Blu-ray Macs: Early 2007?

MacRumors · Nov 21, 2006, 07:24 PM

ThinkSecret believes that Apple will start to receive Blu-ray drives from Sony in February. While the site has previously reported that Apple may also back rival format HD-DVD, this information perhaps pegs Blu-ray equipped Mac Pros early next year.

The information is tempered by the fact that ThinkSecret has not been extremely accurate in recent history. In addition, AppleInsider currently believes that the Mac Pro is due to receive an update before the end of the year, which would make an early-2007 update to the Mac Pro 3 updates in half a year, which is an unusually fast sustained-pace for pro-system upgrades.

While the possibility certainly exists that Apple could introduce Blu-ray functionality in a system other than the Mac Pro first, and indeed ThinkSecret leaves that door open by not specifying which Mac would start shipping with the drives first, most educated speculation points to Apple's pro systems being the first to benefit from the upgrade.

LastLine · Nov 21, 2006, 07:30 PM

Hmm....I say no - I don't like the idea of Apple jumping on either format this fast...

Spanky Deluxe · Nov 21, 2006, 08:07 PM

I couldn't care either way. It'll be a CTO if they do indeed add them. I'd rather wait for the media wars to subside or wait for Hybrid Blu Ray/HD-DVD drives to become available at a reasonable price before I bother with this stuff. I mean the last few disks I've burned have been Boot Camp install disks! I can't remember the last time I burnt a DVD, my back of 25 still sits there unused!

KindredMAC · Nov 21, 2006, 08:07 PM

Why not? Apple could do like they always do and have some insane combo drive out before everyone else...

How about an Ultra Drive???? It could burn/play CD's, DVD's, BRD's and HD DVD's!

Now that would be one sweet piece of machinery!

I don't see any real reason a laser couldn't be made that would read and write to both next gen medias.

Delicious-Apple · Nov 21, 2006, 08:19 PM

It could be a simple BTO option (for the 2G Mac Pro including new 8-Core Model)

Eidorian · Nov 21, 2006, 08:27 PM

*buys a Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive and hacks it for OS X*

sixstorm · Nov 21, 2006, 08:28 PM

Blu-Ray = HUGE waste of time . . . unless you are looking at JUST storage. If you are looking for movie playback, HD-DVD is the way to go.

Rocketman · Nov 21, 2006, 08:41 PM

Steve loves the iMac. I predict the 24" iMac will ship with Blu-Ray first.

I could be right!

BTO!

Rocketman

maxp1 · Nov 21, 2006, 08:51 PM

Isn't Sony having a supply problem with it's blue diodes? I can't imagine that they would divert any of their small supply away from manufacturing PS3s and toward a computer manufacturer who doesn't benefit them.

Rocketman · Nov 21, 2006, 08:51 PM

This whole subject raises a certain polarization occuring in society right now. No, not democrat vs. republican, but bandwidth available vs. bandwidth starved.

If you have bandwidth, you can store your content on servers and local discs.

If not, you are relegated to CD's and DVD's and other forms of sneakerware and mail-ware.

Hughesnet has taken a big step to help remote but financially solvent folks, but the poor and remote remain screwed.

Ever tried a software update without broadband???

Rocketman

Quboid · Nov 21, 2006, 08:55 PM

n't that raise the already high price of apple computers. I say there's no need and thats too fast of an upgrade for my liking.

jholzner · Nov 21, 2006, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixstorm

If you are looking for movie playback, HD-DVD is the way to go.

Why? Care to explain? They are both viable formats and blu-ray has more storage.

swingerofbirch · Nov 21, 2006, 09:11 PM

Mark my words: iTV will be the first Apple product to ship with blu-ray.

GregA · Nov 21, 2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swingerofbirch

Mark my words: iTV will be the first Apple product to ship with blu-ray.

Damn, exactly what I was wondering. You beat me.

iTV will be great, I'm very interested in it. It has 2 pieces lacking IMO - but both of these would increase the cost significantly, and I see the value of a cheap device. Perhaps a higher end version could:
1) Play DVDs. And next year people will start looking at high definition more seriously... so why not give it to them.
2) Record TV. You need a receiver (FTA? Cable? Sat?) and hard disk though.

I guess it's possible that an iTV-Pro (bad name) could be a hybrid of MacMini + BluRay + iTV.

longofest · Nov 21, 2006, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GregA

I guess it's possible that an iTV-Pro (bad name) could be a hybrid of MacMini + BluRay + iTV.

what do you think the price tag on that would be??? I'm guessing you're talking a solid $999 or more for that, which is the definition of a premium product. I'm not so certain how well it would do...

