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Kinda warmed to MB/MBP line after watching video

M

Michael CM1

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 4, 2008
5,682
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I was pretty livid about the glossy-only options that are now spewing across Apple, but I guess I realized that I'm NOT going to go buy a stupid PC and I'll just have to work around it. Screen cover people, get to work.

After watching the podcast of the video, I was really impressed at all the details that get left out of any news report. I love how Apple started to put decent GPUs on lower-end computers because I have had a hatred for the cheap-arse video solutions given on the cheaper computers sold.

Assuming the whole computer industry actually does move to the new video port, I'm all for it. It definitely saves space. But the problem is I don't know how much monitors have fully accepted DVI. But luckily the standard adapters aren't too expensive (DL-DVI $99? Yikes!).

The magnetic latch is an awesome addition. Ol' magnetism works wonders with MagSafe, and I hope the MagLatch (my term) is as productive.

The other major thing left out is Blu-ray. If the whole cost issue is what's really holding Apple back, maybe I get it since they use slot-loading drives. However, since BD players have dropped about $100 everywhere in the past month, it's kind of a bad time to make that claim no matter how true it is. I also don't get the "complicated" negotiations part from the people who rolled out the iPhone. Sony has GOT to be easier to deal with than AT&T. On the other hand, I hope Sony realizes how dumb it will be to keep about 10 percent of the computer market from having access to Blu-ray drives. HDCP is probably here to stay, but they could make it easier however Jobs was talking about. A year from now, this had better get rectified or I'm gonna have some pissy e-mails to send to both Apple and Sony.
 
I don't know - personally, I don't really want the BR in the MBP. Maybe it's just me, but rarely do I find myself actually watching DVDs on my computer (that's what the TV is for). Besides, wouldn't the BR dramatically reduce battery life?
 
Even being a big blu-ray fan I don't really have much need for a BR in my MBP (I get people that need it though).

Personally, I'd rather have the option of forgoing the superdrive and putting in either another HD or just leaving it out entirely. I almost NEVER use discs anymore, and any time I need to I can use an external drive, I'd rather either pay less, or get something I'd find more valuable to have on the go all the time.
 
wentwj said:
Even being a big blu-ray fan I don't really have much need for a BR in my MBP (I get people that need it though).

Personally, I'd rather have the option of forgoing the superdrive and putting in either another HD or just leaving it out entirely. I almost NEVER use discs anymore, and any time I need to I can use an external drive, I'd rather either pay less, or get something I'd find more valuable to have on the go all the time.
Click to expand...

I completely agree! Personally, I would take the price cut ;)
 
Why would you want to watch a movie in Blu-Ray on a 15 inch screen. Blu-Ray burner would be good, but not player.
 
I would definitely not mind having a Blu-Ray drive in my MBP, as long as it's a Blu-Ray writer, and not just a drive.

That alone would have made it necessary for me to put my 2.4 SR MBP up on ebay and purchase the new ones.
 
I have had some people come through where i work filming in BluRay, and they had to have a to of extra equipment, so for some professionals i guess it would be good..
 
ok, about the $100 dual link, you've already purchased the $1200 display and $2400 macbook, 99 extra bucks aint gonna kill ya
 
Honestly, people always need something to complain about. If there were a matte option for the screens and a Blu-ray option, would the forums be silent as people were off spending mass amounts of money in glee?

Hardly.

I am quite certain that the lack of some sort of WAN/3G network card would be one of the many "reasons" that people are not going to buy the new models. There never is going to be a "perfect for everyone". You'd think that people would get that by now, and in particular with Apple. Apple is not going to cater to every niche like some PC companies do. I believe that it is simply because they don't have to. Tim Cook said as much during his time on stage. If you can have 1 of every 3 dollars spent on your products, with a smaller market share then the rest, you must be doing something right. I believe that "something right" is building the best possible computers, sacrificing the "bleeding edge bragging rights", knowing that the vast majority of Mac buyers aren't looking for specs alone, but a dependable tool.

You buy a computer so that it enables you to get done what you need to accomplish. I have a feeling that many of the folks that claim "Apple lost my sale because of X" are too caught up in specs to see that the computer is just the tool.
There is no reason for a Blu-ray player as a mass market option on a laptop which has a screen that can at best display 720p. So you say you plug it into a external LCD, great, why not have the Blu-ray player external as well. Costs less and easier to upgrade as they tech advances.

Lastly, this is Apple we are talking about, where hardly anything ever happens by accident or by chance...
 
blu ray on a laptop (to simply watch movies) is stupid imo. heck, even if you plan on using it for storage purposes you have better options (external hds) because i assume blu rays will take FOREVER to burn due to their density. blu ray exists to cater the huge home theatre setups that have 50 inch monitors and 7.1 surround sound. none of that can be utilized practically in a laptop with its puny screen. you want high definition? pop in a dvd and shrink the window size, move further back from the screen, or download a 720p version of the movie
 
Trouble with blu ray isn't necessarily blu ray (altough that's expensive), it's the need for HDMI.
If you have a blu ray drive in a laptop, you have to allow people to output the video onto a HD screen, or it's not worth it. HDMI requires a license fee of 4% PER DEVICE.
I don't believe display port supports HDCP, so to play protected blu ray discs, it's not an option, it has to be HDMI. So apple said screw it, and went for display port, and with that decision in mind, didn't go for blu ray.
 
The main reason I would want Blu-ray on a Mac is so the HandBrake peeps could develop a version that would work with it and then I could rip the movie into the same near-DVD-quality format I use with DVDs now. I would also like to take BD movies with me when I go on trips like visitng my aunts and uncles or if I ever took a trip someone, ya know, fun. I just have about 20-30 BD movies (no, I didn't pay $30 for most of them) that I can only watch on my one television. Having the option on a Mac would expand my, well, options for viewing a lot.

If I see a deal this holiday season, I may just buy a BD-ROM for my mom's new Dell and buy AnyDVD HD. As I understand it, I wouldn't even need to buy the video card or monitor.

But still, the new MBPs are slightly looking better as time goes by. They just don't have any features that would justify dropping $200 on one since this MBP's only problem is.......well, can't think of one. Just wish I had a faster CPU, but an extra 300Mhz isn't really worth that.
 
yetanotherdave said:
Trouble with blu ray isn't necessarily blu ray (altough that's expensive), it's the need for HDMI.
If you have a blu ray drive in a laptop, you have to allow people to output the video onto a HD screen, or it's not worth it. HDMI requires a license fee of 4% PER DEVICE.
I don't believe display port supports HDCP, so to play protected blu ray discs, it's not an option, it has to be HDMI. So apple said screw it, and went for display port, and with that decision in mind, didn't go for blu ray.
Click to expand...

DisplayPort does indeed support HDCP, so BluRay is still viable without having to switch over to HDMI.
 
Firanide said:
DisplayPort does indeed support HDCP, so BluRay is still viable without having to switch over to HDMI.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing out something I forgot to address. I'd also like to know if the rest of the hardware needed (GPU, LED display) supports HDCP so you could theoretically upgrade the optical drive if you could find one the right size and Apple added BD functionality to the OS.
 
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