.  Toast is one.  There may be others that can work with existing Video_TS files and burn.  If possible get an app that can save the video DVD as a disk image so you can  follow this workflow to help assure the best qualty video DVD:

Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image  menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.

 

To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it.  If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.

 

Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality.  Always use top quality media:  Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.

And don't just RW disks.  They are just not suitable for the job.

OTsig.png

Posted on Jan 26, 2016 12:05 PM

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wayneNdc

Q: how to get dvd-rw disks to play on my superdrive?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jan 24, 2016 1:39 PM in response to wayneNdc
    Level 10 (141,304 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 24, 2016 1:39 PM in response to wayneNdc

    Is the DVD+RW disk a video DVD disc?  If so it's contents will have two folders like this:

    Finder001.jpg

    Is that how the disk looks like?  If so launch DVD Player and try using it to play the video DVD.

    OTsig.png

  • by wayneNdc,

    wayneNdc wayneNdc Jan 25, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 25, 2016 4:48 PM in response to Old Toad

    I tried that. It doesn't work. The disks play just fine on my PC. MediaPlayer starts right up and the shows start when I hit the play button. Each disk holds several TV shows. When "open" the disks on my PC rather than play them, each disk holds 3 folders: VIDEO_TS, ZRNID, and ZTEMP. But only VIDEO_TS appears to have any content in it. In that folder, each recorded TV show seems to have 3 files associated with it: VIDEO_TS, and then two that begin with VTS and end with ".BUP"  and ".IFO"

     

    I can't (or don't know how) to "open" the disks on my Macbook. The disks are not recognized.

  • by Old Toad,Solvedanswer

    Old Toad Old Toad Jan 26, 2016 12:05 PM in response to wayneNdc
    Level 10 (141,304 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2016 12:05 PM in response to wayneNdc

    First, using RW disks for creating video DVDs is a terrible idea.  They are not designed for that type of use.

     

    You can workaround it by copying the Video_TS folder to a flash drive or other device from your PC, copy it to your Mac and open it with DVD Player.  Use the File ➙ Open DVD Media menu option:

    DVD Player001.jpg

    That will work.

     

    If you want to create another video DVD you'll need to get an applicant that can burn video DVDs from existing Video_TS files.  Toast is one.  There may be others that can work with existing Video_TS files and burn.  If possible get an app that can save the video DVD as a disk image so you can  follow this workflow to help assure the best qualty video DVD:

    Once you have the project as you want it save it as a disk image via the File ➙ Save as Disk Image  menu option. This will separate the encoding process from the burn process.

     

    To check the encoding mount the disk image, launch DVD Player and play it.  If it plays OK with DVD Player the encoding is good.

     

    Then burn to disk with Disk Utility or Toast at the slowest speed available (2x-4x) to assure the best burn quality.  Always use top quality media:  Verbatim, Maxell or Taiyo Yuden DVD-R are the most recommended in these forums.

    And don't just RW disks.  They are just not suitable for the job.

    OTsig.png

  • by wayneNdc,

    wayneNdc wayneNdc Jan 26, 2016 12:13 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 12:13 PM in response to Old Toad

    Thanks. This solved my issue. The DVDs were a gift from my brother many years ago. I just found them in my stuff and remembered how good they were to watch. Luckily, I didn't throw my PC away. I "opened" the disks on my PC, copied the VOB files to a flash drive, and then copied them from the flash drive to my Macbook. After that they played fine in Quicktime, the DVD player, and VLC. I'm not sure how to get the videos into my iTunes library. But I'm glad I can finally watch them on my new computer (and this time, really get rid of my old troublesome PC).

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jan 26, 2016 12:31 PM in response to wayneNdc
    Level 10 (141,304 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2016 12:31 PM in response to wayneNdc
    .I'm not sure how to get the videos into my iTunes library.

     

    You would have to use a 3rd party app like Handbrake to rip the videos/slideshows to a format that can be viewed by Quicktime Player and imported into iTunes.

  • by wayneNdc,

    wayneNdc wayneNdc Jan 26, 2016 12:43 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 26, 2016 12:43 PM in response to Old Toad

    They can be played by Quicktime. But they are not automatically added to the iTunes Library and the "Import" and "Add to Library" option didn't work. If I find the solution, I'll post it. Thanks again!!

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Jan 26, 2016 1:54 PM in response to wayneNdc
    Level 10 (141,304 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 26, 2016 1:54 PM in response to wayneNdc

    Post one of the file names from the Video_TS folder that you can play with Quicktime Player. What extension does it have?

     

    Are they like this?

    Finder001.jpg

    Those are not the files you want.  They have no audio with them.  You need to use Handbrake to rip them to a mp4 file that contains the audio.

     

    Each VOB file can be ripped to a QT movie file.  One will be the menu and the others will be the videos or slideshows in the project.

  • by lime-iMacG3,

    lime-iMacG3 lime-iMacG3 Jan 28, 2016 1:12 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (24 points)
    iLife
    Jan 28, 2016 1:12 PM in response to Old Toad

    You don't need quicktime as a step in between.

     

    1. you insert the DVD or an image of it, which you create with your PC

    OR you put the TS_video and the TS_audio folder into another folder, which you call "DVD1" or whatever you like (be sure there is no other stuff in it).

    2. and open Handbrake and as source you select the DVD and you can see that it contains the audio, when you click on the audio menue button of Handbrake, where you are offered several tracks, if it has more than one.

    If you want to save space, you can use h.264, if you just want a playable format use mp4 from the encoders. If you want to keep the file size (and all its quality) as it is, open the folder/DVD/Image in Avidemux select copy under video and under audio and for the container try mp4v2 or mp4 (avi is hazzlesome for Macs).

    Mind very old versions of iTunes (like from Mac OS 10.4) may choke on h.264 Level5@high (when it has 16ref frames).

     

    You will loose the DVD menue, of course.