So how does Microsoft downplay their refusal to put Blu-Ray on the XBox? It's a bit contradictory to tout Blu-Ray on one device yet say that streaming is the way to go on another. At least Apple is consistent with streaming as their go-to strategy.
Maybe MS thinks you will keep your XBOX connected to the Internet 100% of the time and there will be times when you won't have your laptop connected to the Internet.
Or maybe they are just such a big company that the left and right hands never talk.
Yeah. I think it's interesting that Mac still has less than 10% PC marketshare, and yet Microsoft is already quaking in its boots.
Overall Mac share is growing, but what scares Microsoft most is Mac's share in the consumer market, which has reached 20% in the US. Microsoft knows that as consumer use grows those same consumers will pressure their employers to adopt Macs as well. Also, the US is a harbinger for what will happen in other markets. If US share is 20% now that means other countries will be following. That is what really scares Microsoft.
I travel A LOT and I assure you the last thing I want to do is lug around bluray discs and be popping them into my computer so that I can watch my battery meter go down faster than Enron.
If someone sat beside me on the plane and was thrilled that they could pop in a bluray I'd say "Great. By the way, have you seen my iPad? It holds 12 bluray movies and last 10 hours."
I'm pretty sure Apple is loving Microsoft right now cause in reality not too many people give a shit about blu ray.
Actually, Blu Ray has been adopted at a faster rate than DVD was.
Especially now that prices have come down, Blu Ray is a very, very easy sell to people. Everyone and their mother has a Netflix account which has minimized the effect of expensive discs by mail and by streaming which is built into nearly every player sold today. Blu Ray players can stream movies, play Blu Ray discs through the mail, have apps, can stream DLNA content, etc...
Physical media is indeed on the way out, but it's hardly out yet and there is still a long way to go before it's all streaming all the time. Blu-Ray has positioned itself well by offering the highest quality home viewing and listening experience available while embracing the future of streaming with open arms as well in all the players. It's an absolutely great transitional product for consumers.
If all you want to do is play Blu-Ray, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy a regular Blu-Ray player?
Up until quite recently, it was the best quality BR player on the market for the price, honestly. The fact that I can watch BBC iPlayer etc is also a bonus, and my nephew games on it when he's round. It was the logical choice.
I'm not having a go here, it's just that anyone who says they couldn't care less about it as a format can't have watched very much on it, or certainly on a tv screen big enough to enjoy it in it's full glory. It's easily the best format for viewing movies on the planet at the minute, so why not give us the CHOICE? That's the word that Apple seems to lack these days. I don't want to stream inferior quality signals that I have to pay for if I want to watch it again 12 months later, I want the disc to be compatible with my mac. That's all. The new 27" imacs are tailor made for BR, as are the new minis with HMDI as HTPC's, it's just petulant. Or just about the loot, maybe both.
Fact: DVD/Blu Ray battery life averages 1.5 hours on a modern Sony laptop. 2 hours at best.
Fact: A modern MacBook can play HD movies between 5 - 10 hours.
Fact: Avatar is over 2.5 hours long.
No thank you Microsoft.
Exactly! Watching a Blu-Ray movie on a long flight is not possible. Because no windows notebooks I am aware of have the battery life to go 3 hours while spinning a disk and having the display on.
Blu-Ray = Betamax. Better Quality, check. Being replaced by other media [VHS vs. Download] check.
Yes, the sheer weight of a DVD must be an absolute killer. About the same weight as the case you will need for your ipad unless you want to hold it in front of your face the entire flight.
I pack as few items as possible when travelling. Carrying a selection of blurays and then swapping them in and out is bulky and clumbsy. Its ghetto. It is not a superior experience to digital media, whether on a laptop or iPad.
Translation: We can make money off downloads. We wouldn't get a cut of any Blu-ray disc sales. Not interested.
Exactly. Yet another example of Apple actually limiting choice on their products. Blu-ray? You don't need it, whatever you may actually think! Cue the painfully silly defensive responses . . .
And for the record, I'm a big supporter of Blu-Ray players connected to television sets. However, their only use with computers though is to rip movies into a digital format that can be streamed and sent to mobile devices. Physical media in the mobile world is unnecessary. The benefits of Blu-Ray on a 10-17" screen is limited compared to the hassle of having to drag discs around. An external Blu-Ray drive is all most people really need as far as Blu-Ray and computers go, exceptions being those who use a home theater PC or have money to blow backing up data on BDR's.
