ibook g4 superdrive combo dvd questions

[tinroots]

Hi there,
I'm feeling pretty behind the times here, i've always been a pretty 'up-to-date' mac person... not a techy, but i have always strived to be. Anyway, i've been out of the field for 3 years and feeling very confused by all the new possibilites. I just got a ibook g4 1.42 GHz running 10.4.2 with a superdrive! I'm sooo excited, but totally lost about several things. If you could help with as much info as possible, I would soooo appreciate it!

What is up with all the different DVD types? DVD-r, DVD+r, DVD-rw, etc
Which is best to burn?
How do I make a backup copy of Tiger? (i've always made backup cd's of my os's and use those for regular disk utility, etc, maintenance....
How do I burn a DVD whose contents is over the 4.7g amount?
Can the ibook superdrive burn double sided DVDs?
What app should I use to burn the DVD's? is Toast needed anymore?
Unoffically, can movies be copied? I always heard that the DVDs were protected from that, but so many people say they copy movies? What software is needed?
Where should I look for DVD info?

Thanks sooo much, I appreciate any and all learnings!

[symphonix]

I find for the Mac Superdrives DVD-R is the type of DVD media you'd be most likely to burn. DVD+R will work, though, but I've found it to be more troublesome, especially when writing for the purpose of playback on a DVD player.

DVD-RW are re-writable discs that can be erased and written to again. They are, therefore, more expensive. I never use them, simply because if I really want to write something to DVD, I'm unlikely to want to erase it later. I know a lot of people who bought whole boxes of DVD-RW media and never ever erased and rewrote at all.

How do I make a backup copy of Tiger? (i've always made backup cd's of my os's and use those for regular disk utility, etc, maintenance....

If you have .Mac you can use the Apple Backup utility, otherwise there are a few options such as Lacie Silverkeeper, Carbon Copy Cloner and others. Check these out: http://www.versiontracker.com/php/se...macosx&x=0&y=0

How do I burn a DVD whose contents is over the 4.7g amount?
Can the ibook superdrive burn double sided DVDs?

No, the iBook Superdrive is not yet dual-layer.
Its capacity, therefore, is 4.7GB
To burn video DVD's to it that are larger than this, I recommend Roxio Popcorn or DVD2OneX.

Unoffically, can movies be copied? I always heard that the DVDs were protected from that, but so many people say they copy movies? What software is needed?
Where should I look for DVD info?

Yes, DVDs can be copied, though copyright often prohibits this, I still consider it essential. I mean, who would actually let their kids near a $35 DVD of Finding Nemo when they can instead keep the original locked away and give them a copy? Therefore ... http://www.ripdifferent.com/

My recommendation: Mac The Ripper to Rip, and Roxio Popcorn to burn. Use DVD2OneX to recompress any that Roxio Popcorn rejects, then burn in Popcorn.

[Satcomer]

For smaller size movies (for long flights), I use HandBrake. It goes straight to a Quicktime file that is small so my Powerbook can handle two movies for the return flight. I only use movies that I own the DVD.