Whats the point of putting Blu-ray in a Macbook, period. More weight to tote. IMHO, only a few % of users would need to burn up to 50 GB of data while traveling. Saving the info on the HDD and then burning it to an external Blu-ray back at the office makes more sense. Then, too, an external burner could be used for multiple computers.
How many home users need that much burning power? At home, I have used only a fraction of the CD's and DVD's that I bought originally (thinking I'd want to use them for back up). I find that HDD's answer that purpose. That being said, I do want a Blu-ray player.
Thanks for all the replies. They have all been interesting and useful but I was really thinking about Blu Ray as a playing medium, not as a storage one. My own view is this.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Thanks for all the replies. They have all been interesting and useful but I was really thinking about Blu Ray as a playing medium, not as a storage one. My own view is this.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
I certainly don't expect Blu-ray capable Macs in January of 09. Our best hope is for Blu-ray support in Snow Leopard which will probably be delivered in Spring.
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Sony doesn't get to "allow" anyone to use Blu-ray. Anyone who pays the Blu-ray Disc Association can use it. That includes Apple, who has not only paid the BDA, but pays it a lot as a member of its board of directors.
The hangup on the laptop front is probably lack of a thin, slot-loading Blu-ray drive and almost certainly the cost of even a tray-loading slim drive. There's an outside chance Apple may offer a regular-height Blu-ray drive as a BTO option for Mac Pros come MW Expo.
Hmmm. I wasn't really considering downloads, though I accept this is the way of the future. I also accept that Apple doesn't need to install Blu-Ray to remain top of the multmedia heap.
However. Travelling on the train, I'm able to slip a DVD into my laptop and while away the journey. Blu- Ray discs are now readily available (though not yet at a price I would consider buying them, but that will change soon).
In wanting to upgrade my laptop, and at the same time my DVD collection, I see little point in buying more of a, what will be, defunct technology (plain DVD). To future proof, I want an ultraportable laptop that plays Blu-Ray. In my opinion, if Apple wants to remain at the cutting edge, it's gonna have to incorporate Blu-Ray.
160GB 5,400rpm hard-drive or 256GB SSD RAID array (2 x 128GB)
carbon-fiber weighing 2.87 pounds and measuring less than an inch thick.
The 11.1-inch display is a 16:9 XBRITE-DuraView LCD, running at WXGA 1366 x 768 resolution. So to really enjoy Blu-ray discs, you?ll want to be hooking up an HD-compatible display via the TT?s HDMI port. Connectivity includes a/b/g/n WiFi, gigabit ethernet and Bluetooth with A2DP support, while ports include two USB, one firewire, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks and a docking connector on the base.
A webcam with face tracking and a built-in microphone are included, as is a fingerprint scanner; OS is Windows Vista. The range will be available in premium carbon black, silk black, champagne gold and crimson red and begin shipping on or around October 15th. Pricing begins at around $2,100, rising to $2,700 for a Blu-ray equipped model, and topping out at $4,344.99 for the VGN-TT190UBX with Blu-ray and the SSD drives.
A bit pricey but still, they can fit 2xUSB, Blu-Ray, firewire, Gig-E, a display that actually has more pixels than the MBA, HDMI-out and 2 internal hard drives into a machine with an 11.1" form factor.
Apple made different compromises by opting for performance over features and the latest model with the Nvidia 9400M is hard to beat but to me that Sony has far superior technical engineering because they didn't just simply leave stuff out in order to get the size/weight down.
I don't know which thread this should go in since blu-ray posts are in several threads, but FWIW:
Sears had this Panasonic Blu-Ray player on sale during the week of 11/23. Although it's not on sale now, Sears may possibly run it again around Christmas.
Deal:Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player DMP-BD35 $150 at Sears.com Expired Discuss (71) : History : Tell : Posted 5:17 PM PST 11/22/08 by Ben
Starting on Sunday 11/23, Sears.com will have the Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player DMP-BD35, Internet-Ready on sale for $150 + shipping. Limit 1 per order. [BizRate]
I don't think the technology is quite mainstream enough for Apple to include it yet. The majority of people just don't care about it yet - it hasn't become the standard yet (will it ever?), so people will just stick with DVDs (and Apple will stick with DVD drives).
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
I certainly don't expect Blu-ray capable Macs in January of 09. Our best hope is for Blu-ray support in Snow Leopard which will probably be delivered in Spring.
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
That's just what I was going to say :P no ha here's how it goes...
