DVD player not recognised on Tiger - newbie needs emergency help!

slim tim slide · Nov 26, 2009, 06:21 PM

Ive just gotten a 2nd hand eMac G4 800Mhz running OSX 10.4.1 when I put a dvd in to play nothing happens - the appliactaions folder says I have a dvd player (occupying 38 odd MG of space) but when I try to opn it i get this message ¨There was an initialization error. A valid vieo device could not be found for playback (-70017)

does this mean i cant watch dvd´s??? do i need to download new software? i am a complete novice and would really appreciate some help here... thanks in advance

BlueRevolution · Nov 27, 2009, 12:38 AM

Does the DVD drive work with data disks?

slim tim slide · Nov 28, 2009, 07:22 PM

hi, thanks for replying - i have tried music discs and they open in i-tunes fine but when i insert a dvd it wont work, i just get the message i described, i wonder if the mac is lacking some piece of software?

old-wiz · Nov 28, 2009, 09:33 PM

When you insert a dvd, does it show up in finder?

slim tim slide · Nov 29, 2009, 09:22 AM

not sure - the dvd player application is only located in applications folder, not on the dock. as soon as i click the dvd player icon the menus are shown across the top of the screen but they are almost all shaded and i cannot open the disc drawer. also a message appears saying that the appropriate application could not be found (full message is at top of this thread). I have tried to circumvent this by opening i-tunes in order to open the drawer, insert the dvd, and then try dvd player but i get the same message. (There was an initialization error - a video device could not be located) but it does appear that there IS a dvd player located in applications! I am very confused!

BlueRevolution · Nov 29, 2009, 12:19 PM

Inserted DVDs should appear on your desktop.

Do no DVDs work, or just a particular one? What about data DVDs?

old-wiz · Nov 29, 2009, 12:46 PM

Just wondering if there's an issue with playing dVDs on 800 mhz?

When you insert the DVD it should show up on the desktop or in a finder window under "Devices" and you should be able to see folders on the DVD. IIRC, there's Video_ts and audio_ts folders. Do you see these?

DewGuy1999 · Nov 29, 2009, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim tim slide

Ive just gotten a 2nd hand eMac G4 800Mhz running OSX 10.4.1 when I put a dvd in to play nothing happens - the appliactaions folder says I have a dvd player (occupying 38 odd MG of space) but when I try to opn it i get this message ¨There was an initialization error. A valid vieo device could not be found for playback (-70017)

does this mean i cant watch dvd´s??? do i need to download new software? i am a complete novice and would really appreciate some help here... thanks in advance

Apple made 2-models of the 800Mhz eMac.
The first (August 13, 2002 )had NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics and a 2X DVD-R/CD-RW "SuperDrive"
The second (May 6, 2003) had ATI Radeon 7500 graphics and a 32X CD-ROM drive.

Check System Profiler to find out which you have. If you've got the ATI version with a CD-ROM drive you're out of luck playing DVDs.

slotmachines01 · Nov 29, 2009, 10:05 PM

you should be able to see folders on the DVD.

old-wiz · Nov 30, 2009, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DewGuy1999

Apple made 2-models of the 800Mhz eMac.
The first (August 13, 2002 )had NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics and a 2X DVD-R/CD-RW "SuperDrive"
The second (May 6, 2003) had ATI Radeon 7500 graphics and a 32X CD-ROM drive.

Check System Profiler to find out which you have. If you've got the ATI version with a CD-ROM drive you're out of luck playing DVDs.

That would make sense given the OP's remark about "no valid video device for output". sounds like he's out of luck.

mkrishnan · Nov 30, 2009, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old-wiz

Just wondering if there's an issue with playing dVDs on 800 mhz?

I don't think it's that, at least not on the models that shipped with DVD players. When I had an iBook G4 / 800, it did not have difficulty playing DVDs.

slim tim slide · Nov 30, 2009, 03:00 PM

this is weird - the dvd does appear on the desktop with both video and audio folders. the system profiler tells me that the machine definitely has a dvd-rw facility (pioneer DVR 104) and yet whatever dvd i put in i get the error message. opening the folders on the desktop gets me no closer to actually playing a dvd as the error message is everpresent - opening the folders just shows me whats in them, not how i can play them! normal cd´s and cd-r´s work fine. the dvd player itself is described thus: version 4.6, architecture power pc, location /applications/DVD player .app

by all appearances it should simply play a dvd but it doesn´t!

i´d like to extend a thanks to all who have made suggestions, very helpful even if so far unsuccesful.

mkrishnan · Nov 30, 2009, 03:03 PM

As a diagnostic and also as a stopgap, can you try downloading VLC and seeing if the DVD plays in VLC?

http://www.videolan.org

This might help figure out if it's an OS X system level issue, a hardware issue, or an issue with the DVD Player app.

Consultant · Nov 30, 2009, 03:05 PM

Do you have OSX 10.4.1 or OSX 10.4.11?

Update your system software?

eMacs are pretty old. Optical drive are typically the first thing to go in a computer.

