Are Apple going to be retiring CD/DVD drives entirely

[pgiguere1]

Of course Apple benefits from the removal of optical drives more than any other manufacturer since they have a large control of digital distribution with iTunes and the Mac App Store, but the future was shaping up towards digital distribution even before they introduced optical drive-less computers like the MacBook Air. They just have been smart enough to invest in what they believed in and thought was the future (legal digital distribution) and it worked very well, so good for them!

But you still have to see that optical drives are becoming obsolete, and not just according to Apple. Even manufacturers who don't benefit from digital distribution are all making new laptops without optical drives now (mainly what they call ultrabooks). Apple of course pushes new trends before most other manufacturers, but that's just how they are and always have been. See, they decided to kill Flash even if they didn't benefit from its "successor" (HTML5), they killed floppies before they had a digital store, and they are now killing hard drives and the ethernet port.

Some people are not ready for this transition to digital distribution just yet, and it's probably one of the reason they decided to keep offering the older 15" MBP with new internals. It's just as fast and has legacy I/O for those who aren't ready to ditch it yet. You can't get a Retina Display with it, but Apple has explained that the process they use to make the screen and fix it to the lid is different, so it would not have been compatible. They could have made a separate Retina Display for the legacy MBP, but they already offer 3 screen options on it (glossy, hi-res glossy and hi-res matte) and it's understandable that they don't want to have to produce a hundred types of screen for an older-generation model and move forward with their new products and focus on the future, like they always do.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Television shows cannot be downloaded in Ireland from iTunes.

Is iTunes the only place to download or stream movies and TV shows? No, of course not.

But if you like your TV and movies on optical media then there is a stand-alone superdrive. It's not like Apple has completely abandoned optical, it's just not forcing people to schlep it with them everywhere they go even though they don't need it.

 

[theSeb]

Not really. Floppies were replaced by a newer, faster, better and more reliable physical media. Optical disks are being replaced by a reliance on an unstable, slow and pay-per-use remote storage.

I'm fine with dumping the optical drives from Macs and I haven't burnt a DVD or cd in years. But there's a difference with using a drive infrequently and NEVER using a drive ever again. And optical drives still do have usage scenarios that aren't going away soon.

Then buy an external optical drive for the infrequent use.

 

[jakeboy]

Region Code Problems - Solved !!!!

Hey just for the record, i have tested this on many Macs and it works.
actually Apple deleted my post on their forums maybe because i found out...
but here is the solution once and for all without software or firmware or flashrom and all that nonsense.

Cheers.


first remove folder in - User/Libary/Application Support/DVD Player : trash the seetings folder inside.
second remove file in - User/Libary/Prefrences : com.apple.DVDPlayer.plist - trash that file
Third go to Application Right click on DVD Player, choose SHOW PACKAGE CONTENTS - trash the folder inside the DVD PLayer. Empty the trash. now you can play any dvd from any region forever. Region Free Drive.
You cant use the dvd player anymore but the system thinks it still there. So Use the VLC player.
Hope this is helpful for every one.

PS: if you cant find the 'hidden' User/Libary - folder here is the way to make it visible again in your user folder.

Show User ~/Library in OS X Lion & Mountain Lion
Launch Terminal from Spotlight or Launchpad -> Utilities, and enter the following command to show or hide the directory:
chflags nohidden ~/Library/


that's it. good viewing out there.

 

[LeeM]

What about us Dj's? Need to put music on cd to play cdj's in clubs where the laptop is impractical.
I also have to submit a lot of work for uni on cd/dvd

 

[Nozuka]

What about those who would rather burn a DVD for free than pay 11 bucks for a movie worth no more than a blank disk? Why throw away free money?

so you are saying they should keep the drive, to make it easier to steal movies?

but anyway.. a notebook ist a portable device, something that most people carry around and every little bit of weight and size you can shave of it, is a big bonus in my opinion. if you really use it ALOT then it might be bothersome to use an external drive, but if you use it just every once in a while to burn something, it isnt really worth it to always carry around that extra weight.

obviously you can't make it right for everyone.

