Category Archives: CD DVD BD (digital media discs)

fixed : burn .iso to bootable Windows DVD-R in OSX 10.11 El_Capitan

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Question :

As I need to install Windows in Boot Camp mode on my Mac, I’m trying to burn an .iso disk image of Windows 7 onto a DVD-R from within OSX 10.11 El_Capitan.

But when I right-click on the .iso-file and select “Burn Disk Image “windows-7.iso” to Disc” from the popup-list,  everything seems to go okay, but I end up with a DVD-R with just the .iso-file on it…

It’s not a bootable DVD-R of Windows 7 as I was intending to do… what is wrong ?

 

Answer :

In OSX 10.11 El_Capitan the procedure for doing this has slightly altered compared to previous versions of OSX :

  • right-click on the .iso-file and select “Open With” and then “DiskImageMounter(default)” from the popup-list
  • now the .iso will mount in the Finder
  • then start the Disk Utility application
  • in the window that opens, select the mounted .iso from the list on the left ; it’s listed with an unpronounceable name under “Disk Images”
  • then, in the top menu bar of the screen, go to “Images” and choose “Convert…” from the pulldown list
  • in the pulldown window that opens, select the original .iso-file and click “Open”
  • in the next pulldown window, at “Save As:” replace the temporary Untitled-name with the unpronounceable name of the mounted .iso you’ve seen before
  • then, at “Where:” choose a destination to create the converted .iso-file, and make sure “Encryption:” is set to “none” and “Image Format:” is set to “DVD/CD master” ; then click “Save”
  • now, a .cdr-file will be created in the location you selected at “Where:”
  • right-click on the .cdr-file and select “Burn Disk Image “[name].cdr” to Disc”
  • in the window that opens, select your SuperDrive (or external DVD-burner) and click on the triangular arrow at the far right side
  • the window will be extended, and at “Burn Options” choose the slowest speed possible (if this option is greyed-out, leave it as-is), and at “After Burning” choose “Verify burned data”
  • then put a DVD-R in your Superdrive (or external DVD-burner) and click “Burn”
  • now, the end result will be a bootable Windows installer-DVD

enjoy !

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test : Albert Heijn (a.k.a. iClever) Apple-imitation bluetooth keyboard

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The official Apple Bluetooth keyboard looks really cool and works smoothly, but it’s expensive… a little too expensive for most purposes people say…

Of course there have been lots of alternative wireless keyboards available, but none really got the looks of a genuine Apple one (for some that is a must). That’s probably the reason why some unknown asian company has made an un-branded ‘white label’ all-plastic knock-off imitation which – at first glance – looks nearly identical to the aluminum Apple bluetooth keyboard. This imitation keyboard is available under a wide variety of brands, like the iClever-brand in most of the world, but for instance also under the dutch supermarket Albert Heijn’s own private label.

The iClever wireless keyboard can be purchased from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk when you want a regular QWERTY-layout, and from Amazon.de if you want a german QWERTZ-layout.

Anyway, the main question is : is it any good ?

Simple answer : Yes, but…

Let me clarify : Yes, it’s a really nice keyboard to have and to use, with an interesting price tag below € 25 (sometimes even in the € 15 region). But it comes with a few flaws, so to quickly round up the verdict :

It’s an ideal low-budget wireless secondary keyboard for use with any Apple device that has a primary keyboard built-in.

To be more specific :

it’s a great low-budget wireless keyboard for use with an AppleTV

it’s a very nice low-budget wireless keyboard for use with an iPad or iPhone (but there might be quite a few handier options, like a iPad-cover with built-in keyboard)

it’s a good low-budget secondary keyboard for use with a MacBook (Air/Pro), for instance when your MacBook is closed and connected to a bigger screen

it’s a handy, but slightly tricky keyboard for use with a Mac mini, iMac or Mac Pro (for these Macs I would advice to keep an regular USB-keyboard at hand for emergencies)

Why ?

