The VideoLAN Forums

Hello, and sorry to bother you guys, but i did not find an answer to this precise question :

Does VLC media Player work on the new imac G5, with the Matsushita 825 Superdrive ?

I would like ot buy this machine, but I am reluctant with DVDs from different zones, and would like to know if your great tools can solve my pb.

Apologies if it was already answered, but given the price of the imac, i don't want to misunderstand anything !!

Thanks a lot if someone can answer.

This works fine (just tried myself, although the PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K04L is built into my iMac), but you may _never_ use Apple's DVD player, because otherwise you would need to test a specific region for your drive and you cannot read disks from other regions anymore.

isn't there a firmware update for this drive to undermine just THAT?

Possible that the is a RPC1 compatible firmware available for this drive, but I won't comment that any further.
Search the forum for RPC to find a page to download such firmwares, but let me note that flashing the firmware of your drive will void your warrenty and is illegal in most European countries and the US.

thanks a lot guys.

I think the firmware does not exist yet, and from what I read in the forum, it looks like the Matsushita drive is more problematic than the Pioneer, and it's the one input in the new imac G5...

looks like so far there is no solution... except not leaving in different countries, be a good consumer and buy 3 similar DVDs of the same movie to make the MPAA happy... i don't get how Apple can get along with those guys and their racket activity....

too bad for Steve jobs, i might end up buying a PC...

The iMac G5 is a great buy and VLC runs like a dream on my 20" model. As for the multi-region issue, that's something I faced as I moved to the US from the UK last fall. I simply used MacTheRipper to rip my DVD's, then used Roxio Popcorn to make the region-free rips fit on a 4.7 GB DVD and burned copies. Play find in VLC.

Now however I extract VOB files from my DVD's using YadeX, then use FFMPEGX to convert the VOB files into DIVX AVI's. This lets me store a huge number of DIVX versions on burned DVDs, and VLC plays these files just fine. These discs also work in DIVX certified DVD players for home use such as that killer Philips box.

So many different ways to store and watch media. VLC rocks

Thanks a lot for your post. I just hope DVDs are not too protected, and one day I end up not being able to see the movies I bought.

I just think it should be easier... Then the majors are arguing about hacking and free exchange of divx on the web, well they should start helping people buying their movies......!!!