The Blu Ray Thread

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I've got two questions for you guys and gals.



1. At this stage, since Apple failed to introduce Blu Ray in any of its hardware, will the macbook pro's get them next year during their inevitable refresh before the summer holiday, before iMacs do? Or will all the hardware get blu ray integration by next holiday season, at the same time?



2. Have we gotten any more insight into why Blu Ray didn't make it into the Mac lineup for this holiday season? AppleInsider called it a manufacturing problem, but is there any more context that has been released to fill us in?



Honestly, I really want to get a Mac. I'm hopefully going to law school next fall and if I had to make my decision right now, I hate to say it but a Dell Studio XPS 16 with the same specs as a Macbook Pro 17 inch would cost me less AND have blu ray. I hope Macs get blu ray next year but it seems safer to say that it's more unlikely than not.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    synpsynp Posts: 248member
    Why do you want Blu-Ray?
  • Reply 2 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by synp View Post


    Why do you want Blu-Ray?



    HD optical media for an HD capable machine.



    To burn blu-ray discs in iMovie HD/Final Cut HD.



    Larger hard data storage.



    There's already a ten million page thread on this.
  • Reply 3 of 27
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Okay... lets look at it this way, if the rumors were correct when they stated that Apple was ''this close'' to releasing the new iMacs with BluRay then to a certain degree it makes sense.



    1 - Do the all-in-one desktops first

    2 - Followed by laptops and Mac Pro desktop 2nd.



    The unfortunate thing we have now is this, the iMacs are out of the gate and you can't get em back. So if they were to begin rolling out BluRay in 2010 it would cause more issues with buyers.



    In the first actual release:



    1a - Release Mac Books and Mac Book Pros with BluRay playing drives

    1b - Retool the iMacs with BluRay drives as the new standard option



    This would of course cause drama with the people who just purchased the iMacs in late-09 (aka today). Now what could Apple do?



    1. Ignore them (Dave wildly points to this one)

    2. Release an external drive (I don't give much hope in this)

    3. Provide an 'upgrade' that would allow buyers to bring in their iMacs for re-fits (this too doesn't seem too likely)

    4. Work with a respected 3rd party to co-bless and external bluray drive. (possible)



    I'm thinking they'd go with #1 until the situation totally boils-over and then go with #4 as a last resort.



    In the perfect world Apple needed to release the iMacs that were just announced with a BluRay option (even if it wasn't standard) to avoid the backlash they'll feel when the Mac Books and a retooled iMac all get BluRay lovin'... However, in the end rolling out BluRay in 09 just wasn't possible and unfortunately it'll make things slightly more messy for them as a result but Apple has dealt with this stuff many times before and usually with the same game plan, IGNORE THE CRYS until such at time that it becomes impossible to do so.



    Remember Apple is NO stranger to releasing hardware that gets overshadowed VERY quickly... The B&W G3s come to mind... If I'm not mistaken they were release in the start of 99 and early summer the 1st G4s were rolling off the line making some very upset customers.



    Same goes for Power Mac hardware that Apple released and then in less than 6 months time Apple rolled out its ADC connection system and people who had the older model were SOL since the mobo was refitted to support the special Apple connector.



    Then of course the VX incident.. 4 months after its introductions a MUCH more powerful Centris 650 line was introduced that all but killed the machine tho Apple did wait a full 12 months before officially discontinuing it not that it sold any past after the 4th month of its release.



    Yea Looking back Apple is no stranger to pulling some pretty crappy stunts and mark my words if and when Apple does release BluRay in 2010 people here are all going to be up in arms looking to Apple for some answers (where they will find none for a good long time).