 

[stuaz]

Just get a USB drive....its a mute point really this whole thread.

Netbooks and Ultrabooks don't often come with drives (Nor does the Air) and they have been knocking around of a while now...its a natural progression.

 

[maflynn]

I foresee a time where apple does not offer optical drives in thier computers and that time is not far off.

The need for optical drive is quickly decreasing and while I can empathize with the OP's plight, I'd say he's the exception to the rule.

 

[theSeb]

What about those who would rather burn a DVD for free than pay 11 bucks for a movie worth no more than a blank disk? Why throw away free money?

Indeed. Why not take it further when you think about all of the free money you are potentially throwing away? Need a new computer? Just steal it. Need a car? Just steal it. Thirsty? Steal a coke from the local grocer. It all makes sense now. I can't believe how much free money I've thrown away all these years.

 

[inhalexhale1]

Indeed. Why not take it further when you think about all of the free money you are potentially throwing away? Need a new computer? Just steal it. Need a car? Just steal it. Thirsty? Steal a coke from the local grocer. It all makes sense now. I can't believe how much free money I've thrown away all these years.

lol

 

[xAgustinx]

Since I bought the macbook pro, the only time I used the optical drive was to install office (which could be downloaded online), so for me it is not very useful.

 

[AZREOSpecialist]

Thank god the CD/DVD drives are going away… I hate having to handle CDs and DVDs, they are so big and the drives take up so much valuable space in a computer. For anything that I would have previously used a CD or DVD I can now easily substitute a USB stick with faster speeds and more storage.

 

[NikkiJayne]

I haven't used my DVD drive in years. I should be getting my rMBP this week and all I can say is: good riddance to DVD drives!

If people do need them for whatever reason then they can buy an external one. However one day they will go the way of floppy drives. It's inevitable.

 

[EthosX]

Barely using dvd .. it is ancient just flashdrives and files ..

 

[Beta Particle]

Unfortunately, it was obvious this was coming since the release of the MacBook Air, and the lack of any Blu-ray equipped Macs.

The days of optical media were numbered as soon as digital music stores went online.

It’s too bad really, as nowhere offers CD-quality music, or DVD-quality downloads even now. (yeah, they might be “high definition” but the compression is shocking)

The marketplace outside USA is significantly smaller due to licensing agreements, if content is even available at all in your territory, and it’s more expensive to buy a low-quality download than a high-quality disc.

Not just Apple -- the world. Optical drives are a 20th cent. relic. A thumb drive can hold the data it would take an entire box of DVDs & reusable. Movies easily downloadable or streamed. And most s/w is downloaded too, even OSes. So, yes time to say bye, bye to optical.

Replace that box of DVDs with a box of 50GB Blu-ray discs, and see how cheap it is to replace them with flash drives now.

 

[derbothaus]

I pay independent producers. I never pay for RIAA/ MPAA trash. I actually avoid it altogether. It is what they deserve. Thanks for the remakes in 3d *******s. Thanks for the untold New Kids on the Block/ 50Cent's. Now will you please invite the writers back and short change the lawyers instead? Thanks.
Signed, artistic taste.

 

[cntwtfrmynwmbp]

I'm trying to, but TV shows are not available for Irish customers to purchase. I have NO access to downloading TV Shows in the iTunes store. None, zero zilch.

(...)

I'll embrace the digital world, when there is something worth embracing.

Exactly the same in Switzerland! No Series on iTunes, no Netflix or Hulu or something similar. So you have to buy DVDs and an optical drive is very useful then.

 

[EwanMcTeagle]

Exactly the same in Switzerland! No Series on iTunes, no Netflix or Hulu or something similar. So you have to buy DVDs and an optical drive is very useful then.