I mean, come on...again, I'm a big, big fan of the Blu-Ray format in general, but especially if you're with Apple for mobile devices, ZUMOCAST!!!!!!!!!!! ZUMOCAST!!!!!!!!!!!! It's Air Video and iSub Music Streamer in one pretty, functional application (though Air Video's streaming is still a bit more robust and of a higher quality on mildly-flaky connections).
I pack as few items as possible when travelling. Carrying a selection of blurays and then swapping them in and out is bulky and clumbsy. Its ghetto. It is not a superior experience to digital media, whether on a laptop or iPad.
see the man's post directly above for the difference. As for your Ghetto reference, get your head out of your ass, what did you do a year ago before the ipad existed dickhead?
Meh. I've been ripping our Blu-Rays to disk. It's easy and plays beautifully with Plex.
Apple's problem is their insistence that 720p is 'good enough.' It ain't.
1080p, Steve. 1080p.
That was so obvious to me last night. I watched an episode of SGU via a purchase on my 1st gen ATV that I had missed recording, then followed immediately with the next episode from my DVR. The difference in pic quality wasn't even close. The Apple "HD" version was pathetic in comparison.
see the man's post directly above for the difference. As for your Ghetto reference, get your head out of your ass, what did you do a year ago before the ipad existed dickhead?
With most affordable Windows laptops having abysmal screen resolution and battery life (some 14 and 15" models still do not exceed 800 lines), what is the point of wasting energy to decompress more pixels than one can see? Just to claim you have joined the dead? Clever marketing indeed.
Comments
So how does Microsoft downplay their refusal to put Blu-Ray on the XBox? It's a bit contradictory to tout Blu-Ray on one device yet say that streaming is the way to go on another. At least Apple is consistent with streaming as their go-to strategy.
Maybe MS thinks you will keep your XBOX connected to the Internet 100% of the time and there will be times when you won't have your laptop connected to the Internet.
Or maybe they are just such a big company that the left and right hands never talk.
Because that's a lot less hassle than sliding in a disc. Any excuse to not admit your'e on the losing side for once.
OH SNAP!!!
BTW, I'm a Mac user, who bought a PS3 just to play Blu-Rays.
If all you want to do is play Blu-Ray, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy a regular Blu-Ray player?
Yeah. I think it's interesting that Mac still has less than 10% PC marketshare, and yet Microsoft is already quaking in its boots.
Overall Mac share is growing, but what scares Microsoft most is Mac's share in the consumer market, which has reached 20% in the US. Microsoft knows that as consumer use grows those same consumers will pressure their employers to adopt Macs as well. Also, the US is a harbinger for what will happen in other markets. If US share is 20% now that means other countries will be following. That is what really scares Microsoft.
I travel A LOT and I assure you the last thing I want to do is lug around bluray discs and be popping them into my computer so that I can watch my battery meter go down faster than Enron.
If someone sat beside me on the plane and was thrilled that they could pop in a bluray I'd say "Great. By the way, have you seen my iPad? It holds 12 bluray movies and last 10 hours."
so true, I second that....
... His assertion that BR is a dead format is bollocks, as the sales grew way over 100% on last year, some half a billion in revenue. ...
Percentage sales growth is a meaningless number without an absolute reference.
I'm pretty sure Apple is loving Microsoft right now cause in reality not too many people give a shit about blu ray.
Actually, Blu Ray has been adopted at a faster rate than DVD was.
Especially now that prices have come down, Blu Ray is a very, very easy sell to people. Everyone and their mother has a Netflix account which has minimized the effect of expensive discs by mail and by streaming which is built into nearly every player sold today. Blu Ray players can stream movies, play Blu Ray discs through the mail, have apps, can stream DLNA content, etc...
Physical media is indeed on the way out, but it's hardly out yet and there is still a long way to go before it's all streaming all the time. Blu-Ray has positioned itself well by offering the highest quality home viewing and listening experience available while embracing the future of streaming with open arms as well in all the players. It's an absolutely great transitional product for consumers.
OH SNAP!!!
If all you want to do is play Blu-Ray, wouldn't it have been cheaper just to buy a regular Blu-Ray player?
