Is a HD macbook pro likely/possible now with Leopard?

[waywardsage]

I think that Apple should refresh the 17" with more top of the line features this January to follow on the tail of Leopards release and support of things HD. It would be nice to have a computer to do top of the line HD production workflow that will last a few years.

Amongs these upgrades, I'd like to see the following:

1. eSATA port built in. I've said it multiple times. But its true. If us pro's start using our macbook pros alot for HD production. We're going to need the highest transfer rate possible.

2. LED backlit screens. Hey, the 15" has them. When will the 17" get its due?

3. Blu Ray drive, reader or writer, i won't be too picky about this right now. It'd be nice for it to be HD DVD/Blu Ray writer/burner. But that'll be a while before it's invented or scaled down to a practical price for the Macbook Pro.

4. HDCP? If I eventually upgraded the drive myself thru an outside manufactured drive, would the Macbook Pro be comatible with HDCP? Or would I be pretty much out of luck when watching my HD DVD's/Blu Rays some day?

5. HDMI in. I was thinking about this. And there pretty much isn't an uncompressed way to input full HD into your Macbook Pro without using Firewire. Is it needed? Not necessary? Please agree/disagree.

This is where I'll leave it up to discussion. For those that are doing alot of next gen production workflow. What would you like to see in your Macbook Pro in the future?

 

[theman]

1. Sure.

2. Yeah, if you want crappy yellow screens to be on the 17" too.... scew LED screens. i think apple implemented them before they were ready.

3. no freaking way.

4. HDCP should be illegal...

5. No opinion on this one...

 

[waywardsage]

I agree that HDCP sucks. But it looks like its here to stay. But is the current Macbook Pro HDCP complient?

 

[torpy]

As far as I know (don't quote me on this!) the new MBPs are HDCP compliant because of the new nVidia 8600Ms they have in them..

 

[Solesk]

2. LED backlit screens. Hey, the 15" has them. When will the 17" get its due?

are the led screens capable of the high res option yet? i tried researching it a little. but i could find no evidence that they supported 1900 res on a 17" screen yet. so it wouldnt surprise me if the next refresh included led for the basic 17" but not the high res.

5. HDMI in. I was thinking about this. And there pretty much isn't an uncompressed way to input full HD into your Macbook Pro without using Firewire.

i would definetly like to see a hdmi out. and i feel it's long past due that these are standard on every pc.

 

[Freyqq]

i'd like to see a tv tuner card built in. PCs have had this for a while. They could integrate it into front row and stuff. Especially on the imac..that one just screams for one.

 

[squeeks]

apple isnt going to add anything that at least 75% of people who own it are going to use

so no esata, no HDMI in, and you're not going to see a bluray burner for a looong time in the MBP anyway, new mac pro's MIGHT have this option imac will have it next then MBP

 

[JAT]

Uh, you mean like Express34 card slot? Or Firewire800?

I disagree with the above, BD-R drive should be the next upgrade available from Apple. (and everyone else, except Tosh) And the LEDs just need to be improved, they should be here by now. LED is huge, flashlights, TVs, laptops....everything should be LED. It's like we're just minutes away from both of these techs being completely mainstream. (although BD-R will still be pricey for awhile)

I don't think HDMI input is worth much. Are you going to use a laptop in place of an HDTV? Tote around a PS3 on a trip or something? Output might be nice. But HDMI is an end-point of the video path, if you take my meaning. It's consumer level. If you are talking about pro usage in the processing stage, you want something like Firewire or eSATA anyway.

Isn't there an eSATA Ex34 card available? Not as perfect as built in, but....

 

[pinwanger]

how can they add LED to 17inch when can't even fix the problems from the 15inch ones.

 

[waywardsage]

apple isnt going to add anything that at least 75% of people who own it are going to use

so no esata, no HDMI in, and you're not going to see a bluray burner for a looong time in the MBP anyway, new mac pro's MIGHT have this option imac will have it next then MBP

If the requirement is 75% of the people using it, why then does the MBP have Digital Audio in/out? How many people are ACTUALLY using that on a computer? Don't get me wrong, I would. But most people wouldn't. They just use their headphone out jack. I'm a av technician, and I help people get sound form their laptops all the time. And i've never seen anyone use the Digital Audio in/out in a mac.

Sadly, most of the people who bring in a mac are completely clueless to its operation. I know its hard to fathom for us tech geeks. But 80% of the people out there can barely turn their computers on. Let alone use any if its potential functions. Every mac user i've helped in my job is completely ignorant in how to operate most of its functions. *sigh*

 

[TheStu]

are the led screens capable of the high res option yet? i tried researching it a little. but i could find no evidence that they supported 1900 res on a 17" screen yet. so it wouldnt surprise me if the next refresh included led for the basic 17" but not the high res.



i would definetly like to see a hdmi out. and i feel it's long past due that these are standard on every pc.

The LED is just the backlight, you can use any resolution you want (I would think) since the TFT controls the pixels, the LED controls the backlight.

I think that so long as computer monitors predominantly use VGA and DVI, we will continue to see DVI and VGA on laptops and other computers as well. If Apple were to update their display lines to use HDMI, then I could see them using it on their notebooks (or at least supporting it with adapters or the like).

Bear in mind that they like to have a certain degree of standardization between the systems.

 

[squeeks]

If the requirement is 75% of the people using it, why then does the MBP have Digital Audio in/out? How many people are ACTUALLY using that on a computer? Don't get me wrong, I would. But most people wouldn't. They just use their headphone out jack. I'm a av technician, and I help people get sound form their laptops all the time. And i've never seen anyone use the Digital Audio in/out in a mac.

But 80% of the people out there can barely turn their computers on. Let alone use any if its potential functions. Every mac user i've helped in my job is completely ignorant in how to operate most of its functions. *sigh*

digital audio out is a very BAD example of what i was talking about

its not a separate plug, its part of the headphone out port, its just slightly enhanced to allow for that small extra feature that a PRO user would need, this is after all a PRO notebook

its a totally separate issue to design the casing around and EXTRA (esata / HDMI (its already got DVI just buy a DVI to HDMI adapter for output, god its not that hard people)) plug that less than 75% of the people are going to use, i hope this helps you better understanding my reasoning

 

[SimonTheSoundMa]

4. HDCP? If I eventually upgraded the drive myself thru an outside manufactured drive, would the Macbook Pro be comatible with HDCP? Or would I be pretty much out of luck when watching my HD DVD's/Blu Rays some day?

They already are and my Fujitsu plasma says it is seeing HDCP and it handshakes fine.

HDMI are for home AV equipment, DVI for computers.

 

[QuarterSwede]

HDMI are for home AV equipment, DVI for computers.

Right, and basically HDMI is just DVI and digital audio (S/PDIF) on the same cable.

 

[Solesk]

HDMI (its already got DVI just buy a DVI to HDMI adapter for output, god its not that hard people)

i have one. and it is not the same. it still pipes sound through your pc speakers. hdmi would allow you to pipe video and audio to your tv. and to answer your rebuttle, no, my tv does not have audio inputs on the same jack as the hdmi, and in my experiance, most do not. so seperate cables wont work.