Blu-ray and Apple (1 Viewer)

[WinstonCely]

I don't think the future is here yet... as silly as that sounds. My point being that there's still a large portion of people out there that still don't use social networks to share media, or haven't converted their CDs to files yet, or still have a CD player in their car that doesn't read data CDs. (I'm skipping the other more computer specific issues as they've been mentioned a million times already). What happens when these people finally do want to move to a new computer, but have no way of getting their music onto their computer? Or can't share their latest family christmas movie with grandma in Po-dunk Boonies, USA who can't afford to be there in person?
I'm all for moving towards the future, that's why I support FCPX, but I also recognize that it's not ready for prime-time, and neither is no optical discs (let alone Blu-ray).

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by DellaStMedia
What happens when these people finally do want to move to a new computer, but have no way of getting their music onto their computer?

They buy a $9 CD drive and get their music onto their computer.
http://www.amazon.com/External-CD-ROM-CDROM-Drive-ASUS/dp/B001RKS7AC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311797413&sr=1-1

Or they buy a Windows PC -- for which I bought an external floppy disk just two years ago because we still use 3.5" disks on some equipment at work.


If the future isn't yet in your part of the country, for the price of a couple lattes at Starbucks, your problem is solved.

 

[mattCR]

Closest Starbucks to my parent's house is 2 hours, 15 minutes. I don't see them making that trek anytime soon.



I do get your point, though I'm not really just saying "Kansas land!" Engadget had a story yesterday on how the US ranks in the bottom 10% in Internet Broadband coverage. In square miles, more of the US gets 512k or Less as a top speed then gets more. I have no problem where I'm at, I just upgraded to 100Mb at the house, with an option for Gigabit by the end of the year. So I'm set. But that's not most people.

More then that, even in places where it is, caps are coming hardcore. Near us, Comcast has already put down caps that throttle data and access. So, making everything download only is going to be a kick for those people. There are other people who just like optical media. We like to hold it in our little hands.

Then again, I'm also someone who tends to burn out CDs/DVDs often.. like on a daily basis. So *shrug* I can't imaging living without one.

Originally Posted by DaveF
They buy a $9 CD drive and get their music onto their computer.
http://www.amazon.com/External-CD-ROM-CDROM-Drive-ASUS/dp/B001RKS7AC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311797413&sr=1-1

Or they buy a Windows PC -- for which I bought an external floppy disk just two years ago because we still use 3.5" disks on some equipment at work.


If the future isn't yet in your part of the country, for the price of a couple lattes at Starbucks, your problem is solved.

 

[WinstonCely]

I think convincing people to buy additional hardware will make many people ask why they're paying so much for something that isn't complete. Plus, as the article above mentions, there's a loss of form factor, and there are possible compatibility problems.
I know it's cheap to just buy a peripheral, but if you're someone who is just now joining the 21st century - and there are plenty of them out there - then buying multiple devices to do common procedures, is a little ridiculous for the casual person.

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't think the future is here yet... .

The future is already here, it's just not evenly distributed.
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Gibson

 

[Carlo_M]

I hate to say it but I don't think Jobs and Apple care what happens in rural America. Wasn't it just a couple of decades ago where the US demographic shifted so that more people lived in urban cities than out in the rural areas? That's Apple's market. As much as I keep hoping that the "average American" can't get fast internet access, and that will force Apple to keep providing at least optical disc support if not flat out BD support, I'm starting to realize that it's just a pipe dream. Apple's target demographic are urbanites and most of them have reasonably fast internet access. I do think this idea of Apple becoming a mobile platform company is going to become a reality faster than those of us who support their power products (Mac Pro, professional software) are willing to admit. I had hoped that wasn't the case, but everything they've done in the last 2-3 years (basically since the introduction of the iPhone) has supported exactly that theory.
Is it surprising that the only product that hasn't been updated recently is the Mac Pro? I'm starting to think it isn't a coincidence. I'd love to be wrong.

 

[DaveF]

/forum/thread/289408/blu-ray-and-apple/150#post_3836269
Closest Starbucks to my parent's house is 2 hours, 15 minutes. I don't see them making that trek anytime soon.

They should. The white chocolate mocha is very good!



Broadband access is pretty bad nationally, I agree. I've got a decent 15+ Mbps down, but a pathetic 1 Mbps up. There's no real competition, so Roadrunner isn't rolling out DOCSIS 3.0 here. And we can't get FIOS because the regional phone co prevents Verizon from coming in with wired service.

Clearly Apple is making a play for the "future". And we shouldn't be surprised they're willing to cut possible customers out: their cheapest computer is $599, and the entry price for a full system is $1199. They don't sell to "cheap" people; an extra $79 for an Apple-branded DVD drive is small beans for the typical Apple customer.

