Burning DVD's

Mars Bar

Hey guys,

I have managed to secure a volunteer position that requires burning DVD's.
I have a MacBook (2008) and I have never been able to burn a DVD with it so now I find myself in a spot of bother. I downloaded Burn but the option to burn the DVD doesn't become available and the DVD is just spit back out. I'll be making the videos in iMovie and burning them.

Can you burn DVD's with a MacBook Pro? I was planning to upgrade anyway but I need my MacBook to be able to burn DVD's before Saturday.

*I searched Boards and I've asked this question before! *

whiterebel

Mars Bar wrote: »

Hey guys,

I have managed to secure a volunteer position that requires burning DVD's.
I have a MacBook (2008) and I have never been able to burn a DVD with it so now I find myself in a spot of bother. I downloaded Burn but the option to burn the DVD doesn't become available and the DVD is just spit back out. I'll be making the videos in iMovie and burning them.

Can you burn DVD's with a MacBook Pro? I was planning to upgrade anyway but I need my MacBook to be able to burn DVD's before Saturday.

*I searched Boards and I've asked this question before! *

Is it a MacBook or a Pro? Some of the MacBooks only came with combo drives.
If you go to About this Mac, and go through the Optical drive there, it should tell you whether it is a combo or superdrive.

Mars Bar

It's MacBook. Couldn't find optical drive but I found this under the heading "Disc Burning"

MAT****A CD-RW CW-8221:

Firmware Revision: GA0K
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

Iomega Man

Bad news MB.
Thats a combo so you won't be able to burn DVD's.

IM

Mars Bar

Iomega Man wrote: »

Bad news MB.
Thats a combo so you won't be able to burn DVD's.

IM

Guess this is the nail in the coffin for my MacBook then.

Now I have the tough decision of a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air and get that SuperDrive...They burn DVDs don't they?

Mars Bar

Apple.ie
Burn DVDs superfast.

Use the 8x SuperDrive on MacBook Pro to burn DVDs in no time. Since the SuperDrive writes to double-layer discs (DVDs with nearly 9GB of space), it’s great for backing up data, too.

So it does.

I have some research to do...

Liameter

Why not simply buy an external SuperDrive for the MacBook? Cheapest option.

Mars Bar

Liameter wrote: »

Why not simply buy an external SuperDrive for the MacBook? Cheapest option.

Oh, good idea!

Well the Apple one only works with the Air, the mini and the Pro Retina.

I'm looking at Amazon to see if there is one compatible with with MacBook.

Liameter

I see no reason why any ordinary USB connected DVD burner shouldn't work.

Mars Bar

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-SE-S084D-External-Slimline-Playback/dp/B003N1ADXC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

It needs two USB ports which isn't very practical seeing as I usually have an external hard drive connected.

From the reviews, it has worked with the Air and the Pro. Nothing about an antique MacBook!

Liameter

The amount of current supplied by a USB port is limited; hence the need to use a second port to supply more. The solution is to use a burner that has a plug-top power supply.

I'd guess that very few people would even think of using one with a MacBook. (You didn't.)
I suspect that only a small percentage of MacBooks were made without a built-in DVD burner. Most people who bought this model had no need to burn DVDs so they wouldn't buy a burner.

Liameter

Maplin has one that might do: http://www.maplin.co.uk/emprex-external-dvd-writer-98936

Ask to test it in the shop with your MB.

Mars Bar

Liameter wrote: »

Maplin has one that might do: http://www.maplin.co.uk/emprex-external-dvd-writer-98936

Ask to test it in the shop with your MB.

I quote:

OS Support: Windows 2000/XP/Vista (Not Mac Compatible)

Liameter

Another possibility is to buy a DVD burner and housing, making sure that the burner is either a "supported" one or one that can be firmware updated. I've done this with internal burners. I think Panasonic burners are supported.

Liameter

Take a look at this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-MAC-OS-Compatible-Samsung-External-CD-DVD-RW-BURNER-Dual-Layer-USB-Drive-/360426949748?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item53eb1ecc74#ht_1498wt_844