JoeyASPEC

OK, before I get any links to other threads, I have searched and looked at every possible thread about burning DVD-As.

Now... onto my dilemma. I have a Mac iBook G4 (PowerPC) and am using Toast 7 Platinum to burn DVD-Audio discs. Problem is I can't do the ISO conversion. I tried to DL Audiofile from versiontracker and it no longer works. So I went ahead and burned it anyway and (surprise, surprise) it didn't play in the car.

I xfered everything from MPG, MPEG, and AAC to WMA. Now i need to change it to ISO but don't know how to go about doing that. I need help... thanx.

datmrman

Not sure why you converted everything to WMA in the first place, but (just in case) here are threads on creating DVD-A with Macs:

mac dvd a

yet another dvd audio thread (mac users look here)

These were taken from The 3G TL Audio & Electronics FAQ

rimz

first, unless you have an ISO file, Toast will only burn DVD-Video discs...

second, why did you convert to WMA??? and why are you converting MPEG files to WMA to burn to a DVD-A disc??? ...that's the craziest thing i've ever heard...MPEG files are audio/video files muxed together...so to convert them to a strict audio format is crazy, but then to try and burn that audio file to a DVD-A disc is even crazier...

i can send you the most recent version of DVD-Audiofile since the link no longer works...otherwise you'll have to get the dvda-author command-line file (which i also have) to create your ISO file...either way, Toast will NOT create a working DVD-A disc and converting everything to an audio format other than FLAC or WAV will not work either...

JoeyASPEC

yeah i meant i converted to WAV. Sry. I'd appreciate if you could send me DVD-Audiofile.

datmrman... i saw those threads but thanx 4 trying to help

JoeyASPEC

I was just reading through the MAC DVD A thread and couldn't fix my problem.

I've converted my MPEG, AAC files to WAV. I used DVD-Audiofile (thanks, rimz) to convert the WAV to ISO. Then I use Disk Utility to burn the "image.iso" file onto a DVD-R disc that wont play in my car. I tried it about 3 times to no avail. Very frustrated. Suggestions?

Adobeman

Yeah...
get a PC !

Sorry, really really sorry....I just live in a family that continually has to, feels the need to, takes pride in informing me of mac superiority over PCs so I relish any opportunity to "pay it back" to the unfortunate mac user at the time. Man I feel bad for even saying it since the debate is so pointless since both macs and PCs have strengths and weaknesses

Anyway, in an effort to try and contribute, even though you are using DVD-R media, and DVD-R is the most successful type in the TL, which brand of media, speed of burn, burner, etc. are you using ? There was one guy I helped with my tools that just changed to another burner and everything started working. So it could be something other than the s/w that you are using.

Again, sorry about the mac jab....well maybe not

rimz

you're welcome for dvd-audiofile...

now try converting your music to FLAC using switch (http://tc.versiontracker.com/product.../switchmac.zip) instead of converting them to WAV....FLAC doesn't seem to have as many problems (if any) that a WAV file might have...

because your family gives you so much flack about pc's, i won't say anything...

JoeyASPEC

I have 2 laptops. One is an IBM Thinkpad P.O.S. that every student @ my University gets. The other is my non-crappy iBook. I wouldnt have a problem using my PC (well, I would... but i'd do it if it worked) but the problem is that all of my songs are on my Mac.

I'm using FUJIFILM DVD-R (120 min/4.7GB/1-16x) and a LaCie DVD+/-RW dual layer burner, attempting to burn using the .ISO from Audiofule using the disk utility (b/c TOAST apparently doesn't work with DVD-A?).

JoeyASPEC

cool, I'll try that now. thx

edit - my mac and versiontracker don't get along apparently. I noticed Switch is a zip file. I thought it had to be .dmg for it to D/L on a mac... I'm going to the Apple store by me now actually (have to buy more memory), so hopefully the geniusbar will be able to shed some light on all of this. I'll keep you posted.

rimz

i'm just going to clear up a few confusions here...

toast will not make dvd-a discs from scratch...it will make dvd-video discs from scratch...you can still BURN a dvd-a disc thru toast once you have the ISO file for your dvd-a disc...i always use toast to burn my dvd-a ISO files...just goto the 'copy' section of toast and choose 'image file' then load your ISO file and hit burn...

i don't know why your mac and versiontracker don't get along, but nothing has to be a DMG file for your mac to download it...a DMG file is mac's file extension for a native disk image file...you can download anything, ZIP being one of them...then use StuffIt expander (or unrarX) to extract the ZIP file...easy stuff...

i know mac computers pretty well, so ask if you have any other questions...

Adobeman

isn't that just an ethernet crossover cable away ?
Surely there is some way to network them togethe. Got a hub and cables ?

I'm not saying it's the best way but it might work and at least get you going. An iBook would be one hot external HDD for your PC

JoeyASPEC

Alright... so I went to the Mac store today... turns out a lot more was wrong with my laptop then i originally thought. They restored my computer (don't worry - i saved everything on backup). After I load up all the files and programs tonight, I'll try again tomorrow and let you guys know whats up. Thanks for the help and patience.

rimz

what was wrong with your laptop that they had to restore it? ...was it physically bad? i've never had anything wrong with my PowerMac and PowerBook computers...

