That's probably because they don't offer HD video on any medium other than the Apple TV yet.
When the Apple TV gets 1080p support, we'll see 1080p movies for rent and purchase in iTunes.
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Blu-ray Licensing to Get Easier and Cheaper
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That's probably because they don't offer HD video on any medium other than the Apple TV yet.
When the Apple TV gets 1080p support, we'll see 1080p movies for rent and purchase in iTunes.
Apple has been slow to adopt other now dominant technologies
Apple may well be the leading innovator as far as design - and how it's software integrates with it's proprietary hardware - but they have been way late to adopt/adapt with some of very popular and dominate technologies in computers like:
Not including USB 2 until mid-2003 - because it directly competed with Apple's own firewire standard (which Apple got royalties from).
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20121
Stayed far too long with the PPC processing platform.
Still sells it's top of the line- 3K Mac Pro - with a 2 year old, $50.00 graphics card: the lame ATI 2600XT.
Has not included a eSata port on any of it's computers as of now.
No direct card reading capabilities on any of it's machines. Including a 9 in 1 card reader on the iMac's - is to me - a no brainer.
The only major computer manufacturer to not yet release Intel's Quad Core Mobility processor on either it's laptops or iMacs. I thought for sure they would have had a BTO option for one with the just released 17" MacBook Pro.
Apple's refusal to offer Blu-ray is very much like it's resistance to adopting USB 2. It's all about Apple's bottom line. If it doesn't make big $$$ for Apple Inc., or cuts into any actual or potential revenues streams - then you can forget about it - until it is no longer feasible (profitable) for Apple to continue ignoring a major, widely featured technology like Blu-Ray.
Apple is one of the few companies out there still telling it's loyal customers that it will not use certain technologies simply because it's Dear Leader doesn't "like them", or that they don't "need them" because the big A is providing an alternative that will feed you deeper into it's highly profitable, closed loop business chain: OSX, iTunes, iPhone, iPod, etc. You will conform and learn to live "within" the Apple box. Resistance IS futile.
You don't need no stinkin' Blu-Ray, or DVD drive, or eSata port, or whatever else we decide is, or is not best for you (and especially us). All you need is your daddy Stevo to take you by the hand and lead you into Apple's golden, alternative, visionary computerland. But you WILL pay him a hefty premium for his hand and for the great privilege of "Thinking Different" - just not "too" differently...mind you...
Apple may well be the leading innovator as far as design - and how it's software integrates with it's proprietary hardware - but they have been way late to adopt/adapt with some of very popular and dominate technologies in computers like:
Not including USB 2 until mid-2003 - because it directly competed with Apple's own firewire standard (which Apple got royalties from).
https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20121
Stayed far too long with the PPC processing platform.
Still sells it's top of the line- 3K Mac Pro - with a 2 year old, $50.00 graphics card: the lame ATI 2600XT.
Has not included a eSata port on any of it's computers as of now.
No direct card reading capabilities on any of it's machines. Including a 9 in 1 card reader on the iMac's - is to me - a no brainer.
The only major computer manufacturer to not yet release Intel's Quad Core Mobility processor on either it's laptops or iMacs. I thought for sure they would have had a BTO option for one with the just released 17" MacBook Pro.
Apple's refusal to offer Blu-ray is very much like it's resistance to adopting USB 2. It's all about Apple's bottom line. If it doesn't make big $$$ for Apple Inc., or cuts into any actual or potential revenues streams - then you can forget about it - until it is no longer feasible (profitable) for Apple to continue ignoring a major, widely featured technology like Blu-Ray.
Apple is one of the few companies out there still telling it's loyal customers that it will not use certain technologies simply because it's Dear Leader doesn't "like them", or that they don't "need them" because the big A is providing an alternative that will feed you deeper into it's highly profitable, closed loop business chain: OSX, iTunes, iPhone, iPod, etc. You will conform and learn to live "within" the Apple box. Resistance IS futile.
You don't need no stinkin' Blu-Ray, or DVD drive, or eSata port, or whatever else we decide is, or is not best for you (and especially us). All you need is your daddy Stevo to take you by the hand and lead you into Apple's golden, alternative, visionary computerland. But you WILL pay him a hefty premium for his hand and for the great privilege of "Thinking Different" - just not "too" differently...mind you...
