dvd burning

[jaznjj]

I am trying to burn a dvd of footage taken on a camcorder recently. Loaded ok into the computer. I downloaded the instructions for burning a CD or DVD in the Finder. Instruction 1 says to insert a blank disc into the optical drive. When I do that, my Mac ejects it saying "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items." So I can't even get past instruction No. 1. While I have had the iMac OS X 10.6.7 for some time this is the first time I've tried to do this and haven't got a clue how to solve it. I'd appreciate some help please. J

Just tried going to the "burn folder option" and got this message "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have the necessary permission." J

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Hi jaznjj, do you get this error message when you pop any disc into the drive or is it when you try to burn from within an app?

If you have another account, try logging in and see if you can successfully insert the disc there.

What app, if any, are you using? iMovie or iDVD or something else?

 

[jaznjj]

Thank you. I will respond fully when I get home from work tonight. J

 

[jaznjj]

Hi again, I spent some time after posting using the repair permissions option in Disk Utility, possibly not completely, the list of repairs done and to be done which seems endless. The initial error message dropped off but reappeared today and I am still not successfully burning. Here is the story:

A blank CD when loaded goes directly to iTunes ready for burning and burns successfully from within iTunes. No image appears on the desktop initially but when the disc has been burned an image appears. I assume this is normal.

I played around with preferred options on inserting a disk, including:
A blank DVD-RW now goes straight to Disk Utility and asks me to select a disk, volume, or image. My project is not listed in the side panel. Clicking on anything which is listed there goes to first aid etc menu. No disk image appears on the desktop but I can eject the blank disc by using the eject button for the drive OPTIARC DVD RW etc. Clicking on that drive asks me about erasing a RW disk and also gives me an eject option. When I go to the BURN option at the top of that page it comes up with a screen which allows me to locate the project, the BURN button is greyed and the CANCEL button is active. Nothing appears to be happening within the drive but maybe it’s just incredibly slow.

When I insert a blank DVD-R the same thing happens.

In the meantime I am on a steep learning curve with Premiere Pro (Adobe) and Encore learning is as I go through trial and error. My project is transcoding right now but looks like will take a long time and THEN I still don’t know if it is going to burn and am not experienced enough to guarantee I haven’t made dumb mistakes along the way.

My dearest wish is for a basic flow-chart: step 1, step 2, etc including options IF …… THEN …..
Some of the help pages I have downloaded and tried to follow painstakingly don’t match up on the screen. It looks like there are at least three options available for me to burn to dvd and so far I haven’t been able to make any of them work.

Reiterating my problem: blank dvd discs both r and rw are ejected from the Mac which tells me I haven’t got permissions. Therefore cannot burn dvds.

Could be me or maybe I’ve got a dud Mac. Frustrating!

Thanks again for your time.

J

 

[Kaveman]

You have to drag the pre-made disk image into Disk Utility.

I don't use "Premiere Pro (Adobe) and Encore"

Are you sure your Mac has a DVD burner?
Has Parental Controls been set to stop the use of the DVD drive?
Can you play a standard DVD?

You do know Finder can't burn DVDs that play in DVD players? You have to use iDVD or have some other App create a DVD disk image for burning.

 

[Kaveman]

We have also found that cheap/non-brand DVDs often don't work.

 

[jaznjj]

I solved the problem. Grew a few grey hairs along the way. I think there was a problem with the Mac which, coupled with my inexperience, made for mega frustration. I reinstalled the OS and then the accumulated updates - time consuming but was worthwhile! Didn't get those nasty messages from the Mac after that. I am now able to download from the camcorder and use iMovie and iDVD to burn a DVD disc which will play on DVD players. I believe in triple redundancy so also download onto the backup PC and the laptop PC using the JVC Everio software (which is not Mac friendly). I have only learned to use the most basic editing functions but it is enough for now.

There is still a need for a basic beginners book - I am writing my own!

So here is another unrelated question: why will Mac only allow you to change regions a very limited number of times if you want to view a foreign dvd?

