iDVD not compatible with Pioneer DVR-A04?
 

I recently bought and installed a Pioneer DVR-A04 DVD burner thinking it was just like the "Apple Super Drives" but when I run iDVD it tells me it can't find the required device!!!!
This really sucks since I spent $600CDN for the damn burner and now I have no software to edit DVDs with!!!!!
Can anyone help me solve this problem?

Thanks in advance,
Griffon

is it internal? iDvd will only work with an internal drive, not firewire drives

To be more specific "Apple only guarantees iDVD compatibility with Apple factory installed DVD (Superdrives) ROM Drives.

the a04 IS the superdrive, i can't think of a single thing that would make it not work, unless you have installed it wrong. Does the system profiler see it?!?

also, the 104 is the same too, its just not retail boxed...

Check this out:

http://www.thinksecret.com/news/idvdenabler.html

ONLY Apple factory installed Superdrives work with iDVD

Direct from the article on Think Secret.

---Other World Computing tried to solve this problem by selling a DVD-R drive on its site including an enabler which would allow iDVD to work with the recorder. However, Apple threatened OWC legally, and the enabler was pulled from the market. According to Larry O'Connor, President of OWC, Apple said that the software enabler was a violation of the company's intellectual property rights and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. He also says that Apple saw it as promoting the piracy of iDVD.


Needless to say, if you purchase a Mac without a SuperDrive, you can't add an internal unit later -- there's no upgrade path, and Apple wants users to buy new machines with a SuperDrive. (Some readers, however, have had success installing Pioneer drives internally.) "You're really stuck not being able to take advantage of that technology," O'Connor said, noting that he's a huge Apple fan. "I think Apple should be promoting their software," he said, and speculated that if Apple stops restricting it, "People will evangelize it. Let people have the technology to get their feet wet."---

or not, lol, i OWN a pioneer 104. i installed it myself, i had to take out the 24x burner that came with my computer. IT DOES WORK. you can buy the burner and install it, it works.......

And what's worse...
 

...iDVD will refuse to burn to DVD-RW - even with a factory installed SuperDrive. There are tricks out there how to supposedly manage to make it write, I have not succeeded with them though.

Alex

yes, this is true. iDvd does not burn onto dvd-rw. BUt disc copy does fine. And so does evreything else. iDVD just doens't support dvd-rw

PLEASE READ THE FINE PRINT:

(Some readers, however, have had success installing Pioneer drives internally.)

So. if your new DVD-R/RW does not work when internally installed, it will not work with iDVD. If it does you are one of the lucky few (very few). On the other hand there are ways to make it work which I will not publish here as it is (according to Apple) illegal and kills your warranty.

Yes, no problem with Disc Burner or whatsoever. iDVD just doesn't do it, and I can not see a single reason why.
As I said, supposedly you can trick iDVD into thinking you just inserted a DVD-R, and it will work just fine. Which is no wonder, as it is not a huge feat to write to DVD-RW once you managed to write to DVD-R (and yes, I know what I am talking about)

Alex

firmware
 

actually, the A04 and the 104 are not the same drive. They are the same mechanism, but have different firmware.

Now, a logical reason why iDVD doesn't support DVD-RW? Take a DVD-RW video disc and try to play it in most of the dvd players at best buy/fry's/your-local-electronics-store. Only about 10% of them will even recognize the disc. DVD-R is more compatible.

i really can't even IMAGINE how that could happen. You are talking about a mass produced product, and for some reason you think that "some work and some don't", its luck of the draw? i dont think so. Thats not the way it works, what is this determining factor that seems to be random? i have never heard of a pioneer drive NOT work with iDvd. and to think someone would buy this and MAYBE it will work and MAYBE it won't, is insane... this is a reputable company that would nail down such randomness

Hi saint.duo,

I am very well aware of the compatibility issues of DVD-RW. But take the example of the superuser of Mac OS X: Apple thinks it's bad to login as su - and they are right about that - so they give you a hard time to enable su.
Fair enough, if you are sure you want superuser access there is a way to get it.
I would like Apple to let me worry about compatibility issues. After all, I can specifically buy a player which will play DVD-RW media.

I want my DVD-RW :(

Alex

Very true. I actually want to do DVD-RW myself, for demonstration purposes (no point in wasting a $5 DVD-R to show off a 5min movie being burned with iDVD).