Whats the point of putting Blu-ray in a Macbook, period. More weight to tote.
Huh? It shouldn't be any heavier than the Superdrive already built into the Macbook. Panasonic had a 9.5mm Blu-ray drive at CES this year. I don't remember the exact weight, but if a slimline BD-R drive is any heavier we are talking a few grams. I think the bigger issue for Apple is that there are no HD screens for 13 inch displays anyways and most people buying a MB aren't likely to be hooking their MB up to an HD panel anyways so why bother? Furthermore, the added price would probably be so high as to be a prohibitively expensive option.
That rationally explains why Blu-ray is missing in the MB, but doesn't explain why Blu-ray is MIA at least as a CTO option on the Mac Pro. If somebody wants to pay an extra $400-500 for it let them knock themselves out right? I only issue AFAIK is that Apple somehow shipped a Geforce 8800GT w/o HDCP support. Either that or there is some issue with the Bootcamp drivers that cause HDCP to not work with the Mac Pro in Windows.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
The "HD" content on iTunes is HD in the respect that it is slightly better quality than DVD, but it is more on par with "HD" than HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Much like Apple's claims about the speedy iPhone calling the iTunes content "HD" is a dubious claim. Furthermore, even IF all the "HD" content on iTunes were really even in the same league as Blu-ray the selection of "HD" content is a joke. There is more real HD content available through Blu-ray than there is fake HD content on iTunes. iTunes is neat, but I really don't see it threatening DVD nevermind Blu-ray in the near future. The only reason they do decent business is because you can buy TV episodes of the current season of the show.
Quote:
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
What was so much better about HD-DVD? It was the same DRM scheme so it was no less of a pain in that respect. It supported the exact same codecs so it wasn't like you could get better quality video in fewer bytes and the licensing costs should have been about identical so again no advantage there. Most people I knew that owned both formats really didn't like HD-DVD because some players had some serious issues. Furthermore, the discs didn't offer as much capacity. Beyond Toshiba selling HD-DVD drives at a loss I don't see what it really had going for it. Now that cheap Taiwanese companies are getting into producing Blu-ray players that argument is obsolete. Some of the newer Blu-ray players are selling for less than virtually any HD-DVD player ever sold for save for maybe one of the HD-DVD firesales that happened after the format was discontinued. Really beyond not being related to Sony, I can't see why anyone would seriously find any reason to still say they wish HD-DVD won.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
How so? There are desktop BD-ROMs with licensed playback software for $100-$200. The burners are still too expensive, but clearly the licensing can't be too expensive if a retail store can profitably sell both the drive and the playback software for not much more than $100. Unless you can show me that the licensing is the bulk of the cost, I am inclined to differ that licensing has been a big hinderence to the cost of the format. It certainly was no different than HD-DVD contrary to some ignorant HD-DVD fans, because HD-DVD required licensing of codecs for the same file formats and the same DRM scheme.
The only real bona fide criticism is that HDCP is a pain because there is still a *lot* of displays that don't support HDCP and that will continue to be a problem for a while. Until HD-DVD and Blu-ray started to take off the vast majority of monitors and projectors didn't support HDCP and even now you still see quite a few older or cheaper models that still don't support HDCP. It will be a few years before it is a safe assumption that your consumer has HDCP supporting hardware. If that is what you meant by calling the licensing a "trainwreck" than you are right. If you meant that licensing H.264, VC-1, and AACS/HDCP was a trainwreck than I don't think you did your homework. Licensing the codecs is pocket change per device. Furthermore, Apple is already paying a licensing fee for H.264 already for Quicktime/iTunes so it isn't like they would magically be saving any money because the lack or presence of Blu-ray makes to difference there.
Huh? It shouldn't be any heavier than the Superdrive already built into the Macbook. Panasonic had a 9.5mm Blu-ray drive at CES this year. I don't remember the exact weight, but if a slimline BD-R drive is any heavier we are talking a few grams. I think the bigger issue for Apple is that there are no HD screens for 13 inch displays anyways and most people buying a MB aren't likely to be hooking their MB up to an HD panel anyways so why bother?
The bigger issue is that that Panasonic drive was tray-loading. Apple doesn't do tray-loading in its laptops. That's too Dell for them. AFAIK, there are no slot-loading Blu-ray drives.
Quote:
What was so much better about HD-DVD?
