Even better, then there truly is no valid reason for excluding built in blu-ray drives.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Dear Apple, WHY NO BLU RAY in the new Macs!?!?! ARGH!
- Thread starter msmth928
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Even better, then there truly is no valid reason for excluding built in blu-ray drives.
The one - and only - time I did a Blu-ray disc playback with PowerDVD under Windows it was a near nightmare. This was using my MacBook Pro under Boot Camp connected to my Samsung TV by DVI to HDMI cable and optical cable, and my USB2 Sony Blu-Ray drive. After putting the disc in it started playing (after about a minute) on my MacBook's screen, not the TV. Then I had go on the web to find out I had to set the output to my TV by drilling about down 10 semi-ambiguos nVidia screens. So I did that and got another error message about having two displays active, which is apparently against the Blu-Ray Rules. Back to the net and I discovered I had to disable the MBP's display. So I go to the Control Panels and drill down those 10 nVidia screens to finally find where that was done.
So now my MBP's display is off and my TV shows the Blu-ray Disc menu. I choose the movie and it starts playing. Oops! I forgot to turn the volume up. Wait, no that's not it, the volume is fine. So then I had to go through the sound Control Panel to fiddle with it and finally got it working (I still have no idea what I did). After that it played just fine. So the movie ends and I quit Power DVD, then went back through all the nVidia screens AGAIN to get my MBP display working.
What a pain in the @$$.
Setting up a rip takes less time, plus I don't have to insert disks to change movies. It's all served up from my computer to Plex, even over the network to other computers in the house.
PowerDVD is horrible. But it was horrible when it only played DVD discs too. DVD playback was horrible on Windows until Microsoft finally shipped a MPEG-2 decoder in Windows Vista. While on the Mac side, we’ve had DVD player (a stable and easy to use application) since 1999.
There’s nothing preventing Apple from releasing DVD Player with Blu-ray support.
I don’t see why licensing requirements for Blu-ray couldn’t be self-contained within DVD Player just like HDCP is self-contained within iTunes.
What gets me is Apple is a major player in the Blu-ray standard and has sat on their board of directors since 2005. If anyone is able to persuade the consortium, its Apple. Not to mention, Steve Jobs also has another theoretical seat on the board with his shareholder/board power over at Disney.
If Apple wanted more favorable Blu-ray licensing, they could get it. I personally think they’re waiting on cheaper slot-loading BD-R drives so they can rev DVD Studio Pro and iDVD in the process.
Speaking of Disney, why aren’t their animated classics like Snow White on the iTunes Store? They are on Netflix’s instant streaming and Microsoft’s XBOX Live Marketplace. They should be available in HD to own and rent on the iTunes Store. There’s no excuse.
re the kernel DRM stuff, because it's the best, most coherent argument against Blu-ray on the mac (in my opinion the only possible valid, sensible reason for Blu-ray to not be an option by now ):
If Apple wanted to add Blu-ray they would find a way. They're supposed to be the big innovative computer company that comes up with elegant solutions that others can't manage so nicely. There must be a way around it all that suits everyone.
Feel free to shoot holes in this, but couldn't they run some kind of sandboxed VM layer that restricts any content leaving that layer/sandbox? To the Blu-ray disc, it'd be accessing the lowest-level of the system, and the actual OS X kernel could oversee that, whilst not letting the Blu-ray DRM to even be aware of how that was working. Surely that kind of set-up could be made in such a way that it satisfied the DRM requirements as well as Apple? Kind of thing?
Has anyone tried playing a Blu-ray in a Windows VM? does that work? If so, it would seem that some kind of sandboxed VM for Blu-ray must be possible.
Those nice new LED-lit iMac screens just seem such a waste without proper, legit commercial content (i.e generously compressed 1080p content via BDs) to use them to their full potential. I'd be willing to bet that they'll be obsolete machines before everyone can download 1080p of a similar quality from iTunes or the like.
If Apple wanted to add Blu-ray they would find a way. They're supposed to be the big innovative computer company that comes up with elegant solutions that others can't manage so nicely. There must be a way around it all that suits everyone.
Feel free to shoot holes in this, but couldn't they run some kind of sandboxed VM layer that restricts any content leaving that layer/sandbox? To the Blu-ray disc, it'd be accessing the lowest-level of the system, and the actual OS X kernel could oversee that, whilst not letting the Blu-ray DRM to even be aware of how that was working. Surely that kind of set-up could be made in such a way that it satisfied the DRM requirements as well as Apple? Kind of thing?
Has anyone tried playing a Blu-ray in a Windows VM? does that work? If so, it would seem that some kind of sandboxed VM for Blu-ray must be possible.
Those nice new LED-lit iMac screens just seem such a waste without proper, legit commercial content (i.e generously compressed 1080p content via BDs) to use them to their full potential. I'd be willing to bet that they'll be obsolete machines before everyone can download 1080p of a similar quality from iTunes or the like.
Again: Oh you mean things like HDCP, which apple have already implemented?
I think Apple's only problem with blu ray is that they can't figure out a way to spin it as "iBlu" and claim it was invented by Apple.
