Ok, I got a new job that will require some traveling so I am using that as an excuse with the wife to upgrade from our current '07 15" 2.33Ghz MBP 
Here's my dilemma though - I've been buying most of my movies on blu ray now and would like to watch them while on a plane or in a hotel room. As I see it, there are a few options here:
1. Rip / encode the BD to a file and store it on either the internal HD or an external media drive. If I go this route, I've read some ways to do that in OS X, but what could I expect the typical file sizes to be? I would keep the 5.1 audio bc sometimes I may have the laptop hooked up to my 46" LCD or various other TVs at friends houses (many of which have surround sound setups). I would like to be able to store about 100+ movies on an HD in order for this option to be viable.
2. Find a way to play the BD directly in OS X. I'm thinking I prefer this method, although I am really not sure why. I realize this would entail me carrying around either an external USB BD drive or installing a slot loading BD drive in the MBP (voiding the warranty, I'm sure).
3. Use Bootcamp, Parallels, VirtualBox, etc to run Windows7 and use that for playback (a reasonable option as far as I'm concerned.) I wonder though, if virtualized, how much RAM and Proc time I would need to allot to Win7 in order to have smooth playback?
OR
4. Buy one of the many Windows laptops that now come with a BD drive in them. I know that this may not be a popular option in a Mac forum, but let's be honest, Win7 is just easier to watch BD movies on (at least right now). Not my preference since I've used OS X as personal machines exclusively for the past 6 years now, but it would also be a cheaper option. I'm really frustrated with Steve's position on BD media already being dead. It's not. Not yet anyway. And until I can store hundreds of HD movies on a laptop without soaking up every available GB, this just isn't realistic. Not arguing that with the continued growth of storage capacity, it will be reasonable to do in the next few years... but in the mean time, I still have a lot of HD (BD) movies I would like to watch on the go.
I've also just had this thought... If I'm going to be lugging around an external BD drive... why not just get a MBA?? Would that have enough horsepower to run a BD setup? Any advantages / disadvantages to this?? Would be lighter for traveling...
Too many options...! Let me know what you guys think, I think I've thoroughly confused myself! Thanks in advance,
J
Here's my dilemma though - I've been buying most of my movies on blu ray now and would like to watch them while on a plane or in a hotel room. As I see it, there are a few options here:
1. Rip / encode the BD to a file and store it on either the internal HD or an external media drive. If I go this route, I've read some ways to do that in OS X, but what could I expect the typical file sizes to be? I would keep the 5.1 audio bc sometimes I may have the laptop hooked up to my 46" LCD or various other TVs at friends houses (many of which have surround sound setups). I would like to be able to store about 100+ movies on an HD in order for this option to be viable.
2. Find a way to play the BD directly in OS X. I'm thinking I prefer this method, although I am really not sure why. I realize this would entail me carrying around either an external USB BD drive or installing a slot loading BD drive in the MBP (voiding the warranty, I'm sure).
3. Use Bootcamp, Parallels, VirtualBox, etc to run Windows7 and use that for playback (a reasonable option as far as I'm concerned.) I wonder though, if virtualized, how much RAM and Proc time I would need to allot to Win7 in order to have smooth playback?
OR
4. Buy one of the many Windows laptops that now come with a BD drive in them. I know that this may not be a popular option in a Mac forum, but let's be honest, Win7 is just easier to watch BD movies on (at least right now). Not my preference since I've used OS X as personal machines exclusively for the past 6 years now, but it would also be a cheaper option. I'm really frustrated with Steve's position on BD media already being dead. It's not. Not yet anyway. And until I can store hundreds of HD movies on a laptop without soaking up every available GB, this just isn't realistic. Not arguing that with the continued growth of storage capacity, it will be reasonable to do in the next few years... but in the mean time, I still have a lot of HD (BD) movies I would like to watch on the go.
I've also just had this thought... If I'm going to be lugging around an external BD drive... why not just get a MBA?? Would that have enough horsepower to run a BD setup? Any advantages / disadvantages to this?? Would be lighter for traveling...
Too many options...! Let me know what you guys think, I think I've thoroughly confused myself! Thanks in advance,
J
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