Phil Schiller Claims Customers Aren't Asking for Built-In Blu-Ray Anymore

[mafopinion]

Apple ignoring the market again.

Although I continue to migrate my family of seven from Dell/Windows to Mac, I remain frustrated by Apple on this point. One large reason I originally moved to Mac was to be able to take our home video content and put it onto a DVD so that it could be shared with family. Not everyone on the planet (especially some older grandparents) are ever going to into cloud computing. It is a real shame that Apple ignores the portion of the market that must continue to use optical media for the foreseeable future.

And before you say "aftermarket," the whole point of the Mac is integration right? Everything working together in harmony is the whole sales pitch.

I have been moving to 100% Apple, but I see a day when this may reverse.

 

[Texran]

I haven't ever watched a blueray movie to my knowledge, and don't know anyone that has owned a player.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Apple has lost its way. I'm surprised it's not even an opinion on the mac pro, as lots of people who use their mac for actual work (rather than, I don't know, playing angry birds on a 27" screen) would benefit from being able to make backups of their data using blue ray.

Lost their way right into utter wealth and riches beyond that of any other company, what a path!

The percentage of people like you who want this functionality can go buy an external drive - Apple has obviously (not lost their way) figured out that you are such a minor percentage that their sales haven't been, aren't being, and won't be hit majorly by their not including blu-ray devices in their products.

Complain to Apple, I'm sure they'll consider it as thoughtfully as they considered all the complaints about Flash not being supported on iOS.

 

[KnightWRX]

I haven't ever watched a blueray movie to my knowledge, and don't know anyone that has owned a player.

So this story doesn't concern you. Apple integrating Blu-ray support would not take away anything from you.

Why do people keep posting in Blu-ray threads if they have no interest in Blu-ray ? Do people really think Apple needs to take "something" away to give users proper blu-ray support ?

 

[righteye]

Is it 1984, Apple are turning into big brother.
Did we want it yes, oh no you don't
Anyway it does not matter what you want because BB is in control
I have been brainwashed and i'm Mac committed now but i would not recommend Apple computers without some reservations these days.
Please do not send the rats over i hate them.

 

[HMI]

Give me a break, Phil.

He's clearly referring to the DRM issues with Blu-ray, but then of course recommends iTunes downloads which are loaded with their own DRM. In both cases, it works transparently if all of your devices support playback with that DRM. However as soon as you want to use your purchased content in legal but unsupported-by-DRM ways, you're screwed. What happens in 10 years when I want to play my iTunes-purchased movie on some new, non-Apple device? Guess I have to re-buy it, or just forget about buying any device not made by Apple. That's really the whole point of the DRM from Apple's perspective, isn't it?

I've always found Apple's stance on DRM with iTunes video content to be frustrating and hypocritical. On the one hand, they (Jobs) championed the eventual removal of DRM from the music store. Amazingly, record companies didn't go under. But Apple clearly never had any such plans for movies/TV.

It's also interesting how, on an Apple TV, I can immediately connect to and play my movie and TV purchases, but if I want to listen to my purchased music, then I need to connect my Mac/iTunes or purchase iTunes Match.

I should have an option to listen to iTunes purchased music on an Apple TV without needing to subscribe to iTunes Match (or connect a computer).

"iTunes in the cloud" is not the same as iTunes Match.
Those are two different service features.
I don't expect my old CDs to be available, but I do expect my iTunes music purchases to be available.
I don't want to pay another $25 dollars/year to listen to music I already purchased from them.

 

[TC03]

Although I continue to migrate my family of seven from Dell/Windows to Mac, I remain frustrated by Apple on this point. One large reason I originally moved to Mac was to be able to take our home video content and put it onto a DVD so that it could be shared with family. Not everyone on the planet (especially some older grandparents) are ever going to into cloud computing. It is a real shame that Apple ignores the portion of the market that must continue to use optical media for the foreseeable future.

And before you say "aftermarket," the whole point of the Mac is integration right? Everything working together in harmony is the whole sales pitch.

I have been moving to 100% Apple, but I see a day when this may reverse.

Apple doesn't ignore anyone, just get yourself an external optical drive. It fits your usage perfectly. What's your problem? Don't you see your type of usage is quite specific and therefore doesn't justify Apple needing to build this into every Mac?

Optical drives are old tecnology, you don't incorporate old technology into your products, you make them available additionally for those who do want it.

I really, really, really do NOT see the problem. External drives are fine, perfect.

 

[Nightarchaon]

i still want a Blu-Ray drive, i still buy blu-ray as my "main" format, and , whilst it continues to be a purchase i can make in a store on my lunch hour, and usually the box i buy contains more extras than any digital copy, and, normally for a single price i get myself a DvD and Digital copy as well.

There is room in this world for all formats, and as long as apple can "turn off" my purchases at a whim, ill continue to want to keep local, physical copies of things i purchase.

 

[KnightWRX]

I really, really, really do NOT see the problem. External drives are fine, perfect.