BlueRevolution · Nov 21, 2006, 11:03 PM

Wishful thinking. I wish.

mahonmeister · Nov 22, 2006, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swingerofbirch

Mark my words: iTV will be the first Apple product to ship with blu-ray.

Huh? Are you being sarcastic?

Lets get some HD DVD drives too. Just because Blu-ray has a huge capacity doesn't mean it is the best for all situations.

scottlinux · 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixstorm

Blu-Ray = HUGE waste of time . . . unless you are looking at JUST storage. If you are looking for movie playback, HD-DVD is the way to go.

Why do you say that? Blu-Ray has more space than HD-DVD. I think more people buy into HD-DVD because it has a better sounding name.

Blu-ray
25GB (single-layer)
50GB (dual-layer)

HD-DVD
15GB (single-layer)
30GB (dual-layer)

So it is not a waste of time. I take it you do not work in digital video or audio. I could easily use a Blu-ray drive. I currently have audio projects split across several DL-DVDs to back them up.

I could care less about HD-DVD or Blu-ray movies, personally. And you need a HDCP video card to playback movies.

The Mac Pros clearly have two optical drive bays. We knew this was coming. (Duh.) There is a special sata connector on the logic board that is unused and undocumented at the moment. Most think it is for the new blu-ray drives.

The one thing missing in this story is the price. The blu-ray burners are currently $700-$1000. Yee-ouch!

thejadedmonkey · Nov 22, 2006, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottlinux

The one thing missing in this story is the price. The blu-ray burners are currently $700-$1000. Yee-ouch!

And since when has price ever stopped Apple from doing something?

iEric · Nov 22, 2006, 01:48 AM

LOL that's pretty funny considering I don't even burn DL DVDs yet and they're going to start putting Blu-ray in. (that is if the rumor is true) even if it's not, it's still funny to me.

twoodcc · Nov 22, 2006, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eidorian

*buys a Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive and hacks it for OS X*

now there's an idea

but i think this is good for Apple. whatever they do, i'm sure it'll be the right decision

Eidorian · Nov 22, 2006, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twoodcc

now there's an idea

but i think this is good for Apple. whatever they do, i'm sure it'll be the right decision

Well they've gotten it to play DVD's on OS X.

No we just need playback software and it should work just fine for HD-DVD.

caliguy · Nov 22, 2006, 02:39 AM

I like the idea of Blu-ray more. It just seems more of a Blu-ray/HD DVD and Apple/Microsoft thing. I don't know.. it sounds better I guess

.

I'm so excited for MacWorld. There's a lot to be told.

spicyapple · Nov 22, 2006, 02:43 AM

Here's to hoping they also release an update to iDVD (and DVDSP) so I'm able to burn HDV movies to Blu-ray, otherwise, I see no point of having BR drives.

yankeedoodle · Nov 22, 2006, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thejadedmonkey

And since when has price ever stopped Apple from doing something?

Apple ususally wants to rock the industry. When Apple was first to introduced the SuperDrive (DVD-R) in 2001 (Steve: "We decided to start 2001 with a bang!") it did not just put the drive into the Mac's case (like everybody else would have done), they also introduced iDVD -- a breakthrough application concerning functionality, quality and ease of use at that time.

Video-BluRay and -HD-DVD discs are not just blown-up DVDs, they also feature a whole new menu layer that supports a kind of java and offers much more functionality than the menus in a conventional DVD. That does however mean that you will need a completely new software to author BluRay (or HD-DVD) discs. And I am sure that Apple is about to come up with exactly such a software -- be it called iDVD HD (!) or iDVD Blu (!) or whatever name seems to be appropriate -- and that Apple will introduce it together with the drive. That's the Apple way (that we all love so much): not just a naked device, but a complete solution from iMovie HD (caputres HD video) to iDVD HD. (The same of course will be true for the professional software line Final Cut HD and "DVDStudio HD".)

Nov 21, 2006, 07:24 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Blu-ray Macs: Early 2007? ThinkSecret believes that Apple will start to receive Blu-ray drives from Sony in February. While the site has previously reported that Apple may also back rival format HD-DVD, this information perhaps pegs Blu-ray equipped Mac Pros early next year. The information is tempered by the fact that ThinkSecret has not been extremely accurate in recent history. In addition, AppleInsider currently believes that the Mac Pro is due to receive an update before the end of the year, which would make an early-2007 update to the Mac Pro 3 updates in half a year, which is an unusually fast sustained-pace for pro-system upgrades. While the possibility certainly exists that Apple could introduce Blu-ray functionality in a system other than the Mac Pro first, and indeed ThinkSecret leaves that door open by not specifying which Mac would start shipping with the drives first, most educated speculation points to Apple's pro systems being the first to benefit from the upgrade.

