Easily Burn DVDs on Your Mac Computer

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A user-friendly guide to burning DVDs on any Mac computer
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Apple computers come pre-installed with a utility that helps you burn CDs and DVDs. DVDs hold larger amounts of data than CDs. You can create a customized DVD within a few minutes. If you have a Mac released within the last few years, you’ll need to attach an external DVD burner to your computer. Follow these steps to burn a DVD on a Mac computer.

Things You Should Know

  • Most modern Macs require an external optical drive to burn DVDs.
  • Streamline the DVD-burning process by putting the files and folders you want to burn in a Burn Folder.
  • You can drag and drop files directly from your Desktop or Finder into the DVD window, then select Burn from the File menu.
Section 1 of 3:

Checking System Specifications

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  1. Most newer Macs (released in the last 10 years or so) don’t come with a built-in DVD drive. You’ll most likely need to attach an external optical drive to burn DVDs. [1]
  2. If you’re using macOS Ventura or later, click the
    Mac Apple
    Apple Menu at the top of your screen and select System Settings > General > About , then scroll down and click the System Report… button. Select Disc Burning from the menu in the left sidebar. You’ll see information about what discs you can burn with your external drive.
    • If you don’t have a drive connected, you’ll see a message telling you that “no disc burning device was found.”
    • In earlier versions of macOS, go to Apple Menu > About This Mac > System Report > Disc Burning instead.
    • You’ll need a burnable type of DVD , such as a DVD-R, DVD+R, or DVD+RW.
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Section 2 of 3:

Creating a Burn Folder (Optional)

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  1. Making a Burn Folder isn’t necessary, but it can streamline the DVD burning process. To get started, click the location where you want the Burn Folder to go. [2]
  2. You’ll only see this option in the File menu if an optical drive is attached to your Mac.
  3. You can call it anything you like. Your new folder will have a special symbol to identify it as a burn folder. It looks like a circle with alternating dark and light wedges inside.
  4. You can also put other folders inside the Burn Folder. This will copy the files to the Burn Folder as aliases—they won’t be moved or deleted from their original locations.
  6. You’ll see on-screen instructions that will guide you through burning the files onto the DVD.
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Section 3 of 3:

Burning a DVD

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  1. Make sure it’s a type of disc that your drive is capable of burning. You can find this information by checking your system specifications before you start, or by looking at the manual that came with your external disc burner. [3]
    • A dialog box may open when you insert the disc. If so, select Open Finder from the pop-up menu, then click Make this action the default . This will set your Mac to launch a Finder window when you insert a DVD so it’s easier to find the files you want to burn.
  2. This will open a window displaying the disc’s contents.
  3. This won’t delete the originals from your computer. It will simply copy them to the disc.
  4. Organize the files within the disc window. Keep in mind that you need to do this before you hit the Burn Disk command. Once you’ve burned the disc, the locations and names of the files and folders on the DVD will be finalized.
  5. Open the File menu at the top of the screen and select Burn [your disc’s name] . Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the burning process.
    • If you eject the DVD before you actually finish burning it, your files will be automatically bundled into a Burn Folder on your Desktop that you can later burn to a DVD or another disc if you choose.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How can I move pictures to a DVD from a Mac computer to view on Windows?
    Community Answer
    Use the DVD burn function on your Apple device. There is a CDROM on your computer (unless it is an Apple iDevice or an Apple laptop manufactured after 2011).
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  • Question
    How do I burn a DVD if it says that there is not enough space on the disk?
    Denneisk
    Top Answerer
    You're going to have to compress the file (which you can do with a third party program) or get a bigger disk.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    The burned DVD re-positions the order I placed the pictures in the album. What needs to be done to insure no deviation from the order in the album?
    Potter Lee
    Community Answer
    If you want to ensure that the order of your pictures remains the same when you burn them onto a DVD, you should make sure that you are following the correct process for burning the files. Here are some tips that may help: Before burning the pictures onto the DVD, make sure that they are all in the correct order in the album on your computer. Use a reliable DVD burning software that allows you to select the order of the files you want to burn. Most software will allow you to drag and drop the files into the order you want them
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/find-mac-burn-discs-optical-drive-mchlp1351/14.0/mac/14.0
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/create-and-use-a-burn-folder-on-mac-mchlp2806/10.15/mac/10.15
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/burn-cds-and-dvds-mchl8addfd95/mac

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