I'm just glad I future-proofed my computer by getting a new Mac mini without an optical drive. lol
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Steve Jobs Suggests Blu-ray Not Coming to Mac Anytime Soon
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Hmmm.... pay $100 to play BD's on my computer or $0 on my PS3 or dedicated BD players?
Sweet! When its time to trade in my C2D 27" iMac I am going the optical less Mini route too.
For all of you BD lovers,have a look at this.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110814112305.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110814112305.htm
If Apple doesn't support physical media - it doesn't matter how small you make it. They won't support it.
Impressive!
While we're on the subject of archival alternatives, this new format was in the news quite a bit last week.
M-Disc is a DVD made out of stone that lasts 1,000 years
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I seriously doubt they'd do that if they're not even doing Blu Ray.
And Blu Ray's not going anywhere anytime soon. I mean okay, that can hold more, but I don't know why Blu Ray couldn't be around as long as ATSC is. It's like if DVD had been introduced when NTSC was, it could have stuck around until Blu Ray...we could get half a century or more from it.
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So stupid question, perhaps, but is it heavier than normal, wrecking our drives?
Because that sounds awesome if it really lasts 100 years...I'd immediately switch to backing up say my GOG.com and Steam games to that. I don't really know how to back them up now, because regular DVD+/-RWs supposedly don't last more than a few years to 10 years or whatever...it almost seems like just leaving them on two hard drives is a better backup than RWs at that point.
Improving that at least 100x would be awesome...I would definitely buy into that if any normal reader reads them!
And Blu Ray's not going anywhere anytime soon. I mean okay, that can hold more, but I don't know why Blu Ray couldn't be around as long as ATSC is. It's like if DVD had been introduced when NTSC was, it could have stuck around until Blu Ray...we could get half a century or more from it.
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So stupid question, perhaps, but is it heavier than normal, wrecking our drives?
Because that sounds awesome if it really lasts 100 years...I'd immediately switch to backing up say my GOG.com and Steam games to that. I don't really know how to back them up now, because regular DVD+/-RWs supposedly don't last more than a few years to 10 years or whatever...it almost seems like just leaving them on two hard drives is a better backup than RWs at that point.
Improving that at least 100x would be awesome...I would definitely buy into that if any normal reader reads them!
I'm not sure about the nanostructured glass option, but external M-Disc drives can be had from CDI Media for $145 and run on the Mac, Linux, and Windows XP through 7. The disks' resilience has received the DOD stamp of approval.
Not stupid at all. According to ExtremeTech.com, "M-Discs are backwards compatible and can be read by normal DVD drives." I'd take that as a good sign.
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As to general usage of a slang tech term? Do I have to answer that?
Quit dumbing down words. How is that possibly something YOU approve of? Christ, anything to rag on Apple or Apple product owners, eh.
I am not sure what the term is to describe someone that continually makes posts about "anything to rag on Apple or Apple product owners" in a Apple specific forum (at least I thought MacRumors implies all things Mac/Apple) or continually insulting forum members. I thought that went against forum rules.
Thanks for the info! So these suckers are actually AVAILABLE?!?
Here's another link I just found (quite possibly not the best):
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/m-disc-holds-your-data-forever-we-go-hands-on-for-a-few-minut/
The drives...$150's nothing, though sounds like the media is pricey-ish. Hmm....$6.50 a disc EDIT: Maximum PC just said $3/disc initially! Coming in October This is a no brainer for me!...well, this might be the best option for long term backups...games, family videos and pictures, etc. Adds to the cost, but IMO regular -Rs just aren't viable for storage if the claims about how long they (don't) last are true.
Dang...Amazon has a listing, but it's for used...if they or Newegg or Best Buy or something start carrying these, I think I'm going to switch over, copy over the stuff I've already archived, and start archiving again on these.
Here's another link I just found (quite possibly not the best):
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/15/m-disc-holds-your-data-forever-we-go-hands-on-for-a-few-minut/
The drives...$150's nothing, though sounds like the media is pricey-ish. Hmm....$6.50 a disc EDIT: Maximum PC just said $3/disc initially! Coming in October This is a no brainer for me!...well, this might be the best option for long term backups...games, family videos and pictures, etc. Adds to the cost, but IMO regular -Rs just aren't viable for storage if the claims about how long they (don't) last are true.