You're right, it will be in landfills leeching into our water supply for centuries to come.
Off topic:
Apple didn't charge royalties for Firewire.. At least that's how I remember it, it was in a MacWorld issue. :/
Hugh
Downloading and streaming are the future
actually that would be the present and the past and it just keeps getting better and better...i receive all of my media entertainment via cable or the internet and nothing is on an optical disc...
i was an extremely early adopter with DVD but that was a significant upgrade in both quality and ease of use...HD formats are not significant improvements at all - esp compared now to HD streaming of entertainment.
I guess you miss my bigger post... I hate to break it to you but COMCAST already have caps and there are others that are going the same way.. I bet when FIOS gets the same amount of people that Comcast service it will happen..
While I agree with you, I don't think that Sony would have had a problem getting BRD on their computers considering that it is Sony technology!
I hate to break it to you but it is not Sony's technology.. Blu-ray is not own by one company but by a list of companies..
The "Blu-ray Disc Founder group" was started in May 2002 by nine leading electronic companies: Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, and Samsung. On February 19, 2002 the companies announced[2] that they were the "Founders" of the Blu-ray Disc and later changed their name to the "Blu-ray Disc Association" on May 18, 2004 to allow more companies to join their development. Some examples of companies that signed in include Apple, TDK, Dell, Hewlett Packard, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. and Universal Music Group. As of December 2007, there are more than 250 members and supporters of the Association.
In February 2002, a large group of companies announced the introduction of the Blu-ray Disc (BD) format, the next generation in optical storage. The new format offers an immense storage capacity (up to 50GB) that is perfect for High Definition video recording and distribution, as well as for storing large amounts of data. The format shares the same form factors as existing CD and DVD optical discs allowing for backwards compatibility.
In 2005, the Blu-ray Disc Founders announced the creation of the Blu-ray Disc Association. The Blu-ray Disc Association, or BDA, re-incorporates the Blu-Ray Disc Founders group, but is now a voluntary membership group open to any corporation or organization with an interest in creating, upholding and/or promoting the BD formats. Those organizations engaged in research, development and/or manufacturing of any BD products or interested in developing and improving the BD formats are also encouraged to pursue membership. Furthermore, the group welcomes any company wanting to learn more about the format as it evolves.
The aim of the BDA is to:
- Develop Blu-ray Disc specifications
- Ensure Blu-ray Disc products are implemented by licensees according to the intent of the specifications
- Promote wide adoption of Blu-ray Disc formats
- Provide useful information to those who are interested in supporting Blu-ray Disc formats
For more information on the benefits of becoming a member of the Blu-ray Disc Association, please refer to Benefits in the Membership section of the menu.
http://www.blu-raydisc.com/en/association/GeneralInfo.html
Board of Directors
Apple, Inc.
Dell
HP
Hitachi
Intel Corporation
LG
Mitsubishi Electric
Panasonic
Pioneer
Philips
Samsung
Sharp
Sony
Sun Microsystems
TDK
Thomson
Twentieth Century Fox
Walt Disney
Warner Bros.
http://www.blu-raydisc.com/en/about/SupportingCompanies.html
Funny thing is Apple is one of the Companies that own a piece of the pie..
I hope they finally offer real blu-ray support.
I don't see why some people are so against it, it's just giving you more options, and if this new licensing makes it cheaper and closer to the cost of dvd then why shouldn't they include it?
It should be about choices, not either/or.
plus ~50mbps 1080p video is better than ~4mbps 720p video any day.
I don't see why some people are so against it, it's just giving you more options, and if this new licensing makes it cheaper and closer to the cost of dvd then why shouldn't they include it?
It should be about choices, not either/or.
plus ~50mbps 1080p video is better than ~4mbps 720p video any day.
It's more so a Panasonic technology. Panasonic holds more patents than the other two companies involved in the technology: Sony and Philips.While I agree with you, I don't think that Sony would have had a problem getting BRD on their computers considering that it is Sony technology!
When was the last time you threw-away a DVD? I'm so sick of the fear mongering Global Warming idiots. Please feel free to stop breathing if you get any more concerned about Global Warming. And you can ship me all of your DVD's and Blu-ray's that you are throwing-out on a daily basis.You're right, it will be in landfills leeching into our water supply for centuries to come.