I also find myself using the optical (at least in my MBP) not as often as I used to and as I thought I would have. But still, as Reasunach and others have pointed out - not everywhere is the content as available as it is in the US. I watch most movies in the cinema, buy or rent the rest on DVD, but I gotta admit I download some TV shows from torrents as it takes ages for them to be aired in Poland. Apart from the delay Polish TV networks are very inconsistent when it comes to TV shows. For example season 1 of Mad Men came to Poland a year after it has premiered. But then the channel that was showing it (very late at night) stopped at season 1 and never aired season 2. Then Fox launched in Poland and started airing Mad Men (starting with season 1) on Fox Life. So when it was season 3 in the US, Poland could watch S 1/2. But the bigger problem is that Fox Life isn't widely available... If it was aired on HBO then, well I have HBO, but if I hadn't I would get HBO as it offers other great shows without the unneccesary delay. But I won't change my operator nor will I pay for the Fox package because of one show, although it's a great one, but it's too little too late... plus the horrible voice over we have in our TV. I prefer to download the original. And I'm not interested in Ghost Whisperer, so no, but thank you Fox.
And it's similar with many TV shows - back in the day the X Files was aired on public TV, but they've never shown the last season... I know it's the weakiest, but still.
So as obsolete and outdated as the DVDs are or may be, I'm still not so eager to give up on them and I fully understand people who want a DVD drive in their MBP. Of course one can always get himself an external drive and in time he/she will have to. But saying: optical it's obsolete, you can get everything online, so shut up and deal with the progress - really bugs me

 

[iAppl3Fan]

Optical drives are going the way of the floppy disks. Purchase an external one to use and you'll be fine.

 

[Beta Particle]

I pay independent producers. I never pay for RIAA/ MPAA trash. I actually avoid it altogether. It is what they deserve. Thanks for the remakes in 3d *******s. Thanks for the untold New Kids on the Block/ 50Cent's. Now will you please invite the writers back and short change the lawyers instead? Thanks.
Signed, artistic taste.

Really, nothing from these studios:

The Walt Disney Studios (The Walt Disney Company);
Sony Pictures Entertainment (Sony);
Paramount Pictures (Viacom);
20th Century Fox (News Corporation);
Universal Studios (Comcast);
Warner Bros. (Time Warner);
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM Holdings)

Or any of these labels?


I agree with your sentiment, but it seems pretty hard to avoid anything linked to the MPAA/RIAA.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

I'm fine with no build-in hardware drive; as long as the software still support external drives I'm fine. Even my family videos I share now online. Much easier then author a DVD and send it around. Times are changing ... DVD will follow VHS/Betamax into the museum.

----------

What about us Dj's? Need to put music on cd to play cdj's in clubs where the laptop is impractical.
I also have to submit a lot of work for uni on cd/dvd

Time to suggest to the uni to change ...i would expect that they have other ways too ... For uni work I would say its even waste to burn DVD. Should be online.

 

[derbothaus]

Really, nothing from these studios:

Or any of these labels?


I agree with your sentiment, but it seems pretty hard to avoid anything linked to the MPAA/RIAA.

Pretty much. Nothing outside of my Netflix streaming account and the paltry change that gives them. I do not visit them at the movie houses at least. I am lucky though as we have a ton of art house theaters showing all kinds of stuff all the time.
The music is a little more difficult to pin whether you are actually buying indie or not as the majors have all kinds of small imprints they buy up in a "cool" effort. I can pretty safely say nothing on an actual main label like Columbia, Time Warner, etc.
I try to avoid as much as possible. It just so happens I have no interest in their rosters and their "music as movies too" line they tow. Product tie in's actors being pretty and talentless. But I may buy some Coltrane back catalogue work or some Zombies or something and they would own that as they own crap forever thanks to our copy-write issues. Anything before 1985 had very little chance of being published without them so no choice really.
Anyway, back on topic. Externals will be fine for the foreseeable future. No big deal. Bandwidth in US needs to widen for smaller communities suffering with this media-free current push and <3Mb/s to their homes. No discs could make life frustrating for some folks.

 

[RealMadrid15]

I hope they remove it. Better use of the space for extra hard drive, more RAM, etc.

Who uses a DVD drive anymore?

-Download/stream movies off of internet; iTunes

-Transfer files on USB, E-Mail, iChat, Cloud service, AirDrop, BlueTooth, External Hard Drive, etc., etc.

