You talk complete FUD. Apple didn't wait that long before introducing DVD drives in iMAcs. VHS was still the format of choice- you probably still watch video on one.
Also say what you will about Microsheet but at least they have Blu-ray support built into their OS even though they backed HD DVD.
Who cares about Blu-ray support?!?! It'll be obsolete in a few years anyway. Apple isn't playing that game. They are pushing digital distribution and will soon offer true 1080p videos.
For the time-being, I'm happy with what they offer on iTunes. Especially on my 32-inch TV. Now if I had a 60+ inch TV, it would be a different story. If 60+ TVs were the norm and the majority of users owned TVs over 60", then I would be sending Apple feedback about supporting 1080p.
There really is hardly any perceptible difference between 720p and 1080p on lower than 60" TVs. For the most part, Apple is keeping their technology in current reality. Not reality 3-5 years from now. They're a smart company but they're not targeting the ultra audio/video-phile (which I assume you may be).
Well, just played around with the BTO for the 27" iMac on Apple's site. Let's see what the best options add up to along with reasonable (but not all) accessories...
- iMac 27"
- Core i7 quad core 2.8GHz
- 16 GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory (still no 1333 yet???)
- 2TB HD
- Magic Mouse
- Wireless Keyboard
- Remote
- iWork '09
- One to One
- AppleCare
Grand total: $4,185.00
Best be saving up for awhile!
\\
DDR3 is still expensive. buy the minimum and wait a year or so until it's cheaper and buy more RAM. same with HD. buy the smallest and buy an external off newegg. it will be cheaper.
So it looks like the i5 might be just fine, especially if Snow Leopard isn't recognizing the hyper-threading.
Any other opinions?
Hyperthreading has nothing to do with the OS. It is an entirely internal to the processor function.
When the processor is below its TCP, and the workload requires it, the cores will automatically up their speeds by a bin or more, depending on the load and the individual processor model, up to 5 bins.
That same DEG report that you're reading from also indicated that the YTD Blu-ray sales are up 83% over last year. This far outpaces the 20 percent growth for digital distribution.
Again, percentage increases don't tell you much unless you account for what they're increasing from. The fact is that digital already pulls in way more money than BluRay.
Quote:
Don't believe everything you read in the tech press. Most of the writers are computer-centric and obsessed with streaming/online media. They will spin every little bit of news to create the impression that downloading and streaming have already taken over the home video market and that Blu-ray is doomed -- no matter what the market reality otherwise says. The fact that Blu-ray's growing at 4X the rate of digital distribution is something you'll never see many of them admit to.
That seems like a very convoluted and somewhat conspiratorial way to account for what's being reported. An easier way to explain it is that the tech press is aware of the misleading nature of talking about rates of increase that doesn't acknowledge absolute numbers.
Quote:
Blu-ray's doing fine. Just because the adoption rate has been slightly slower than it was for the DVD (which just happened to be the most successful consumer electronics launch in history), doesn't mean that Blu-ray is dead in the water. This holiday season will see big markdowns on Blu-ray players, and that will likely spur sales like they did last year. Also, several of the big blockbuster releases will also get released over the next couple of months. Those too will spur Blu-ray sales. And it doesn't hurt that HDTV prices continue to tumble, and unit sales have actually held steady.
Of course it's doing "fine", the question is what's going to happen in the near future.
Quote:
What numbers keep falling? Certainly not Blu-ray. Disc sales have increased. Player sales have increased. For many new releases, Blu-ray's market share already exceeds 20%.
The only numbers that have fallen have been for DVDs. And that's largely because the DVD format no longer has a huge backlog of eagerly anticipated catalog titles waiting to be released. It's pretty much new releases that now drive the DVD market, and sales for new titles have not slid nearly as much as they have for older titles. Basically, most of the older titles that people want on DVD have already come out, and the studios have drastically cut back on the special collector's editions on DVD. Those bonus features are now going to the Blu-ray versions.
Look at what you wrote-- you start by citing Blu-Ray's increasing percentage of optical disc market share as evidence of the format's success, then follow up by dismissing the slump in the DVD market as inevitable. So...... Blu-Ray gets a bigger percentage of a decreasing market.
