How do I burn a .img file to a DVD and have it be an executable video file?
It seems like that used to be possible using disk utility, but not anymore for some reason.
iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)
Hi Frank
Not sure what you mean by executable video file, assume you mean play on a DVD player.
You create a DVD image file in iMovie, FCPX etc…. This provides the proper coding and file structure for DVD,s / BDs.
Once you have the .img file, you can right (control) click on the file and choose "Burn Disc Image "Name of file" to disc…"
Be aware you must have a R/W drive mounted/attached for the contextual items to appear. If you have a Blu-ray image you need a BD drive. Your file must be less than 4.7GB for single sided DVDs or ~8.2GB for DVD DLs. Up to 100GBs for quad layer BDs.
There are other 3rd party apps out there as well.
Hope this helps, Greg
No idea what you mean with executable. If you wish to burn a video so it can be played in a DVD player:
As the latest version of iMovie no longer encodes the video for burning so it can be watched using a DVD player, you need burning software to get a DVD which can be played in a player. You will need something like Roxio Toast ($$) or Burn (free, but very basic) to burn a video to a DVD. Finder cannot encode a video that will result in a movie which can be played in a DVD player.
Greg,
Many thanks for your quick response and spot-on answer which was very helpful.
Cheers,
Frank
Many thanks for your quick response and helpful advice.
Frank
You are welcome Frank
Babowa is correct about iMovie dropping DVD authoring. I use FCPX so don't use iMovie anymore.
However, the code to make DVDs and BDs is still a part of MacOS. (Create a disc; hidden away) Automator still has actions for DVD and iDVD included with EC as well.
If you happen to have iDVD around, you can use most of that for DVD authoring and navigation, but it is starting to break and have issues in latest couple of OSs. There are several threads here on the subject in the iLife>iDVD support section. Like here… iDVD no longer burns, El Capitan
I mostly use Toast Titanium for DVD and BD burning after making the image file in FCPX`.
If in the original post you just wanted to know how to archive an image file to an optical disk, right clicking and burning works fine.
Hope this helps, Greg
As far as I know, you cannot play a video on a stand alone DVD player without using authoring software such as Toast or iDVD, but you can archive an image file to a DVD using the Finder and/or Disk Utility.
If in the original post you just wanted to know how to archive an image file to an optical disk
Well, the wording was not quite clear to either of us due to the question of the use of "executable". I interpreted that as wanting to play it anywhere.
FWIW, iDVD is no longer supported and unreliable in El Capitan; it still works pretty well with Yosemite.
Thanks, Babowa, for the helpful comments. I mainly wanted to be able to burn a DVD from a .img file that would then play (I mistakenly called execute) in a DVD player. Years ago I used to be able to do that with disk utility. Apparently that is no longer a capability.
Frank
Greg,
Thanks again for sharing your expertise. I recently started using FCPX (which I like a lot) and have been burning DVDs directly from this s/w, but wanted to regain the ability to burn DVDs that would play on a player from a .img file.
Frank
You do need authoring software in order to do play it anywhere. There is an app called Burn - it is extremely basic (and free), but appears to work (I tried it once). I use either iDVD and/or Toast.
Babowa,
I used Greg's approach to burn a .img file to a DVD. The resulting DVD played fine using our DVD player. The .img files I work with are ones created in FCPX. I'm guessing that is why I don't need authoring s/w.
Thanks,
Frank
Hi Frank
If you are using FCPX you can make either DVD or BD as a share destination.
While you can burn directly to an Optical disk, it is better to set the location file to desktop or a Folder. Then FCPX will encode all of the needed file structure into an .img file for either of those formats.
Now you can burn that Image file anytime you want from your saved location using the Finder right click process. You can also use Toast>Copy>Image file to make disks as well.
Moving the burn function out of FCPX improves creating DVD/BD by separating the encoding from the burning tasks and it allows you to make more copies without opening up FCPX and Sharing again.
Hope this helps, Greg
Very helpful AND it makes sense, Greg. Thanks again for sharing your expertise with a novice and fan of Apple.
Frank
All of the "Authoring" software/code for making DVD/BD is included within MacOS.
This is the same code as was used by iDVD/old iMovie(when you could still make a DVD in iMovie)/DVDSP/FCPX and others.
You can also author using Terminal. Automator also accesses this code.
None of the this code has been removed, Apple just stopped supporting older programs that utilized the code.
Wish Apple still supported iDVD, nice easy program that I still use, including in EC.
So yes you can create DVD/BD that will play on any standard player.
Hope this helps, Greg
Thanks again, Greg. It's nice to actually understand what's happening with the s/w.
Frank
It is possible to skip authoring entirely. Though you have to make sure to save the video as an MPEG-4, or H.264 file. It will have an .mp4 or .m4v extension. Burn the video to the disk as a data disk.
Any computer will recognize the disk and in OS X, QuickTime will play it back. Or you can use the free VLC Player.
The trick (so to speak) with standard set top DVD or Blu-ray players depends on how old they are. Most of them made within the past few years will allow you to play back .jpg images on a data disk as a slide show, and .mp4 or .m4v videos as is. You usually have to move to a different home screen menu to choose it.
How do I burn a .img file to a DVD and have it be an executable video file?
