PC - Mac compatibility

[tumbar]

Will all burners work on Macs? as well as PC"s?

I am not familiar with Mac's so if this sounds ignorant, well I am.

Have files on a Mac, need a dvd burner to take files off. Will all burners that work for PC's work on Mac's via firewire? LIke a Pioneer or Sony?

If I took the files off via an external hard drive would they be readable on a PC? Would I be able to import them?

Are Mac files avi, mpeg1 and mpeg2? Or is there a converting program.

Trying to help a friend and I'm PC based.

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

"Have files on a Mac, need a dvd burner to take files off. Will all burners that work for PC's work on Mac's via firewire? LIke a Pioneer or Sony?"

Seeing as how Apple/Sony co-invented firewire & that Apple themselves use Pioneer DVD burners internally, the answer is yes.

"If I took the files off via an external hard drive would they be readable on a PC? Would I be able to import them?"

A Mac has the benefit of reading almost every disk formatting structure on earth. Windows machines, however are not so lucky. If you were to use the mac to format the external drive into a file structure that Windows can understand, then it will work. You also have the option of installing expensive 3rd party software on your PC to allow it to read Mac-Formatted drives. Your best bet is to simply network the two computers through the mac using the "Apple-K" keyboard command in the finder. You could also network them through the PC, but be prepared to spend some money and most of the day getting it to work. Once the files are successfully transferred onto your Windows machine, they will work just fine with their corresponding programs.

"Are Mac files avi, mpeg1 and mpeg2? Or is there a converting program."

These video types were born on both the Mac & NeXt systems (OSX's God Parents). Only later did they make their move to the world of Windows. So the answer is unequivocally yes they will work and no conversion is necessary.