Dang...Amazon has a listing, but it's for used...if they or Newegg or Best Buy or something start carrying these, I think I'm going to switch over, copy over the stuff I've already archived, and start archiving again on these.
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I am not sure what the term is to describe someone that continually makes posts about "anything to rag on Apple or Apple product owners" in a Apple specific forum (at least I thought MacRumors implies all things Mac/Apple) or continually insulting forum members. I thought that went against forum rules.
I thought we agreed that medical conditions were not a laughing matter?
You're better than that, Linux2Mac! 
No problem, and good luck.
LOL...
Wow made of stone and lasts that long?If only Moses had them back then ,can you imagine?
O i get it M-disc...Moses-disck
....and double LOL!
Told you I did...
As I and others have said, DVD may be tanking but Blu-ray isn't- and here's the proof. According to Home Media Magazine, for the week ended August 6 DVD revenue was down, but revenue for packaged media as a whole INCREASED compared to the same week last year- due to the increase in Blu-ray revenue.
If this trend continues- and I have a feeling it will considering what's going to come in the next few months- the decline in DVD sales will be seen as a transition to Blu-ray, rather than a disappearance of physical media altogether.
Someone needs to bring Steve a nice heaping plate of crow. This NEVER HAPPENED with the high-end CD formats...
As I and others have said, DVD may be tanking but Blu-ray isn't- and here's the proof. According to Home Media Magazine, for the week ended August 6 DVD revenue was down, but revenue for packaged media as a whole INCREASED compared to the same week last year- due to the increase in Blu-ray revenue.
If this trend continues- and I have a feeling it will considering what's going to come in the next few months- the decline in DVD sales will be seen as a transition to Blu-ray, rather than a disappearance of physical media altogether.
Someone needs to bring Steve a nice heaping plate of crow. This NEVER HAPPENED with the high-end CD formats...
Attachments
Stone optical media...
I love the idea of technology going full-circle to the stone-age and back.
I love the idea of technology going full-circle to the stone-age and back.
On top of that, a movie like the fourth Pirates Of The Caribbean will be coming out in a Blu-ray/DVD combo 6 weeks before the stand alone DVD release. This will also erode DVD sales and they will go towards Blu-ray, but it continues to push the Blu-ray format. To be fair, optical media in general has continued to decline year over year, while this week there was an upturn, Blu-ray hasn't be able to cover for the loss in DVD revenue. However, Blu-ray sales continue to increase. On the flip side to that, Digital downloaded movies haven't been able to match Blu-ray sales and they will definitely never achieve the same financial success DVD experienced years ago. Considering how many people have all these idevices, household penetration might be higher than that of Blu-ray.
Here is a good article breaking down physical media sales and digital sales. VOD revenue goes into the digital category, that's basically the same pay per view we had in the 90's, so that should have been higher in my opinion. Also if you break down and compare SD downloads to DVD sales and HD Downloads to Blu-ray sales, the difference will probably be greater.
Having said that, I agree that there is no reason why Apple shouldn't allow BD support, or why Microsoft only offers some support. A bit more relaxed but I'm sure they don't care a whole lot for it. If Apple, Microsoft or all these other companies that offer downloadable movies actually offered something superior to Blu-ray, I could understand the lack of support. If Apple offered movies with a resolution of 4096×2160, lossless audio, and all the special features available, I could understand their stand and why they wouldn't support Blu-ray. Even if our current TV's can't take advantage of such resolutions, and even if downloading those 1+ TB size files would be next to impossible, maybe they can use a good compression system and the files would only be about 500+GB, at least I can see that they offer a superior format. Sadly, the truth is that they are playing catch up to the quality of Blu-ray and it will be years before they get there and even longer before everyone can enjoy these high download speeds, but they demand the same premium price. In the mean time the people who are buying the Blu-ray movies today are future proofing more so than the people who might buy an HD download.