No one is asking for Internal drives, only OS support for AACS/HDCP so that Macs have legitimate, proper ways for 3rd parties to provide external drives and playback software.

HDCP is also required for iTunes fairplay, so we already have that, that leaves AACS. libaacs from videolan is not legitimate without the proper licensed keys.

External drives are fine, they just don't have the proper paths in the OS to work for movie playback right now.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I want support for a distribution medium that:

- I have to go to a store to buy (I like burning gas)
- Is very easily damaged
- Is something else I need to carry/keep track of
- Has a reading mechanism that takes up 25% of the space in my laptop (instead of shrinking the laptop's size or increasing its battery size)
- Has to spin to be read, so it uses moving parts that a prone to wear and breakage
- Has to spin to be read, so it uses up my battery
- Is yet another distribution medium that will be outmoded (see Betamax, VHS, LaserDisc, CDROM, DVD). Are people really not getting this?

BlueRay is such a massive POS. Please make it go away.

This guy has it absolutely right. Like him I want the Apple alternative medium that:
-I can only get through an Apple-controlled store and only play on Apple-approved devices (ultimately a single source monopoly over all media is THE way forward; a monopoly always maximizes value for us consumers)
-I do not actually own even if I "buy" it (see lifetime license terms: you don't own iTunes-purchased media)
-I cannot give away to someone else so that they can get full use of it
-I cannot resell to anyone else so that they get full use as it's new owner
-I cannot will away to others when I die
-I cannot loan to others so they can watch it on their own equipment
-Often costs more than the BD version of the same film or show
-Significantly trades off maximum quality picture by more deeply compressing the videos to fit in smaller file sizes
-Only supports a surround sound format established in 1992 instead of the many superior formats that have come out since
-Is yet another distribution medium that will be outmoded (see Betamax, VHS, LaserDisc, CDROM, DVD).

Are people really not getting this?

I own Apple stuff too and I like TV & itunes just fine. But I know spin when I see it and Phil's last name is pretty fitting for his role when it comes to matters like this. BD delivers far superior picture & sound. There's nothing wrong with Apple taking a stand against it, but how about doing so by at least getting fully toe-to-toe with it in it's most fundamental & important benefits? Some of us cheering on an inferior format just because Apple says so is- IMO- pitiful.

 

[dwizard23]

Im surprised people who rave about only the highest resolution & retina displays are somehow completely fine with the crappy quality of streamed movies via iTunes.

Im as big as a fan boy as they come -when I die they'll have to pry whatever apple device Im currently using from my cold hand but Apple is seriously dropping the ball here. Pushing something for years that simply isnt ready.

Maps - movies - whatever.

 

[BiscottiGelato]

I don't get it.

If you have a top end AVR, you probably have a top end Blu-Ray player to go with it. What does that have to do with whether your Mac has a Blu-Ray player?

If you are cheap enough to need to play your Blu-Ray out of your Mac, then I don't think you care about the quality and such as much. Might as well do Apple TV through iTunes then. (My approach). In fact, I can even rent a Blu-Ray if I want to these days. Lucky that to my untrained eyes, iTune 1080 output is perfectly adequate on the 56" LED that I usually watch movies on. While iTunes rental is really about the same as how much it'd cost me to rent a Blu-Ray back then.

In terms of sharing videos with family and friends, my preferred approach is uploading to Youtube at 1080p. The gas needed to deliver the Blu-Ray, or to mail it over-seas, to potentially hundreds of friends, to match th convinience of publishing my Youtube 1080p video on Facebook.... I think you get the idea.

There are always going to be very niche applications for all these stuff that Apple got rid of. But do remember they sell millions of Macs a year. If say 100 of you need a drive, there's a couple millions that rather not have it so that
A. they don't have to pay for it
B. they don't have to carry it
C. they have 1 less source of issues to worry with.

I, for one, will Not Buy a laptop if it does have an optical drive in it. Yes it's a Deal Breaker for me to carry the drive. Just as it is a deal breaker for some of you if the laptop doesn't have it. Apple thinks there are more like me than you guys. So sorry, it's time for many of you to catch up to modern cloud based technology.

So I am fully with Apple on the optical drive decision. Not saying that I'm with Apple on every decisions of their's.... rMBP 13" pricing/default SSD capacity for one.....

 

[righteye]

Lost their way right into utter wealth and riches beyond that of any other company, what a path!

The percentage of people like you who want this functionality can go buy an external drive - Apple has obviously (not lost their way) figured out that you are such a minor percentage that their sales haven't been, aren't being, and won't be hit majorly by their not including blu-ray devices in their products.

Complain to Apple, I'm sure they'll consider it as thoughtfully as they considered all the complaints about Flash not being supported on iOS.

Minor percentage i do not think so, if its there and you do not want to use then don't but to not include any optical drive and no Blue Ray is just bloody minded to make for example the iMac edges thiner, personally i think it sucks.
Not all great things are measured in $

 

[Hephaestus]

What, you mean an actual DISC that is rotated by a motor and read by a laser? Just to watch a movie? lol and can I has a VHS with that please?