    But to be fair... it goes with the territory! If you make and sell hardware you will ALWAYS have a certain number of customers who will be 'put off' when you roll out the next model with more joyous bells and shinier new whistles. The trick is to space the hardware improvements out over a time frame long enough where a good percentage of the customers will not scream bloody murder over it. The magic number of months seems to be somewhere around 9+ I'd guess. It's when Apple rolls out highly visible improvements (BluRay would certainly qualify) in less less than 5 or 6 months time of their last hardware refresh.
  • Reply 4 of 27
    DaveGee, if I remember correctly, Apple refreshed the iMac in the Fall of '05, only to make it one of the first Macs to migrate to Intel in January '06. And they just finished selling back-to-school kids a ton of white MacBooks, only to replace it with a completely-redesigned model just after the school buying season ended. Apple has no qualms with leaving old hardware (and the people that bought it) in the dust.
  • Reply 5 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by synp View Post


    Why do you want Blu-Ray?



    Digital downloads are going basically nowhere.
  • Reply 6 of 27
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member
    I'm still scratchin' my head trying to figure out why Apple didn't include at least a BTO for a Blu-ray burner. The new Final Cut Studio begs for it and so does the new 27" display of the iMac. I'm guessing it'll be at least spring 2010 before we see anything (if it ever happens at all). Nothing to base that on, just a guess. What I want to know is, what were the 2 major features the new iMacs were getting? Was it a bigger screen and the magic mouse or the quad-core processor?
  • Reply 7 of 27
    It's going to be a good long time before we ever have digital distribution become mainstream. First of all, our telecom and cable companies are doing everything they can to water down their service and continue to be awful at real broadband deployment. We have storage becoming cheap but with all the rental and buying options, it's actually pretty confusing for a lot of people. The battle for the living room is still being waged. Apple trying to run out the clock by making me go to iTunes for HD movies on my Mac is not cool with me. I have a pretty big Blu Ray collection. That's why I want Blu Ray on any potential Mac I purchase in the future.
  • Reply 8 of 27
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gforce View Post


    It's going to be a good long time before we ever have digital distribution become mainstream. First of all, our telecom and cable companies are doing everything they can to water down their service and continue to be awful at real broadband deployment. We have storage becoming cheap but with all the rental and buying options, it's actually pretty confusing for a lot of people. The battle for the living room is still being waged. Apple trying to run out the clock by making me go to iTunes for HD movies on my Mac is not cool with me. I have a pretty big Blu Ray collection. That's why I want Blu Ray on any potential Mac I purchase in the future.



    Unfortunately, I think you're right. Apple does seem to be trying to "run out the clock" and skip Blu-ray altogether. Apple seems to have envisioned a future without optical media. I think that's premature and don't see optical media going away anytime soon. As for Blu-ray, it's been a short 3 years and half of them were spent mired in a format war with HD-DVD. There was a lot of confusion created and some former HD-DVD fans are still bitter after all this time. It would have been interesting to see where an optical HD format would be today if we never had a format war. In any case, from what I've seen and read, Blu-ray is alive and well. Player and movie prices keep coming down and who knows, maybe 2010 will see BR make even more significant in-roads.
  • Reply 9 of 27
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by synp View Post


    Why do you want Blu-Ray?



    Why would you not want blu-ray?



    Tell me, how else can I-



    1 ) watch movies at 1080p resolution with a 45mbit bit-rate and lossless 7.1 audio



    2) play my movies on a vast array of players from countless manufacturers



    3) loan high-def movies to friends and relatives



    4) buy HD movies from a large array of competing retailers, ensuring I get the best deal



    etc.



    Digital is fine for convenience when it comes to a quick rental, but BD has some huge selling points and Apple are idiotic if they think people don't see that.



    I think it's clear that new 27" iMac was supposed to be a BD equipped system, but for whatever reason Apple pulled the plug. It will surely get BD sooner rather than later, and when it does, I'll click the buy button. Until then though, my old PC, now with Win 7, will soldier on.
  • Reply 10 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by synp View Post


    Why do you want Blu-Ray?