Thank you for getting back to me. J

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

AFAIK, makers of DVDs or the manufacturers of the Drives do not want to you view ones made for other regions. Most stand alone DVD players you buy for your home are pre-set to the region you live in.

If you could change region at will then there would be no point in regions in the first place.

They allow you to change region a small number of times, so that if you sell the machine to someone in another region or you move, you have the chance to change to the new location. I suppose they think 5 times is plenty.

As mentioned above there are always around this, but they did not allow you 5 chances just so you can choose which region you want to view a DVD from today.

I use VLC which ignores Region Setting anyway ...

 

[Kaveman]

This is a limit in the Drive Firmware and has nothing to do with the Mac but comes from the Drive manufacturer.
Which I think is Sony, its no real surprise that Sony enforces the Region standards.

 

[Kaveman]

I'm so pleased you are using iMovie and iDVD they are far better suited to what you are doing!

 

[jaznjj]

Thank you folks. It's a bit of a hassle when you've bought dvds while travelling overseas, or a friend from overseas has sent you one, and then you have limitations on your viewing it then when at home. I'm not sure what their issue is when nobody is stealing anything or cheating. There's probably some kind of territoriality or political stuff involved. I'll have a look at the VLC reference. Thanks again, J.

 

[Kaveman]

I totally agree, and it things like this that encourages piracy IMO.

I'd go one step further and recommend that you rip it and strip out the zoning.

Sorry I don't know what S/w can do that but then you could play it on your Mac as often as you want.

 

[jaznjj]

I've just invested in some rip and burn software - mostly to archive, back-up, copy damaged discs - and it works ok as far as I have gone - not sure about stripping out the zoning but will see if it is do-able.

Damaged discs - my Mac was doing this without my being aware. Design flaw. Deep scratches. Have to be EXCEEDINGLY careful in loading discs. Probably did some degree of damage to most of my CD collection when first got the Mac and loaded my CD collection onto iTunes. I know how to handle discs and when I finally realised what was happening/had happened I tested the Mac on a couple of sacrificial virgin discs to check it out. Bad news! Tend to use the PC to burn discs if I have a choice.

Thanks again,
J.

 

[Kaveman]

hmm how many millions of these drives are out there, there has been no known design fault with the DVD drives Apple uses.

Of all the highly abused DVD drives we have serviced I have never encountered a drive that scratches disc. If it does then you need to get it repaired.

There is only 3 reasons this might happen. the drive is not correctly installed and its the Macs case that is scratching the media. The most common reason for an incorrectly installed drive, this can happen if you've had a Mac apart, had HD replaced or some other internal servicing (especial by a non-accredited service centre) and they didn't reassemble it correctly. Or the case has had a knock. I've seen this in laptops, not sure if you're talking desktop or laptop.

2nd if it is faulty and if its less than 3 years old get it replaced under AppleCare, you did buy extended AppleCare right? Thats what AppleCare is for, in the unlikely event that you Mac has a faulty part.

3rd its so old its truly flogged out. All modern appliances are expected to last about the life of their warranties, so you can can reasonably expect it to last 3 years, after that its a bonus. Even then I've never seen an old drive scratch discs, there is nothing in the chamber that touches the face of the disc.

 

[jaznjj]

Hmmm, less than 18 months old, never serviced, dismantled, manhandled. Bought direct from Apple so no retailer to go back to. Shipped by them to my place of work. Rumour that an Apple store coming to our community but maybe only a rumour. Dread the thought and the risks of having to pack up and ship off a machine this size and need it for my work. Have to look up the warranty stuff - I usually do extended warranty. Assume damage is the result of the passage of the disc through the portal not caused by the drive itself. The problem is real - manageable - but real. J

 

[Kaveman]

I'm not saying it not real, just that is not a Design flaw.

It doesn't have to go back to Apple any Authorised AppleCare Service centre in your area can deal with it.

 

[jaznjj]

Ok, might have to time it for my holidays. Thanks.