Yeah.. except VHS is outdated technology with awful quality. Blu-Ray however destroys Apple's crap iTunes "HD" quality. If you convince yourself that just because it is physical it is inferior.. then keep watching your inferior version of content. But hey.. Apple tells you its new and better so it must be right.

... except it isn't and they're only ripping you off by charging you MORE money for inferior quality.

 

[GuitarDTO]

The Mac forum here is full of posts asking for / demanding BD drives instead of DVD ones, posted in the last 5 years.



Not true. Check out the Amazon prices - $15 / BD disc on average, not much higher than those of DVD's and, generally, the same as the same movie in the iTunes Store.

Mac Forum encompasses a tiny percentage of the real consumer population. IE, we are nerdlers who analyze the quality differences between BD and DVD. The mass population does not. And the prices are still too high, particularly for newly released popular movies. Case in point, Dark Knight Rises. Amazon DVD, $15, BD, $25. Too much, and not worth the extra $10 to many consumers to go out and buy when it is released. The $19 on iTunes is still too much as well.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

I don't have a bluray player in my house at all. Bluray movies are overpriced and inconvenient. I much prefer netflix streaming. The image quality is sharp enough for me.

Agreed. I used to have a huge film & tv library. Then one day I realized I had seen all those movies enough times, and here I was always blowing max $ on max HDDs just to keep storing them. For what? It's absurd.

 

[Hephaestus]

Agreed. I used to have a huge film & tv library. Then one day I realized I had seen all those movies enough times, and here I was always blowing max $ on max HDDs just to keep storing them. For what? It's absurd.

What are you both talking about? Blu-Ray movies are cheaper than iTunes content! Not to mention you can buy then preowned to save even more. You must be living in some parallel universe if you think iTunes is cheaper than Blu-Ray.

 

[lawstans]

iTunes can not compete with current Blu-ray content

Any serious movie fan knows you can not get nearly as many extra features on iTunes. Blu-ray is still a superior tech. Check out this article: http://www.waystowatch.com/blu-ray-disc-are-here-to-stay-for-awhile/

 

[FieldingMellish]

I own Blu-Ray of movies that have re-watch value and enjoy the sound and video quality, including ones available in 3D, such as Avengers. By re-watch value, it's the kind of flicks that, if you came across it while channel surfing, you'd stick with it and watch it again, even if the movie was somewhere in the middle of it.

 

[MacDav]

I have a Blu-Ray burner in my Mac Pro. Haven't used it in about 4 months. The quality with a movie on Blu-Ray disk is better than iTunes 1080P, but not so much that it is a distraction. I have a 3 TB drive with all my ripped DVD's and Blu-rays on it. Never had that many anyway. No more disks now except when I want the best resolution for a special favorite movie. Anyway, even 1080P will soon be outdated and replaced. It's just a matter of time.

 

[Cavepainter]

There are always going to be very niche applications for all these stuff that Apple got rid of. But do remember they sell millions of Macs a year. If say 100 of you need a drive, there's a couple millions that rather not have it so that
A. they don't have to pay for it
B. they don't have to carry it
C. they have 1 less source of issues to worry with.

Sure is nice Apple is passing on the savings to us customers on the new Imac, isn't it?

 

[redscull]

I really, really, really do NOT see the problem. External drives are fine, perfect.

Yeah, you really don't understand the problem. Clearly. External drives aren't the problem. The problem is that even with an external Blu-Ray player, OSX is incapable of playing Blu-Ray disc content. There is no software application in OSX to play Blu-Rays. You have to boot camp to Windows (or I've heard Parallels can now handle it too). Either of those options is crappy though; OSX loses the pretty polish when I have to leave it to use an application.

I don't get it.

If you have a top end AVR, you probably have a top end Blu-Ray player to go with it. What does that have to do with whether your Mac has a Blu-Ray player?

The top-end Blu-Ray player is called a Play Station 3. And that device is not ideal for doing non-disc playback, like browsing the internet, viewing my photos, etc. The best top end solution is an HTPC, that way you have one device handling everything. But without Blu-Ray support, a Mac-based HTPC can never be the best HTPC.

 

[ethana]

Is it 1984, Apple are turning into big brother.
Did we want it yes, oh no you don't
Anyway it does not matter what you want because BB is in control
I have been brainwashed and i'm Mac committed now but i would not recommend Apple computers without some reservations these days.
Please do not send the rats over i hate them.

Just get an external Blu-ray drive and the Macgo Blu-ray playback software. Apple still gives you a choice, they just don't include support natively. STOP thinking that Apple is supposed to be the end-all for ALL software and hardware solutions.

 

[C. Alan]

Given that they removed the optical drive from the Imac, I shutter to think what they are thinking up for the Mac Pro .... If they ever release an updated Mac Pro.

 

[RMferrer]

Those who post that online streaming via Netflix or Hulu, etc.. is good enough, are the same ones crying because something won't have retina display(mini ipad).