You have to understand that Murch was the king of the Blu-ray haters in this forum. Not a week went by without him spouting some form of "I'll never buy Blu-ray! Blu-ray is doomed!" He loved that HD DVD was supposedly cheaper for disc manufacturers, that it didn't have BD+ and he swore that HDi was better than BD-J. You should have seen how ecstatic he was when the HD DVD release of 300 included "exclusive features" like additional downloaded content (yeah, lot of good that feature is now) and the ability to create your own cut by reshuffling scenes around. He was sure that the mythical 51GB triple layer HD DVD disc would come out and trump Blu-ray in capacity.
The bigger issue is that that Panasonic drive was tray-loading. Apple doesn't do tray-loading in its laptops. That's too Dell for them. AFAIK, there are no slot-loading Blu-ray drives.
You have to understand that Murch was the king of the Blu-ray haters in this forum. Not a week went by without him spouting some form of "I'll never buy Blu-ray! Blu-ray is doomed!" He loved that HD DVD was supposedly cheaper for disc manufacturers, that it didn't have BD+ and he swore that HDi was better than BD-J. You should have seen how ecstatic he was when the HD DVD release of 300 included "exclusive features" like additional downloaded content (yeah, lot of good that feature is now) and the ability to create your own cut by reshuffling scenes around. He was sure that the mythical 51GB triple layer HD DVD disc would come out and trump Blu-ray in capacity.
HDDVD was the better format all round for manufacturers and consumers for numerous reasons. If it were still alive today you would be seeing players in the sub $100 range and mass adoption would be far outstripping the limited success BRD has had so far.
and if the studios had known how badly PS3 was going to sell then I'm sure they wouldn't have chucked HDDVD as quick as they did.
Comments
Anywhere between next January and never.
or sooner.. or later.. maybe
Originally Posted by FuturePastNow
Anywhere between next January and never.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe:
or sooner.. or later.. maybe
I agree with both of those, but they're probably too optimistic.
Do not be confused Apple is nowhere near putting Blu-ray recorders in any Macbook
so dreams of backing up 50GB of data on a disc will have to wait.
How many home users need that much burning power? At home, I have used only a fraction of the CD's and DVD's that I bought originally (thinking I'd want to use them for back up). I find that HDD's answer that purpose. That being said, I do want a Blu-ray player.
What am I missing here?
Any idea if/when Blue Ray will be included in Mac Books?
Blu-ray will probably be included in MacBooks no less than a year after it makes its first appearance in Mac Pros.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Thanks for all the replies. They have all been interesting and useful but I was really thinking about Blu Ray as a playing medium, not as a storage one. My own view is this.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
I certainly don't expect Blu-ray capable Macs in January of 09. Our best hope is for Blu-ray support in Snow Leopard which will probably be delivered in Spring.
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
Even if Blu-Ray is only an intermediate technology, it's going to be around for a while. The only way to play Blu Ray on the move at the moment (and the only way to access the extra content) is via Sony (PC) machines. Sony didn't pay out millions of dollars to see this format collapse. Eventually, other manufacturers will be allowed to install/use Blu Ray. The question is, how long is Apple going to wait? Given that Apple sells itself as THE multimedia platorm, I suspect sooner, rather than later. I'm betting on the next Mac World Expo. Any takers?!
Sony doesn't get to "allow" anyone to use Blu-ray. Anyone who pays the Blu-ray Disc Association can use it. That includes Apple, who has not only paid the BDA, but pays it a lot as a member of its board of directors.
The hangup on the laptop front is probably lack of a thin, slot-loading Blu-ray drive and almost certainly the cost of even a tray-loading slim drive. There's an outside chance Apple may offer a regular-height Blu-ray drive as a BTO option for Mac Pros come MW Expo.
However. Travelling on the train, I'm able to slip a DVD into my laptop and while away the journey. Blu- Ray discs are now readily available (though not yet at a price I would consider buying them, but that will change soon).
In wanting to upgrade my laptop, and at the same time my DVD collection, I see little point in buying more of a, what will be, defunct technology (plain DVD). To future proof, I want an ultraportable laptop that plays Blu-Ray. In my opinion, if Apple wants to remain at the cutting edge, it's gonna have to incorporate Blu-Ray.
BluRay RE is a different matter though.
To future proof, I want an ultraportable laptop that plays Blu-Ray.
No ultraportable laptop will have a built-in optical drive
No ultraportable laptop will have a built-in optical drive
... except the ones from Sony:
http://www.slashgear.com/sony-vaio-t...assis-2317039/
VAIO TT
Centrino 2 processor (either 1.2GHz or 1.4GHz)
up to 4GB of RAM
160GB 5,400rpm hard-drive or 256GB SSD RAID array (2 x 128GB)
carbon-fiber weighing 2.87 pounds and measuring less than an inch thick.