No kidding? Uh.. I knew that. What I'm saying is that no one is suggesting that Apple is going to start pulling DVD players out of their standard hardware. The Air is the notable exception, but even then, they made a point out of producing software that could connect the drive of another Mac to your Air.
Just like standard def DVD drives have too much affordance to be eliminated from Apple's lineup, so too will BR drives. They'll deliver them because people will need the capacity. And they won't deliver them half disabled. They'll work and work fully. This decision has nothing whatsoever to do with iTunes, and whether or not it supports hi def movies.
It was only ever a "Bag of Hurt" to Apple's profits per machine. There's plenty other PC manufacturers that have been bundling Blu-ray drives with their systems.
It kinda cheeses me off about Apple not actively supporting Blu-ray considering Apple is considered to be multi-media savvy. I think they really didn't want to pay money to Microsoft for the mandatory VC-1 codec (Windows Media 9) which is a necessity because cheap-ass studios like Warner exclusively do their flicks in VC-1.
What also cheeses me off is the lack of Lightscribe on Apple machines. Again, multi-media savvy yet this has never been implemented. I guess they didn't want to add to HP's coffers either.
I'd definitely like to see a Blu-ray Lightscribe option but it hasn't been announced. There are BD-ROM/DVD+/-RW drives on the market that will do Lightscribe for DVD+/-RW, but not native to BD-RW discs. Maybe as the prices drop on BD-RW, Lightscribe might be announced.
Believe me I do plenty to screw up the environment every day at work. (I've been know to burn 85 gals an hour of jet fuel)
But old is old and it is time to get with the program.
Paper, snail mail, paper billing, and even AV media is doomed.
Just like the typewriter.
Although I still know an old guy who owns one!
If they put DVDs in round packaging they would roll right off the shelf... LOL.
Of course, I would propose DVDs are packaged in a square biodegradable packaging the size of current CD packaging.
Of course, I would propose DVDs are packaged in a square biodegradable packaging the size of current CD packaging.
Less plastic than what? Downloads take up no plastic. As for DVDs there was no reason to sell them in oblong shaped boxes in the first place, they are circular
For apps like logic pro, most of the packaging is to house the manuals.
I agree. Can't really see the point in paying for hd media that isn't stupendously high quality.
Plus, considering that in years of owning laptops I've never used the dvd drive for watching films, colour me unexcited. I'm perfectly happy watching hd mkv's on my mbp, while my PS3 performs well as a BD player.
Now, for backup purposes, BD would be nice but given that you can already do that externally, not really a big deal, especially since the only time I'd burn BD's is when I'm plugged in either at work or at home. The only thing stopping me currently is the price of blanks.
That said, as a selling point, it's inclusion seems like a no-brainer.
Where did you get your numbers? Better quality is the difference in Blu-ray...how is that so hard to understand. I do believe you do not give the general public enough credit.
Except the general public has professed that they cannot distinguish 480p from 720p and 720p from 1080p, so...
People don't seem to care about the "quality".
Actually, I would disagree with you. It's been shown that in hard economic times, people tend to go to invest in home movie technology for their entertainment needs. While I don't remember where I heard or read this, it sounds logical that it is cheaper to stay in, rent a movie and watch it than go out on the town. Blu-ray players have broken the sub $150 price margin and will likely reach sub $100 by Christmas 2009. The same will go for Blu-ray movies. Already Amazon sells a ton of popular titles for under $20, some under $15 so the difference in price between DVD and Blu-ray is becoming a non-issue.
I must disagree. Where have they professed this exactly? Watching a James Bond movie on Blu-ray is vastly superior to watching it on SpikeTV in standard resolution. I cite this example because I witnessed this personally. Bond on Spike looked like they were using a damaged reel while on Blu-ray the colors, the contrast, and picture quality in general were the best I have ever seen in a Bond film.
A simple trip down to your local electronics store will clearly and unequivocally show the difference in quality between standard 480i and HD 1080p or even 720p. Now whether or not people don't seem to care, that is a judgment call. I would think some would say the difference in quality is not worth the price or upgrade while some would justify the cost for the added benefit.
I always laugh when this matter is brought up.