And that's what's amazing to me about Apple. I may not like the jettisoning of the optical drive -- I use it enough to think I need at least one in the house -- but I'm fascinated by its pursuit of its corporate vision, and willingness to risk customers to that. They've cut out the no-budget crowd. They're getting rid of the no-bandwidth crowd. And now, the "optical disc" groupies are being tossed. I don't know how I feel about it as a computer user, but it's riveting to watch!

 

[Carlo_M]

I won't fully freak out that Apple is abandoning optical disc until it disappears from both the iMac and Mac Pro.
I can fully understand why they would disappear from their laptops. The ODD is one of the largest space hogs and Apple clearly wants to win the race for "thinner/faster/lighter" while preserving power. I wouldn't be surprised if eventually, when SSD/flash memory prices go down, for the Airs to one day replace the Macbook Pro line. Having lugged my 5.5lbs MBP to and from work every day (I walk) I can definitely get behind making a 2.6lbs laptop lighter while becoming even more powerful by omitting the ODD.
The ODD omission from the Mini makes sense too, because storage has always been a problem with the Mini, and they'd rather use the space normally reserved for the ODD for other things.
If the next rev of the iMac and Mac Pro lack an ODD, then we will really know that they've abandoned optical media.

 

[Sam Posten]

This is not the original thread so it's tough for me to tell when I actually -first- started pining for blu on a Mac, but I can tell you the date I finally got one for mine.
Today.
After last week's inclusion of Toast Titanium 11 into the MacUpdate bundle, I started looking for the Blu deck I'd get to go along with it. Today I saw what Marco recommended and finally jumped on the bandwagon.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CJTQPG
I needed an external drive to complement my Air so this covers both needs nicely.
I bought my first 10pack of 6x disks to go with it:
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-97238-Blu-ray-Recordable-10-Disc/dp/B003EE08S8/ref=pd_luc_sim_01_04_t_lh
Single layer is fine for me, but this drive will burn the double layers, which is nice, at 4x.
Here's Marco's writeup:
http://www.marco.org/2011/09/07/the-new-setup
And there is still time on the MacUpdate promo (6 and a half days as of this posting).
https://www.mupromo.com/
There's not much I wanted in the MU besides Toast, but they are nice to have as a bonus to getting Toast for half off. If you want the Blu capabilities of Toast you need to add $10 for that feature and it's worth it, even if you don't need it right now. If you 'Like' them on FB they will toss in a collection of 2000 fonts too, I haven't downloaded that yet so no verdict on usefulness, but if it's free it's for me...

 

[Carlo_M]

A third party glimmer of hope?
http://www.macnn.com/articles/11/11/11/limbo.coming.to.mac.by.end.of.year/
Hopefully this will be a good solution, and if it is, maybe it will spur Apple to provide their own, likely superior, solution.
Hey, it's 11/11/11...I can dream!

 

[DaveF]

I don't see this spurring Apple to produce a superior time-bending platformer.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carlo Medina /t/289408/blu-ray-and-apple/150#post_3869586
A third party glimmer of hope?
http://www.macnn.com/articles/11/11/11/limbo.coming.to.mac.by.end.of.year/
Hopefully this will be a good solution, and if it is, maybe it will spur Apple to provide their own, likely superior, solution.
Hey, it's 11/11/11...I can dream!

They are very vague about the playback software, meaning that this is probably it: http://www.macblurayplayer.com/index.htm

From what I've read about it, it is utterly inferior to various free playback solutions. It is cheaper to buy a bare BD drive and download the free alternatives. If my guess is correct, then you results will be much better as well. Here is the Macworld review that should keep you far away from this mess:
http://www.macworld.com/article/160977/2011/07/blu_ray_movie_playback_comes_to_the_mac.html

 

[Southpaw]

I've finally gotten around to purchasing a blu-ray burner for my mac pro...is Toast 11 the only burning software option that's compatible?
I've read mixed reviews so I'd like to go with another option but can't seem to find any.

 

[Sam Posten]

Pretty much yeah

 

[Carlo_M]

Maybe a glimmer of hope (third party workaround): http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/02/13/mac.interface.to.be.overhauled/
I haven't tried the beta versions yet, but I use the latest stable release of VLC player on Mac and PC and consider it a good, free player.

 

[Sam Posten]

Read the fine print. Unprotected Blurays only.

 

[Citizen87645]

Any Mac Blu-ray Player app users here? I haven't had problems with the latest version, but it still seems to be missing the ability to pull up the authored disc menu. I put a question in to the company, but thought I'd check here too.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I'd like Mac Blu-Ray Player to support menus, too.

 

[Citizen87645]

Here's the response I got:

Dear Cameron,

Thanks so much for using our software and I'm really sorry for what you have encountered.

As to the menu function, I'd like to tell you that it will be released in just a few weeks.
And I will contact you the first time when it is released.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation and I'm really sorry for your inconvenience at the present moment!