Nov 21, 2006, 08:07 PM	#3
Spanky Deluxe macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: London, UK	I couldn't care either way. It'll be a CTO if they do indeed add them. I'd rather wait for the media wars to subside or wait for Hybrid Blu Ray/HD-DVD drives to become available at a reasonable price before I bother with this stuff. I mean the last few disks I've burned have been Boot Camp install disks! I can't remember the last time I burnt a DVD, my back of 25 still sits there unused! __________________ "No, I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."

Nov 21, 2006, 08:07 PM	#4
KindredMAC macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2003	Why not? Apple could do like they always do and have some insane combo drive out before everyone else... How about an Ultra Drive???? It could burn/play CD's, DVD's, BRD's and HD DVD's! Now that would be one sweet piece of machinery! I don't see any real reason a laser couldn't be made that would read and write to both next gen medias. __________________ "We want to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose." - Steve Jobs

Nov 21, 2006, 08:19 PM	#5
Delicious-Apple macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2006	Bto It could be a simple BTO option (for the 2G Mac Pro including new 8-Core Model)

Nov 21, 2006, 08:27 PM	#6
Eidorian macrumors G3 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Indiana	buys a Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive and hacks it for OS X __________________ MRoogle it! hikari T7500 2.2 GHz / 4 GB / 320 GB / GMA X3100 / 10.5.8 chobimaru Core i5 750 2.66 GHz / 4 GB / 640 GB / 4830 / Windows 7

Nov 21, 2006, 07:30 PM	#2
LastLine macrumors 6502a Join Date: Aug 2005	Hmm....I say no - I don't like the idea of Apple jumping on either format this fast...

Nov 21, 2006, 08:28 PM	#7
sixstorm macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Nashville, TN	Blu-Ray = HUGE waste of time . . . unless you are looking at JUST storage. If you are looking for movie playback, HD-DVD is the way to go. __________________ 17" iMac Core Duo (1.8GHz Intel, 1GB RAM, ATIx1600) 14" iBook G4 (768MB RAM, 1.33 GHz G4, ATI 9200)

Nov 21, 2006, 08:41 PM	#8
Rocketman macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Claremont, CA	Steve loves the iMac. I predict the 24" iMac will ship with Blu-Ray first. I could be right! BTO! Rocketman

Nov 21, 2006, 08:51 PM	#9
maxp1 macrumors regular Join Date: Feb 2005	shortage Isn't Sony having a supply problem with it's blue diodes? I can't imagine that they would divert any of their small supply away from manufacturing PS3s and toward a computer manufacturer who doesn't benefit them.

Nov 21, 2006, 08:55 PM	#11
Quboid macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: everywhere	n't that raise the already high price of apple computers. I say there's no need and thats too fast of an upgrade for my liking. __________________ "My anger far outweighs my guilt"

Nov 21, 2006, 09:11 PM	#13
swingerofbirch macrumors 68000 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: The Amalgamated States of Central North America	Mark my words: iTV will be the first Apple product to ship with blu-ray. __________________ Blog of Failure After using a PC all day, coming home to my Mac is like a tall, cold glass of peach iced tea.

Nov 21, 2006, 11:03 PM	#16
BlueRevolution macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Ailleurs	Wishful thinking. I wish. __________________ "In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal a loaf of bread." —Anatole France

Nov 22, 2006, 01:48 AM	#20
iEric macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada	LOL that's pretty funny considering I don't even burn DL DVDs yet and they're going to start putting Blu-ray in. (that is if the rumor is true) even if it's not, it's still funny to me. __________________ 20" iMac G5 2.0 Ghz, 15" MPB 2.0 Ghz, 8GB iPod nano

Nov 22, 2006, 02:39 AM	#23
caliguy macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2005	I like the idea of Blu-ray more. It just seems more of a Blu-ray/HD DVD and Apple/Microsoft thing. I don't know.. it sounds better I guess . I'm so excited for MacWorld. There's a lot to be told.

Nov 22, 2006, 02:43 AM	#24
spicyapple macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jul 2006	Here's to hoping they also release an update to iDVD (and DVDSP) so I'm able to burn HDV movies to Blu-ray, otherwise, I see no point of having BR drives.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode