Comments on: Psystar adds Blu-ray, Mac users yawn

Psystar doesn't agree with Apple CEO Steve Jobs that Blu-ray is "a bag of hurt," but decision to offer Blu-ray drives on Mac OS Open Computers doesn't accomplish much.

[No Man]

Mac users who plan to install XP/Vista and use BootCamp/Parallels/Fusion can play Blu-ray movies through a Windows Blu-ray media player (i.e. CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra), and the forthcoming "Feature Pack for Storage" Windows patch will allow burning the Blu-ray movie format. Still not a huge market, but worth it to the right person.

[teachtopia]

You are right about that, but what about the users that don't want to simply partition their hd with one os and access all the latest hardware from that one Operating System whether it be window, osx, BSD, or linux.

If I had psystar computer I would make it a BSD box and not even run OSX though.

Jody Weissler
newtechstuff.com

[AppleSuxLeo]

Another reason NOT to own a Mac...Stevie knows what`s best for you LOL

[lkrupp]

Better to take what "Stevie" dolls out than the abortion known as Windows. I mean, really, how do you look at yourself in the mirror with out puking?

[Perry_Clease]

I was worried about you kid, you have been a no-show the last few days for a number Apple stories. I am glad to see that you are once again allowed to play with the computer and get on the internet.

[Orion Blastar]

Since Mac OSX is based on BSD Unix and it has the same open source video players as Linux, this link shows how to use those open source media players to play Blu-Ray disks on any Unix system:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats/BluRayAndHDDVD

Using the same open source programs on Mac OSX should do the same thing.

Steve Jobs is becoming more like Jack Tremiel at Commodore/Atari, both of them don't believe in compromises. That is why the Commodore 1541 disk drive was the slowest one on the market, and why Mac OSX does not support Blu-Ray and more advanced standards.

Steve Jobs has become a Mac-Nazi (Like Seinfeld's Soup-Nazi) "No Blu-Ray for you!"

The very best way to ruin Apple and turn it into the second coming of Microsoft is to do exactly what Steve Jobs is doing now, and Jack Tremiel did with Commodore and Atari. That is not compromise and give the customers what they want, instead they are telling the customers what they want. That is very bad for business Steve, and it can turn around and bite you on the rear end.

[jwarwick_dotmac]

Much as I'd like to be able to watch a Blu-Ray movie on OS X out of the box, I would hate to have all the DRM required to do so built into my operating system and displays.

Apple would get sued into oblivion if they tried to use open source "work arounds" to defeat Blu-Ray DRM.

[bensobel]

I am sure there is no DRM whatsoever in OS X.

[dude7895]

Haha apple.

[ikramerica--2008]

This is similar to the late adoption of CDR drives on the Mac (not wanting to pay the EU tax on such drives). Eventually, if Blu-Ray actually makes inroads into the market so that people are chomping at the bit to watch Blu-Ray disks on their laptops and iMacs in enough numbers that it makes it cost effect, Apple will jump on board. But until then, don't hold your breath. And personally, I don't think Blu-Ray will take off like DVD did. Digital delivery will supersede it soon enough, and Apple is all over digital delivery?

[kelmon]

Damned straight. If Blu-ray becomes mainstream then Apple may well adopt it as well but I honestly don't see it happening and I personally have no interest in the format whatsoever. Apple is much more interested in customers buying/renting movies via iTunes and that's the reason why Blu-ray is not making an appearance. At present this is a non-story but it gives the anti-Apple camp something to laugh about.

[steve4lee]

I find it hard to imagine that a great percentage of people would want to watch feature-length movies on their computer screen, other than on a laptop during a plane ride, say. I doubt that Blu-Ray would look that much better than the DVD on a 15" or 17" laptop screen to worth the trouble and expense.

[ivandrago]

Dude HP right now offers a Blue-Ray player on its laptops for like 200 buck. I plug my laptop into almost any HDTV and watch movies at full 1080p. The clarity is stunning. It's much better than DVD.

[Rick Cavaretti]

Well yes Ivan Drago, it would be stunning. You are watching a Blu Ray movie on a 1080p television. But the original question was WHY BOTHER on a 15" or 17" laptop. You won't see any difference. My home entertainment duties are delegated to my HDTV and the attached equipment feeding it, not my laptop. Other poster: And I'm not so sure about 'other' digital means replacing Blu Ray either. Some of us will always want the actual physical movie sitting on our bookshelf collection.

[kelmon]

Correct. Blu-ray, as a movie playback medium, is not useful on a laptop. However, if you are a video professional then I can see the demand for the ability to burn Blu-ray disks, and the format is no doubt handier than DVD for backup these days.