DewGuy1999 · Nov 30, 2009, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slim tim slide

this is weird - the dvd does appear on the desktop with both video and audio folders. the system profiler tells me that the machine definitely has a dvd-rw facility (pioneer DVR 104) and yet whatever dvd i put in i get the error message. opening the folders on the desktop gets me no closer to actually playing a dvd as the error message is everpresent - opening the folders just shows me whats in them, not how i can play them! normal cd´s and cd-r´s work fine. the dvd player itself is described thus: version 4.6, architecture power pc, location /applications/DVD player .app

by all appearances it should simply play a dvd but it doesn´t!

i´d like to extend a thanks to all who have made suggestions, very helpful even if so far unsuccesful.

As Consultant questioned are you running 10.4.1 or 10.4.11, if it's 10.4.1 you should use Software Update to update to 10.4.11. I'm running 10.4.11 and my version of DVD Player is 4.6.5. If your's is only 4.6 then it also needs to be updated. When you got this eMac did it have a fresh install of the OS on it? Did you do a fresh install? If not it's possible that a piece of the necessary software is either corrupted or even missing. I would also second getting VLC to see if it will work or not.

Nov 26, 2009, 06:21 PM	#1
slim tim slide macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2008 Location: brighton	DVD player not recognised on Tiger - newbie needs emergency help! Ive just gotten a 2nd hand eMac G4 800Mhz running OSX 10.4.1 when I put a dvd in to play nothing happens - the appliactaions folder says I have a dvd player (occupying 38 odd MG of space) but when I try to opn it i get this message ¨There was an initialization error. A valid vieo device could not be found for playback (-70017) does this mean i cant watch dvd´s??? do i need to download new software? i am a complete novice and would really appreciate some help here... thanks in advance

Nov 27, 2009, 12:38 AM	#2
BlueRevolution macrumors 601 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Ailleurs	Does the DVD drive work with data disks? __________________ "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal a loaf of bread." —Anatole France

Nov 29, 2009, 09:22 AM	#5
slim tim slide Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2008 Location: brighton	dvd in finder not sure - the dvd player application is only located in applications folder, not on the dock. as soon as i click the dvd player icon the menus are shown across the top of the screen but they are almost all shaded and i cannot open the disc drawer. also a message appears saying that the appropriate application could not be found (full message is at top of this thread). I have tried to circumvent this by opening i-tunes in order to open the drawer, insert the dvd, and then try dvd player but i get the same message. (There was an initialization error - a video device could not be located) but it does appear that there IS a dvd player located in applications! I am very confused!

Nov 29, 2009, 12:19 PM	#6
BlueRevolution macrumors 601 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Ailleurs	Inserted DVDs should appear on your desktop. Do no DVDs work, or just a particular one? What about data DVDs? __________________ "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal a loaf of bread." —Anatole France

Nov 29, 2009, 10:05 PM	#9
slotmachines01 macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2009	you should be able to see folders on the DVD. __________________ Simulation financement auto achat \| Capacite financement automobile occasion \| Calcul taux financement credit automobile neuve

Nov 28, 2009, 07:22 PM	#3
slim tim slide Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2008 Location: brighton	hi, thanks for replying - i have tried music discs and they open in i-tunes fine but when i insert a dvd it wont work, i just get the message i described, i wonder if the mac is lacking some piece of software?

Nov 28, 2009, 09:33 PM	#4
old-wiz macrumors 68020 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: West Suburban Boston Ma	When you insert a dvd, does it show up in finder?

Nov 29, 2009, 12:46 PM	#7
old-wiz macrumors 68020 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: West Suburban Boston Ma	Just wondering if there's an issue with playing dVDs on 800 mhz? When you insert the DVD it should show up on the desktop or in a finder window under "Devices" and you should be able to see folders on the DVD. IIRC, there's Video_ts and audio_ts folders. Do you see these?

Nov 30, 2009, 03:00 PM	#12
slim tim slide Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: May 2008 Location: brighton	this is weird - the dvd does appear on the desktop with both video and audio folders. the system profiler tells me that the machine definitely has a dvd-rw facility (pioneer DVR 104) and yet whatever dvd i put in i get the error message. opening the folders on the desktop gets me no closer to actually playing a dvd as the error message is everpresent - opening the folders just shows me whats in them, not how i can play them! normal cd´s and cd-r´s work fine. the dvd player itself is described thus: version 4.6, architecture power pc, location /applications/DVD player .app by all appearances it should simply play a dvd but it doesn´t! i´d like to extend a thanks to all who have made suggestions, very helpful even if so far unsuccesful.

Nov 30, 2009, 03:03 PM	#13
mkrishnan Demi-God (Moderator) Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI, USA	As a diagnostic and also as a stopgap, can you try downloading VLC and seeing if the DVD plays in VLC? http://www.videolan.org This might help figure out if it's an OS X system level issue, a hardware issue, or an issue with the DVD Player app. __________________ Mohan

Nov 30, 2009, 03:05 PM	#14
Consultant macrumors 601 Join Date: Jun 2007	Do you have OSX 10.4.1 or OSX 10.4.11? Update your system software? eMacs are pretty old. Optical drive are typically the first thing to go in a computer. __________________ Apple User Art \| Celebs with Macs \| Mac: Power Users \| Tech Humor

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