If SJobs initially adopted BR all the opposition would be touting its benefits and advantages regurgitating his every word as the gospel truth. Many of the naysayers haven't used it or really know what they are talking about.
Why oppose optional equipment? SSD is a bag of hurt for many but it's still optional. Let's call the delay what it really is, Itunes HD competition and not profitable enough for us at the moment.
If SJobs initially adopted BR all the opposition would be touting its benefits and advantages regurgitating his every word as the gospel truth. Many of the naysayers haven't used it or really know what they are talking about.
Why oppose optional equipment? SSD is a bag of hurt for many but it's still optional. Let's call the delay what it really is, Itunes HD competition and not profitable enough for us at the moment.
I stopped posting here because of posts like this.
Too many people simply do not know what they're talking about and it gets frustrating when they spout off their lack of knowledge as fact.
Unfortunately, I have to reply to something as ridiculous as this because this sort of ignorance needs to be stopped.
Nobody cares about blu-ray? Look at the sales and statistics. Despite the world economy, when compared to the same point in its life as DVD, blu-ray is actually growing FASTER than DVD did. Meaning, at 2.5 years into its life, its growing faster than DVD did at 2.5 years into its life.
When I go to big box stores like Walmart, Target, Fry's, Best Buy, they all have larger sections dedicated to blu-ray than they did to DVD when it was only 2.5 years old. I remember because I had a DVD player 10 years ago when it was approaching 2.5 years old.
Now I have my first blu-ray player. I only have a 37" 720p set. The difference between blu-ray (h.264 discs) and DVD is staggering. It is completely night and day. So much so that even the average people I know who don't care about such things comment on how much better it looks and especially sounds. The difference between the two formats in both video and audio performance is completely night and day. The improvement blu-ray brings over DVD is several times greater than the improvement DVD brought over VHS.
To other people who think streaming is the future, you're ignoring many critical points. First being that the average person (not the average forum poster) does NOT want to hook a computer or any type of computer-like device up to their TV. DVD and blu-ray sales/rentals prove this. Despite the fact that there has been devices available for years now that the average vocal forum poster would consider better and easier to use, people still choose physical media. People still want physical copies of their media as well.
I mean, honestly, it's a hell of a lot easier to rent the blu-ray from Hollywood Video and pop the disc in to the player than it is to go online, download the movie from iTunes, and deal with all of the cables and adapters required to hook a Mac up to an HDTV.
Yes I know Apple TV has HD rentals. But the selection is extremely limited compared to blu-ray. On top of that you're talking about H.264 at 720p, 4Mbps (LESS than the average MPEG-2 DVD bitrate at 480i/p) versus 40+Mbps 1080p on blu-ray. Apple's overly compressed "HD" video with artifacting galore just cannot compare. And don't even begin to compare the audio. I've yet to see a major blu-ray release that doesn't have uncompressed PCM or lossless encoded audio in the form of Dolby TrueHD/DTS Master HD.
Oh and Microsoft is dead? Last I checked, there was about 12x as many people using Vista as there are Mac users total.
Sorry, but Apple needs to get into the Blu-Ray game NOW!
to blame this on "Licensing" is ridiculous. Apple is delaying because it doesn't want Blu-Ray to succeed, not because it doesn't have the ability to install the technology or license it.
Any and all claims to the contrary are just crazy. Dell, HP, Sony and so many others can make PC's and laptops with Blu-Ray ... but Apple can't because of licensing issues.
hah!
I applaud easier licensing, but Apple needs to come with it NOW!
to blame this on "Licensing" is ridiculous. Apple is delaying because it doesn't want Blu-Ray to succeed, not because it doesn't have the ability to install the technology or license it.
Any and all claims to the contrary are just crazy. Dell, HP, Sony and so many others can make PC's and laptops with Blu-Ray ... but Apple can't because of licensing issues.
hah!
I applaud easier licensing, but Apple needs to come with it NOW!
Duh, that person is breaking the law! It's illegal to rip Blu-Ray discs.
The only reason why you can rip a CD onto a computer is because at the time of the launch of the CD no one thought about piracy. With Blu-Ray they have thought this through. Which is just one more reason why it's dead!
Blu-Ray is as dead as HD-DVD! On-demand and other download services have already eclipsed it.