External DVD Burning on Mac OSX HELP!!

[CameramanTan]

Hello there,
I'm a new user of Final Cut Pro 4 and the whole Mac system, and I have recently finished a documentary. I have already rendered it in MPEG-2 format so it is ready to be burned onto a dvd. I opened IDVD, made my menu, imported my movie, and clicked burn, using my standard cd/dvd player. It kept saying "Burning DVD" for hours and hours and it is only a 13 minute movie. I have a dual 1.8 ghz prcessor and 512 ram and no other programs were going so I knew something was up. Finally it ended saying there was an error and it could not continue. I then got my external dvd burner (I know it is a burner) and hooked it up via firewire and usb. It needs those two hooked up. Now I don't know how to burn onto it. Where can I tell the comp to burn onto the dvd I place in the external drive? I really need some help and any would be GREATLY appreciated. Email me if you would like: randomspeak87@aol.com

Thanks!
T

[galactica]

moving to mac forum where you will get more help

what version of iDVD are you using?
I know up to some point it didnt support external burners, but i thought with the iLife 04 it now allows that.

Am I correct in this statement fellas?

[CameramanTan]

I am using IDVD 4.0.1

I'll try a mac forum but usually no one replies! Thanks for helping me.

T

[CameramanTan]

O yeah,
Also, how do I find out if my cd/dvd player is also a burner? I know it is a cd burner but not a dvd. Maybe it isn't a burner and i dont know it...

T

[tWoSour]

That could be the problem, although, if you have a g5, they all come with superdrives.

I thought iDVD couldnt import mpg2, only DV-AVI

[CameramanTan]

Well it played when I clicked preview so I'm not sure. Should I try in a different codec? .avi perhaps? It's a 13 minute video so I have to keep that in mind, but it shouldnt be a problem. What do you think?

[galactica]

please do the following..

1. go to blue apple at top left hand of screen. choose ABOUT THIS MAC.
2. click MORE INFO
3. in the system profiler menu that opens, click ATA and select your disk burner [ata-3 bus?!]
4. copy and paste that info in here.

1.8 G5 I am assuming so that should come with a dvd burner built in standard - this will tell me which one you got in there.


also, per your external burner question it has to be run with a 3rd party app like toast or disc burn.

now... if you have a mpeg file you want to burn to dvd and just want a simple menu Toast can do taht for you. Likewise you can use Sizzle to compile a very simple menu linked to your mpeg.

[CameramanTan]

ATA-6 Bus:

Vendor ID: 0x106b
Device ID: 0x0043
Revision ID: 0x0000

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D:

Manufacturer: PIONEER
Model: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D
Revision: A606
Serial Number: CKDL203136WL
Drive Type: CD-RW/DVD-RW
Disc Burning: Apple Supported/Shipped
Removable Media: Yes
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk1
Protocol: ATAPI
Unit Number: 0
Socket Type: Internal
OS9 Drivers: No

[galactica]

well it sure is a dvd burner.

Do you have Toast Titanium?

[CameramanTan]

no, where can I get it? is there a free trial or something?

[galactica]

unfortunately ............ no
http://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml

wow, a rebate brings it to 79 bucks!

this is hands down the best mac burning app, as well as a simple encoder. It would allow you to drop your mpeg file into it and burn it as a dvd with a menu.

there are other options that dont cost such as authoring the mpeg with sizzle and burning the image with disk utility or even Disc Burner