From what I understand, it doesn't work because the guest OS playing the Blu Ray needs direct access to the GPU which Parallels and VM ware don't allow, but this seems like more of a software limitation with Parallels and VM, not virtualization itself
And why is that, exactly. Please provide links to interviews/sources as to the exact reasons why Jobs/apple are opposed to BR support. (I.e. let's hear it from the horses mouth - not internet fud/marketing/nonsense.)
You won't find any, because there is no reasonable reason why it shouldn't be included - and Apple know it!
All that crap about DRM/Kernel is just that, crap. As I've said a million times, it doesn't compromise security of the system no matter how good or bad their DRM encryption is (because it'll only effect BR playback, nothing more, nothing less).
I'm really beginning to despise Apple.
Oh how the new iMacs are so cool with 1080p display YET THEY DON'T HAVE A BLU RAY DRIVE!
It's not about blu ray drives being expensive it's about Apple wanting to push their inferior download service on us. Argh!
Apple = bag of hurt.
/Rant over.
Anyone else feel the same?
Personally I am GLAD Blue Ray is not included. Firstly becuase all the whiners didn't get what they wanted. Secondly who uses discs anymore anyway. I used my 1 year old MBPs dvd drive for the second time the other day only to find it not working. It could have not been working for a year !
King Steve said Blu Ray was a "bag of hurt." The only one who will be a bag of hurt is Apple if they continue to lag behind their competition by not offering Blu Ray.
Good for you. Some of us do use discs and want Blu Ray support. Just because you don't use something doesn't mean no one else does. Apple doesn't design their hardware around your needs.
i want to know how many people who have blu ray in their laptops actually use it more than half a dozen times... imo its just not worth it for everyone, but a BTO option should apear soon... ive seen the question raised before that macs (excluding the mac pro) may be too thin to include blu ray drives right now. when they can slim them down maybe then apple will include them... but steve is not going to compromise the design of his products to include something he doesnt want you using anyways.
EDIT: and to those who are saying the decision to leave it out will be a "bag of hurt for apple" or that it will negatively affect apple's sales... have you looked at their figures lately?
EDIT: and to those who are saying the decision to leave it out will be a "bag of hurt for apple" or that it will negatively affect apple's sales... have you looked at their figures lately?
Steve probably doesn't want people using Macs to spread rumors about upcoming Apple products either, perhaps MacRumors and Apple Insider should be blocked in the next version of Safari. I sure am glad Steve knows what's best for me.
$3000 who spent that, I didn't by a mac.
Media server sure you win.
I have been running a dual boot dos with vista and win7. After watch well over 30 movies I only had one crash while watching a movie. It ended up being a bad print.
Oh wait what am i'm saying. Please allow me to correct myself, I have never been able to get thru a full movie because of f'in windows or some other program keeps crashing or I have some virus or Trojan attack.
Say what you will those of us with real media servers aren't downloading from iTunes either. Most likely with my group someone or someone are is a member of netflix. The rest have multiple portable drives. Not all because there seems to be a large population herr that don't which I take my hat off to.
Look, the iMacs support video input now. Why don't you guys just pick up a standalone blu-ray player and connect it to that port? It probably won't be far off from what Apple will charge you for a BTO built-in BD drive anyway. Sit on your office chair at your desk and enjoy that HD movie.
No, video input only does Display Port in, and no Blu Ray players to my knowledge output in DP (since HDMI is for home theater and DP is for computers).
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Oh yeah.. Apple has REALLY been hurting lately.. they only posted their best ever Quarterly results with $1.67B in profits (mostly attributed to Mac sales).. with their share projected to shoot above $300.. Must be because of all that lack of BluRay offering..
Nor do they design the hardware around your wants and wishes. I am sure when the critical mass of Apple customers demands BD support - Apple will do what it can to offer it. But that time hasn't arrived, and may be never will.
DisplayPort can be converted to HDMI with a passive adapter like that, but going the other way around requires a $200 active adapter.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Who cares what you said a million times. Are you an Apple developer intricately familiar with MacOS kernel architecture? And do you understand what it would involve to support fully protected path within the OS kernel, as required by BD license? Unless the answer to both of those is "yes", what you think on this subject means absolutely zero.
Oh yeah.. Apple has REALLY been hurting lately.. they only posted their best ever Quarterly results with $1.67B in profits (mostly attributed to Mac sales).. with their share projected to shoot above $300.. Must be because of all that lack of BluRay offering..
Unfortunately most of them coming from ipod users - which let's face it don't know their arse from their elbows. Ipod sound quality is ***** compared to dedicated DAPs like Sony Walkmans, you wouldn't catch an audiophile seen dead with one!
Though possibly not quite so insane as people moaning about the moaning. At least our moaning is directed towards something that is on topic, instead of just moaning about other people moaning.*
*I realise I am now moaning about the moaning about the moaning. So I'll stop right here.
Perhaps. Or just not understanding why bluray wouldn't be incorporated or at the very least offered.
Someone said it has to do with the kernel. Is apple hiring second rate programmers?
I really think mac users are missing out.
What kind if sound cards/processors are in the macs? What sound formats do they support? Perhaps it is more about apple paying the licensing fees for the Dolby, dts, and thx that us the real issue. Hdmi lowered their licensing fees but I wonder if the others are just too high.