NOTE (*) : the top-left key (the one with the open square) on this keyboard is the [HOME] key

– it doesn’t have an Escape (ESC) key, so when any program on your Mac hangs, you will not be able to Force Quit the application with this keyboard…

UPDATE (*) : to [ESC], use this key-combo : [FN] + [HOME]

so, to Force Quit, use this key-combo : [CMD] + [ALT] + [FN] + [HOME]

– it doesn’t have an Eject key for the DVD/CD-drive, so when this is your only keyboard, you will not be able to get any CD or DVD out of your Mac easily… you will need to do the annoying drag-to-the-trash move using your mouse each and every time…

UPDATE (*) : to Eject, use this key (not a key-combo) : [F5]

– it doesn’t have any option to set the (energy saving) auto-disconnect function to a longer interval… which means that when your Mac also goes into (energy saving) sleep mode, the  keyboard has a lot of problems waking your Mac… (e.g. you will need to press any button for a prolonged time, but doing so also makes your Mac see that as input for any application that was still open… you might mess up your open Word-document with an enormous line of spaces in doing so…)

UPDATE (*) : to Wake From Sleep, use this key (not a key combo) : [HOME]

– the keyboard is often recognized too late when starting up your Mac, so you can’t use it to type your password during login, so you can’t start using your Mac… this is possibly only a problem for older Macs and/or older versions of MacOSX, but still…

I have tested this keyboard with Apple devices only, so I can’t tell about the compatibility with other devices, but I would think it will be similar : good to great for use with smartphones and tablets running Android and Windows Mobile, but rather troublesome for use with a Windows-PC…

😉

(*) special thanks to Arjan de Boer for these not-so-obvious, but very useful key-combos

fixed : I get a Track Following Error using Roxio Toast

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Question :

Each time I’m trying to burn a DVD+/-R in Roxio Toast, the DVD won’t get burned and I get this error :

The drive reported an error:

Sense Key = HARDWARE ERROR

Sense Code = 0x09

TRACK FOLLOWING ERROR

I can read any DVD or CD on my Mac without a problem, but when I try to record a blank DVD (or CD), I keep getting this error…

…what can I do ?

Answer :

The solution to this Track Following Error is rather simple, even though I couldn’t find it available on the internet anywhere :

this just means your burning laser’s lens is dirty (even if your reading laser’s lens might be clean…)

so…

just get a cleaning DVD of the type that las a small soft brush on it (either with or without cleaner fluid), use it to clean your DVD burner (a.k.a. your SuperDrive) and when done, try burning with Toast again…

that’s it !

———————————————————————————————

some examples of the cleaning DVDs that you could use :

Hama CD/DVD Lens Cleaner

Allsop Ultra ProLens Cleaner

Hama DVD Laser Cleaning Disc

…but, you could also get one from you local electronics shop, just make sure on these :

– get the DVD-version, not the CD-only version

– get the version with the small brush on it ; no need to get one that also requires cleaning liquid, neither for multiple brushes, just make sure the brush is not too hard

– read the fine print on the product description, if it says “not for use in laptops”, it won’t mean that it will definitely not work, it just means it might not work (or even get stuck in) slot-loading SuperDrives like the ones in iMacs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros

– keep in mind that in this case, it’s not “more expensive = better product”, so get the cheapest one you feel comfortable with…

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fixed : setup LogiLink WL0083 as WiFi-to-ethernet-bridge

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Question :

I have a Philips BluRay player which has the option to connect to the internet (for things like YouTube and Picasa), which I think would be interesting to every once in a while.  The BluRay player has two options to connect to the internet, either using an ethernet network cable or using the special Philips WiFi-to-USB-dongle that is very expensive.

Problem is the BluRay player is next to my TV (and my AppleTV), but I do not have an ethernet cable connection there, only WiFi… (and my AppleTV cannot share it’s WiFi connection through it’s ethernet port…)

My first thought was to use an Apple AirPort Express and connect it to the BluRay player’s ethernet-port to use it as a WiFi/AirPort-client… but since I do not have an AirPort Express (yet), buying one would even be a more expensive option than buying the official Philips WiFi-to-USB-dongle…

On the other hand… I do happen to have a mini/portable WiFi-router (a LogiLink WL0083) lying around, which should be able to act as a WiFi-to-ethernet-bridge also…

But… even after several tries, I did not succeed in setting the WL0083 up properly…

Any idea how that should be done ?

Answer :

Yes !

