Should I buy Toast?

[DavidLeblond]

I just got an iBook last December (my first mac) and I may have a need for DVD burning software. I'm getting an IDE to Firewire card (its actually the kind of card they use in many enclosures) to put in my PC to make its DVD+RW drive into a firewire.

I was hoping, once I did that, to get the trial for Toast to see if Toast will recognize it. Unfortunately now I see Toast doesn't have a trial.

$90 is a lot to pay for a program that I've never used, and that may not work. Does anybody have an idea whether or not this configuration would work? I plan on using Toast to make DVDs from iMovie and to backup my hard drive.

 

[wordmunger]

Why don't you call the company and ask them? I have Toast (came with my external CD burner), and I can say that it's much faster at burning CDs than natively in Panther.

 

[Counterfit]

Yeah, just buy Toast, you'll be happy

 

[cubist]

I got Toast 5 on a special from J&R Music World for cheaper, I think it was $49. It is a great program. The burning options from the desktop and from iTunes are basic and functional, but Toast lets you write almost any format. It depends on what your needs are... but from what you're saying, you sound like a person who would appreciate the extra capabilities of Toast.

Look for a special, or if you're daring, see if you can find a copy on eBay.

Are you taking the drive out of the PC? I don't quite understand what you're doing. If you get the Firewire bridge card for the drive, you can get a cheap Firewire card for the PC and then switch the cable when you want to use it on the other machine.

AFAIK, it's not possible to have a "dual-host" situation where either the PC or the Firewire can control the drive.

 

[DavidLeblond]

I am using a bridge card in my PC. The only reason I'm keeping it in the PC is so that it can still use the PC's power supply. I don't plan on using the drive itself in the PC anymore.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Toast is can be used for burning DVDs or VideoCDs or SuperVideoCDs. But its not really great, because you just can burn the movie. Menus and background pics are always the same. Its not compareable with iDVD. But it works.

I have no idea if it works in your configuration.

 

[DavidLeblond]

Meh, I'd love to use iDVD but with no SuperDrive, I can't.