[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

How about making it an option so the customer can decide to burden himself or not? And how much is the cost? Windows computers have them. right? It must be known.

The problem is that simply making them an option would mean Apple selling gimped machines - because those drives would be able to read and burn data discs but *NOT* movies. We've been over this a billion times in this thread on why Apple can't simply throw in a drive and have it work. There needs to be some lower level system changes for Blu-Ray Discs to play in Macs.

If you need the storage space, buy an external.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

The problem is that simply making them an option would mean Apple selling gimped machines - because those drives would be able to read and burn data discs but *NOT* movies.

Yeah right. They just can't do it. I forgot. And Steve just can't admit it. And you found out and told us.

[goMac]

The problem is Bluray support conflicts with their kernel license, it conflicts with iTunes, and Apple really doesn't care. They're not going to implement Bluray until consumer demand reaches a roar. Bluray simply doesn't fit in their product strategy.

What I think is more likely is that Apple is likely internally working on a format optimized for downloads of feature length movies. It might support extended attributes like menus and extras, and it might have a video codec that would be paired with a decoder chip designed in house for the AppleTV and iPod. I see them investing more in downloads, not Bluray.

I would be surprised if Jobs even owns a Bluray player.

[Eug]

I'd be surprised if Jobs doesn't own a Blu-ray player. Disney is one of Blu-ray's biggest backers, and Apple sits on the BDA board.

[brassplayersrock²]

Nah, Jobs is an HD fan. The color of the logo was right for him.

[Eug]

Transformers on HD DVD now $3.99.

http://www.inetvideo.com/Items/N01-0117297

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

Yeah right. They just can't do it. I forgot. And Steve just can't admit it. And you found out and told us.

Never said can't. But it's way too much of a bitch with licensing issues and changes needed to the OS that there's plenty of incentive for them to not do it until the demand is high enough.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Playing Blu-ray movies on a 13.3", 15", or 17" screen (even a 24" screen) would be pointless. And if you need Blu-ray burning capability, there are plenty of internal and external burners out there that will work on the Mac.

http://www.mcetech.com/blu-ray/

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=11054

You can even play Blu-ray movies (no point, but you can) using boot camp.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa 

Playing Blu-ray movies on a 13.3", 15", or 17" screen (even a 24" screen) would be pointless.

Yeah, cuz everyone loves buying their movies twice.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Yeah, cuz everyone loves buying their movies twice.

Which wouldn't have been a problem with HD-DVD.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Eug 

I'd be surprised if Jobs doesn't own a Blu-ray player. Disney is one of Blu-ray's biggest backers, and Apple sits on the BDA board.

Jobs owned a ThinkPad for the longest time while he worked for Apple.

Historically, Jobs' ideology will override his product choices.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Jobs owned a ThinkPad for the longest time while he worked for Apple.

Historically, Jobs' ideology will override his product choices.

Are you really trying to suggest Jobs owns only one machine at a time?

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Which wouldn't have been a problem with HD-DVD.

Only if the studio made hybrid DVD/HD-DVD discs. And not every studio did.

[brassplayersrock²]

and most of the time (take bourne identity for instance) only the dvd portion was detectable in most players.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

and most of the time (take bourne identity for instance) only the dvd portion was detectable in most players.

That statement is not at all accurate. There were some issues with QA with some batches of those combo discs but other than that they work fine.

In fact I prefer them because they work anywhere... including in my Macs.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by Eug 

That statement is not at all accurate. There were some issues with QA with some batches of those combo discs but other than that they work fine.

In fact I prefer them because they work anywhere... including in my Macs.

exactly

[brassplayersrock²]

guess I should have tried another one after the first 4 replacements. perhaps the 5th would have worked. guess i'll never know now.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

... Apple can't simply throw in a drive and have it work

Originally Posted by jokell82 

...Never said can't.

I bet they can.

Originally Posted by Mrjinglesusa 

Playing Blu-ray movies on a 13.3", 15", or 17" screen (even a 24" screen) would be pointless.

Obviously you've never watched 1920x1200 HD movie trailers on a 24" iMac. It's awesome. http://movie-list.com/
Actually they're better than Blu-ray because compressing the best parts of a whole movie into 3 minutes is much more entertaining than wearing yourself down for 2 hours just to get a cheap visual thrill. And they're free.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

guess I should have tried another one after the first 4 replacements. perhaps the 5th would have worked. guess i'll never know now.

Maybe your player is a lemon. Bourne works fine.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

I bet they can.

You can test that now - hook up an external blu-ray player. THAT is what I meant about being able to throw in a player and having it just work.

That doesn't mean they can't add a drive at all. It just means a hell of a lot of work, and some questions about their open source software licenses that aren't easily answered.

[olePigeon]

Would Apple have to integrate HDCP crap into everything to play Blu-Ray?

[goMac]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

Would Apple have to integrate HDCP crap into everything to play Blu-Ray?

Yes. The old Cinema Displays weren't HDCP. I wouldn't be surprised if the new ones were.

[Eug]

Lame. I was considering returning my Sony STR-DG520 receiver and getting an STR-DG820, because there is a killer deal right now on the 820. It's going for CAD$299, which is about US$250, locally and at a large electronics chain. (None of the mail-order to a fly-by-night shop crap.)

However, I thought I previously read a report that the 720 and 820 has this lame bug, which is that the receiver deactivates optical if HDMI video is used. Well, I finally have confirmation from a real review that it is true.

---

Sky HD usability issues

It also has to be noted that early versions of this receiver have had compatibility issues with Sky HD, which does not carry surround sound via its HDMI connection.

When you hook the Sky HD box's HDMI feed into the Sony and the Sky HD surround sound in via an optical input, the receiver over-rides the optical so you only hear the stereo feed supplied via HDMI.

