External DVD burner...

[Nada]

The DVD burner on my mack won't rip DVDs of other regions. Can you recommend an external DVD burner that will work with Mac the Ripper? I searched through this forum but didn't find an answer to this. If I missed it, and this is a repeat question, I'm really sorry.
Thanks for any help you can give me. Nada

[Case]

In System Preferences, CDs & DVDs, set When you insert a video DVD to 'Ignore'. Then Apple DVD Player won't open, and your system won't complain about the wrong region. Then let MTR do its trick.

Doesn't that work for you?

[Nada]

Actually, I have tried twice to burn internatinal DVDs and the Matsura?? DVD burner on my laptop doesn't work with MTR. My other computer's DVD burner is shot, so i'm stuck needing an external drive.

[three_m]

i'm not an expert on this. but if your mac has a matushita internal dvd drive, you can't change the region more than 5 times. period.

people on this forum recommended to purchase an external dvd drive (pioneer dvr 110 D, which you can flash it to be a region free. i have purchased a pioneer myself, but haven't figured out how to connect it to my mac. hope this helps...

three_m

[Ryan Kelly]

I've had almost exactly the same trouble, and was wondering about an external drive too.

Someone recommended getting ahold of the MacTheRipper 3.0 program, I'm not sure if that will solve your (or my) problem.

I'm afraid that MacTheRipper might run into trouble with other-region discs, in which case getting another burner might not help. Does anyone have any success stories with other-region discs and MacThe Ripper?

[Case]

I've had almost exactly the same trouble, and was wondering about an external drive too. Someone recommended getting ahold of the MacTheRipper 3.0 program, I'm not sure if that will solve your (or my) problem.

You described trouble with some newer discs, which may have different copy protection. MTR 3 can deal with some c.p. schemes that MTR 2.6.6 can't. This is not related the the region of the disc or drive. MTR will rip (to region free) from discs of any region and from drives set at whatever region, even if these regions don't match. Buying a new external drive won't help MTR 2.6.6 rip from discs with newer copy protection (most notably ARccOS variants).

[Ryan Kelly]

I've had almost exactly the same trouble, and was wondering about an external drive too. Someone recommended getting ahold of the MacTheRipper 3.0 program, I'm not sure if that will solve your (or my) problem.

You described trouble with some newer discs, which may have different copy protection. MTR 3 can deal with some c.p. schemes that MTR 2.6.6 can't. This is not related the the region of the disc or drive. MTR will rip (to region free) from discs of any region and from drives set at whatever region, even if these regions don't match. Buying a new external drive won't help MTR 2.6.6 rip from discs with newer copy protection (most notably ARccOS variants).

I noticed however that at the MTR forums here a MTR developer said,

"If it's a Matshita or HL-DT-ST drive, then you can't read or backup DVDs from other regions than the one the drive is set to. Nothing we can do to address that..."

The thread then went into a rather lengthy discussion of external burners (and their chipsets, which I didn't follow). Somewhere around page 6 a fellow was in desperation and was on the verge of buying an external burner.

It leads me to think that either a) the drive must be set to the region and MTR 3.0 won't help that or b) Apple DVD drives screw me into buying an external drive.

[lawnman]

You can not make a Matshita drive region free. So if your drive is set to region1 and you have a region2 DVD than your out of luck. MTR will rip any region. It's the drive that is stopping you.

I went out and got a Pioneer110-D and put it in an external case. I flashed it. It was easy.

If you are having trouble with newer DVDs than you need MTR 3.0r13e (latest beta) to rip them. Donate and get the beta.

You will also need DVD2oneX2.0.6.

[Case]

It leads me to think that either
a) the drive must be set to the region and MTR 3.0 won't help that

This seems to be true for RPC2 firmware drives.

or b) Apple DVD drives screw me into buying an external drive

...or replace the internal drive, with one for which there is RPC1 firmware (or Auto-Reset RPC2). Unless you need a "super-slim" form factor, there's enough choice. (Pioneer still seems like a good pick.)

[albloom]

It is impossible to burn an other-region DVD to a Matshita
drive. Go the the MTR page -- machtheripper.org -- and
see some lively discussions on the subject.

[Ryan Kelly]

I think in the end that an external drive will be the option for me. I've sent an email to the folks at MTR about donating, but haven't quite received a response yet.

For now, all I need to do is backup region 2 DVDs, and its my understanding that if I set my Matshita drive to region 2, it should be fine for the interim.

When I do look into an external drive though, I don't think I'm quite saavy enough to do anything other than open a box and plug it in. Are there any out of the box region free possibilities?

[three_m]

i've got a pioneer 110-d on-line. but wasn't able to figure how to hook it up to my powerbook g4 and flash it. can anyone kindly walk me through?

many thanks!

[albloom]

Ryan, I don't think an e-mail will do it. You need to join
the MTR Forum. All the instructions for donating are in
the Announcement "Donation Info."