Mac created dvd won't play in any standalone dvd player

[GregN]

A friend created this disc on a G4 Mac, and it plays fine on her computer, and it plays fine on my PC (using the PowerDVD program). However, it doesn't play on any standalone dvd player that I've tried, and I've tried several.

Any thoughts as to what might be the problem? Is there anything I could look for in the file structure that may be a tipoff as to what the problem could be?

If this is a commonly asked question, just point me to where I can find the answer or what key words to use when doing a search.

Couple more notes that may help:

~ dvd burned on an "Apple" imprinted 'made in Japan' DVD-R.
~ I don't have a dvd burner on my PC computer and the DVDinfoPro program I dl'd doesn't give any useful info (I assume because I don't have a dvd recorder, only a dvd-rom drive).
~ I played the disc on an IMac at CompUSA with some help from the salesguy. He said it was curious that the burned dvd program didn't launch automatically, as he had to manually fiddle with some user controls get it to play.

Thanks for any an all help.

[SERBIAN]

I think You have bad disk structure...In the root of the DVD should be 2 folders:

VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS...Or just VIDEO_TS...

[WiseWeasel]

My guess is your friend burnt the DVD as a data DVD, Mac/PC hybrid format, and not as a UDF DVD format disc. You can just copy the files to your hard drive, and burn it to DVD-R in UDF format, and it should play fine on standalone players. Make sure you keep the folder hierarchy intact, with a VIDEO_TS folder in the DVD's root directory.

[FCPguy]

Listen to the Wise weasel... he's wise (what he said- that is what it problably is)

[galactica]

put the disk in the mac
1. Get info on the mounted dvd look to see if UDF is in the info for the dvd
2. look at the dvd itself by double clicking on the mounted disk
you should see VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders. Inside the VIDEO_TS are all of the dvd files .vob's .ifo's .bup's The AUDIO_TS folder usually is empty

if you have anything other than this, the dvd was not burned properly.

Do you know how your friend on a mac burned it? with what apps for example

im sure its an easy fix, however since you dont have the dvd burner you will have to get your friend to reburn it for you

[GregN]

Thanks for the great responses guys.

Ok, so I clicked on the drive containing said disc and up pops a folder ending with "_dvd" (excluding the parenthesis) and a few files outside of the folder (none of the aforementioned ones, so irrelevent I assume).

Then within this folder, two more folders:

A " Video_rm" and a "Video_ts" folder. Here's what is contained within each:

FOLDER: VIDEO_RM
VIDEO_RM.IFO
VIDEO_RM.DAT
VIDEO_RM.BUP
VIDEO_MN.IFO
VIDEO_MN.DAT

FOLDER: VIDEO_TS
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_5.VOB
VTS_01_4.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB

I didn't see UDF listed anywhere within the file structure.

As far as which program was used, I'm not positive, but I think it was either iDVD and/or FinalCutPro.

[sascha h-k]

hi all together,

I burn DVD-R only and had, have never problems with the result, on any standalone dvd-player...

cheers
sascha

[GregN]

show-off! :P

[thoughton]

please take a look at:

homepage.mac.com/shk747/

Is that your car?

[AntnyMD]

Thanks for the great responses guys.

Ok, so I clicked on the drive containing said disc and up pops a folder ending with "_dvd" (excluding the parenthesis) and a few files outside of the folder (none of the aforementioned ones, so irrelevent I assume).

Then within this folder, two more folders:

A " Video_rm" and a "Video_ts" folder. Here's what is contained within each:

FOLDER: VIDEO_RM
VIDEO_RM.IFO
VIDEO_RM.DAT
VIDEO_RM.BUP
VIDEO_MN.IFO
VIDEO_MN.DAT

FOLDER: VIDEO_TS
VIDEO_TS.BUP
VIDEO_TS.IFO
VIDEO_TS.VOB
VTS_01_0.BUP
VTS_01_0.IFO
VTS_01_5.VOB
VTS_01_4.VOB
VTS_01_3.VOB
VTS_01_2.VOB
VTS_01_1.VOB

I didn't see UDF listed anywhere within the file structure.

As far as which program was used, I'm not positive, but I think it was either iDVD and/or FinalCutPro.

I'm not aware of any application on the Mac platform that makes a standard DVD-Video with a VIDEO_RM folder.

This to me looks like a copy of a DVD made on a standalone settop recorder. I agree with Wise, this wasn't burned in the correct mode. Most people still think that DVDs are just CDs that hold more, and can be burned in any way. Computers are notoriously more forgiving of mistakes than standalone settop players.

