Not really video, but Mac and DVD and mp3 question

[Dragonsf]

I'd like to make a DVD full of mp3 on my PC for a friend, who owns a Mac.
He can't read such ISO DVDs.How can I make a compliant DVD?Or what does my friend need , to read such DVDs?

[Case]

Can you use the UDF file system? Like a video DVD uses. That should make the disc readable.

[Dragonsf]

Yes, what version of UDF should I use?

[tompika]

I might be wrong but your computer details show a DVD+R/W burner and as far as I know only the latest Mac OS can handle the plus format

[Dragonsf]

My friend has a DVD+RW burner in his MAC.I thought, such drives could read my DVD+R's.Or am I assuming something wrong?

[WiseWeasel]

You can make it FAT32 or Joliet format, and the Mac will be able to read it just fine. If you want UDF, I think 1.1 will work fine. I'd suggest sticking with Joliet format, though.

[Dragonsf]

Are there any restrictions in the Joliet Format (as in FAT32) regarding file name length?Some of my mp3s have rather long file names.

[tompika]

My friend has a DVD+RW burner in his MAC.I thought, such drives could read my DVD+R's.Or am I assuming something wrong?

I remember a guy with a Pioneer DVR106 in his Mac could write DVD+R's but the OS could not read it back.

[galactica]

The disks should be readable, the problem was that DVD Player did support the +r format until 10.3.3

[Frobozz]

I'll jump in to add to the confusion here. The Mac should read an ISO 9660 formatted DVD without any problem. I'm not certain about file name length, but the Mac should just truncate the names if they are too long.

The problem is that many Macs cannot mount or read a DVD+R disk, although that is becoming less of a problem with the latest OS and newest DVD drives. Apple did have firmware in some of the Superdrives that prevented reading DVD+R media even when then drive manufacturer supported such media with that drive. Older Superdrives don't read DVD+R media regardless of the firmware.

So DVD+R media continues to be a crap shoot with Macs. Oddly, DVD+RW is more likely to be compatible than DVD+R. The solution, of course, is simple: if it's going to be played in a Mac just use DVD-R and DVD-RW media unless you know for sure the other media works.

[WiseWeasel]

Are there any restrictions in the Joliet Format (as in FAT32) regarding file name length?Some of my mp3s have rather long file names.

There are no restrictions for Joliet volume access, including the ability to read very long filenames (up to 255 characters, I believe).

[Dragonsf]

I tried to use Joliiet (matter of fact is, I'm always using Joliet without explicitly knowing it) and still no joy.I'll try a DVD+RW.

[WiseWeasel]

You could try -R media, and that will surely be compatible. Or else, tell him to update to the latest version of MacOS X, which should be able to handle +R media, as long as his DVD drive is recent enough to read them.

[Dragonsf]

I can't use DVD-R (no burner for that).It's a PowerBook from 2003.Is that recent enough?

[WiseWeasel]

Not sure, some PowerBooks are pretty finicky about the media they'll read. Upgrading to the latest version of MacOS X (version 10.3.3) should help, if he hasn't done so already. In the end, you might just find it easier to have him bring his PowerBook over, hook it up to your PC via ethernet (if you have a network adapter installed), and transferring the files through filesharing or simple P2P programs such as Hotline or something. +RW media might also work, and you're not losing anything by trying, as you can easily erase it and use it for something else if it doesn't work.

[thoughton]

If you're going to hook up the powerbook directly tell your friend to boot up in Firewire Target Disk mode (hold down T while booting), and plug it into your PC like a giant FW HD.

PS What sort of DVD+RW burner does your friend have in his Powerbook?

[Dragonsf]

I'm not sure, but it seems to be a Superdrive.Don't know the exact type, but I can ask my friend.
Do you mean, connect the PowerBook to my FW-Interface?

[WiseWeasel]

Using the PowerBook as a FireWire HD (by booting it with the 'T" key held down, for target mode, while connected via FireWire) won't work with a PC, unless the PC has software installed to mount Mac HFS+ formatted disks. The easiest method is via ethernet networking if the +RW thing doesn't work out.

[thoughton]

Unless your friend installed the drive himself, I dont see how he has a +RW burner inside his powerbook. I didn't know any models came with anything other than the superdrive (-RW).

Sorry about the Target Disk Mode thing, Wiseweasel is right, you'd have to install some software on your PC to make it recognise the Mac disc format. However if you dont have a network card in your PC I suppose it might still be worth looking into. At least you wont have to buy any hardware.

[WiseWeasel]

Some -RW drives can read +R(W) discs. Strangely, some have reported +R discs not being read, whereas +RW ones read just fine. Let us know how it turns out.

[Dragonsf]

Here is my working solution:
As nothing of the above was successful, I tried to read a DVD in DVD format burned on a DVD+R and guess what, it could be read.
So I made a tiny DVD movie (just 3 frames) and put the mp3s into the AUDIO_TS directory.Result:the Mac could read and play all the mp3s.
it's an OS 9 Mac with a NEC DVD ROM drive.

[WiseWeasel]

So it could read +R media in UDF format, but not in Joliet format? Same media? That's truly bizarre. Time that person got with the times and upgraded to the latest version of MacOS X, maybe that would have fixed the problem as well... You could maybe have just made a UDF format disc with all the MP3s (in their full-length-named glory) in the root dir of the DVD as well.

[Dragonsf]

I tried all of Nero's UDF Formats, none of them worked as such.Only using ImgTools for burning was successful and maybe putting the mp3 into the root might work as well (I'll test that with a +RW next time)
Thanks anyway for all the good advices.