[MacHeads]

Well the DRM on blu-ray is one of the worst things out there ... especially for laptop users ... The only DRM that works everywhere so far is the Itunes DRM thanks to Apple's good software engineering . Looking at the DRM for blu-ray is an eyesore per se , plus i really think Steve Jobs is right about not wanting to support the DRM scheme around Blu-ray DVD playback and that digital downloads is the future of media playing. Although a blu-ray burner would be a good idea for backup but that is a small market at the moment.

As a reminder sony tried to get a worm out on its CD's via a copy protection system and i think since they tried it once already and that Blu-ray DRM code has not been reviewed by any objective company (sourcefire for example) it might just be a new way to try that maneuver again.

on the rootkit matter lookup here

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00000714.html
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/11/sonys_drm_rootk.html

I would not trust sony with my machines when it comes to DRM ,no thanks....

[DigitalAngelic]

Yeah, sure. iTunes DRM works anywhere... as long as it's on Apple approved software or hardware. Need I remind you that Apple's FairPlay DRM is only supported on the iPod? You can only play it on your PC if you install Apple software. You know what? Yeah, it seems to work everywhere, but only because the average iPod user doesn't realize that there are good alternatives.

Apple may rule the music industry, but they haven't taken over the Windows PC. Blu-Ray is gaining momentum, like it or not, and people will realize that Apple laptops do not include Blu-Ray while similarly priced HP laptops do. Besides, what do Mac users have to worry about? Isn't Apple always advertising the fact that "Macs don't get viruses"?

You're right, though, I wouldn't trust Sony either. I generally don't trust them... but I'm sort of biased against them, as I am with Apple.

[JuggerNaut]

Apple was a supporter of Blu-ray early on, whereas Microsoft was a supporter of HD DVD around the same time frame. Apple will include Blu-ray only when the market demands it and it makes perfectly good sense. At least we're down to a single known HD format and the war between Blu-ray and HD DVD is over. Now it's wait-n-see when Blu-ray takes over where DVDs left off.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Apple...the locked-in system with blinders on.
Just built a new system with hand-picked parts with better specs than the top iMac...for less than $700.
And I just activated the five year old Windows XP CD that came with the old computer with Microsoft. Next year will be putting a Nehalem CPU in as my MOBO already supports it ;)
These are exactly the things you can`t do with a Mac. Now back to Crysis with the settings maxed out.

[Dalkorian]

Dare I point out the irony of calling Apple "the locked-in system with blinders on" and then installing winblows ex-pee instead? Talk about lock-in! Talk about blinders!

I won't embarrass you by pointing out the obvious omissions in your post, but I had to point out the irony. Enjoy your slavery!

[kelmon]

No one cares. Sorry to be the one to point these things out to you.

[Jemmyfax]

Tell you what, go and build a car with the same or better specs as one of the mainstream car manufacturers. The finished article is somehow missing something. Think about the many people who do build kit cars, and look closely at the panel gaps and how it's not absolutely symmetrical etc.
You'll get to completion and think, 'It works and does what I need but feels a bit cheap and doesn't look that well made'. A Bentley and a Ford Focus both do the same job, but it's how they do it.
Apple make their hardware with tactility in mind as well as a degree of useability, what's wrong with that? If I want to pay a premium for it am I not entitled to?
Applesuxleo, your PC works but is it nice? I mean really. Get some strangers in to take a straw poll. In fact post a picture of it on a blog or something next to an iMac and ask people who visit the web page to vote on which they'd prefer.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Mac is a "bag of hurt" !

[aMUSICsite]

They should have gone for a laptop with firewire. That would have been a much bigger story, especially if it sold well. ;)

[john55440]

On HP desktops, a Blu-Ray reader is a +$150 option, and a Blu-Ray reader/write is a +$250 option. You can also get Blu-Ray readers on HP notebooks. With HP notebooks, you can also get things like more USB ports, Firewire ports, HDMI ports, eSATA ports, a built in digital media card reader, even a HDTV tuner. Macs are luxury priced, but very feature poor.

[ivandrago]

Exactly. Why would I pay for a glowing apple on the back? I went into an Apple store a couple of weeks back with my HP dv9700 to make use of the wifi. As I panned around, I was amazed at what a value I had. For the $2100 I had paid for mine laptop, I wouldn't have gotten much from apple. Less ports, smaller screen, lower resolution, no bluetooth support(very important to me), no HDMI, no Blue-Ray, a single HD running at a 5400 rpm, etc. No thank you.

[RenoDavid]

All Macs have bluetooth built in.

[rcrusoe]

Blu-Ray has a tiny portion of the movie disc market and isn't likely to grow significantly. As I recall, only six percent of Netflix users rent BluRay discs. IMO movie downloads are the future and most power users have already switched to external hard drives for backup, etc., so BluRay doesn't figure into most people's plans.

