Most users noticed that Apple joined the Blu-ray group almost from the beginning — even though giants Microsoft and Intel sided with the HD DVD format — but hasn’t done more than that. Flash forward some time later, and Blu-ray’s victory is now official over the soon-to-be-extinct HD DVD. Apple actually chose a winner from the beginning. And even though Apple did nothing to contribute to the format’s victory, how serious is Apple about Blu-ray?
Why did Apple choose Blu-ray? Blu-ray has more storage space than HD DVD, prompting the format to be favorable to computers from the beginning. A dual-layered Blu-ray can store up to 50GB of data, compared to the HD DVD’s 30GB. This is the most convincing argument as to why Apple chose it.
Why has there been no support for the format from Apple? It’s no secret that Apple is betting more on digital downloads, even HD ones, as the future of entertainment over Blu-ray — an argument only strengthened by the recent Apple TV update, and lack of Blu-ray drives even on the high-end Mac Pro models. Or if you like to think positively and ignore possible conspiracies, maybe Apple was just waiting to see if Blu-ray proved viable in the format war before implementing it.
Now what? Whether Apple likes it or not, Blu-ray is now heading towards being the successor to the DVD format, and should begin implementing it in its products sooner or later — Apple will probably start by adding it as a built-to-order option for the high-end Macs. And even though many would like to see a Blu-ray drive inside an Apple TV, it may not happen, as Apple didn’t even add a DVD drive to the current models — another fact to support Apple’s initiative to push downloadable content.
The big question is… do we want to see Blu-ray inside our Macs ASAP?
Wayne on February 22nd, 2008 at 9:25 am says:
If the Apple TV had Blu-ray, I would have bought one two weeks ago. Instead, I bought a Sony PS3 which plays Blu-ray discs, does a good job of up-rezzing regular DVDs, is a reasonable media center capable of storing and playing music, photos, and videos, has wireless internet access and a web browser, and can download and play games. (I’m not a console gamer, but I’ve already downloaded two demo games and we’re going to purchase one.)
I’m sure Apple is trying to skip the HD-disc generation and go straight to download, but that is a mistake. Downloads do not measure up to Blu-ray disc picture quality, can be slow or unavailable, have crazy viewing limitations, include nothing BUT the movie itself (and if you view the extras on Ratatouille, you’ll see what I mean), etc.
Apple needs to be first-mover in downloads and rentals since it is a wide-open space with no dominant player, so Apple has a good chance to dominate. (As happened in the MP3 player space.) But back-filling their Great Leap with Blu-ray makes a LOT of sense. Many early adopters, such as myself, will use both downloads (when it’s more convenient, or perhaps for TV shows, etc) AND true HD media (for repeated replay, for extras, for much higher quality, for convenience and flexibility of watching). It’s a shame that Apple is looking at Sony’s stealth entry in the media-center wars, the PS3, and ignoring it.
The PS3 pretty much single-handedly won the HD-DVD/Blu-ray war as a stealth Blu-ray player. If Apple is not careful, it will win the media center war as well. And it’s not as if a Blu-ray player takes a ton of fancy software to add to the system. The Apple TV is built on MacOS X, and a Blu-ray player is just another peripheral.
Michael on February 22nd, 2008 at 9:55 am says:
I absolutely want to see BluRay in Macs. I’m not drinking Apple’s Koolaid about downloadable movies. A movie on a disk has a lot more data and it looks a lot better. AND I can watch it for more than 24 hours. So I’m taking a pass on AppleTV, as will most other people. I think there will be a market for physical disks for a long time, and Apple needs to face it.
john on February 22nd, 2008 at 10:36 am says:
I’m not sure Apple will or should implement blu-ray playback into Mac OS X.
Check out this article, it makes a good point.
http://mymacinations.com/2008/02/22/apple-the-mac-and-blu-ray/
Michael on February 22nd, 2008 at 11:29 am says:
Interesting article, John, but I’m not completely convinced. A fair amount of the encryption services could be included on the disk controller itself. And I think Apple could work something out with Sony on the technology. It could be important for BluRay as well. If iMovie could burn those home videos on HiDef disks, that probably helps with BluRay market penetration as well.
But the fact remains that I find the AppleTV remarkably uninteresting. I can download HD movies onto my DVR for the same money or less. I can watch them 100 times if I want. I’ve got an HD-DVD player (and will add a BluRay when profile 2.0 is a reality) that looks waaay better than download. I’m an Apple fan, but I can’t see tying up an HDMI connection for functionality that I already have. With BluRay on my Mac, I could both watch videos and make my own.
John on February 22nd, 2008 at 6:27 pm says:
According to the requirements for HD playback licenses, the encryption has to be all over. The content providers are worried that a device could be attached in the place of a monitor in order to capture the video feed. They’re also worried that the cable may contain an interception device that could get the unencrypted data, or that the video card’s memory could be copied if it’s not encrypted or that the ‘pirates’ could possibly monitor the signal on the computer’s data bus and intercept it there. So just having encryption on the disk controller will not do.
They don’t care what the blu-ray market is like, they care that their coveted HD signals doesn’t get exposed in any way to be copied. They don’t care what you would like to do with your equipment and they don’t care if you approve. They want to make as much money from you as possible and if they believe that one way would get the most money out of you, they’ll pursue it.
It’s not Apple’s fault. Apple can do nothing about this. If they want to be able to play blu-ray in full definition on their systems, they will have to meet whatever ridiculous requirements that the HD providers ask for; whether those requirements were reasonable or not.
We all know that there is no way that the movie companies will ever really stop ALL piracy, but they believe that eventually, with enough technology, they could; and that’s what’s governing the HD playback license now.
KenC on February 22nd, 2008 at 7:12 pm says:
I don’t know that Apple was so passive as you imply. Hasn’t Apple been driving support for the H.264 spec in Mpeg4 that is now known as AVC on Blu-Ray? Wasn’t MS driving HD-DVD towards VC-1, a competing Mpeg4 standard?
Frank on February 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm says:
Yes, Apple has been using h.264 a lot in recent times. The video at the iTunes Store is encoded in such a way.
And to add, yes, I want to see Blu-ray supported by Apple before year’s end. I don’t care much about video playback (I also have a PS3), but do care a lot about using the optical media for storage.