SuperDrive and DVD-RW Question

Hello, I have a 1GHz G4 iMac with 1GB of RAM. It has the stock superdrive installed, below are the specs from Pioneer:
Writes 4X, 2X and 1X speeds for DVD-R (General 650nm discs only) &
2X or 1X for DVD-RW
Writes to CD-R/RW standard and high-speed media
Rewrites DVD-RW discs at 1x speeds more than 1,000 times
Read speeds up to 6X for DVD (single layer), 24X for CD-R/RW and
16X for CD-Audio Extraction
I have been trying to use DVD-RWs I purchased from Target, but none of them seem to be working. I insert the disc and they get kicked back out after about 30 secs. First I tried Immation DVD-RW. I am not sure what the speeds of these are. I took them back and got TDK DVD-RW. They are 4X and compatible with 2X. Does this mean my superdrive will not read these as they are not 1X?
I have been able to write to DVD-RW using sony DVD-RWs that are 1x-2x speeds, I got these a couple of years ago, and wanted to get new ones.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I am confused with all of the lingo when it comes to writing and rewriting with these things!
* - On a side note, does anyone know of a good inexpensive Dual Layer DVD writer I could put in?
Thanks

Hi,You've surpassed my experience as I've never owned a tower based Mac since my brother had a Performa 6400..
For non Apple hardware - you'll have to check out the OEM (i.e. Pioneer) website for firmware upgrades.
...but if it ain't broke don't fix it!
The only firmware update I've done to an optical drive is on my TiBook where Apple had removed DVD-RW support and reduced DVD-R burn speed from the drive's 2x capability down to 1x. To me, that was worth the update!
OS X Tiger (10.4) is, however, very supportive of third party drives (although I suspect that support does not go as far as distributing firmware updates!) - so updating to that will help if you are having difficulties taking advantage of your Superdrive. The other option is to install a third party drive like Patchburn. Having said all that the Apple has shipped many types of Pioneer optical drive in its desktop Macs so Software Update may well provide updates unaware that it's a replacement drive (but that's only a guess).
regards
mrtotes

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http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6035849&#6035849
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After purchasing the Tiger retail install package, Apple provides a Media Exchange Program to exchange the DVD media for CD media at any additional cost of $9.95.
http://images.apple.com/macosx/pdf/tigermediaexchangev4.pdf

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Hello, everyone,
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God bless.

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Okay, I just spend 2 whole days trying to find any situation like this. Trouble shooting and experimenting.
Whilst burning a CD with Toast the process suddenly stopped during verification and an error was given. The CD spit out. It was just some music and I had work to do, so.. I went on to burning some data onto a DVD-R.
The Disk went in. Spun. Made a noise like the when a reader is trying to figure out what the media is. A Grrrrr. It spins some more. A long pause of about a minute.
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Thanks to anyone who has some light to shed on this.
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G5 Dual 2.3Ghz Power PC 3GB RAM, 2x120HDD, Superdrive DVD-RW dual layer Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Thanks Drew,
I have avoided the external drive option because I thought that they would be slower, or less reliable. However, we have been using those Maxtor Firewire external HDD around here and they are great. So, maybe an external DVD-R might be a good solution now.
(They used to be fairly poor options a few years ago.)
We have an Apple Store 2 blocks from my office here in San Francisco. Shiny new and it looks like a Titanium Cube. My experiences with the Genius Bar and before that Applecare have been the feeling that they spend a good deal of time trying to see how this could be my fault and not their responsibility.
Also, because I am a bit of a geek, by the time I resort to getting help from them, I have exhausted the usual "in the book" solutions. Usually, they are ill prepared for something unusual, that isn't caused by not having the power plugged in, etc.
I do customer service here for the more technical issues our customers have with Video on Demand and DVD issues. People can be really hostile when they call. So, I go out of my way to be pleasant and upbeat when I am dealing with my problems. Apple Care/Genius Bar people aren't rude or anything. I just get the feeling that they are pressured to not spend too much money making customers satisfied with their hardware. (a matter of policy is my bet)
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Apple software rocks. I am encouraged by their move to Intel chips recently for their hardware.
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Gord
G5 Dual 2.3Ghz Power PC 3GB RAM, 2x120HDD, & 15" Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I'm trying to play a purchased DVD movie using a superdrive and apple tv with a projector - i just get a checkerboard pattern? Help - 18 students are frustrated

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I'm afraid this is by design.
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I've a funny feeling Airplay mirroring can potentially be interecpted and decoded so someone could potentially copy the video stream (which would be poorer than DVD anyway).
Try VLC Player:
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If you just bought the iMac and the Sjuperdrive take the superdrive back and get a refund. The by any other brand external DVD drive that connects by USB and try that. Most come with a Y USB cable to allow you to connect to 2 USB ports to supply enogh power to the drive IF Needed.
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Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
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I made a movie in iMovie and transferred it to iDVD. I inserted a blank DVD +R disk, but the drive spat it out and iDVD said 'Insert a DVD -R disk'.
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2) As I have bought a pile of blank DVD +R disks, it would be good to be able to use them, and I like using iDVD. So is there a later version of iDVD that will burn DVD +R disks?
3) If the answer to 2) is 'Yes', from where can I obtain such a later version without buying the whole of iLife '08? (I say '08, because my OS X is Tiger, not Leopard.)
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http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/optical-drives/superdrives/powerbook/
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http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=129

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3 questions!
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Can the first generation Macbook Superdrive with:
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