[nicmart]

Famous last words. This Christmas will be the first in which B-R has no competition and low priced players. The retail inventories of B-R discs is growing quickly. Millions of Americans have and will soon buy TVs which exploit the clarity of B-R. The time is ripe.

[Gromit801]

True that. With the economy the way it is, the overwhelming majority of shoppers (families) aren't going to buy a BluRay player, when their existing DVD player works just fine for them. BluRay is only appealing to the technogeeks that absolutely MUST have the latest gadget.

Mom and Pop simply don't care to replace their current system so Billy and Sally can watch Barney with such clarity.

[ivandrago]

I've personally owned a HP laptop with Blu-Ray since April, and I love it. I can plug into almost any HDTV and watch movies at 1080p, or just watch them on the monitor. I don't understand why MAC must always be the late adopter to these type of things. There wont be any technology to challenge it for at least 3 years. It is the standard. With the internet providers poised to limit data, you won't be able to view movies or content at that clarity over the internet anytime soon. Just do it.

[kelmon]

The simple reason is that there is no demand for Blu-ray and Apple sells TV Shows and movies via the iTunes Store, so they're hardly likely to want to shoot themselves in the foot. Blu-ray playback on a computer is either unnecessarily complex relative to a proper Blu-ray player, or utterly pointless. For all the ballyhoo about Apple not supporting Blu-ray it is quite clear that it is having no impact on sales and the format is unlikely to take off much anyway.

[RenoDavid]

I'm a Mac guy and I have to agree that not having Blu-Ray playback is a bit silly at this point. It's obviously the way to go. Who cares if there is little demand yet? Apple likes to pride themselves on being on the cutting edge. They certainly love being the first to DROP features at the first opportunity -- like firewire (which, personally, I think is a horrible decision). And, on that subject, why don't they add eSATA instead?

[Liquidx01]

I never really saw Apple as a true Blu Ray supporter, I always viewed them as nothing more than a talking point for the BDA when trying to get Blu Ray started initially. "Lets get them onboard even if they have no interest in our product... Apple = huge marketing point".

[medezark]

I love reading the comments from the die-hard mac fans.

[hameiri]

Wow.

Why play a Blu-ray movie on a 15-17" laptop? Are you kidding??? The guy just said you can hook it up to a Television! I guess when you are in an Apple MacDream world you can ignore anything. Plus, it WILL look better, even on your laptop. You sit pretty close ya know!

Having a high capacity disk to move or archive files is pretty important. To have that, and not be able to play a High Def movie seems sick. Also, have you guys ever considered that if you are downloading movies, where are you going to put them? When your hard drive craps out, you'll lose all of your movies. I don't think digital downloads will kill Blu-ray. It's the high capacity disc we all need.

[kelmon]

No. The picture does not benefit a laptop screen sufficiently for anyone to care. I can agree that Blu-ray is a suitable backup medium but beyond that I do not see a purpose. It is perhaps worth noting that downloads are more "durable" than Blu-ray for the simple reason that Apple will let you download your movies again if they are lost whereas a Blu-ray disk will not be replaced should it be lost or damaged.

There is no real demand for the format and there never will be. DVD conquered all by simply being so much better than VHS, plus it is very cheap. Blu-ray is not much better and it remains expensive. On-demand digital downloads are the future, be they from Apple, Netflix or whoever.

[RenoDavid]

Kelmon, give it up. You're not quite getting things here. You can hook your computer up to a nice big TELEVISION. Remember those? That thing with a huge screen sitting across the room from your couch? Why not have that opportunity?

Oh, and I don't believe you get to download things again if your hard drive fails. Where are you seeing that?

[Starfires]

Something tells me that the Blu Ray issue is the first real mistake from Apple for a while. It is spreading to other laptops as an option, so makes for a more difficult choice to get one lacking it. In terms of movies it is not just being able to see it on the laptop screen- though even here it will be amazing, especially close-up. It is the fact that when I buy movies, I will go for the Blu-Ray to see it on the TV and the laptop. I won't bother with inferior DVD's or digital downloads (though I'll rent them).

Also the storage makes them very competitive with portable hard drives, if not so much with fixed ones.

Anyway, this is all temporary. Snow Leopard apparently features Blu Ray and I can see the point of Apple waiting for it's wider acceptance before they put it in. The mistake is to have a sour grapes attitude to new technology. And while I'm on the subject, can I just add that the DVD writer in my otherwise immaculate Macbook is a pile of... junk. Never have I seen a drive capable of making more coasters. I think the fact is that Apple have a very poor relationship with drive manufacturers and are stuck with sub-standard ones for now.