I'm looking to pull the trigger on a 27" w/ a QuadCore processor. The kids will be getting my current 2.4 ghz iMac 24".
Lucky kids!
Quote:
Is the i7 worth the $200 upgrade on the i5? I'm hoping for speed gains in video encoding mostly, but general speed gains are nice as well.
Yes very well worth it! Especially for Video Encoding, but please feel free to check around on the net for the latest benchmarks. Just be careful with the numbers though. For example some early i5 numbers appeared to be really bad but that was later chased down to BIOS problems. Given the right software and the opportunity to Turbo Boost both the i5 & I7 processors can be real speed demons. I7 however can run some video codecs very fast if they are parallel optimized codecs and the software is wrtten properly. A lot of IRS but i7 works very well.
Quote:
Thanks!
This update is impressive in some aspects but it unfortunately didn't address the issue I have with the lack of internal storage. In a way I kinda wish the had provided dual Ethernet ports so that one could provide a dedicated Drobo connection.
At the rate things are going it could be several months, maybe even a year before I even consider an iMac. Hopefully they will get some minor tweaks and 35nm processors by then.
I'm really happy to see desktop processors coming to the 27" iMac. Finally the enormous gap between iMac and Mac Pro is closing. I'm also happy to see LED backlighting arrive.
Pricing is rather disappointing given that the Core i5 plus 4850 likely costs Apple less than the mobile Core 2 Duo plus 4670. It looks like a blatant $300 cash grab to me.
Display manufacturers have moved to 16:9 so Apple really had no choice there, but it's disappointing to keep losing vertical screen real estate.
I'll reserve judgement on the glossiness of the new display until I've tried it out at the Apple Store, but if it's like the last two versions I won't be able to use it.
Guys if you provide the link or links to backup your statement it prevents the "no it isn't, yes it is" responses.
That article, small that it is, doesn't say anything.
What they mean by B-R not taking up the slack is not that B-R sales aren't rising quickly, but that they are still so small when compared to the much older format that they didn't slow the drop by much.
This is like what we've read over the years about iTunes not stopping the drop in music sales. By this interpretation, iTunes sales weren't going anywhere, even though we know the were. Now, they're 25% of ALL music sales.
The same thing is true for B-R. Sales are moving up as many reports over the year have shown. But the base numbers are still too small to affect total movie disk sales.
It's also like Apple's computer sales vs the entire industry. The industry want up 2.5% this quarter, while Apple went up 17%.
So we can say that the PC industries sales were lackluster, and Apple's sales didn't change that.
Again, by this interpretation, Apple didn't see a growth in sales, when we all know that they had good growth.
Be careful of what's being read. Sometimes an article assumes the reader has other information, and when they don't, misinterpretation is common.
This is a little older, but it's typical of articles about B-R this year:
This update is impressive in some aspects but it unfortunately didn't address the issue I have with the lack of internal storage. In a way I kinda wish the had provided dual Ethernet ports so that one could provide a dedicated Drobo connection.
They needed all that space for cooling the desktop class processor.
Storage in the iMac will always disappoint people who need more than the basic amount. I have 5 external hard drive cases on my desk beside my mini.
Considering all the outcry when Apple switched over to TN LCD panels on the last generation 20" iMacs, I'm surprised that nobody's mentioning the return of IPS panels to the entire iMac lineup. That's a huge improvement over the visibly degraded image quality that those 20" TN panels displayed.
For all the misinformation getting passed around about Blu-ray, personally I don't see the big fuss. Aside from YouTube vids and occasional movie previews, I don't sit at my computer to watch TV and other programs. And that's consistent with a Ball State study from earlier this year, which found that SURPRISE SURPRISE ... the vast majority of TV programs are viewed on TVs. Online video only constituted a fraction of the total viewing time (less than 1%).
When I want to watch HD programming, I'd much rather lounge on my sofa and watch a big screen HDTV. I already have a Blu-ray player, and I already have an iMac. I use the iMac as a wireless media server for my home theater setup, not as a primary source for video viewing.
That's the beauty of statistics. Without the proper context the numbers can be "tortured" to "say" anything.
