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Steve Jobs Suggests Blu-ray Not Coming to Mac Anytime Soon
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The optical is not useless for many. Maybe to you, but not everyone. I have a high-end home theater, and iTunes and digital downloads look like crap on a 70 inch screen. What many people clearly don't understand is that 1080p does not produce a perfect image in and of itself. You can have 1080p of compression artifacts, and it looks pretty lame. No digital download comes even close to touching the data rates of blu-ray. It becomes SO apparent in any material that has a lot of action or motion across a majority of the screen. You also can not touch the lossless 7.1 sound on a blu-ray. The 4GB to 5GB download from Apple compared to a 20 GB to much higher on blu-ray says it all. They sell blu-ray at Sam's Club and Wal-mart now, and people (not high-end consumers, if you get my drift) are buying them. A lot of people have the 55 inch plasma or lcd they got at Costco for $1,500 but still don't even have broadband for those downloads.
The final irony is that Steve makes this sound like it is just a high-end product . . . .
Isn't that what a Mac is ? You can get blu-ray in an Acer now. Give me a break Steve. Oh, and why are you releasing the Pixar films on blu-ray if it is a dead-end format? Riddle me that Joker.
I believe that for Blu-ray to run video correctly, some software needs to be at the root of the OS which would mean that Apple would need to let Sony be privy to its OS secrets -- WHICH AIN'T happening.
There are secrets and then there are SECRETS.
There are secrets and then there are SECRETS.
+1 I couldn't of said how I feel about this any better, so I'll just jump on this post and add that there may be royalties they might have to pay Sony to adopt blu-ray. It doesn't seem to be hurting mac sales much to not include them? Who knows...desperate people who want macs with blu-ray drives could DIY drives in existing macs or build hackintoshes?
AppleTV hasn't exactly had stellar sales for Apple either. Who wants to buy a $200 vending machine you have to keep feeding with your credit card?
Apples and oranges... Redbox and Netflix are for temporary viewing (renting) as opposed to permanent ownership (Blu-ray). They aren't the same market.
OK, but what is it costing those who want BR (in a Mac that is).
I've been led to believe that for years the best option has been a PS3,
a Mac (according his 'SJness') just simply isn't a TV 'device',
nor is the Apple TV, for that matter
To everyone saying that physical media is useless, I have a question, what happens when your internet connection goes down?
I'm not talking about some big end of society thing, but you know, general connection problems? They happen, any system will break down from time to time, last week there was a few hours outage here. Even if your net connection is fine, what about random interference? I was using my iPad and I was suddenly disconnected (I think it was caused by someone walking past on a phone, but I could be wrong.) Every wireless system I have ever seen has run across some kind of interference from time to time.
A lot of people are saying that a desire for physical media is just nostalgia, but personally I think it is about security (and ya know, the infinitely better quality thing also helps.)
I'm not talking about some big end of society thing, but you know, general connection problems? They happen, any system will break down from time to time, last week there was a few hours outage here. Even if your net connection is fine, what about random interference? I was using my iPad and I was suddenly disconnected (I think it was caused by someone walking past on a phone, but I could be wrong.) Every wireless system I have ever seen has run across some kind of interference from time to time.
A lot of people are saying that a desire for physical media is just nostalgia, but personally I think it is about security (and ya know, the infinitely better quality thing also helps.)
Nice to see all my blu-ray brothers posting
FYI - Blu-ray just approved the specs for 100/128GB BDXL discs - http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4796 - it's going to be NIICE! Full 3D/2D and more all on one disc. Would love to see downloads do that.
FYI - Blu-ray just approved the specs for 100/128GB BDXL discs - http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=4796 - it's going to be NIICE! Full 3D/2D and more all on one disc. Would love to see downloads do that.
I'm becoming more and more disillusioned with Apple lately. I've been a big supporter for years and have owned countless Apple products, but lately I feel like they are being like "Big Brother." First lack of Flash support even though the iPad and iPhone 4 clearly have the horsepower to support it, then denial that the iPhone 4 antenna issue is a design flaw (I never had problems with my 3GS, and now I've dropped 3 calls and have had several reception issues in the first week), and now no Blu-ray support.
Like others have said, other manufacturers have supported Blu-ray for years. Yes, streaming video exists, but many seem to ignore the fact that all HD is not created equal, not even all 720P. The bitrates of much of the 720p streaming video out there is horrible compared to broadcast 720p let alone Blu-ray 1080p. It's like night and day. Aside from video even, I'd like to have the option to burn movies from my HD camera to Blu-ray and back up large data files. This is ridiculous Apple.
Like others have said, other manufacturers have supported Blu-ray for years. Yes, streaming video exists, but many seem to ignore the fact that all HD is not created equal, not even all 720P. The bitrates of much of the 720p streaming video out there is horrible compared to broadcast 720p let alone Blu-ray 1080p. It's like night and day. Aside from video even, I'd like to have the option to burn movies from my HD camera to Blu-ray and back up large data files. This is ridiculous Apple.
Sony has abandoned a key part of it's consumer electronics (BR players, PS3) and professional video (XDCAM) game plan?
H.264 is one of the codecs you can use for Blu-Ray.
BB didn't get hammered by streaming they got hammered by Netflix shipping people DVDs that they could keep indefidnetly w/o any late fees and an awesome search/recommend feature. iTunes, in the video space, isn't a contender (at least not in it's current incarnation). They don't do anywhere close to the numbers that the music side of the iTMS does and
TV is, AFAIK, still a 'hobby' project for Apple.Lethal
Steve Jobs wasn't the inventor of the Mac. Most of the people involved with the Mac in the early days I suspect would be "on our side" on issues like this.