Another thing is that consumer level HD Camcorders are becoming the norm. I don't know about most people but I like to author my HD home videos on Dual Layer Blu-ray discs, at least my most important videos, with various sub menus and even a Special Features section where I put in my old VHS and DVD home videos. It's not necessary for people who enjoy doing this to have to record their HD videos at 17 Mbps instead of 24 Mbps, because of the limitations of the DVD, and only being able to fit a 40 minute video without many extra personal touches. I don't see why a computer shouldn't allow people to do their own Blu-ray movies. Hopefully things turn around and Apple will change its policy.
Please think about Microsoft's stance...
Microsoft provides all of the OS framework support needed for BD decoding, high quality lossless multi-channel audio, and hardware acceleration of the decoding on a huge variety of video cards.
Microsoft simply doesn't ship the codecs needed to actually play the BDs. The codecs are bundled with the BD drives.
This avoids adding even a small amount of incremental royalty cost to systems without BD players.
edit: Note that in a similar fashion, Microsoft didn't ship the MPEG-2 codecs needed for DVD playback (until recently). If you added a DVD drive to your system, the software bundle would include an MPEG-2 codec.
I see posts from Apple fans like "OMG Windows 7 costs $299 for the DVD". And I also see ads from Fry's or on Newegg which are $299 for a netbook running Windows 7. Can both really be true? Is the netbook free if you buy the Windows 7 DVD?
Certainly the walls in Apple's walled garden are high enough that Apple could find a way to tie the royalty fees for BD to only those systems which have BTO BD drives.
Or, they'd rather whine about a "bag of hurt" - and push you to buy crappy over-compressed 720p downloads from Itunes.
Microsoft provides all of the OS framework support needed for BD decoding, high quality lossless multi-channel audio, and hardware acceleration of the decoding on a huge variety of video cards.
Microsoft simply doesn't ship the codecs needed to actually play the BDs. The codecs are bundled with the BD drives.
This avoids adding even a small amount of incremental royalty cost to systems without BD players.
edit: Note that in a similar fashion, Microsoft didn't ship the MPEG-2 codecs needed for DVD playback (until recently). If you added a DVD drive to your system, the software bundle would include an MPEG-2 codec.
I see posts from Apple fans like "OMG Windows 7 costs $299 for the DVD". And I also see ads from Fry's or on Newegg which are $299 for a netbook running Windows 7. Can both really be true? Is the netbook free if you buy the Windows 7 DVD?
Certainly the walls in Apple's walled garden are high enough that Apple could find a way to tie the royalty fees for BD to only those systems which have BTO BD drives.
Or, they'd rather whine about a "bag of hurt" - and push you to buy crappy over-compressed 720p downloads from Itunes.
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For the week mentioned in my post, Blu-ray DID cover for the loss of DVD revenue. That's what made it stand out to me. DVD revenue is down slightly, but Blu-ray revenue was UP 36% compared to the same week last year, and that's why total packaged-media revenue is up compared to the same week last year.
Oh, what Microsoft is doing is definitely the better option and I don't think that anyone that wants to play or author Blu-ray discs will be complaining about their method. I just meant to say that Microsoft would like to see people move away from discs and towards downloads. Had HD DVD won the format war, I'm sure Microsoft would have been pushing physical media much stronger. As the next generation console systems come into play, I doubt Microsoft is going to want to pay loyalty's to Sony so they can have a BD rom on a future Xbox system. Yet I do think they'll have to opt for a Blu-ray optical drive.
That it did, and I'm not complaining about that
......I would have liked to seen it happen far more often though. But these are different times. A large amount of people are illegally downloading movies, copying movies they rent from Netflix/Redbox, or making copies from the version their friends bought. But blu-ray isn't losing sells and will only continue to rise.
Perhaps - though since Microsoft doesn't have an online video store (AFAIK - if they've opened one please correct me) they don't have a direct fiscal interest in removing the optical option.
And, of course, Microsoft supports legacy "stuff" until it's no longer relevant - so if even if they'd prefer you to download, they wouldn't take the draconian path of refusing to support optical.
Great, so the BD DRM is working!
Thanks for the correction, but no thanks for the "Zune software". If I can't download it through my browser, and play it with my preferred media player - no sale (or rental).
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