Blu-ray sales are doing well but when compared to stout competition like On Demand, IPTV, iTunes, Vudu, Netflix and more it's an upstream swim for dominance.
Frankly I don't know why we're centering a thread about new iMacs around Blu-ray. This thread is a microcosm the media pie. There are a few "vocal" propononets of Blu-ray that take over every thread with complaints. The reality is that lack of Blu-ray hasn't hurt Mac sales one iota.
Apple delivered here with the iMacs. They proved many of us wrong with regard to Mobile vs Desktop chips and cooling. They have made another step forward by reducing hazardous materials by going all LED on the display and they've increased resolution on the high end iMac and removed the need for a low end Mac Pro (somewhat)
Yet we're talking about the lack of a format that hasn't shown much ability to take the market by storm despite it's main competitor closing up shop almost a year ago.
Yes, I want Blue Ray so that 1) the hardware will be riddled with DRM negatively effecting performance of the whole system even when not using Blue Ray, 2) I have to pay more to burn disks, 3) I can't rip disks, 4) backward Blue Ray compatibility becomes an issue in the future, and 5) I can pay more for less.
The reality is the little bit of benefit Blue Ray has is far over ridden by the draw backs. Sony, the same one that likes to put hidden DRM on systems without permission, designed the system. What more do I need to say. If you want Blue Ray, buy a third party player which won't hamper over all performance.
B-R DRM has nothing to do with anything else. The DRM in certain iTunes products also have nothing to do with anything else.
I wish people would stop spouting this junk about DRM.
Yes, we don't like it, but it doesn't do anything to your computer.
i might be a computer illiterate...but does the graphic card kick in for the smoothness and quality of the movies/outside source games? Also, with the new 27' dual core imac, do you guys think ill be able to run some new games on it with decent performance? like diablo III...whenever it might come out. Or should i aim for the i5 imac just to be safe, cuz it has a better graphic card too
Comments
So how long until these new iMacs show up on Amazon so I can avoid sales tax and get overnight shipping for 3.99?
Gotta love Amazon Prime eh?
And no matte and still ugly black border- puke.
I now have to wait 6 more months.
So do I.
So beautiful LED IPS display and so UGLY GLASS SCREEN. Duh...
I'm waiting to upgrade 10 workplaces for my designers until Apple releases MATTE iMacs!!!! No way before!
You talk complete FUD. Apple didn't wait that long before introducing DVD drives in iMAcs. VHS was still the format of choice- you probably still watch video on one.
Also say what you will about Microsheet but at least they have Blu-ray support built into their OS even though they backed HD DVD.
Who cares about Blu-ray support?!?! It'll be obsolete in a few years anyway. Apple isn't playing that game. They are pushing digital distribution and will soon offer true 1080p videos.
For the time-being, I'm happy with what they offer on iTunes. Especially on my 32-inch TV. Now if I had a 60+ inch TV, it would be a different story. If 60+ TVs were the norm and the majority of users owned TVs over 60", then I would be sending Apple feedback about supporting 1080p.
There really is hardly any perceptible difference between 720p and 1080p on lower than 60" TVs. For the most part, Apple is keeping their technology in current reality. Not reality 3-5 years from now. They're a smart company but they're not targeting the ultra audio/video-phile (which I assume you may be).
Well, just played around with the BTO for the 27" iMac on Apple's site. Let's see what the best options add up to along with reasonable (but not all) accessories...
- iMac 27"
- Core i7 quad core 2.8GHz
- 16 GB 1066MHz DDR3 memory (still no 1333 yet???)
- 2TB HD
- Magic Mouse
- Wireless Keyboard
- Remote
- iWork '09
- One to One
- AppleCare
Grand total: $4,185.00
Best be saving up for awhile!
\\
DDR3 is still expensive. buy the minimum and wait a year or so until it's cheaper and buy more RAM. same with HD. buy the smallest and buy an external off newegg. it will be cheaper.
Found my own answer from PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/article/17155...explained.html):
So it looks like the i5 might be just fine, especially if Snow Leopard isn't recognizing the hyper-threading.
Any other opinions?
Hyperthreading has nothing to do with the OS. It is an entirely internal to the processor function.
