a starting guide to burning a dvd on a mac

if you're completely new to mac os x and/or writing dvds and are interested in burning, copying, or backing up dvds, here's how to get started.

first, you'll need some hardware. if you've got a dvd-burner built-into your mac, you've already completed this step. if you don't have a built-in burner, don't fret; these things are remarkably cheap (assuming you don't get suckered into buying one of those pre-assembled external drives at compusa.) instead, buy an external oem drive and house it yourself. don't worry if this sounds complicated; it isn't.

just buy an external drive recognized by mac os x (i highly recommend the pioneer dvr-110dbk - only $39 at newegg.com) and an external usb2.0-enabled enclosure capable of holding a 5.25 inch drive. if that's still too complicated, the ones i own can be found here and here. assembly of these is straightforward ... the only tool you'll need is a screwdriver and some elbow grease.

next, you'll need some media to write your dvds to. i've experimented with a bunch of different kinds of dvd-r discs ... taiyo yuden in my experience makes the most reliable discs. (reliability is measured by the rate at which burned discs possess errors.) again, if you're just curious what i use, here they are. note that you may come across something called dual-layer discs. these discs hold twice as much information as common dvd-r discs. however, they're more than twice as expensive and often don't lead to noticeably cleaner looking movies than those compressed and burned to single layer dvd-r's.

and this is where i get off the train. i'm not going to give explicit directions here on how to burn a copyrighted dvd, since i don't feel like getting served with an MPAA nastygram. nevertheless, if you're willing to risk some karma, here are some useful google searches to consider:
mtr search results
gramage search results
afterdawn search results
note that they mostly make use of programs called mactheripper (free), dvd2onex (not free), and toast (very not free).

nb: from what i understand, it's actually illegal to copy dvd's (even if you own them!) in america. i know people try and argue that doing so violates the fair use agreement; nonetheless, the mpaa argues that copyrighted dvd backing up requires decryption of their protection scheme. i believe that for now, breaking the mpaa encryption (or is it distributing programs that do so?) is considered illegal in the u.s.