Burned DVD plays on TV DVD Player but not on Mac?

verveguitar · Apr 9, 2011, 02:57 PM

Hi I had an old band performance recorded on a VHS camcorder which I today hooked up to my stand alone DVD player/recorder via the AV cable (the camcorder doesn't have any usb/firewire output due to age) and burned a DVD.

The DVD plays fine on stand alone DVD players you hook up to a TV but when I put it onto my PowerBook G4 it says the DVD is empty?

I tried it on a HP Laptop with the same outcome so it's not a Mac issue.

I've googled this to little avail so any help would be greatly appreciated.

The end result for this was to put the recording up on YouTube....

simsaladimbamba · Apr 9, 2011, 03:06 PM

Have you finalised the DVD inside the DVD recorder you recorded the DVD with?

verveguitar · Apr 9, 2011, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

Have you finalised the DVD inside the DVD recorder you recorded the DVD with?

not sure... the process of the DVD recorder is literally:

press record, then when you've got what you wanted press stop and it burns it do the DVD ...and that's it done.

It comes out and then it plays no problem on DVD players... but appears as a blank DVD on computers...

simsaladimbamba · Apr 9, 2011, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by verveguitar

not sure... the process of the DVD recorder is literally:

press record, then when you've got what you wanted press stop and it burns it do the DVD ...and that's it done.

It comes out and then it plays no problem on DVD players... but appears as a blank DVD on computers...

Either tell us what exact model of DVD recorder you have or look into the manual of your recorder under "finalise" or something similar.
To play the video DVD on a computer, it needs to be finalised, as DVD drive in computers differ from DVD drives in video DVD recorders.

verveguitar · Apr 9, 2011, 03:56 PM

..it's a Funai DVD Recorder... (I've personally never heard of them before) no manual (or remote control for that matter) as it was inherited from a family member moving house.. so can't be much more exact.

Is there a way of finalising it on my mac? I mean the DVD shows up no problem, it's literally that it can't see it's contents?

The disc is a DVD-R btw just in case that helps.

Any ideas would be greatly received.

simsaladimbamba · Apr 9, 2011, 04:11 PM

I don't know of a way to finalise a video DVD in Mac OS X or Windows, normally it needs to be done with a video DVD recorder.
Doesn't the DVD recorder have some kind of label on the back or bottom?

Or does the DVD recorder not have something like this printed on it?

But without remote, it will be almost impossible to finalise the video DVD, as it is done via menus normally.

martinX · Apr 9, 2011, 04:42 PM

What Sim said. This is exactly the behavior of an unfinalised disc. You must finalize it and you must finalize it in the model that recorded it.

Having said that, I have had success with unfinalised DVD+Rs in my Mac, but it can be hit and miss playing them back on other DVD players in an unfinalised state.

Good luck doing it without a remote though...

verveguitar · Apr 10, 2011, 05:02 AM

I think you're both right... without the remote control I have no way of finalising it.

The DVD player/recorder does have some kind of optical out so it might be worth seeing if I can hook it up directly to my Mac, playing the DVD and recording it that way via VLC or something.

Thanks everyone for your help.

martinX · Apr 10, 2011, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by verveguitar

The DVD player/recorder does have some kind of optical out so it might be worth seeing if I can hook it up directly to my Mac, playing the DVD and recording it that way via VLC or something.

The optical connection is audio. It's a way of shifting 5.1 sound around the place without making people go crazy with cabling.

Re-record your tape on a DVD recorder u can finalise easily. I like the Panasonics I have, mainly because when I eject a burned DVD it asks me if I want to finalise, and if so, push the REC button and away it goes. Otherwise, the function is buried deep in an arcane menu structure that requires a dozen key presses. Why, O Why can't I get a reasonably priced PAL DVD recorder with serial control...

verveguitar · Apr 10, 2011, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by martinX

The optical connection is audio. It's a way of shifting 5.1 sound around the place without making people go crazy with cabling.

Re-record your tape on a DVD recorder u can finalise easily. I like the Panasonics I have, mainly because when I eject a burned DVD it asks me if I want to finalise, and if so, push the REC button and away it goes. Otherwise, the function is buried deep in an arcane menu structure that requires a dozen key presses. Why, O Why can't I get a reasonably priced PAL DVD recorder with serial control...

