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I feel obligated to point out that every Mac still ships with a non-removable app called “DVD Player” preinstalled, so DVDs are still supported in the Apple eco

I feel obligated to point out that every Mac still ships with a non-removable app called “DVD Player” preinstalled, so DVDs are still supported in the Apple ecosystem.

philistine 5y ago
To work with the still sold external DVD player that they stock in every Apple Store: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD564LL/A/apple-usb-superdrive https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD564LL/A/apple-usb-super... Keep in mind this thing is USB-A, meaning you need an adaptor for any laptop sold in the last couple of years.
twmiller 5y ago
I have a M1 Mac mini. It doesn't have a non-removable app called "DVD Player" on it. (Or, if it does, spotlight can't find it and I don't see it in the folder where I copied the 'apple droppings' apps to.)
- kalleboo 5y ago
  It's hidden in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/DVD Player.app on my MacBook Pro 16" M1 Pro
- gjsman-1000 5y ago
  I have an M1 MacBook Air. It exists - the easiest way to summon it is to put in a DVD, but it can also be found by perfectly typing “DVD Player” in Spotlight.
  - twmiller 5y ago
    I get 'No Results' when I type 'DVD Player' in spotlight.
lwkl 5y ago
There are some Mac users like my mother that still use this app today.
bluescrn 5y ago
Apple will still quite happily sell you a USB optical SuperDrive. What's 'super' about is is the non-removable USB type-A cable, at a time when all their new machine are type-C only...
- reaperducer 5y ago
  Coincidentally, at this very moment I'm ripping an old home video from DVD using an Apple SuperDrive on an M1 Mac. The SuperDrive happily works with the M1, as long as it's connected via the little Apple adapter. When I try to use one from Anker or Amazon, the drive won't spin up, and macOS complains the device is drawing too much power. I've ripped about 100 home movies for friends in the last couple of years. What I love about the SuperDrive is that even though it's old and slow, it is the most reliable piece of gear for this task. Generally speaking, I start with a Pioneer Blu-Ray drive because it's fast fast fast. If that can't read the disc (because people are simply awful with the way they treat their most precious memories), then I try a Sony DVD drive. And if that fails, I go to the SuperDrive. So far, I've only had two discs that the SuperDrive couldn't read.
  - gkop 5y ago
    Would you share the software you use?
    - reaperducer 5y ago
      Since it's home videos, and thus not slathered in DRM, nothing special. Just Handbrake: https://handbrake.fr https://handbrake.fr
      - gkop 5y ago
        Thanks. In the CD ripping world, Exact Audio Copy does a lot of tricks in software, eg. I think it puts the drive in raw mode and will read slowly and several times, so you can get good results on arbitrary hardware. Does Handbrake do similar? Is there some fundamental difference with [the non-DRMed] DVDs where the hardware is more important, and software is less able to compensate?
vimy 5y ago
I’m one of those weird people that still watches DVDs on my Mac. A couple years ago they rewrote the dvd app and dropped a ton of handy features. It’s very barebones now.

I feel obligated to point out that every Mac still ships with a non-removable app called “DVD Player” preinstalled, so DVDs are still supported in the Apple ecosystem.

philistine 5y ago

To work with the still sold external DVD player that they stock in every Apple Store: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD564LL/A/apple-usb-superdrive https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD564LL/A/apple-usb-super... Keep in mind this thing is USB-A, meaning you need an adaptor for any laptop sold in the last couple of years.

twmiller 5y ago

I have a M1 Mac mini. It doesn't have a non-removable app called "DVD Player" on it. (Or, if it does, spotlight can't find it and I don't see it in the folder where I copied the 'apple droppings' apps to.)

kalleboo 5y ago
It's hidden in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/DVD Player.app on my MacBook Pro 16" M1 Pro
gjsman-1000 5y ago
I have an M1 MacBook Air. It exists - the easiest way to summon it is to put in a DVD, but it can also be found by perfectly typing “DVD Player” in Spotlight.
- twmiller 5y ago
  I get 'No Results' when I type 'DVD Player' in spotlight.

lwkl 5y ago

There are some Mac users like my mother that still use this app today.

bluescrn 5y ago

Apple will still quite happily sell you a USB optical SuperDrive. What's 'super' about is is the non-removable USB type-A cable, at a time when all their new machine are type-C only...

reaperducer 5y ago
Coincidentally, at this very moment I'm ripping an old home video from DVD using an Apple SuperDrive on an M1 Mac. The SuperDrive happily works with the M1, as long as it's connected via the little Apple adapter. When I try to use one from Anker or Amazon, the drive won't spin up, and macOS complains the device is drawing too much power. I've ripped about 100 home movies for friends in the last couple of years. What I love about the SuperDrive is that even though it's old and slow, it is the most reliable piece of gear for this task. Generally speaking, I start with a Pioneer Blu-Ray drive because it's fast fast fast. If that can't read the disc (because people are simply awful with the way they treat their most precious memories), then I try a Sony DVD drive. And if that fails, I go to the SuperDrive. So far, I've only had two discs that the SuperDrive couldn't read.
- gkop 5y ago
  Would you share the software you use?
  - reaperducer 5y ago
    Since it's home videos, and thus not slathered in DRM, nothing special. Just Handbrake: https://handbrake.fr https://handbrake.fr
    - gkop 5y ago
      Thanks. In the CD ripping world, Exact Audio Copy does a lot of tricks in software, eg. I think it puts the drive in raw mode and will read slowly and several times, so you can get good results on arbitrary hardware. Does Handbrake do similar? Is there some fundamental difference with [the non-DRMed] DVDs where the hardware is more important, and software is less able to compensate?

vimy 5y ago

I’m one of those weird people that still watches DVDs on my Mac. A couple years ago they rewrote the dvd app and dropped a ton of handy features. It’s very barebones now.