Up until quite recently, it was the best quality BR player on the market for the price, honestly. The fact that I can watch BBC iPlayer etc is also a bonus, and my nephew games on it when he's round. It was the logical choice.
I'm not having a go here, it's just that anyone who says they couldn't care less about it as a format can't have watched very much on it, or certainly on a tv screen big enough to enjoy it in it's full glory. It's easily the best format for viewing movies on the planet at the minute, so why not give us the CHOICE? That's the word that Apple seems to lack these days. I don't want to stream inferior quality signals that I have to pay for if I want to watch it again 12 months later, I want the disc to be compatible with my mac. That's all. The new 27" imacs are tailor made for BR, as are the new minis with HMDI as HTPC's, it's just petulant. Or just about the loot, maybe both.
Blu-ray support is the ONLY advantage W7 has over Mac OS X.
As for iTunes streaming of HD content... it's only 720p, NOT FULL-HD - 1920 x 1080.
For me, that just doesn't cut it.
I'd love for Mac OS X to have full Blu-ray support... not limited to data-only.
What kind of laptop do you have?
for the 13" MB or MBP its hardly a difference (1280×720). Perhaps the 15 or 17 would notice improvement.
Fact: DVD/Blu Ray battery life averages 1.5 hours on a modern Sony laptop. 2 hours at best.
Fact: A modern MacBook can play HD movies between 5 - 10 hours.
Fact: Avatar is over 2.5 hours long.
No thank you Microsoft.
Exactly! Watching a Blu-Ray movie on a long flight is not possible. Because no windows notebooks I am aware of have the battery life to go 3 hours while spinning a disk and having the display on.
Blu-Ray = Betamax. Better Quality, check. Being replaced by other media [VHS vs. Download] check.
Apple's problem is their insistence that 720p is 'good enough.' It ain't.
1080p, Steve. 1080p.
Yes, the sheer weight of a DVD must be an absolute killer. About the same weight as the case you will need for your ipad unless you want to hold it in front of your face the entire flight.
I pack as few items as possible when travelling. Carrying a selection of blurays and then swapping them in and out is bulky and clumbsy. Its ghetto. It is not a superior experience to digital media, whether on a laptop or iPad.
Percentage sales growth is a meaningless number without an absolute reference.
The reference is the previous year's sales, as part of total DVD sales. If it netted half a billion in revenue, I think it's got some legs mate.
Translation: We can make money off downloads. We wouldn't get a cut of any Blu-ray disc sales. Not interested.
Exactly. Yet another example of Apple actually limiting choice on their products. Blu-ray? You don't need it, whatever you may actually think! Cue the painfully silly defensive responses . . .
I mean, come on...again, I'm a big, big fan of the Blu-Ray format in general, but especially if you're with Apple for mobile devices, ZUMOCAST!!!!!!!!!!! ZUMOCAST!!!!!!!!!!!! It's Air Video and iSub Music Streamer in one pretty, functional application (though Air Video's streaming is still a bit more robust and of a higher quality on mildly-flaky connections).
I pack as few items as possible when travelling. Carrying a selection of blurays and then swapping them in and out is bulky and clumbsy. Its ghetto. It is not a superior experience to digital media, whether on a laptop or iPad.
see the man's post directly above for the difference. As for your Ghetto reference, get your head out of your ass, what did you do a year ago before the ipad existed dickhead?
Meh. I've been ripping our Blu-Rays to disk. It's easy and plays beautifully with Plex.
Apple's problem is their insistence that 720p is 'good enough.' It ain't.
1080p, Steve. 1080p.
That was so obvious to me last night. I watched an episode of SGU via a purchase on my 1st gen ATV that I had missed recording, then followed immediately with the next episode from my DVR. The difference in pic quality wasn't even close. The Apple "HD" version was pathetic in comparison.
1080p, please.
see the man's post directly above for the difference. As for your Ghetto reference, get your head out of your ass, what did you do a year ago before the ipad existed dickhead?
iPod. You may have heard of it.
http://www.gearlog.com/2010/09/micro...res_blu-ra.php
With most affordable Windows laptops having abysmal screen resolution and battery life (some 14 and 15" models still do not exceed 800 lines), what is the point of wasting energy to decompress more pixels than one can see? Just to claim you have joined the dead? Clever marketing indeed.