Sony is working on a fix that will be applied to all existing and future STR-DG820 models. In the meantime, you can get round the issue by connecting your Sky HD via HDMI directly to your TV or projector, and via optical through the receiver - in this way you'll get both HD pictures and full surround sound.

---

I have not yet seen any report that states this has been fixed.

Basically this means that Blu-ray (or HD DVD) will work fine, but if you have a DVI cable box, or even some HDMI cable boxes, audio won't work properly. And multichannel sound output from a Mac won't work either.

So, I'll stick with my uber cheap 520, which cannot extract audio from HDMI anyway, so I don't have this issue.

Ironically, I also don't have this problem with my older STR-DG800, because like the 520, it doesn't extract audio from HDMI.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Apparently a ROM update is coming but I don't need it as I got HDMI specifically to use it for audio and video or else I would just use component anyway.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Apparently a ROM update is coming but I don't need it as I got HDMI specifically to use it for audio and video or else I would just use component anyway.

Do you have a link?

Is this update going to specifically address this issue?

You already sold your Mac mini right? Cuz this would be a big problem with the Mac mini.

[Peter]

how would you connect your mini to the reciever?
my mini is connected via a DVI->HDMI connector for video and just a 3.5mm aux audio cable for audio. Is there a nicer way?

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Peter 

how would you connect your mini to the reciever?
my mini is connected via a DVI->HDMI connector for video and just a 3.5mm aux audio cable for audio. Is there a nicer way?

Do you have the Sony 820?

Yeah that would work but would only give you stereo sound. I'd use optical to get full surround sound support, but that's not supported on the 820 with hdmi and dvi.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Do you have a link?

Is this update going to specifically address this issue?

You already sold your Mac mini right? Cuz this would be a big problem with the Mac mini.

I forget the link but it was just in the forums.

I still got the mini but I don't hook it right up to the TV as it never fully filled the screen over DVI which was retarded. Now I use the PS3 or XBox to play video's off the Mini which is the server.

[Eug]

You can set custom resolutions for the mini.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Eug 

You can set custom resolutions for the mini.

They all didn't work.

[cjrivera]

They've been looking at solving this problem on various threads at avsforums...

There's a thread that talks about using SwitchResX for Mini to LCD problems.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ght=switchresx

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Ya tried that too, no dice.

No matter, the 360 and PS3 do a good enough job anyway.

[Peter]

I got a Sony DA1200ES - really pleased with it, sounds gorgeous.
Huge though.

[The Godfather]

The solution is to rip your BD in Windows using AnyDVD HD, then play it in VLC in OSX.

[43skidoo]

Lol@Godfather's suggestion. Not at you, but at the fact that you'd need to rip it in Windows. Just humorous.

[goMac]

Ripping should work in OS X too, someone just needs to port the source code over.

[The Godfather]

Originally Posted by goMac 

Ripping should work in OS X too, someone just needs to port the source code over.

AnyDVD is closed source, therefore impossible to port by anyone outside that company.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by The Godfather 

AnyDVD is closed source, therefore impossible to port by anyone outside that company.

Which is lame. But honestly I'm surprised people can get away with commercially selling a ripping product. I suppose over the internet you can sell anything.

[Railroader]

Woot! $139.99 blu-ray player.

http://www.woot.com/

[jokell82]

HDCP comes to the latest MacBooks: http://tinyurl.com/6p55t5

This could be the first step to Blu-Ray playback on the Mac...

[goMac]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

HDCP comes to the latest MacBooks: http://tinyurl.com/6p55t5

This could be the first step to Blu-Ray playback on the Mac...

The iMac and Macbook Pro have been HDCP compatible for a while. Not sure about the vanilla Macbook, but I don't see why the old one wouldn't be.

[Jolt21]

Wall-E comes out today, and i can't decide whether to get it now, or if i should just wait b/c i might get a blu-ray player during the holidays.....arrgghhh. i know the ps3 is the best player, but after that, what is the best? and do people feel as though blu-ray is here to stay?

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by goMac 

But honestly I'm surprised people can get away with commercially selling a ripping product. I suppose over the internet you can sell anything.

It helps when your company is located in Antigua, which is not party to any international Copyright agreement.

It also allows them to change how the product is priced, depending on what the currency market looks like. Their products used to be priced in US Dollars, then went to Euros (as in $29 --> €29) when the Euro was worth so much more. If the situation becomes reversed and stays that way, they'll switch back to US Dollars (or Yen or whatever gives them the advantage).

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Jolt21 

Wall-E comes out today, and i can't decide whether to get it now, or if i should just wait b/c i might get a blu-ray player during the holidays.....arrgghhh. i know the ps3 is the best player, but after that, what is the best? and do people feel as though blu-ray is here to stay?

BR is here to stay. However, "here to stay" isn't the same thing as "it will be ubiquitous soon".

P.S. I want to buy Wall-E, but there's no way I'm paying over CAD$30 for it. Ripoff.

[Big Mac]

I just bought a PS3. Yay Blu-ray.

[brassplayersrock²]

Blu-ray.com - WALL-E (3-disc) (Blu-ray) - Blu-ray Review

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock² 

Blu-ray.com - WALL-E (3-disc) (Blu-ray) - Blu-ray Review

Why is it on 3 discs? They couldn't fit it on 1?

[Dakar V]

Extras seems like a safe assumption.

[Brien]

I'm itching to get Wall-E, but the local Target was sold out. Might just have to grab it off Amazon.

[cjrivera]

I just got it. Don't have time to watch it now, but I love the digital copy feature.
The 3rd disc is for the digital copy version.