There is no option to "not go mac" - that flies with the iOS/flash, a newish consumer OS. The Mac is a consumer/amateur/pro production platform. People have years, often decades invested in the Mac. They already HAVE gone Mac, and like how they work. They aren't going to leave over something which shouldn't even be an issue. They'll grit their teeth.. They'll complain, and rightly so.. A lot of people want BD. Apple don't seem as interested in making the best software platform anymore, which is disturbing.
Funny... it seems like Blu Ray is doing pretty good. Anyway, he doesn't have to put a blu-ray in the iMac, but it should be supported on the software side and available on Pro machines. You know... those machines that are widely used in the video production industry.
OK, but what is it costing those who want BR (in a Mac that is).
I've been led to believe that for years the best option has been a PS3,
a Mac (according his 'SJness') just simply isn't a TV 'device',
nor is the Apple TV, for that matter
The new Mac Mini has HDMI, which means it may act as a great entertainment hub for 42+ HDTV's. The only downside, Windows will need to be installed to use an after market Blu-Ray drive for movies. Certainly you can watch "hi-def" movies through iTunes, but at 720P without full surround sound, my Denon 7.1 receiver would be perplexed as to why I would be downgrading.
I would love nothing more than to replace my DVD player and get rid of cable all together with only my receiver and Mac Mini. I can watch iTunes, Hulu, etc. on my television and not have to pay a monthly cable bill for hundreds of channels and ad's I don't watch or need... oh, but wait, I can't, OS X will not support HDCP.
+1
Got it in my Mac Pro, and I know dozens of Mac Pro owners who use Blu-Ray for work in photography for backing up GB's of data, but for those who need HDCP on OS X, Apple fails to realize this importance. iTunes "hi-def" is NOT true hi-def.
+1
right... and all you had to do was DOWNLOAD TEN GIGS.
jeez man... for me that's a multi-day process. or i could walk into blockbuster and have it in 3 minutes.
right now, digital downloads are too far into the future to be that useful.
steve is right overall... he's just too early. of course, i'm sure he has a super-fat connection, and hence has no concept about the rest of us poor DSL bastards.
downloading 10 gig files IS NOT FEASIBLE AT THIS TIME. and won't be for years.
You obviously don't work in the movie industry. Blu-ray has taken off quicker than DVD did during it's inception, that's a fact.
There is a TON of money in Blu-ray. Walk in to any Fry's, Best Buy, or any electronics store and Blu-ray is in the FRONT now taking up many shelves.
There is BIG money in Blu-ray folks. And that is why Steve wants no part of it. Because that big HD money cuts into his iTunes sales.
He is doing this for MONEY not because he thinks digital will take everything over in the next few years. Because it WONT.
Ethan
I was gonna write something about how practical Blu Ray could be as a storage medium for small businesses and private individuals; I was also going to point out that current internet speed in most countries where iTunes is present varies greatly; but what's the point? Jobs has some reason and there is no poodle in Apple Inc can challenge his word.
Another sign that Jobs is past his use-by date, again. He drove the company into financial ruin once before with his single-mindedness. You may not remember, but the Mac was what broke Apple the first time. Apple dropped the education market (Apple computers) and concentrated on Mac, when Mac wasn't selling as well. Yes Mac was the answer, but it was mismanaged.
It's not a case of one or the other. For people who don't care about quality, there's download. For people who care about quality, there's physical media.
Once the 'new & shiny' wears off iPad and people realise they can't hold iPhone 4 in their hand to make a phone call, all the hotness of Apple will be surpassed by crappy but free OS Android devices and the mobile space will be owned by Google the way the desktop is owned by Microsoft.
Jobs will be dumped by Apple once again, for ruining the company, again. Apple will be the iPod and niche mobile computer company struggling to keep its computer manufacturing business viable because Jobs ceded the pro market to Windows or Linux, the way Apple ceded the desktop to Windows in the 90s. Apple will have no high-value customers for its high-value products, because it stopped innovating.
Jobs knows products, he just doesn't know how to run a company. Dropping your bread and butter for what Wall St thinks is hot is a surefire recipe to sink your company. Jobs lets Wall St run Apple. Wall St are observers, not do-ers.
iMovie has been creating HD movies for 'the rest of us' since 2005. Sony was putting BD burners in Vaios in 2005. Jobs just won't because he's obsessed with downloads. It's not a case of either/or, Steve. You need to do both to cover your commercial arse!
It's not a case of one or the other. For people who don't care about quality, there's download. For people who care about quality, there's physical media.
I'll give you my specific example. I'm desperate to create some BDs (high quality audio only), and my only option at the moment is Windows. It goes deeper than that. Apple doesn't support high quality audio playback in iTunes or QuickTime Player, but if it implemented BD, we could have multi-channel uncompressed audio for everyone. No, it's not cheap'n'dirty downloads, but there's more to life than iTunes.
Once the 'new & shiny' wears off iPad and people realise they can't hold iPhone 4 in their hand to make a phone call, all the hotness of Apple will be surpassed by crappy but free OS Android devices and the mobile space will be owned by Google the way the desktop is owned by Microsoft.
Jobs will be dumped by Apple once again, for ruining the company, again. Apple will be the iPod and niche mobile computer company struggling to keep its computer manufacturing business viable because Jobs ceded the pro market to Windows or Linux, the way Apple ceded the desktop to Windows in the 90s. Apple will have no high-value customers for its high-value products, because it stopped innovating.
Jobs knows products, he just doesn't know how to run a company. Dropping your bread and butter for what Wall St thinks is hot is a surefire recipe to sink your company. Jobs lets Wall St run Apple. Wall St are observers, not do-ers.
iMovie has been creating HD movies for 'the rest of us' since 2005. Sony was putting BD burners in Vaios in 2005. Jobs just won't because he's obsessed with downloads. It's not a case of either/or, Steve. You need to do both to cover your commercial arse!
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