The 11.1-inch display is a 16:9 XBRITE-DuraView LCD, running at WXGA 1366 x 768 resolution. So to really enjoy Blu-ray discs, you?ll want to be hooking up an HD-compatible display via the TT?s HDMI port. Connectivity includes a/b/g/n WiFi, gigabit ethernet and Bluetooth with A2DP support, while ports include two USB, one firewire, VGA, headphone and microphone jacks and a docking connector on the base.
A webcam with face tracking and a built-in microphone are included, as is a fingerprint scanner; OS is Windows Vista. The range will be available in premium carbon black, silk black, champagne gold and crimson red and begin shipping on or around October 15th. Pricing begins at around $2,100, rising to $2,700 for a Blu-ray equipped model, and topping out at $4,344.99 for the VGN-TT190UBX with Blu-ray and the SSD drives.
A bit pricey but still, they can fit 2xUSB, Blu-Ray, firewire, Gig-E, a display that actually has more pixels than the MBA, HDMI-out and 2 internal hard drives into a machine with an 11.1" form factor.
Apple made different compromises by opting for performance over features and the latest model with the Nvidia 9400M is hard to beat but to me that Sony has far superior technical engineering because they didn't just simply leave stuff out in order to get the size/weight down.
Sears had this Panasonic Blu-Ray player on sale during the week of 11/23. Although it's not on sale now, Sears may possibly run it again around Christmas.
Deal:Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player DMP-BD35 $150 at Sears.com Expired Discuss (71) : History : Tell : Posted 5:17 PM PST 11/22/08 by Ben
Starting on Sunday 11/23, Sears.com will have the Panasonic Blu-ray Disc Player DMP-BD35, Internet-Ready on sale for $150 + shipping. Limit 1 per order. [BizRate]
Thank you.
I don't think the technology is quite mainstream enough for Apple to include it yet. The majority of people just don't care about it yet - it hasn't become the standard yet (will it ever?), so people will just stick with DVDs (and Apple will stick with DVD drives).
My opinion, anyway.
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
I certainly don't expect Blu-ray capable Macs in January of 09. Our best hope is for Blu-ray support in Snow Leopard which will probably be delivered in Spring.
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
That's just what I was going to say :P no ha here's how it goes...
Whats the point of putting Blu-ray in a Macbook, period. More weight to tote.
Huh? It shouldn't be any heavier than the Superdrive already built into the Macbook. Panasonic had a 9.5mm Blu-ray drive at CES this year. I don't remember the exact weight, but if a slimline BD-R drive is any heavier we are talking a few grams. I think the bigger issue for Apple is that there are no HD screens for 13 inch displays anyways and most people buying a MB aren't likely to be hooking their MB up to an HD panel anyways so why bother? Furthermore, the added price would probably be so high as to be a prohibitively expensive option.
That rationally explains why Blu-ray is missing in the MB, but doesn't explain why Blu-ray is MIA at least as a CTO option on the Mac Pro. If somebody wants to pay an extra $400-500 for it let them knock themselves out right? I only issue AFAIK is that Apple somehow shipped a Geforce 8800GT w/o HDCP support. Either that or there is some issue with the Bootcamp drivers that cause HDCP to not work with the Mac Pro in Windows.
Don't make the assumption that Apple needs Blu-ray to maintain their status as a multimedia company. They have enough HD content on iTunes to warrant making that claim.
The "HD" content on iTunes is HD in the respect that it is slightly better quality than DVD, but it is more on par with "HD" than HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Much like Apple's claims about the speedy iPhone calling the iTunes content "HD" is a dubious claim. Furthermore, even IF all the "HD" content on iTunes were really even in the same league as Blu-ray the selection of "HD" content is a joke. There is more real HD content available through Blu-ray than there is fake HD content on iTunes. iTunes is neat, but I really don't see it threatening DVD nevermind Blu-ray in the near future. The only reason they do decent business is because you can buy TV episodes of the current season of the show.
I like Blu-ray ..not as much as I liked HD DVD but it's a solid format and I will certainly buy in soon because downloads are never going to give me the premium experience I desire.
