Can you multi-session a DVD on Mac platform?

[kgaley]

I'm wondering if it's possible to use DVDs as removable disks for holding data.

Will need to be able to write data - maybe 900 files? And then either overwrite a single file without overwriting the lot, or appending updated files to the DVD.

I understand this is a function available on a Windows platform. I want to know if it's available on a Mac platform.

If so, kindly direct me in the right direction.

The drive I have available is a Sony DRU 510-A. Compatible with DVD+RW, which is what I'm using. I have a copy of Toast 5.2

Many Thanks...

[Craig Tucker]

Moving to the Mac forum, you will likely have a better chance of an answer there.

[galactica]

Under toast 5.2 yes, you would simply use WRITE SESSION rather than WRITE DISC. Once you are done with 1st sessoin, just do the 2nd and so on. This has been done with DVD-RW for me, because i like to be able to rewrite to my dvd data disks. Can it be done on DVD-R? I imagine yes, just never tried it.

Under Toast 6, hmmmm i dont see the option! Perhaps Im overlooking it, its a different GUI and im still getting use to it

[ZeroSix]

what discs are you using? From what I understand, multi-session is not supported for DVDs. Are special discs required?





For toast 6, click onthe BURN button and go to the advanced TAB and uncheck the box for CLOSE DISC. I have tried this as well using a DVD and the option is greyed out.

[chikanakan]

You can't do multi-session DVD in Toast. Plus multi-session DVD do not behave very well in the Finder. Strange things start to happen when they mount.

[galactica]

Odd. it worked with my crappy DVDPRO dvd-rw's
strange thing is now... it doesnt!
I have no explanation for this. after seeing ZeroSix's pictures, i went just like i did before and now the write session is greyed out.

I swear it worked before!

[ZeroSix]

Either that, or you have been smoking some funny stuff....

j/k

[galactica]

You know, you hit the nail on the head!
Actually, it could be these really cheap disks. Who knows what they are made of and if they are even DVD-rw's hahahaha

All i know is i have one that is a multisession data disk. It worked once. but i cant make them anymore
ah well - nothing to stress over.

[kgaley]

For the record, I'm using DVD+RW, not DVD-RW. I'll get my hands on a "-RW" disk and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

[kgaley]

anybody know how to access the advanced options dialog box in Toast 5.2?

i don't wanna start a new thread...

[ZeroSix]

What do you mean?

[kgaley]

Zero-Six, you've posted a screen shot on this thread of an Advanced Options Tab in Toast 6. I'm wondering how to access the same set of options in Toast 5.2.1. Maybe a keyboard shortcut?

btw, I got the following reply from Roxio on their forum:
"You cannot burn a multi-session DVD using Toast Titanium. Currently, there is no industry supported multi-session standard for DVD recording. Applications that are capable of Multisession DVD burning (including Roxio's windows software) do it in a non-standard way. "

Weellll, give me the non-standard way!

[schwinn]

I just read elsewhere that "Dragon Burn" a fairly new Mac App burns Multi-session on DVD RW disks both DVD - & + RW . Also was mentioned they have a free demo.

[ZeroSix]

there are no advanced options in Toast 5.

Try using the aforementioned software Dragon Burn.

[kgaley]

On Friday, I downloaded a trial of DragonBurn and put it on an osX.2 machine.

I think it's a really good program, very intuitive and fast! And it did allow me to multisession my DVD!

However I got to experience firsthand the "finder weirdness": My first session mounts up fine and I can use it, my second session doesn't mount up at all, but my third session mounts up twice. One of those third sessions works okay but when I attempt to access the other, the finder quits momentarily, resetting my open folder to closed.

Given that the purpose here is to keep important data and be able to access it reliably, I do not think that we can use DVDs at this time. At least not on a Mac platform.
I have no problem with using a Windows OS if that will do the job.

Thanks to you all for your help here.

[galactica]

wait until 10.3 is on the scene . hopefully it can handle them better!