Copying DVD video - won't play

When you burn a DVD from a disk image but end up with a "Burn Folder" or files like `VIDEO_TS` and `AUDIO_TS` that don't auto-play, it's usually due to how the image was created or burned—not necessarily the files themselves.

Here's the key: if you're just dragging the folders (`VIDEO_TS`, `AUDIO_TS`) to a blank disc and burning them, you're creating a data DVD, not a video DVD. Most DVD players (especially standalone ones) won’t recognize that format as a playable DVD-Video. What you need to do is burn the image as a DVD-Video disc, preserving the original format.

I suggest trying the following:

• If you created a `.cdr` or `.iso` image from the DVD using Disk Utility, make sure it’s a *sector-by-sector* image. If it's not, go back and re-create it by choosing the DVD in Disk Utility → File → New Image → Image from \[Disc name] → Format: *DVD/CD master*, Encryption: *none*.
• To "Burn it properly:"
  • Open Disk Utility.
  • Drag your `.cdr` (or renamed `.iso`) file into the left sidebar.
  • Select the image and click Burn at the top.
  • Insert a blank DVD and burn it. Make sure “Verify” is checked and burning speed is moderate (e.g., 4x or 8x).

If you are trying to copy a home video DVD – made with something like iDVD or Toast – I believe that you can do that by making a CD/DVD disk image in Disk Utility and then burning that using Finder.

If you are trying to copy a Hollywood DVD-Video disc, that won't work. Commercial movies and TV discs almost always are encrypted. The decryption keys are stored on a special part of the disc, and all of the burners which consumers can buy are intentionally hobbled to be unable to write to that part of a disc. Thus, even if you clone everything else on the disc, your copy won't work as it will have the wrong decryption keys.