    Data transmission & archival. Express mailing a 25GB disc to someone is generally faster than uploading & downloading the same amount of data.
  • Reply 11 of 27
    Wouldn't putting your HD film on a $10 USB stick solve all of the "data transmission & archival" issues?
  • Reply 12 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    Wouldn't putting your HD film on a $10 USB stick solve all of the "data transmission & archival" issues?



    It might be a solution if there were 25 GB USB sticks that sold for $10. Whereas the 25 GB write-once blu-ray discs cost less than $3 each.
  • Reply 13 of 27
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cory Bauer View Post


    DaveGee, if I remember correctly, Apple refreshed the iMac in the Fall of '05, only to make it one of the first Macs to migrate to Intel in January '06. And they just finished selling back-to-school kids a ton of white MacBooks, only to replace it with a completely-redesigned model just after the school buying season ended. Apple has no qualms with leaving old hardware (and the people that bought it) in the dust.



    Did you miss the part where I wrote this?



    This would of course cause drama with the people who just purchased the iMacs in late-09 (aka today). Now what could Apple do?



    1. Ignore them (Dave wildly points to this one)
  • Reply 14 of 27
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tonton View Post


    Wouldn't putting your HD film on a $10 USB stick solve all of the "data transmission & archival" issues?



    A 32gb flash drive is $90. A 50gb BD-R is $20. A high quality HD movie will require around 40-45gb.



    BD-R prices will drop and drop and will be virtually free before long, just like DVD-Rs are today. Will flash ever be that cheap? I really doubt it, there's just too much involved in making them.
  • Reply 15 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    A 32gb flash drive is $90. A 50gb BD-R is $20. A high quality HD movie will require around 40-45gb.



    BD-R prices will drop and drop and will be virtually free before long, just like DVD-Rs are today. Will flash ever be that cheap? I really doubt it, there's just too much involved in making them.



    A single layer BD-R is currently $3, just for the record.
  • Reply 16 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by synp View Post


    Why do you want Blu-Ray?



    Better quality movies that you can take with you that are not locked into a devices from a single company.
  • Reply 17 of 27
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveGee View Post


    Did you miss the part where I wrote this?



    This would of course cause drama with the people who just purchased the iMacs in late-09 (aka today). Now what could Apple do?



    1. Ignore them (Dave wildly points to this one)



    I did not miss it; I was supporting your point with evidence that that will most likely be the case.
  • Reply 18 of 27
    Why are people saying that the 27-inch iMac is designed for Blu Ray? The resolution of the 21.5-inch iMac is 1080p, whereas the 27-inch is way more.



    But the 16:9 ratio hints at a more HD-based future for Apple, so hopefully Blu Ray will be along soon.
  • Reply 19 of 27
    kotatsukotatsu Posts: 1,010member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jowie74 View Post


    Why are people saying that the 27-inch iMac is designed for Blu Ray? The resolution of the 21.5-inch iMac is 1080p, whereas the 27-inch is way more.



    But the 16:9 ratio hints at a more HD-based future for Apple, so hopefully Blu Ray will be along soon.



    Apple are pimping the 27" iMac has having the ultimate screen, so the natural next step is, to feed it with the ultimate in video. There is no way to get blu-ray content onto that screen unless you boot into Win 7... which I'm sure isn't exactly how Apple want the machine used.
  • Reply 20 of 27
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kotatsu View Post


    Apple are pimping the 27" iMac has having the ultimate screen, so the natural next step is, to feed it with the ultimate in video. There is no way to get blu-ray content onto that screen unless you boot into Win 7... which I'm sure isn't exactly how Apple want the machine used.



    The amount of people seriously chuffed about no Blu-ray in an iMac is a tempest in a teapot.



    I routinely walk into stores and see Tier 1 HDTV vendors like Sharp or Samsung selling their 32" sets for $400.



    Moving parts means eventually the drive will die. Much like Apple's resisted succombing to a Flash dominated interenet I suppose they'll resist adding another generation of spinning discs.



    Next year Blu-ray will offer Managed Copy to those people who insist on watching HD movies on their computers.
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