When the processor is below its TCP, and the workload requires it, the cores will automatically up their speeds by a bin or more, depending on the load and the individual processor model, up to 5 bins.
Don't worry about OS X recognizing it.
That same DEG report that you're reading from also indicated that the YTD Blu-ray sales are up 83% over last year. This far outpaces the 20 percent growth for digital distribution.
Again, percentage increases don't tell you much unless you account for what they're increasing from. The fact is that digital already pulls in way more money than BluRay.
Don't believe everything you read in the tech press. Most of the writers are computer-centric and obsessed with streaming/online media. They will spin every little bit of news to create the impression that downloading and streaming have already taken over the home video market and that Blu-ray is doomed -- no matter what the market reality otherwise says. The fact that Blu-ray's growing at 4X the rate of digital distribution is something you'll never see many of them admit to.
That seems like a very convoluted and somewhat conspiratorial way to account for what's being reported. An easier way to explain it is that the tech press is aware of the misleading nature of talking about rates of increase that doesn't acknowledge absolute numbers.
Blu-ray's doing fine. Just because the adoption rate has been slightly slower than it was for the DVD (which just happened to be the most successful consumer electronics launch in history), doesn't mean that Blu-ray is dead in the water. This holiday season will see big markdowns on Blu-ray players, and that will likely spur sales like they did last year. Also, several of the big blockbuster releases will also get released over the next couple of months. Those too will spur Blu-ray sales. And it doesn't hurt that HDTV prices continue to tumble, and unit sales have actually held steady.
Of course it's doing "fine", the question is what's going to happen in the near future.
What numbers keep falling? Certainly not Blu-ray. Disc sales have increased. Player sales have increased. For many new releases, Blu-ray's market share already exceeds 20%.
The only numbers that have fallen have been for DVDs. And that's largely because the DVD format no longer has a huge backlog of eagerly anticipated catalog titles waiting to be released. It's pretty much new releases that now drive the DVD market, and sales for new titles have not slid nearly as much as they have for older titles. Basically, most of the older titles that people want on DVD have already come out, and the studios have drastically cut back on the special collector's editions on DVD. Those bonus features are now going to the Blu-ray versions.
Look at what you wrote-- you start by citing Blu-Ray's increasing percentage of optical disc market share as evidence of the format's success, then follow up by dismissing the slump in the DVD market as inevitable. So...... Blu-Ray gets a bigger percentage of a decreasing market.
I'm looking to pull the trigger on a 27" w/ a QuadCore processor. The kids will be getting my current 2.4 ghz iMac 24".
Lucky kids!
Is the i7 worth the $200 upgrade on the i5? I'm hoping for speed gains in video encoding mostly, but general speed gains are nice as well.
Yes very well worth it! Especially for Video Encoding, but please feel free to check around on the net for the latest benchmarks. Just be careful with the numbers though. For example some early i5 numbers appeared to be really bad but that was later chased down to BIOS problems. Given the right software and the opportunity to Turbo Boost both the i5 & I7 processors can be real speed demons. I7 however can run some video codecs very fast if they are parallel optimized codecs and the software is wrtten properly. A lot of IRS but i7 works very well.
Thanks!
This update is impressive in some aspects but it unfortunately didn't address the issue I have with the lack of internal storage. In a way I kinda wish the had provided dual Ethernet ports so that one could provide a dedicated Drobo connection.
At the rate things are going it could be several months, maybe even a year before I even consider an iMac. Hopefully they will get some minor tweaks and 35nm processors by then.
Dave
HDMI on the average desktop PC is HDMI out. Why would you put HDMI out on an all-in-one?
Pricing is rather disappointing given that the Core i5 plus 4850 likely costs Apple less than the mobile Core 2 Duo plus 4670. It looks like a blatant $300 cash grab to me.
Display manufacturers have moved to 16:9 so Apple really had no choice there, but it's disappointing to keep losing vertical screen real estate.
I'll reserve judgement on the glossiness of the new display until I've tried it out at the Apple Store, but if it's like the last two versions I won't be able to use it.
But... the 4850 is, like, not great - especially on a screen that size - it's a bit of a system choker to be completely honest.