Oh really? Is there another way of getting VHS Camcorder recordings onto the Mac? I've seen a few AV to USB cables on Amazon but they all need Windows operating systems

simsaladimbamba · Apr 10, 2011, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by verveguitar

Oh really? Is there another way of getting VHS Camcorder recordings onto the Mac? I've seen a few AV to USB cables on Amazon but they all need Windows operating systems

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/main...oduct1.en.html

martinX · Apr 10, 2011, 04:42 PM

http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc110

Cheaper to get a cheapy DVD recorder and connect to a VHS player you may have. Then import/transcode the VOBs using MPEG Streamclip (you'll need Apple's MPEG2 Quicktime component if you don't already have it). Don't forget to finalise the discs

Apr 9, 2011, 02:57 PM	#1
verveguitar macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: London	Burned DVD plays on TV DVD Player but not on Mac? Hi I had an old band performance recorded on a VHS camcorder which I today hooked up to my stand alone DVD player/recorder via the AV cable (the camcorder doesn't have any usb/firewire output due to age) and burned a DVD. The DVD plays fine on stand alone DVD players you hook up to a TV but when I put it onto my PowerBook G4 it says the DVD is empty? I tried it on a HP Laptop with the same outcome so it's not a Mac issue. I've googled this to little avail so any help would be greatly appreciated. The end result for this was to put the recording up on YouTube....
	0

Apr 9, 2011, 03:06 PM	#2
simsaladimbamba macrumors Core Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: in front of it	Have you finalised the DVD inside the DVD recorder you recorded the DVD with? __________________ This is not
	0

Apr 9, 2011, 04:11 PM	#6
simsaladimbamba macrumors Core Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: in front of it	I don't know of a way to finalise a video DVD in Mac OS X or Windows, normally it needs to be done with a video DVD recorder. Doesn't the DVD recorder have some kind of label on the back or bottom? Or does the DVD recorder not have something like this printed on it? But without remote, it will be almost impossible to finalise the video DVD, as it is done via menus normally. __________________ This is not
	0

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
6 Displays on Mac Pro 1.1 w/ Dual Radeon 5770	Ibrin	Mac Pro	12	Mar 28, 2012 06:29 AM
Burning DVD from imovie/FCP?	lia77	Digital Video	0	Apr 23, 2011 09:03 PM
Will a .avi movie play on my DVD player if I burn it onto a DVD?	mrsir2009	Mac OS X	2	Oct 11, 2009 11:18 PM
Bootcamp: My wireless router works on the PC side but not on Mac side	Verient	Mac Basics and Help	8	Sep 8, 2009 11:51 PM
Converting AVI and MPEG to play on TV DVD Player	waitomo	Mac Applications and Mac App Store	2	Dec 25, 2008 01:30 PM

Apr 9, 2011, 03:56 PM	#5
verveguitar Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: London	..it's a Funai DVD Recorder... (I've personally never heard of them before) no manual (or remote control for that matter) as it was inherited from a family member moving house.. so can't be much more exact. Is there a way of finalising it on my mac? I mean the DVD shows up no problem, it's literally that it can't see it's contents? The disc is a DVD-R btw just in case that helps. Any ideas would be greatly received.
	0

Apr 9, 2011, 04:42 PM	#7
martinX macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2009	What Sim said. This is exactly the behavior of an unfinalised disc. You must finalize it and you must finalize it in the model that recorded it. Having said that, I have had success with unfinalised DVD+Rs in my Mac, but it can be hit and miss playing them back on other DVD players in an unfinalised state. Good luck doing it without a remote though...
	0

Apr 10, 2011, 05:02 AM	#8
verveguitar Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: London	I think you're both right... without the remote control I have no way of finalising it. The DVD player/recorder does have some kind of optical out so it might be worth seeing if I can hook it up directly to my Mac, playing the DVD and recording it that way via VLC or something. Thanks everyone for your help.
	0

Apr 10, 2011, 04:42 PM	#12
martinX macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2009	http://www.grassvalley.com/products/advc110 Cheaper to get a cheapy DVD recorder and connect to a VHS player you may have. Then import/transcode the VOBs using MPEG Streamclip (you'll need Apple's MPEG2 Quicktime component if you don't already have it). Don't forget to finalise the discs
	0


MacRumors Forums > Special Interests > Visual Media > Digital Video