Do as galactica suggested and reburn the disc correctly on a Mac using Toast to make a UDF DVD disc. Only put the VIDEO_TS folder on, and add your own empty AUDIO_TS folder. It should look like:

MY_MOVIE
-- AUDIO_TS
-- VIDEO_TS
------ *.IFO
------ *.BUP
------ *.VOB

[galactica]

what type of disk is this? Typically settop recorders use +r media so perhaps your settops you have been trying this on are not compatible with +r media?!? just another thought

to be safe i would do as i said
go back to the mac
copy the VIDEO_TS folder over to the HD by dragging it to the desktop
when its done, open Toast, click DATA, choose the DVD-ROM [UDF] button in the side window, click NEW DISC, name it, drag in your VIDEO_TS folder, click NEW FOLDER, name it AUDIO_TS and then burn

better yet, before you do all that, watch the VIDEO_TS folder in apple dvd player to make sure it even works!

[GregN]

Thanks.

Well, it was definitely created on a Mac, as she doesn't have a standalone recorder. The source video came from a BitTorrent file transfer, so I don't know if that had any significance.

[GregN]

Oops. I didn't see your reply galactica until after I posted just now.

It's a DVD-R, not +R. I tried to play it in about 10 different dvd players. In retrospect, a few of them might have been +R only, but at least a few of them weren't.

As per my original post, the disc did play in the one store Mac I tried, although the salesclerk at CompUSA had to fiddle with it a little to get it to play.

[WiseWeasel]

The source video came from a [evil P2P protocol] file transfer...

ixNay the itTorrentBay, or you'll get yourself hurt here... we don't take kindly to pirates. :P

[GregN]

Me? A Pirate?? I'm much too wimpy for that!

Actually, it wasn't a movie or any other type of commercial available product. No money is being stolen from someone's pockets, and no future profiteering will take place on the back of someone elses labor and inspiration as a result of this.

And NO, it wasn't a porno either!

[WiseWeasel]

What happens when you select the disc on your desktop, or go to the username's Computer directory in a Finder window, and then hit command-I for get info (or right-click on it and choose 'Get Info')? What does it say for 'Format'? If burned correctly, it should say Universal Disk Format, and not MacOS Extended.

[GregN]

I'm exposing my marginal computer knowledge here I'm sure, but when I double click on "My Computer" and then the drive containing the dvd, of the 1 folder and 4 other files that are listed, nothing is stated about UDF or MacOS. (I assume that's what you meant by "select disc on desktop").

I'm not familiar with how to do the "username's Computer directory in a Finder window" part. Remember too, I'm still on PC at this point, if that comes into play here.

Thanks for patience.

[WiseWeasel]

Ah, you will need to follow those instructions I gave you on a Mac. I'm not sure how to check the disc's format on the PC, but it might be in the disc's properties, if you select your DVD drive, right-click on it, and select 'Properties' in the contextual menu, and see if it says anything about the format. Else, try to find a Mac to work with.

[GregN]

Ok, listed under "Properties", then "File system", "CDFS" was listed. Nothing else interesting to note.

[WiseWeasel]

I'm willing to bet it was burned as a Mac/PC hybrid data disc. You'll need to copy the files to your HD and burn them again in UDF (DVD-Video) format using your favorite burning software to play that DVD on a set-top DVD player. Make sure you keep the hierarchy intact, with at least the VIDEO_TS (and you can include anything else that was on the DVD) in the root folder of the DVD you make.

[GregN]

Alright then, sounds like a have a plan. (Must buy new computer first w/recorder, so results will be pending for a little while yet.)

Thanks WiseWeasel for all of your assistance.

[WiseWeasel]

Or you could ask your friend on the G4 Mac to burn it in the right format this time. You can point him to this site, and tell him to read the sticky at the top of the Mac Video forum, which says how to burn DVDs using Toast 6.0.

[GregN]

Good point.

I've already compiled and edited the responses here and emailed them over to her (it's a 'her' and not a 'him', btw) for her own future reference, besides saving them for myself. I'll fix my own copy later on, as she already did me a big favor to make the first dvdr (she's out of state).

I'll mention the sticky Toast to her as well.

[arequilman]

One last possibility as all others were great!

What kind of dvd-r disc do you have? I've had bad luck with cheapo type dvd-r discs, but when I bought the apple approved or sony type brands, etc., they worked well on stand alone dvd players almost anywhere. Of course they cost more, but I'm sure some of the other guys/gals that posted above may have better and cheaper ones than the ones I listed. Just a final thought to resolve your issue.

[GregN]

As I mentioned in the original post, arequilman...

~ dvd burned on an "Apple" imprinted 'made in Japan' DVD-R.

So, the quality of the disc used was very good, and was unlikely to be the source of this specific problem. Your general point is well taken, however.