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Ulrich Kinbote · Jun 12, 2006, 08:20 AM

How can I burn .avi files to disk?

Toast is down. iTunes won't do it. What are my options?

WOPR · Jun 12, 2006, 08:34 AM

Toast is down? What do you mean? Toast 7 converts avi to DVD just fine.

Ulrich Kinbote · Jun 12, 2006, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by WOPR

Toast is down? What do you mean? Toast 7 converts avi to DVD just fine.

I meant Toast 5.2 won't open on my PBook Superdrive. I tried to download a new version, but they want some kind of code number I don't have because my software was bundled with the Mac and I don't have the box the software came in.

Uncle Skeleton · Jun 12, 2006, 12:29 PM

It all depends on if by "burn to disk" you mean something you can play in your DVD set top player, or just a disk to back up the files on.

Or you can buy Toast. It's a great great program. I have only actually bought about 3 software titles in my life (that shows I'm picky, not just cheap), and Toast is one of them. It's fantastic.

Another option, since Toast is bundled with a lot of drives, is to buy a used drive from someone that has a newer version of Toast (6 works with the latest OS, I know that). It might actually be cheaper than buying the software outright.

Ulrich Kinbote · Jun 12, 2006, 12:57 PM

By "burn to disk" I just mean I want to have the files on CD, so that when I want to watch my favorite TV shows, I just bang a CD in and open the .avi or mpeg files and watch them on my computer, rather than overloading my harddrive with 35 episodes of The Simpsons and The Office. I don't want DVDs. I've already burned all the mpegs to CD through iTunes, and I use the CDs like an external folder. My needs are very simple. Why can't iTunes burn .avi files to disk?

Uncle Skeleton · Jun 12, 2006, 01:28 PM

I don't know about iTunes, but you can burn them as data straight from the Finder.

But the Finder sucks (at least it used to, and I haven't heard about it changing) because it only formats 660 MB out of 700 for you to use, and it takes 2x as long to burn because it copies everything to a "temporary partition" before burning. You can get around the first problem by using Disk Utility to make a disk image of 700 MB, then burn it (again in disk utility).

TETENAL · Jun 12, 2006, 01:37 PM

Finder File→New Burn Folder

Drag the movie files into the burn folder, then press the burn button.

Ulrich Kinbote · Jun 12, 2006, 09:13 PM

Awesome! Thanks.

"You can get around the first problem by using Disk Utility to make a disk image of 700 MB, then burn it (again in disk utility)."

What is a "disk image"?

Uncle Skeleton · Jun 13, 2006, 12:57 AM

it's a file that behaves like a separate disk when open it. Then you drag what you want to burn into this fake disk, and tell Disk Utility to burn the image to a real CD-R. Have you ever downloaded a dmg file (a lot of mac software is distributed in this way, lord knows why)? That's a disk image.

icruise · Jun 13, 2006, 01:55 AM

Disk images are very good (better than the alternatives) but sometimes people find them confusing. Just think of them as a virtual floppy disk that you "insert" (mount) by double clicking it.