Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Orlando,FL,USA
Posts: 485

I'm using a Panasonic DMR-E30 to archive my VHS video collection to DVDs. These DVD-R play fine on any of my home DVD players but in Macintosh OSX they not only don't play with Apple's DVD Player, they mount as volumes with 0 items.

I can play them using the VLC Media Player.

I want to be able to discard my old videotapes after archiving the content to DVD but especially in the case of video that is important to me I'd like to be able to back up the DVD (without having to actually record and edit it twice).

My question is how do I back up a DVD-R if when mounted in X it shows no contents?

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Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 185

I haven't used VLC on the Mac for awhile, but how are you playing the video with it? Does it have some "play disc" mode?

I would try a program like Toast and use its disk copy mode. You could actually burn to a DVD-RW if you dont want to waste a disk if it doesn't work. The disk copy might just read the disk in a track by track process and still work.

You could check out this thread also. It seems to be talking about the E20, but maybe the problems carried over.

Google Cached Thread about EM20

Here is a thread that talks about your problem and a supposed work around.

It should be noted that from what you can see in that thread the guys G4 Mac with Superdrive plays discs burnt on the E30 fine. While the other guys like yours doesn't.

In my brief google search it seemed like that some people said their macs couldn't read the disks and some said they could.

Google Cache of Workaround

Everybody seemed to praise the Pioneer model(s) for making the most compatible disks.

Have you upgraded the firmware on your Superdrive? I know awhile back I ran that Apple patch to fix the issue with the 4X media. Not that it might help or hurt, but you never know.

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Last edited by Mr. Belboz on 03-17-2003 at 08:46 PM

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Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Orlando,FL,USA
Posts: 485

I have found through further research that the problem is the Panasonic and some other recorders don't set permissions for the DVD-R and that is why the files are invisible. If I log in as Root I can see the files.

VLC (or Video Lan Client) is a media player and it will play my recorded DVD-R's despite the fact that the contents of the DVD can not be seen.

It is available here.

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Registered: Jun 2001
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 3397

I burned a DVD last night using my Sony DRU-500A in my Dell PC. It would play fine in WMP and another DVD player I have for Windows. I then put the DVD in my Mac. The disc would spin for a little while then stop. A disc icon wouldn't even show up on my desktop. I then took the same disc and put it in my Xbox. That didn't recognize the disc either.

I burned it for a friend. I hope it works in her DVD player.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Richardson, TX 75081
Posts: 8295

FTR, Xboxs don't played burned disks - CD or DVD. I'm not certain if modded boxes will.

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