Actually it’s rather simple, you just have to setup the LogiLink WL0083 as “Client+AP” and use the setup-wizard of the web-interface, but there are 3 things to know :

-1- the default IP-address of the LogiLink WL0083 is 192.168.2.1 so you need to be sure that the network you want it to connect to does not use the 192.168.2.0 to 192.168.2.255 range of IP-adresses (so you might have to reconfigure your ‘entire’ network to use the 192.168.3.1 to 192.168.3.255 range…)

-2- to make it a “Client only” instead of a “Client+AP”, you should set SSID broadcast to “Hidden” and leave the additional (extender) SSID in default “Logilink” and “Disabled”

-3- and… when finishing up, do not forget to change the IP-address of your Mac’s WiFi and ethernet connection back to “DHCP”

in a step-by-step guide, that would be :

– make sure your WiFi network is not using the 192.168.2.0 to 192.168.2.255 range of IP-adresses (if it does, reconfigure your network router to use another range of IP addresses, and reconfigure all clients in your network that use Static IP addresses)

– then unplug your ethernet cable from your regular network

– disconnect from your regular WiFi/AirPort-network

– connect the LogiLink WL0083 to your Mac using an ethernet cable, and connect it’s USB-cable to a powered USB-port (e.g. on your Mac)

– then press the small “WPS/Reset”-button on the WL0083 for about 5 seconds (to reset it)

– then, on your Mac, go to Apple Menu (Apple icon top-left on the screen) –> System Preferences –> Network –> Ethernet and change it to “Using DHCP with manual address” and type the IP-address 192.168.2.100 in the input field

– then open Safari and type 192.168.2.1 into the URL-field ; for User Name and Password type “admin” (both the same)

– now the LogiLink web interface should open

– click on the “Client+AP” tab, then “Setup Wizard” on the left, followed by “Next” on the left

– on the next screen, start by clicking on the “Scan”-button, and wait for the list of SSIDs of local WiFi/AirPort-networks to appear

– then select your WiFi/AirPort-network from the list

– everything will then be automatically filled out, apart from “Pass Phrase:”, there you should type your WiFi/AirPort-password

– then click “Next”

– in the “Wireless Basic Settings”-screen that opens, set “Network Mode” to “11b/g/n mixed mode”, leave “SSID” as it is (probably “Logilink”), set “Broadcast SSID” to “Disable” and leave the rest as it is automatically set

– then click “Next”

– in the “Wireless Security Settings”-screen that opens, set “Security Mode” to “Disable”, and leave the rest as it is

– then click “Next”

– in the next screen click “Apply” and the WL0083 will reboot

– then, on your Mac, make sure that you are NOT connected to a WiFi/AirPort-network

– then go to Apple Menu –> System Preferences –> Network –> Ethernet and change it to “Using DHCP”

– then, in Safari, manually type the URL of any existing website that you do not often visit (e.g. the website of the city you live in) and see if it loads, to check if the WL0083 is properly configured as a WiFi-client on your network

– then disconnect the LogiLink WL0083’s ethernet and USB cable from your Mac

– so, go over to your BluRay player, and connect the LogiLink WL0083’s ethernet cable to it and connect the USB cable to a powered USB-port (or USB-poweradapter)

– now try and see if your BluRay player can use it’s internet services

– if your BluRay player needs any additional configuration, just set it to “ethernet” and “DHCP”

Enjoy !

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Note #1 : the LogiLink WL0083 supports WiFi-N only at 150Mbps speed, even though the normal maximum speed of WiFi-N is 300Mbps (just like Apple’s implementation of WiFi-N in AirPort), most of the time you will probably not notice any decline in quality, but you might if you’re a heavy user…

Note #2 : if you want to adjust something small on your LogiLink WL0083 after you’ve configured it, you just need to temporarily switch your ethernet-connection from “Using DHCP” to “Using DHCP with manual address” and 192.168.2.100 as the actual IP-address ; then you can login to the LogiLink web-interface at the 192.168.2.1 URL (and do not forget to change back to “Using DHCP” afterwards)

fixed : 5V 4A car adapter for Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW

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Question :

I have a Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW (all-in-one : WiFi-DVD player, media streamer,  WiFi-router and DVD+R burner), and since it is capable of streaming DVDs and HardDisk content to my iPhone/iPad using the Samsung SmartHub iOS-app, I thought it would be a great idea to use it in my car also.

However, if I power it using the USB-cable that comes with the SmartHub, it is limited to not act as a WiFi-device. So… I need a ‘dedicated’ car-adapter for it…

But… the power needed is 5V and 4A minimum… that’s a really rare combination… and Samsung does not sell any car adapters for the SmartHub, neither do they have any recommendation on a good solution…

What options do I have ?

Answer :

The Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW is a rather unique piece of equipment. Combined with an iPhone/iPad and the SmartHub-app, it is a really versatile solution …if you keep in mind that it still has some little flaws…

If you ask Samsung how to power the Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW in your car, they will recommend using a cigarette-lighter-to-220V-transformer…

…that’s a stupid ‘solution’, since transforming from 12V to 220V and back to 5V is both a complete waste of energy resources and it will drain your car battery…

So… after elaborate search and testing, I’ve found a ‘real’ car adapter solution for the SmartHub ; you should create a car-adapter yourself consisting of these three parts :

1- a USB to 5V DC Barrel H power cable like this one :

USB to 5V DC Barrel H power cable

2- a USB Y-connection cable (2x USB-male to 1x USB-female) like this one :

USB Y-connection able

3- a 5V 4.2A dual-USB car adapter ; at this moment, there is only one product like this that actually works :

5V 4.2A dual-USB car adapter

If you join these 3 parts together into, you’ll have exactly the car adapter you need for the Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW.

Enjoy !

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info : streaming just one DVD to 2 iPads at the same time

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Question :

I would like to watch a DVD on my iPad (without having to convert the DVD), but… as I have 2 children, I would even prefer to enable them to both have their own iPad/iPhone and watch the same DVD.

Is there any solution to do so ?

Answer :

This can be done by steaming a DVD to your iPhone/iPad. There are several options to do so, but one of the most interesting ones I’ve found requires a WiFi DVD player.

The smallest WiFi DVD player I’ve found is the Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW :

Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW

(The SE-208BW has several intended uses, it can be a WiFi-router, or a DVD-burner for netbooks, or a wireless DVD streamer, media streamer or 1-click back-up for iOS or Android devices, for instance…)

To use it with an iOS (or Android) device like an iPhone or iPad, you will also need the FREE SmartHub app :

https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/mobile-smarthub/id483986474?mt=8

– plug the SE-208BW into the wall power

– open the DVD-tray by pressing the small button on the front

– put in a movie-DVD

– close the DVD-tray

– on your iPhone/iPad, go to Settings, then in Wi-Fi, find the SE-208BW’s WiFi-network and connect to it (note : the name and password of the WiFi-network are indicated on the bottom of the SE-208BW, the name of the WiFi-network will be something like “208BWxxxx”)

– open the SmartHub-app (*)

– if you get a “Turn on WiFi first” connection error (or if the two rings in the WiFi-icon top-right are not chained), just exit the app, go to Settings and reconnect to the SmartHub’s WiFi-network

– then click on the green rectangle marked “DVD Player”

– now the “DVD Server List” opens ; the screen will be mainly black at first and then show the “Smart Hub Server”

– then open the SmartHub-app on your second iPhone/iPad also, click the green “DVD Player” rectangle, and wait for the “Smart Hub Server” to appear in the “DVD Server List”

– then click “OK” on both the first and the second iPhone/iPad, and the DVD will start on both iDevices

…that’s it : you are now watching the DVD movie on both iPhones/iPads

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note : even though you are watching one-and-the-same DVD on two ‘screens’ at the same time, they are NOT synchronous, so it’s best these things in mind :

– use headphones on both iPhones/iPads

– you have to pause the movie on each ‘screen’ (iPhone/iPad) separately

– using the FastForward and/or Reverse options during playback of a movie on both ‘screens’ will usually cause interference (like frame-scipping, unexpected halts or viewing quality decrease) on the other ‘screen’

(*) if you need to do any additional set-up on the SE-208BW you can do so from within the iOS-app

NOTE :

streaming only one DVD to 2 iPhones/iPads at the same time using the Samsung SmartHub tends to work okay, but chances you’ll see ‘halts to cache’ are rather high… so do not expect as flawless movie-viewing as you can get with a ‘regular’ (non-streaming, but wired) DVD-player

FYI :

I have found only one car adapter for the Optical SmartHub. More info can be found here :

5V 4A car adapter for Samsung Optical SmartHub SE-208BW

Old School Mac [4] : how to burn DVD-recordables that will play on any DVD-player

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— THIS IS A REPOST FROM LONG WAY BACK ; JUST FOR ENTERTAINMENT — ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MACOSX.NL (a.k.a. ONE MORE THING) IN 2004

Question : If I upgrade to DVD Studio Pro, will that enable me to burn DVD-recordables that will play on any DVD-player ?

Answer : No. The difference between iDVD and DVD Studio Pro has (next to) nothing to do with compatibility with any DVD-player (neither hardware nor software)… too bad… If you like iDVD, use it to burn a DVD-R, and copy that onto a DVD+R on a Mac or PC that has a DVD+R-burner. That will hugely increase your chances on being able to play your DVD on stand-alone DVD-players (so upgrading from iDVD to Toast and a DVD+R-burner is a way better solution for this than upgrading to DVD Studio Pro)

Things that have most influence on compatibility of your DVD-recordables :

  • the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R (especially in case of older DVD-players)
  • how up-to-date is the hardware and/or software DVD-player ?
  • if you want optimal compatibility with stand-alone DVD-players (hardware) : choose DVD+R, that will be compatible in nearly 99% of the cases (DVD-R will only be compatible in about 60% of the cases)
  • do not use rewriteables like DVD+RW or DVD-RW, those will only be compatible with very recent hardware
  • burn your DVDs in UDF-format

If you want optimal compatibility with Windows PCs :

  • make sure your PC is up-to-date : install the latest firmware and /or drivers for the DVD-drive & use version 5 of the WinDVD software (version 4 is more problematic, but still way better than Windows Media Player)
  • use a regular movie-DVD you’ve bought in a store to test if your PC is capable of even  playing any DVDs (some business-PCs do have a DVD-drive and DVD-player software installed, but still can’t play movie-DVDs due to ‘odd’ pre-installed software permissions and bad drivers and/or firmware…)
  • choose DVD+R if you do not have any info on the Windows-PC that will be used, that will vastly increase your chances on good compatibility (if the PC is fully up-to-date, neither DVD+R or DVD-R will give any problems)
  • don’t burn onto DVD+RW or DVD-RW media
  • burn your DVDs in UDF-format
If you want optimal compatibility with Macs :
  • make sure your Mac is up-to-date : install the newest version of OSX (or OS9)
  • preferably choose DVD-R media (sometimes a Mac can read the data, but cannot play the video, just because OSX’s DVD Player software prefers DVD-R ; OSX is less compatible than OS9 in this regard)
  • you can use DVD+/-RW rewrite able media, but why would you ?
  • preferably burn you DVDs in UDF-format
Things that have little or no influence on compatibility [the experts do not agree with me on this, but my own extensive testing does not show any significant differences] :
  • the speed of burning (4x burning speed has just as strange burn-failures as 2.4x or 2x or 1x burning speed)
  • the retail price of the DVD+/-R media (renowned brands also have burn-failures)
In short : if the DVD-player (software and hardware) is not up-to-date, it still remains to be seen how compatible your burned DVDs are.
e.g. I had 4 DVD-Rs that I had tested to be good on my OSX-Mac, my old Philips DVD-player and my old WindowsMe-PC, so I expected them to work on a brand-new WindowsXP-laptop… boy was that a mistake : 3 of them were compatible, but 1 failed entirely, it was not recognised… but : of all DVDs that didn’t play in WindowsMe,  nearly half did play in WindowsXP without any problem… so there’s no logic to any of it…
So hoping to increasing compatibility by upgrading from iDVD to DVD Studio Pro is very, very doubtful…
Some interesting links :
there is a patch for iDVD4 that will enable you to (instead of buying to DVD-R) ‘burn’ to a disk image :
there is also a patch for iDVD3 somewhere on the internet, but I do not have a direct link – if you dare, you might try a search for something like “iDVD [no SuperDrive]” on the ‘doubtful download sites’…
Sizzle is an OSX-application that is said to do faster (and better) MPEG2-conversions than QuickTime (and therefore than iDVD) :
[I didn’t test this myself, because I have OSX 10.3…]
If you are looking for iDVD tutorials :
If you want to check the compatibility of any stand-alone DVD-player :
If you want to check the quality of DVD+/-R media :
If you would like to know about the nicest features of DVD Studio Pro :

the original post(s) can be found here :

http://forum.macosx.nl/community/topic/dvd-studio-pro-2-compatibiliteit