Does anyone know what format the superdrive burns in? I want to make sure my DVD player will read it. Thanks
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Formt of Mac Superdrive
- Thread starter idrive17
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Well, since there are now two superdrives in machines, that would be harder to discern, but I know that the format supported by the OS is pretty much the universal format that all DVD players have (I think DVD-R+ or something like that). The only ones you would have to watch for would be the first generations of DVD players. Ironically enough, the superdrive is more super than Apple lets it be. The superdrive can burn in the DVD-RW+ format, but OS X doesn't support that format, therefore, we can't use the DVD-RWs for data storage and backup (which are much more convenient than the DVD-Rs which only burn once).
Apple SuperDrives burn in DVD-R format. Use good blank media for best compatability with DVD Players.
The drives themselves have other "DVD" formats themselves but Apple doesn't support them. What formats the drives support depends on the model of the drive.
"DVD-R+" is not one of the DVD formats.
The drives themselves have other "DVD" formats themselves but Apple doesn't support them. What formats the drives support depends on the model of the drive.
"DVD-R+" is not one of the DVD formats.
Okay let's clear things up a little.
DVD-R (dvd 'minus' r)
DVD+R (dvd 'plus' r)
The Pioneer drives, which are in every Superdrive Mac except for some of the new iMacs, can burn DVD-R, DVD-RW. DVD-R is what you would use for iDVD and such, and is supported by most consumer DVD players. But, even though Apple "does not support" DVD-RW, you can still burn DVD-RWs perfectly if you use third-party software, such as Roxio Toast. By the way, RW is ReWritable, so it means you can use the same disc over and over again, thus the higher price.
Now, some of the new iMacs have Sony drives, which in turn can burn DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+R, DVD+RW. Now, this DVD+R is mainly used for computer data storage, and is supposedly superior to DVD-R. But, only new DVD players support it. Also, whether you can burn DVD+R is not tested yet...
Okay, didn't want to go into that much detail, but wanted to clear things up. Basically, if you want to use it for playing on a consumer DVD player, use DVD-Rs.
irmongoose
DVD-R (dvd 'minus' r)
DVD+R (dvd 'plus' r)
The Pioneer drives, which are in every Superdrive Mac except for some of the new iMacs, can burn DVD-R, DVD-RW. DVD-R is what you would use for iDVD and such, and is supported by most consumer DVD players. But, even though Apple "does not support" DVD-RW, you can still burn DVD-RWs perfectly if you use third-party software, such as Roxio Toast. By the way, RW is ReWritable, so it means you can use the same disc over and over again, thus the higher price.
Now, some of the new iMacs have Sony drives, which in turn can burn DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD+R, DVD+RW. Now, this DVD+R is mainly used for computer data storage, and is supposedly superior to DVD-R. But, only new DVD players support it. Also, whether you can burn DVD+R is not tested yet...
Okay, didn't want to go into that much detail, but wanted to clear things up. Basically, if you want to use it for playing on a consumer DVD player, use DVD-Rs.
irmongoose
Re: Formt of Mac Superdrive
Just one more thing to add, so far iDVD will only burn in the 'minus' formats and most new DVD players will only read the 'minus' format but the idea of the 'plus' format is to make it more compatible with DVD video players.
See http://www.dvdrw.com for a list of players that support 'plus' format and a better discription of what this all means.
Originally posted by idrive17
Does anyone know what format the superdrive burns in? I want to make sure my DVD player will read it. Thanks
Just one more thing to add, so far iDVD will only burn in the 'minus' formats and most new DVD players will only read the 'minus' format but the idea of the 'plus' format is to make it more compatible with DVD video players.
See http://www.dvdrw.com for a list of players that support 'plus' format and a better discription of what this all means.