Chapter 7
Turning Your Mac into a DVD Theater
In This Chapter
Understanding what you need to watch DVDs on your Macintosh
Using the DVD Player software
Unearthing the mysteries of the hidden controls
All the creative capabilities of the OS X digital hub are lots of fun, but at some point, you’ll want to take a break from work. Because of the now-familiar DVD, the idea of an honest-to-goodness theater in your home is now within the grasp of mere mortals (with, coincidentally, merely average budgets). OS X has everything you need to enjoy a night at the movies without ever leaving home.
Getting the Right DVD Hardware
Before you watch one second of video, get your setup in order. Playing DVDs requires a bit of hardware; unfortunately, only the 13-inch Mac Pro (non-Retina) still comes equipped with the internal optical drive that’s necessary to watch DVDs. But don’t panic just yet!
To play DVD movies, you need either an internal DVD-compatible drive in your older Macintosh or an external DVD drive with a FireWire, Thunderbolt, or USB connection. DVD-ROM drives can only play discs; others, such as the external Apple SuperDrive, can both play and record discs. Either type of drive works ...
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