I am very impressed Apple upped the hardware so significantly though. Interesting.
http://www.hardocp.com/news/2009/10/...bution_rising/
Guys if you provide the link or links to backup your statement it prevents the "no it isn't, yes it is" responses.
That article, small that it is, doesn't say anything.
What they mean by B-R not taking up the slack is not that B-R sales aren't rising quickly, but that they are still so small when compared to the much older format that they didn't slow the drop by much.
This is like what we've read over the years about iTunes not stopping the drop in music sales. By this interpretation, iTunes sales weren't going anywhere, even though we know the were. Now, they're 25% of ALL music sales.
The same thing is true for B-R. Sales are moving up as many reports over the year have shown. But the base numbers are still too small to affect total movie disk sales.
It's also like Apple's computer sales vs the entire industry. The industry want up 2.5% this quarter, while Apple went up 17%.
So we can say that the PC industries sales were lackluster, and Apple's sales didn't change that.
Again, by this interpretation, Apple didn't see a growth in sales, when we all know that they had good growth.
Be careful of what's being read. Sometimes an article assumes the reader has other information, and when they don't, misinterpretation is common.
This is a little older, but it's typical of articles about B-R this year:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/blu-ray-...news-4250.html
Read the fine print. The 27" model supports DisplayPort input.
Nice! Perfect except maybe the need for external speakers. No Blu-Ray? Just add PS3
This update is impressive in some aspects but it unfortunately didn't address the issue I have with the lack of internal storage. In a way I kinda wish the had provided dual Ethernet ports so that one could provide a dedicated Drobo connection.
They needed all that space for cooling the desktop class processor.
Storage in the iMac will always disappoint people who need more than the basic amount. I have 5 external hard drive cases on my desk beside my mini.
For all the misinformation getting passed around about Blu-ray, personally I don't see the big fuss. Aside from YouTube vids and occasional movie previews, I don't sit at my computer to watch TV and other programs. And that's consistent with a Ball State study from earlier this year, which found that SURPRISE SURPRISE ... the vast majority of TV programs are viewed on TVs. Online video only constituted a fraction of the total viewing time (less than 1%).
http://www.researchexcellence.com/vcmstudy.php
When I want to watch HD programming, I'd much rather lounge on my sofa and watch a big screen HDTV. I already have a Blu-ray player, and I already have an iMac. I use the iMac as a wireless media server for my home theater setup, not as a primary source for video viewing.
Blu-ray sales are doing well but when compared to stout competition like On Demand, IPTV, iTunes, Vudu, Netflix and more it's an upstream swim for dominance.
Frankly I don't know why we're centering a thread about new iMacs around Blu-ray. This thread is a microcosm the media pie. There are a few "vocal" propononets of Blu-ray that take over every thread with complaints. The reality is that lack of Blu-ray hasn't hurt Mac sales one iota.
Apple delivered here with the iMacs. They proved many of us wrong with regard to Mobile vs Desktop chips and cooling. They have made another step forward by reducing hazardous materials by going all LED on the display and they've increased resolution on the high end iMac and removed the need for a low end Mac Pro (somewhat)
Yet we're talking about the lack of a format that hasn't shown much ability to take the market by storm despite it's main competitor closing up shop almost a year ago.
These iMacs are winners to me.
Yes, I want Blue Ray so that 1) the hardware will be riddled with DRM negatively effecting performance of the whole system even when not using Blue Ray, 2) I have to pay more to burn disks, 3) I can't rip disks, 4) backward Blue Ray compatibility becomes an issue in the future, and 5) I can pay more for less.
The reality is the little bit of benefit Blue Ray has is far over ridden by the draw backs. Sony, the same one that likes to put hidden DRM on systems without permission, designed the system. What more do I need to say. If you want Blue Ray, buy a third party player which won't hamper over all performance.
B-R DRM has nothing to do with anything else. The DRM in certain iTunes products also have nothing to do with anything else.
I wish people would stop spouting this junk about DRM.
Yes, we don't like it, but it doesn't do anything to your computer.
Sorry about that - I was on my iPhone at lunch and didn't have the time. Here you go:
http://www.dvdtown.com/news/blu-ray-...ard-times/7098
One of the few things we agree on.