Dear Apple, WHY NO BLU RAY in the new Macs!?!?! ARGH!

[Tony Montana]

Apple makes very little money off iTunes video sales and it's doubtful the lack of a BR drive does anything to increase their video sales. Who buys a $20-$30 BR, realizes they can't watch it on their Mac, and instead buys it off iTunes? Who wants a movie and says gee -- I'd rather buy this off iTunes instead of playing it on my 60" 1080P TV with a $99 BluRay player connected to it. Doesn't make sense at all.

I think they just realize few people actually want to watch BR movies on their computer. Spending $X per computer to enable it (software/hardware) doesn't make much sense. It won't increase Mac sales much. It's just flushing money down the toilet.

Most people will not use the IMac as a primary Blu-Ray player, Agreed, most will use their $99 Blu-Ray or Sony PS3 or whatever on a large 1080P TV. But a 27" IMac makes a great secondary BR player for your bedroom, etc. Really large programs like newer video games that need several DVDs or a crapload of CDs can now be copied from a single Blu-Ray disc. Blu-Ray discs can be used to back up your hard drive, won't use as much discs as DVDs. There are online backup options but some prefer having backups physically available.

I agree that adding Blu-Ray may not significantly increase MAC sales, but considering that video chip and display technology on the MAC make it possible to view Blu-ray and Apple continues to keep up with the latest on video and display technology it doesn't make sense to keep using DVD, a 15 year old technology as a video source and optical drive. The costs of Blu-ray hardware is at the point that it costs the same as DVD hardware 10 years ago when Apple started selling its DVD based Superdrive. As for coding issues, as I've said before, Apple has the resources and smarts to overcome this. I think Apple wanting people to use the Apple Store as the primary source for HD material will eventually be to Apple's disadvantage the way AT&T is for the IPhone. People want their options and Blu-Ray is another option that is available right now.

If Apple really wants everyone to use the Apple Store as a primary means to obtain software , video, etc. I say they should remove the optical drive completely. For instance, you can no longer buy a disc for your MAC OS X Snow Leopard upgrade. It only can be downloaded and every other piece of software that goes into your MAC can't be installed by disc you will need to purchase, download and install from the Apple Store. How's that for a solution? Why not? since software can now be downloaded. Why copy photos on a CD of the kids for grandma since she can get it remotely online. Pull the trigger Apple remove all optical drives!



Oh I forgot to add. You can now install SSDs on your Mac. But you still need to use 15 year old DVD technology on your Superdrive. Sorry had to let that one out...

 

[Compile 'em all]

Doesn't in the slightest. It's about choice and standards.

Choice?

You must be new to Apple products.

And Yes, giving choice for something that will be used by 0.001% of your customers is a bad thing.

 

[Winni]

Blu-Ray on a computer is a gimmick anyway. If you want to burn blu-ray for some weird reason, get an external drive. Watching $40 movies on a computer screen? NO THANKS.

I don't own a TV and I don't want a TV. I watch everything either on my 27" iMac i5 or in bed on my 15" company notebook. DVDs suck on the 27" iMac, iTunes downloads also have an inferior quality but thanks to the Internet, there is a good supply of 1080p movies through other sources.

 

[wirelessness]

Physical Media is so 2008!!!

 

[DarwinOSX]

This is one of those Steve Jobs deals that we just have to live with. I don't think it has anything to do with wanting to sell us movies. I think he just believes blu-ray will be passed over for streaming or downloaded HD. There is good reason to think that but Blu-ray has reached enough critical mass that we should have the option.

 

[Tony Montana]

This is one of those Steve Jobs deals that we just have to live with. I don't think it has anything to do with wanting to sell us movies. I think he just believes blu-ray will be passed over for streaming or downloaded HD. There is good reason to think that but Blu-ray has reached enough critical mass that we should have the option.

So I guess Stevie thinks he can dictate how things are done at home.

When I come home from work and want to relax and watch a video with my family, I will need to say, "wait for an hour I need to download the video first" My family will basically say "Screw this, lets go to our local grocery store rent the movie and be back in fifteen minutes." or better yet borrow our neighbors BLU-RAY and be back in 5. There are still some advantages to physical media. Unless there is some technology leap that drastically improves download speeds, downloading HD material can be impractical.

Like I said in my earlier post, if Apple wants to force HD downloads on the masses, why even put optical drives on their computers. Why not dictate the world market by having everyone just download HD media since physical media is considered outdated.

 

[Cave Man]

Physical Media is so 2008!!!

Optical media will be with us for at least a decade or two. After all, there's nothing to replace it for the studios.

 

[Blu-Ray]

I've been waiting almost three years to switch from Wndows to OS X... waiting for this reason alone.

It amazes me the position that Steve Jobs has taken regarding blu-ray. Something else behind the scenes is going on that we don't know about. Apple makes premium products and there is no excuse for not adopting BR by now. They blame it on two things:

1) Licensing issues. They should be well beyond that now
2) Adoption. Blu-ray has a rate of adoption very similar to that of DVD at the same seniority. We are about four years into it...​

I'm in a position now that I need a new computer for my household. As much as I'd like to have BR support in my new computer, other things are taking precedence for my family computer. I have a lot of family photos and videos and really like the ease of the iLife apps. I use my PS3 for watching movies on my HDTV, so it is what it is.

I will say that this is annoying. I want one format, not two. When I buy movies now, I only buy blu-ray. They might as well remove the optical drive and use the space for something more useful.

I'm not at the point where I'm ready for purchasing and downloading my HD movies online and don't want to be forced into it. I don't care what anyone says, I want physical media. That may change over time, but right now that is what I want and I'm not willing to give it up.

For now, I'm getting ready to buy my first Mac as a family computer and I'm only doing this because I think OS X is much better for our needs. Here's to hoping Steve Jobs works out his hangups related to BR soon so that we as consumers can have what many of us are asking for.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Well, like i said, it isn't happening. Accept it or buy a damn Dell.

 

[Vylen]

Well, like i said, it isn't happening. Accept it or buy a damn Dell.

or use an external drive? and use MakeMKV?