-You can most software off the internet.

----

What's the point?

 

[gmanist1000]

I hope they remove it. Better use of the space for extra hard drive, more RAM, etc.

Who uses a DVD drive anymore?

-Download/stream movies off of internet; iTunes

-Transfer files on USB, E-Mail, iChat, Cloud service, AirDrop, BlueTooth, External Hard Drive, etc., etc.

-You can most software off the internet.

----

What's the point?

The last time I used my DVD drive was when I used handbrake to get a movie on my iPad. But that was over two years ago.

I wonder how thin the next iMacs will get it they remove them from that lineup.

 

[Beta Particle]

Pretty much. Nothing outside of my Netflix streaming account and the paltry change that gives them.

So you are supporting them then, and watching their content on Netflix, rather than avoiding “RIAA/MPAA trash” altogether.

It’s one thing to say that you don’t support them, but it’s something else when you actually try to avoid their content and potentially miss out on content that you would have enjoyed by sticking to your principles.

-Download/stream movies off of internet; iTunes

Outside the US at least, the selection is tiny, if iTunes is even available in your region, and far more expensive than buying discs. Discs are much better quality, and the price goes down over time. With discs you can lend them out or sell them if you don’t want to keep them—or you can buy second-hand discs. You also get a lot of extras on discs that are often missing with downloads.

Quality is the biggest issue for me though. Image quality from iTunes is laughable compared to buying a Blu-ray disc, or even a DVD. Many Blu-rays almost fill a whole 50GB disc just for the film without any extras, and it’s the same for DVDs. (8.5GB)

And with the proliferation of SSDs now, storage space is at a premium. With DVD/Blu-ray, they are external, with downloads, you’re filling up a finite amount of storage with every purchase.

-Transfer files on USB, E-Mail, iChat, Cloud service, AirDrop, BlueTooth, External Hard Drive, etc., etc.

Slow, impractical and expensive. I can burn a disc and not care about getting it returned to me. I’m going to want to keep a USB drive or external HDD.

-You can most software off the internet.

No disagreements there—although I did run into an issue with Photoshop just last week actually. While I have a boxed copy (it’s actually cheaper to have them ship you a box than buy a download here—another example of what it’s like outside USA) normally what I do is download the trial and register it with my serial number, but now that CS6 is out, I couldn’t find the download for CS5. So I had to go and pull my discs out of storage—good thing I didn’t just trash them. (I’m sure there probably was some way of finding a download, but not conveniently)


And with regards to downloads, I was also trying to get hold of my Quicktime 7 Pro License, and the MPEG2 decoder download that I had purchased from Apple a number of years back.

Back when they redesigned the store a few years ago, I was no longer able to pull up this information from my previous purchases list, as it only went back 18 months, but I had assumed that it Apple would still have a record of it. I called them up, and it turns out that they now have to destroy that information due to data privacy laws, so my only option would be to purchase it again—there was nothing more that they could do.

So that’s another reason to avoid downloads. Who is to say that half your library doesn’t disappear if one of the big studios decides that they no longer want to be in business with Apple, and pull all their content from the store?


I wanted to calibrate one of my older Macs, but as Integrated Color have now just released a big update to properly support Lion and add new meters (and also remove some) they wanted me to pay $50 for an upgrade version that won’t even work for me. There was no way to download the previous version from their site, and I had to resort to dubious means to download an older version that I could actually use with my purchased serial number, as the disc I had, had a copy of v1.00 on it, which was rather buggy.


I have a copy of 1Password v3 that I purchased from the developer’s site rather than the Mac App Store, and it’s a good thing that I did. The Mac App Store version has now been updated to require 10.7 and a 64-bit processor, so I would have been completely unable to download/run it on the MacBook 1,1 I am using right now. (they still offer a version which supports 10.6 and 32-bit processors for their website purchases)


In an ideal world, you could abandon discs right now, and not lose anything in terms of flexibility, price and reliability, but that just isn’t the case yet.