JoeyASPEC

according to the "genius" or w/e the Genius Bar workers are supposed to be called, one of the user files on the computer was corrupted, as well as filevault (which I was told actually makes macs slower and causes many complications and sometimes glitches). I had "Zero KB avail," which he (nor any other employees) had ever seen before. Now I have 18 GB available and it's back to normal. I knew a while back I was going to have to eventually restore it b/c of problems it was giving me, and I guess that day came sooner than expected. I should be back to normal with all my programs up and running tomorrow, though. (well, technically - later today)

rimz

well, glad you're back up and running...yeah, i turn filevault off and leave it...

let us know what happens with the FLAC method...i gotta get some sleep...

JoeyASPEC

alright... I uploaded all my programs back up again. I was able to DL switch and converted everything to .flac, then created an .iso image that i burned using the "copy; image file" tab of toast onto a DVD-R. I'm off to the gym hoping that this finally works!

JoeyASPEC

IT WORKED!! Halleluiah! Some of the songs don't sound all that great, but most of them sound awesome! Thanks, guys!

datmrman

Glad it worked out.

What was the problem then? Why it didn't work before?

JoeyASPEC

^ could've been that my computer was having issues, or that I was using .wav as opposed to .flac? I dunno or care, just as long as it works lol. Thanks, guys.

rimz

sweet...

glad to hear you're up and running...i'll bet it was converting them to FLAC that did it...like i said, there's too many variables when it comes to WAV...just make sure your songs sound good on the computer before burning them permanently to a DVD-A disc...for exmaple, turn the volume to a desired level and play the songs you want to burn before burning them...if some sound quieter at that volume than others, then they were probably ripped from a bad source...sometimes i try to adjust them in my audio editor by increasing the gain...other times i'll just re-download that song till i get a better quality one...

martyTL

Heya RIMZ, can you hooke me up with DVDAudiofile? That download link doesn't seem to work!

Thanks!

rimz

try this one:
dvd-audiofile 0.7.4: http://www.mediafire.com/?0mzatdzymyz

i did some digging and found it in an older thread i was helping others in...

martyTL

Thanks man!

martyTL

Ok so I got it working! Thanks a lot... maybe this is a newbie question but anyways... How do those Groups work? I made a disc with several groups but I couldn't figure out how to change groups in the car? Is that even possible?

Mindworm

Sidebar:

I was a Mac guy for years.....but finally made the jump and am much happier for going PC. I'm not anti-mac, but PC has been a much nicer world for me. Built mine from the ground up and the most solid thing ever. In 4 years, I've never have seen the blue screen of death!

My brother is still a Mac guy, and my mom bought the highest end laptop you can get on their site so the family is still supporting Jobs and company. (Both of them are still losing hair trying to get stuff to run as they'd like, but hey...it happens on every computer that's not mine, dare I say.)

=)

Anyway,

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse....gi?u=macs_cant

Not to hijack, but Maddox is the funniest guy in the world. (Link above is NOT suitible for kids!)

rimz

if you haven't seen the blue screen of death in 4 years, then it's probably because you're running windows XP....wanna know how long it's been since i've seen the BSOD? ....7+ years...and what made you switch to PC? ...not enough games for Mac...?

solid is a loose term to throw around...by your statement i'm just going to think it's the most solid thing compared to other PCs...i have yet to see something more solid, stable, and reliable than a Mac...

and yes, i've seen that page many times before...i'll just copy + paste my response to that from a different forum...

by the way, think your mom can buy me the highest end Mac Pro desktop (and yes i'm referring to the 8-core one with all the options)...?

now back on to the subject at hand...
martyTL, hold down the REPEAT and SCAN buttons to change groups...

datmrman

Mindworm, you can debate all you want about Macs vs PC in Ramblings.

That goes for anyone else that wants to continue this debate.

brettallica

I'm seriously thinking about joining this "debate" in Ramblings, which would be my first Ramblings appearance. Hmmmm

Mindworm

I looked for the link to follow up on in ramblings, but found nothing.

Soooooo, to answer why I made the switch -- My Mac was crashing constantly. I ended with OS 9.2 I think. I gave up before the Jaguar / Leopard / etc. came out.

My garage box will be 5 years old in a few months, so I guess it's been that long since BSOD. Nope, not a PC gamer much. I really just have 3-5 apps running at once consistently and was sick of all the conflicts and slowdown. I've been absolutely thrilled with my PC.

And, please, know that I'm not Mac bashing. I found the Maddox article to be funny, but obviously it's tongue in cheek, like everything he does. Most of my mac friends and family are very happy for the most part. And my mom has some absurdly priced thing, but I doubt it's the professional 8 core one. She has a laptop. 17 inch Macbook Pro with all the trimmings....around $3600 or so when all was said and done.

Again, sorry for the hijack. If someone can point me in the right direction in the off topic forums I'll continue there....

datmrman

Even if you can't find the thread, it doesn't mean you can continue the debate here.

You can also debate all you want via Private Messaging.

No need to continue here.