They sure did offer cd and dvd drives, but is it not possible they were doing so because most of their software was bring distributed via those mediums? Do you really think they will continue to cling to those now useless devices?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New Mac Pros and Mac Minis Launching in August
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
They sure did offer cd and dvd drives, but is it not possible they were doing so because most of their software was bring distributed via those mediums? Do you really think they will continue to cling to those now useless devices?
Of course the reason is about cost. How much it'd cost them and how much they'd make money off it, or lose money off it. And we have absolutely no way of knowing how much.
Anyway, if you really want to view your Blu Ray on your Mac, download MakeMkv, rip your blu ray and then use VLC to view it, that's what I do. And as long as you own the blu ray I think it's legal.
Competition often arises out of customer disatisfaction. Apple can definately help build up that consumer disatisfaction if it offers wonderful new services that are impeded only because internet providers don't want to upgade.
royalties
Yes, well it's strange that Apple couldn't get a good deal on that (being Apple and being part of the Blu-ray alliance) and even stranger that this would affect Apple only, and not e.g. Microsoft.
I'm pretty sure MS loves money no less than Apple and isn't all about writing cheques if they don't have to. Yet Windows has BD support. Macs don't.
If I have to start hanging more and more devices off my iMac in external enclosures, I may as well go back to Windows and have a single tower case at a fraction of the cost of a Mac Pro.
It starts to look clunky and messy as you hang more stuff off your system. Not the clean lines that Apple likes.
royalties
Yes, well it's strange that Apple couldn't get a good deal on that (being Apple and being part of the Blu-ray alliance) and even stranger that this would affect Apple only, and not e.g. Microsoft.
I'm pretty sure MS loves money no less than Apple and isn't all about writing cheques if they don't have to. Yet Windows has BD support. Macs don't.
Microsoft doesn't have iTunes store. You can't just compare companies like that. Amazon both sells digital video and blu rays but they are not in software business, etc.
Apple is doing very badly on the video front. It's available in 4 countries. It's low bitrate, high-price, with few features if any and as reliable as your ISP.
Didn't you just write about how Apple cares about delivery? Well theirs sucks on video.
And if what you say is true, then they shouldn't support DVDs or CDs either. Every CD sold is one less on iTunes, same with DVDs. Thus, that argument makes no sense if one spends more than two seconds thinking about it.
Your missing the point. The point is you no longer need those enclosures. Why would you want them at all? You like having legacy devices? I have a few old printers and floppy drives I can mail you if you like.
Buying royalties in each country is a nightmare. Amazon is available in USA, France, Germany, UK, Japan and Canada. And in each of those countries, their video catalog is different. USA is the biggest one, exactly like Apple's.
There's no such thing as supporting CD's and DVD's. Any media player on earth can read and play a CD and DVD. Even if Apple removed support, which meant removing DVD Player and iTunes from OS X, you can find tons of other software which can play them. So, if one spends 2 more seconds one sees that your argument doesn't make sense.
We'll never know, but the lack of features helping a platform would be a first.
Not really. Ferrari's don't have 4 doors. Never hurt them.
Jokes aside, I think many people have made it clear, including me. Lack of BD support doesn't help Mac. It helps Apple by not stealing from iTunes store (or some other revenue we have no idea about) which in turn helps mac, because without Apple there's no Mac.
CDs and DVDs were around before the itunes stores emerged and were already supported. At that point in time Apple was not in a position to try and compete and preclude those dvices from working in their systems. And once in, they couldn't just remove it from users. The BR situation was very different. By then the itunes store had already become a tour de force, and now with iOS and the Mac store, Apple has quite a bit more flexibility as to what they can do. And just watch and see what they will do.
Apple's sales of movies in iTunes are anemic. It's not working for them and only available in 4 countries anyway. BDs are available worldwide.
MS isn't exactly in the movie selling/renting business, but that more than anything goes to show that it isn't a very profitable or viable business. Just look at the players in it: Netflix (the most popular one) and Apple (way way back there, still probably number 2)
Note that Apple supports Netflix. So again, there's some problem with the logic you are presenting. They are in direct competition with Netflix, after all. Moreso than with BD.
So you are basically saying that Apple should get out of movie selling/renting business. But that's a totally different discussion.
As far as I know, and as far as Apple has presented at their financial results, their iTunes movie/tv store is earning them money. Not losing any money. Also don't forget that iTunes store content drives iPad/iPhone sales.
Also when you say BD's are available worldwide, you should come and see how many BD's are released in my country. Probably 1/100 of all USA releases.
I think rather that you are missing the point. BluRay is not legacy and won't be for a noticeable while. CDs and DVDs will also be semi-current.
And for that while, Apple should update the optical technology to include BD.
I think you may not understand what a legacy device is. Or maybe you're just applying it here wrong. In any case if I all of a sudden had nothing to play the DVDs I own on, the odds are most of them would just get tossed and not replaced in any form.
Based on what you said I should get a 2 TB disk and copy my audio CD collection to it in a raw format so I can still access them when CD drives are no more. And I should get a piece of software that can copy commercial DVDs to hard drives.
What about Photographers who burn archive DVD-Rs of their projects? Yes there will be newer technology, actually there is BD-Rs.
I don't think optical drives in home computers are going away that quickly.
And no thanks on the floppy drive. I have a USB one stored away in case I ever need to read a floppy. It still works. When it breaks, I won't worry about floppies. It doesn't take much space at all.
Quite, which makes BD a dream. Just one licence, worldwide. Problem solved. Besides, Apple is supporting Netflix and is also in direct competition with them.
So why not BD? Simple royalties and universal support. It's not because of fear of competition. In fact there is no logical reason behind this.
Of course, and any media player will read BD soon enough, it is the format that replaces DVD. So there is indeed no "supporting CDs and DVDs" thus by extention "BDs". Do you want to tell Apple or shall I? (I already sent them a feedback message)
Anyway, writing a CD app or DVD app is about as complicated as allowing BD support in OS X. It's a minor effort, there's no reason not to. And yes, you need to pay a licensing fee also for CD and DVD support, so no it's not that either.
Ugh no please! Not car analogies!!!
Well that's nice and all, but why the Netflix support then (e.g. on the AppleTV and iOS?)
This is exactly what I need. I feel there's a huge gap between the iMac and Mac Pro. Most people don't need XEON processors, but need the expandability and monitor support of the Mac Pro.
Actually, the i7 is actually faster in day to day use vs a XEON machine for most applications.
Most don't need the security of ECC memory or the lower power consumption of the XEON processor. These processor are actually designed for server computing. Not workstation computing.
They should offer an i7 Mac Pro.
No, for a media player to read BD on OS X, Apple has to first pay royalties for it. Without Apple paying for the DRM, not Apple nor any 3rd party is allowed to do such thing. Well, actually, I take that back. I think a 3rd party can pay for the royalties without Apple doing it, for Apple, and write the app. But then they'd go bankrupt
Those royalties aren't cheap at all and only software giants like Apple, Microsoft do have cash to pay it.Yeah, I'm watching them fail in an epic way.
Anyway, what you write makes no sense. Apple doesn't support anything it doesn't want to is what you're saying, yet they have to support CD/DVD.
Great logic!
Again, if your country imports the releases. I said that in my country the amount of available blu rays in local shops is probably 1/100 of what you can find in USA.
So no, physical formats don't suddenly solve it all.
Ugh no please! Not car analogies!!!
Well that's nice and all, but why the Netflix support then (e.g. on the AppleTV and iOS?)
You realize Netflix's catalogue is delayed right and that they do not allow you to purchase movies do you not? It also helps sell the Apple TV.