What was so much better about HD-DVD? It was the same DRM scheme so it was no less of a pain in that respect. It supported the exact same codecs so it wasn't like you could get better quality video in fewer bytes and the licensing costs should have been about identical so again no advantage there. Most people I knew that owned both formats really didn't like HD-DVD because some players had some serious issues. Furthermore, the discs didn't offer as much capacity. Beyond Toshiba selling HD-DVD drives at a loss I don't see what it really had going for it. Now that cheap Taiwanese companies are getting into producing Blu-ray players that argument is obsolete. Some of the newer Blu-ray players are selling for less than virtually any HD-DVD player ever sold for save for maybe one of the HD-DVD firesales that happened after the format was discontinued. Really beyond not being related to Sony, I can't see why anyone would seriously find any reason to still say they wish HD-DVD won.
I do agree with Jobs on one thing though. Blu-ray is the most bloated multimedia format ever where licensing is concerned. It's an absolute trainwreck.
How so? There are desktop BD-ROMs with licensed playback software for $100-$200. The burners are still too expensive, but clearly the licensing can't be too expensive if a retail store can profitably sell both the drive and the playback software for not much more than $100. Unless you can show me that the licensing is the bulk of the cost, I am inclined to differ that licensing has been a big hinderence to the cost of the format. It certainly was no different than HD-DVD contrary to some ignorant HD-DVD fans, because HD-DVD required licensing of codecs for the same file formats and the same DRM scheme.
The only real bona fide criticism is that HDCP is a pain because there is still a *lot* of displays that don't support HDCP and that will continue to be a problem for a while. Until HD-DVD and Blu-ray started to take off the vast majority of monitors and projectors didn't support HDCP and even now you still see quite a few older or cheaper models that still don't support HDCP. It will be a few years before it is a safe assumption that your consumer has HDCP supporting hardware. If that is what you meant by calling the licensing a "trainwreck" than you are right. If you meant that licensing H.264, VC-1, and AACS/HDCP was a trainwreck than I don't think you did your homework. Licensing the codecs is pocket change per device. Furthermore, Apple is already paying a licensing fee for H.264 already for Quicktime/iTunes so it isn't like they would magically be saving any money because the lack or presence of Blu-ray makes to difference there.
Huh? It shouldn't be any heavier than the Superdrive already built into the Macbook. Panasonic had a 9.5mm Blu-ray drive at CES this year. I don't remember the exact weight, but if a slimline BD-R drive is any heavier we are talking a few grams. I think the bigger issue for Apple is that there are no HD screens for 13 inch displays anyways and most people buying a MB aren't likely to be hooking their MB up to an HD panel anyways so why bother?
The bigger issue is that that Panasonic drive was tray-loading. Apple doesn't do tray-loading in its laptops. That's too Dell for them. AFAIK, there are no slot-loading Blu-ray drives.
What was so much better about HD-DVD?
You have to understand that Murch was the king of the Blu-ray haters in this forum. Not a week went by without him spouting some form of "I'll never buy Blu-ray! Blu-ray is doomed!" He loved that HD DVD was supposedly cheaper for disc manufacturers, that it didn't have BD+ and he swore that HDi was better than BD-J. You should have seen how ecstatic he was when the HD DVD release of 300 included "exclusive features" like additional downloaded content (yeah, lot of good that feature is now) and the ability to create your own cut by reshuffling scenes around. He was sure that the mythical 51GB triple layer HD DVD disc would come out and trump Blu-ray in capacity.
The bigger issue is that that Panasonic drive was tray-loading. Apple doesn't do tray-loading in its laptops. That's too Dell for them. AFAIK, there are no slot-loading Blu-ray drives.
You have to understand that Murch was the king of the Blu-ray haters in this forum. Not a week went by without him spouting some form of "I'll never buy Blu-ray! Blu-ray is doomed!" He loved that HD DVD was supposedly cheaper for disc manufacturers, that it didn't have BD+ and he swore that HDi was better than BD-J. You should have seen how ecstatic he was when the HD DVD release of 300 included "exclusive features" like additional downloaded content (yeah, lot of good that feature is now) and the ability to create your own cut by reshuffling scenes around. He was sure that the mythical 51GB triple layer HD DVD disc would come out and trump Blu-ray in capacity.
HDDVD was the better format all round for manufacturers and consumers for numerous reasons. If it were still alive today you would be seeing players in the sub $100 range and mass adoption would be far outstripping the limited success BRD has had so far.
and if the studios had known how badly PS3 was going to sell then I'm sure they wouldn't have chucked HDDVD as quick as they did.
in the end SONY's bribes worked.