Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Status
Not open for further replies.
With Light Peak aka Thunderbolt, cloud services, iTunes and the App Store, why do we need optical drives? I haven't had one in my MBP now for nearly a year. And have never needed it in all that time.
 
With Light Peak aka Thunderbolt, cloud services, iTunes and the App Store, why do we need optical drives? I haven't had one in my MBP now for nearly a year. And have never needed it in all that time.

I have several things to say in opposition to this.


1). "we"? I don't mean this aggressively, but please, speak for yourself.

2). Cloud services are fine for trivial things, but the idea of not having physical possession of something that's important to me is simply unacceptable. When I sit down to watch a film or television show from a DVD or Blu-ray disc, I refuse to be at the mercy of my internet connection.

3). Thunderbolt? It's a great idea, but has anyone seen it doing anything, yet?

4). iTunes is fine for the "I can't tell the difference" crowd. But for the people who look at and listen to their media more carefully, it's mediocre in quality and value.

5). It's not that I'm wedded to "optical drives", per se. I just want unadulterated 1080p video and HD audio in a form that I can physically possess - and my only route to that at the moment is Blu-ray. When bandwidth reaches the point at which I can download a 40GB 'Blu-ray-quality' movie file in ten or fifteen minutes, and the subsequent download becomes my permanent physical property (not a rental), then I'll happily say goodbye to optical discs myself. But I don't think we'll be there for a while, yet.


I should say in closing that I am not the World's Biggest Blu-ray Fan. The discs were far too expensive, for far too long, and if the public have spoken and stated that they don't care for Blu-ray, it deserves to die. When it does die, I will long since have ripped all of my Blu-ray discs to hard drives, and I will continue to enjoy their content unabated. I encourage all other members with substantial Blu-ray collections to do the same - don't get stuck with thousands of pounds'/dollars'-worth of media that you can't access...
 
Last edited:
Some people I know actually like previews. It makes it more like a theater experience, and they go make the popcorn and pour the drinks while they run.

:apple:

I don't think any number of previews would make watching a BD on a 15" laptop "more like a theater experience." Even with popcorn and drinks. LOL!
 
I'm no fan of Sony and with the recent lawsuit over the PS3 I wonder how Blu-Ray will be affected in the long run. I can see why Jobs would be reluctant to support it.
 
I'm no fan of Sony and with the recent lawsuit over the PS3 I wonder how Blu-Ray will be affected in the long run. I can see why Jobs would be reluctant to support it.

AFAICT BD doesn't need the PS3 anymore to survive. Especially since players are now in the sub 150USD range. The only thing holding up BD adoption is the disc costs and convenience. I would imagine HDTV penetration could also be a factor.
 
Yes, in particular the abundance of 1080p sets in the mid-sizes should help BD.

What I would be worried about is if the ISP's that also server content (comcast...) decide that iTunes and Netflix are really cutting in to their VoD profits (which according to the internets, they are not, yet) you will either see caps drop like a rock, and or you will see them push real hard to be able to charge the content providers more for the bandwidth they use (the whole net neutrality thing).
 
I agree 100% with people saying that online streaming like Netflix, etc...is the future

But I mean...putting Bluray in the computers NOW would still be helpful for many. Blueray is used a good bit today. 5 years down the road? Probably not
 
My tech-savvy friends are using android phones, so going by "what my friends are doing" logic, iPhones are on the way out, dying, etc. Reality, on the other hand, tells me that both will last a long while, just like BR and downloads.
 
With Light Peak aka Thunderbolt, cloud services, iTunes and the App Store, why do we need optical drives? I haven't had one in my MBP now for nearly a year. And have never needed it in all that time.

Is this a trick question?

Because you are not we. You don't need it? Don't check off the BD option when configuring it.
That wasn't too difficult, was it?
For all those that do want one...

Make it a freaking option. :rolleyes: Geez, it's not rocket surgery.

Unfreakingbelievable.
 
Guys- I have to amend my previous statements about BR. I think Steve is right. It's dead out of the gate. Netflix streaming and ATV are popular with a lot of my tech savvy friends. None of them are buying BRs. They love streaming. I have to say, the convenience of streaming and ATV outweigh the quality of BR. It's just not going to happen for BR, no matter how much we might like it to.