Personally, I wish Apple would switch to DVD+RW. IIRC, it can do DVD-Rs, but DVD+RW discs are dynamically rewritable, more like DVD-RAMs are. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I tend to agree with seven5, that there is a solid reason why some internal drives work with iDVD, and some don't. What it is though, I don't know.

Hi saint.duo,

"dynamically rewriteable" is not exactly the right term. The buzzword here is "DVD+VR", a standard which would allow you to add new scenes and do some limited editing.
The new Philips standalone DVD Recorder supports this. But I would not exactly call DVD+VR "dynamic"

Alex

Sounds cool. So, does anyone know what the DVD+RW (not DVD+VR, that's new to me) drive that sony and some other computer companies are putting in their machines does, and how it differs from DVD-RW?

edit (addition)
Found what I was looking for at
http://www.dvdplusrw.org/pc/pccomparison.html
It's obviously DVD+RW oriented, but my knowledge of it was close. DVDplusRW can be rewritten without having to erase the disc first, and can have data/content modified/deleted/added and so forth.
Still have no clue what DVD+R is for in comparison to DVD-R.

It's been a long day, so all I will say is Caveat Emptor. And if you can wait, wait and see how the claims of either camp (DVD-RW vs. DVD+RW) turn out. I actually have both (Mac DVD-RW, PC DVD+RW), and I am not fully satisfied by either.
And, after all, DVD-R media prices may drop so that RW will not be of huge interest - anyone here buying large quantities of CD-RWs?

Alex

Disk Copy With iDVD
 

Is it possible to make DVDs on iDVD and save them in a format that you can later burn with disk burn?

-mackid

Re: query on using DVD-RW with iDVD and Apple SuperDrive.

You can use a DVD-RW in iDVD. When you have your project ready to burn have both a fresh DVD-R and blank DVD-RW.

1. Insert DVD-R into SuperDrive
2. Click burn
3. When the status window pops up press the eject button on your keyboard.
4. Remove DVD-R, and replace with DVD-RW
5. Close tray
6. Wait longer than usual, because the DVD-RW has slower write speed (1x I believe)

This actually works, and is very handy for when you are just learning what you can do with iDVD.

regards,

Michael

Thanks for the info...
 

...too bad iDVD won't work with the DVR-A04 I installed!
Otherwise I'd make good use of your tip!

Griffon

Pioneer DVR-A04 problem
 

http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com
check the DVD area...search under pioneer

The above link goes to a different forum where many people have had the same problem as me...
The problem has to do with the Pioneer DVR-A04s not working properly when the OS tries to put them to sleep. There are 3 ways of dealing with the problem:

1. turn of the "put drives to sleep" option in the energy saver panel

2. mount the drive externally in a firewire bay(which I did, iDVD won't recognize the drive like this though)

3. wait for apple or pioneer to release a firmware update.

Apparently, even some of the Apple shipped super drives are having the same problem.
My A04 seems to have a particularly old firmware which could be why iDVD won't recognize it.

Griffon

Patience is a virtue!
 

Well after some waiting...some research... and a little bravery, I have solved my problem. I'm writing a summary of my findings here for everyones benefit.

Pioneer DVR-A04 and DVR-104 are exactly the same burners both hardware and firmware wise.

Apple buys these drives from Pioneer and then installs their own firmware to create the infamous 'superdrive'.

As the above discussion shows iDVD only works with superdrives. This is because the program somehow checks the firmware before launching.

What I did was find a firmware patch that rewrites the firmware of my DVR-104 with the firmware of a superdrive and voila.

I now have the drive mounted internally with none of the original kernel panics I was getting and iDVD recognises the drive as a superdrive.

If anyone has any questions reply to this post and I'll put up more info on the patches for the firmware. Be advised that changing firmware has the potential to trash a drive if done incorrectly...this is where the bravery comes in!

Griffon
:)

Firmware
 

Ya where did you get the firmware patch? Was your drive external or was it internal all the time?

-mackid

DVR-104 Firmware patches...
 

[removed....]

Internal Problem
 

I downloaded the firmware patches and tried to install them but it says there is an internal error. but my drive is brand new. what is the problem? Is there any other firmware patch or a patch for max os X?

-mackid

DVD Burner issue...
 

Sorry, I'm no expert on this stuff. What you read above was me sharing the solution to my problems. The only thing I can say is, make sure you are natively booted in OS9.
Go to the following webpage for further assistance:

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/portal.php

These guys really know what they are doing with firmware issues.
Keep trying....the solution awaits your discovery!

Good luck,
Griffon