Burning 4.7gig DVDs?

Hugh said:

Okay guys I am a bit confused here. I have a Mac Mini Solo with the Super Drive (DL DVD). But it will not let me burn a disk any more then 4.3gig.

Is this correct? For some reason I remember burning very close to 4.7gig on my QuickSilver with a Pioneer Super Drive (After Market Drive, however it worked with all Apple apps). It would let me burn close to the 4.7gig (At least I thought it did. For some reason I can't find any of those DVDs. 🙁

Is the drive in my Mini not able to go that far, or did this limitation to make the disks work in other machines? 😕


Hugh

Click to expand...

What you describe is normal.

There is a difference between capacity and formatted capacity (strange as that sounds).

Additionally, there is a difference between what storage manufacturers call a Gigabyte and what the operating system calls a Gigabyte.

And, then there is a certain amount of space required for things like a File Allocation Table and other overhead stuff.

But, I do seem to remember that I've gotten a bit more squeezed onto a DVD using Windows than I have with OS X. It may just be a difference in the way the two systems function and how much space they reserve for overhead items.

flyinmac said:

What you describe is normal.

There is a difference between (overall) capacity and formatted capacity (strange as that sounds).

Additionally, there is a difference between what storage manufacturers call a Gigabyte and what the operating system calls a Gigabyte.

Click to expand...

same with HDD's uhhuhohyeaitis 🙂

The problem is that if all the manufacturers say '4.3Gig' on their DVDs, one company will come along and plonk '4.7Gig' on theirs and steal sales.

So everybody puts 4.7Gb on their media!