For us geeks, that's hard to hear, but I think it's reality. Physical media is well on it's way out. It's not dead, it's simply not convenient anymore. It's like vinyl records.
Will BR hit the record setting high point of DVD? I doubt it. In large part because BR is dealing w/competition that DVD never face until after it's place in history was solidified. If BR is dead out of the gate :apple:TV and iTMS video sales/rentals must be considered still-borne because the BR player and title sales trounce the numbers Apple is doing in. The formats can coexist. The success of one is not dependent on the failure of the other. IMO, if anything is close to obsolete/looking for a reason to exist it's :apple:TV. With internet-enabled TVs and BR players becoming almost standard the need for a go-between-box is quickly becoming redundant.

Is steaming convenient? Sure... If you live in a place that gets streaming content (how many years have we heard global Mac users go, "Apple, there is more to the world than the US") and that has fast enough, robust enough, and inexpensive enough broadband internet. How much of the world's population meets those criteria? AT&T's recent 150gig cap doesn't sound too bad until you think of a family of 4 using the internet for everything from video games to Netflix and Hulu to voice calls. Anyway, someone call me when the internet finally kills off CD music sales. It's been nearly 12yrs since I first heard the death knell for that almost 30yr old spinning disc and it still is the leader in legal music sales.

And this is coming from someone that doesn't have cable, owns one BR movie (it was a gift) and just recently got around to putting up an OTA antenna.


Lethal
 
I don't think any number of previews would make watching a BD on a 15" laptop "more like a theater experience." Even with popcorn and drinks. LOL!

Apple disagrees. COL!

overview_hero7_20100615.png


Screen_shot_2011-03-29_at_10.53.23_AM.png


Screen_shot_2011-03-29_at_11.02.15_AM.png


They're 90% of the way there -- all they need to do is support Blu-Ray.

Will BR hit the record setting high point of DVD? I doubt it. In large part because BR is dealing w/competition that DVD never face until after it's place in history was solidified. If BR is dead out of the gate :apple:TV and iTMS video sales/rentals must be considered still-borne because the BR player and title sales trounce the numbers Apple is doing in. The formats can coexist. The success of one is not dependent on the failure of the other. IMO, if anything is close to obsolete/looking for a reason to exist it's :apple:TV. With internet-enabled TVs and BR players becoming almost standard the need for a go-between-box is quickly becoming redundant.

I somewhat disagree on your outlook for Blu-Ray (given it is outpacing DVD at the same points in the two products' life cycles). But I think you've got an excellent point on :apple:TV. I shopped for a high end HDTV earlier this year, money-no-object. The manufacturers are now differentiating themselves on all their built-in online widgets, that's where the new feature war is. There's no need for an Apple TV when the TV already does it, built-in.
 
Last edited:
For on the go and small devices, streaming and small movies are good. You don't see visual issues and you don't need DTS-MA out of your iPhone (although that could kick ass).

On the big HDTV front, it's another issue. If I'm sitting down, I want the best.

Right now with some blu rays offering digital copies, I get the best of both.

Sadly for others, there is a learning curve to consider. Some people are content with their DVDs, because HD in any format doesn't seem any more than much of an upgrade.

Also we need new TVs to really use HD, and some people are not as tech savvy as us here. So it's back to the learning curve again.

Don't get me started on 3D.
 
Thank you everybody for your answers.
Still, back to my question; can anybody who have external bd-drive connected to their mac, confirm that you can rip bd-movies with MakeMKV in OsX?

I answered you when you asked this in another thread.
Yes, MakeMKV can rip Blu-ray movies in OS X with an external Blu-Ray drive. No, you do not need Parallels or bootcamp... it is OS X native.
 
What I would be worried about is if the ISP's that also server content (comcast...) decide that iTunes and Netflix are really cutting in to their VoD profits (which according to the internets, they are not, yet) you will either see caps drop like a rock, and or you will see them push real hard to be able to charge the content providers more for the bandwidth they use (the whole net neutrality thing).


The movie studios are declaring all out war on Netflix. TV and move studios are pulling their streaming content or delaying it by even larger amounts of time. The wait limit for something to go to Netflix is going up to 90 days by old Netflix partners like Starz, or being pulled altogether by studios like Showtime.

The criterion collection - in its entirety - will be pulled from Netflix.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/criterion_collection_now_on_hulu_plus/

While Hulu Plus is $8 a month, doesn't it also include commercials? The people who complain about previews can't escape that pain. Now you'll get some feminine care product before you watch Rambo.

Make no mistake - while optical media will eventually fade away as the internet becomes bigger and faster, streaming's downside is a wonderful fragmentation of the marketplace filled with ads, bizarre pricing schemes, and DRM, and constantly shifting content from provider to provider.

And of course, now that Comcast (an ISP) owns NBC (a media producer), you can bet they have some sinister part to play in this.


I'm no fan of Sony and with the recent lawsuit over the PS3 I wonder how Blu-Ray will be affected in the long run. I can see why Jobs would be reluctant to support it.

The injunction was lifted - and it's not over Blu-Ray in general, it's over the implementation of Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 specifically. It doesn't include stand alone players - even those made by sony.

Jobs is reluctant because he wants to be another shard in the fragmented streaming/ppv/ppd world, no other reason.
 
Last edited:
The movie studios are declaring all out war on Netflix. TV and move studios are pulling their streaming content or delaying it by even larger amounts of time. The wait limit for something to go to Netflix is going up to 90 days by old Netflix partners like Starz, or being pulled altogether by studios like Showtime.

The criterion collection - in its entirety - will be pulled from Netflix.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/criterion_collection_now_on_hulu_plus/

While Hulu Plus is $8 a month, doesn't it also include commercials? The people who complain about previews can't escape that pain. Now you'll get some feminine care product before you watch Rambo.

Make no mistake - while optical media will eventually fade away as the internet becomes bigger and faster, streaming's downside is a wonderful fragmentation of the marketplace filled with ads, bizarre pricing schemes, and DRM, and constantly shifting content from provider to provider.

And of course, now that Comcast (an ISP) owns NBC (a media producer), you can bet they have some sinister part to play in this.




The injunction was lifted - and it's not over Blu-Ray in general, it's over the implementation of Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 specifically. It doesn't include stand alone players - even those made by sony.

Jobs is reluctant because he wants to be another shard in the fragmented streaming/ppv/ppd world, no other reason.
Don't forget with streaming/online video they can keep you from watching content (legally) which is pretty hard to do if you have the disc...
 
With Light Peak aka Thunderbolt, cloud services, iTunes and the App Store, why do we need optical drives? I haven't had one in my MBP now for nearly a year. And have never needed it in all that time.

For something as trivial like...

...give a DICOM optical disc to your patient that he/she should give their practitioner/surgeon etc.

Any idea how big MRI or CAT-scan uncompressed data is? Yeah, thought so.

Oh, you don't need that. Shame on you - OsiriX is by far the best DICOM-viewer I used. You should try it. And alas, it's OS X only.

Oh, you're not working in a medical field? Well, I am and I better have optical discs of my patients given away than trying to transfer GB of data via 'the Cloud' - privacy aspects aside.

Just because you don't need it doesn't make it obsolete. Sheesh.

And given the fact that resolution is steadily going up in the medical field BluRay could really come in handy at some time.
 
Going back to Windows for BD is not worth these headaches. That's why I have a dedicated BD player.:rolleyes:

Spotify ads hit by malware attack
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12891182

Do you really have to bash windows every single post? I used both Windows and Leopard before and they both have their shortages and advantages, in Windows if you know what you are doing then you will be just fine. (especially with the virus or trojan problems)
 
Do you really have to bash windows every single post? I used both Windows and Leopard before and they both have their shortages and advantages, in Windows if you know what you are doing then you will be just fine. (especially with the virus or trojan problems)

In some alternate dimension, Windows is bashing him on an internet forum, claiming he will be dead soon. ;)


Don't forget with streaming/online video they can keep you from watching content (legally) which is pretty hard to do if you have the disc...

That's a very good point. My landlord has a European copy of Disney's "Song of the South" that the higher ups at Disney would rather he not own, simply because he lives in the USA and Disney thought we might be offended by it.

It seems the trend was away from DRM for a while (music), and is now moving back towards it (video).
 
Do you really have to bash windows every single post? I used both Windows and Leopard before and they both have their shortages and advantages, in Windows if you know what you are doing then you will be just fine. (especially with the virus or trojan problems)
Unless you try to switch from one running program to another. Then, all hell breaks loose.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.