Apple bringing Blu-ray macs to Macworld?

This one's a bit of a no brainer: Apple's going to have to ship a next-gen disc drive at some point this decade, and Macworld 2008 is as good a place as any. Apple also has a friendly history with Sony, has Blu-ray happy Disney in its pocket and is on the Blu-ray consortium, so the Blu-ray format seems a bit of a shoo-in. Analyst Shaw Wu thought he'd made the prediction all the same, and while his track record isn't close to immaculate, we'd say he's got a pretty safe bet here. However, Shaw does say that there's a small possibility of Apple picking a hybrid drive just to stay clear of the format wars. Rumors of the drives come alongside word of a major overhaul of the Mac Pro internals, so it seems like the timing is right, but we'll really never know until Steve takes the stage and starts clicking us through the keynote. Wu also has word of a "MacBook mini" or "MacBook slim," iTunes rentals, some sort of "external HDD storage / dock / streaming device that can work with MacBook mini as well as Airport Extreme," and an Apple TV upgrade down the road to allow for more web content and perhaps a TV tuner. Shaw doesn't play the rumor game super conservative, but it sure is a lot more fun this way.

[Josh @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:21AM]

Hopefully Apple brings HDMI to MacWorld too!

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:33AM]

I hope so, I don't know what they've been waiting for. HDMI seems like something Apple would definitely us. One small connector for both audio and video....thats a designers dream.

[tsw @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:43AM]

seems kinda silly. Optical media is dying out fast, this will be the year of streaming high definition content. HD DVD/ Blue Ray....why would I want to invest in either technology when I could get it streaming, even the low def streaming flash movies from Netflix are better than sticking a disc in the player/computer manually. I don't want to have to have a bunch of watched once dvds/blue rays laying around collecting dust in a few years, and I don't want to spend the money either. Rental subscritions services like Netflix or an i-tunes rental service are the future.

HD-DVDs and Blue-Ray discs will be good for data backup, just like cd-r, dvd+r, etc... formats, we wont really care about what the blank media is because the drives will read/write all formats, blue ray and HD-DVD.

Just a thought.

[Speddy @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:22PM]

I'd love to see Apple go with a DisplayPort 30" LCD and BluRay drives. HD-DVD is dead. Long live HD-DVD!

[ssuk @ Jan 3rd 2008 1:58PM]

I hope Speddy is the only stupid blu-ray fan.

[SimbaDogg @ Jan 3rd 2008 9:13PM]

@ TSW
you, tsw...have no idea what you're talking about. if you really think that streaming media is a viable option right now...again, no idea what you're talking about. Name any internet provider which will allow you to receive, or rental service which has the capacity to stream at 25-35 MB/second. You'd have to have one hell of a buffer to allow you to do that.

If apples is a member of the BDA, i really can't see why they wouldn't release a BluRay only drive. Doing hd-dvd as well would be great for customers, it wouldn't alienate anyone...but since when have companies been interested in that. They're always interested in their bottom line, and their interests. As much as people like to think some companies like to please customers, they dont...they just want to keep customers happy enough to keep spending their money with them.

But apple being the odd company that they are; often regarded as the hippest of the group, and the leader of future innovation, adding a blu ray drive would help to change the mind of many of the apple zealots and others alike. To the person who said, "it doesn't matter if apple did this, the war will be won in the living room", to an extent thats true. But if you can change the way that someone thinks starting on their laptop/pc...generally that mindset will carry on to the living room, and suddenly buying that PS3, Sony, or Samsung standalone player to match suddenly doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:22AM]

It would make sense for Apple to bet against Microsoft's support of HD-DVD since the companies are mortal enemies but on a more basic plane, BLU RAY is the larger potential storage medium.

One thing I do know, Apple is a NEXUS. If Apple does something, all the sudden, the LAY people out there think its big news "best ever", "ultra sexy and stylish", BLAH BLAH BLAH and then they all start doing it.

Apple going Blu Ray will be the final nail in the HD-DVD coffin.

[Erwos @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:24AM]

I think a dual-format drive is more likely. They took a similar tack during the DVD+ and DVD- recordable war.

[Zak @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:27AM]

Yeah I think Apple would be more likely to want to avoid the format war and just support both.

[Nick @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:43AM]

I agree with the dual format goodness. Apple was and probably is still on the blu-ray side, but has obviously been holding out waiting to see which way the format debate goes before investing in betamax... i mean blu-ray. Best bet is to go hybrid. Hybrid drive is the best way to support your customers and the best way to not turn away customers.

[Michael @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:03PM]

@Erwos: "I think a dual-format drive is more likely. They took a similar tack during the DVD+ and DVD- recordable war."

Um, Apple was a supporter of DVD-R and didn't support DVD+R until 10.3 (and 10.2.8-ish). Not to say that I don't think it would be a good idea for Apple to install/support hybrid drives...just wanted to set the history straight that Apple was not a hybrid supporter in the DVD-/+R format war, I hope they don't repeat history.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=41644

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:27AM]

Apple has no choice but to go bluray only, if anything for the simple fact that they are a member of the bluray group along with Disney and secondly they need to counter balance MS's support of HD-DVD.

[Zak @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:29AM]

Why would they "need" to do that? All that would do is limit choices for their customers.

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:33AM]

Apple is a bluray member PERIOD....thats why, customers could always go out and buy an HD-DVD drive if they wanted that, so there is no loss of choice.

And since when has NOT limiting a customers freedom of choice been a priority for Apple?

[John Laur @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:40AM]

It's funny how people always conveniently forget that apple actually ships an HD-DVD authoring product. (And they ship an HD-DVD player too, though currently it will only play DVD Studio Pro-authored HD-DVD's)

es if they start putting drives in their machines they are certain to support Blu-Ray but they would be wise not to ignore the requirements of their existing software. They really should add Blu-Ray support to DVD Studio and Xcode at the same time they go all gonzo for the hardware.

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:52AM]

I havent forgotten about Final Cut Pro...they have no choice but to support BOTH Bluray and HD DVD with Final Cut pro. They have to compete with other professional authoring tools. If a pro needs to author HD DVD's they will buy an HD DVD drive.

But I still stand by my statement that since Apple is PART OF THE BLURAY GROUP they will support Bluray with their more visible products namely the Macs. Final Cut Pro is a very low key product for a niche market of professionals, its not for the masses.

[Devin @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:00PM]

You're forgetting one major point, membership in the Blu-ray association means absolutely nothing when it comes to dual format players. LG has one and they're part of the association, Samsung has been working on one and Warner had plans for that TotalHD disk (which I think has been shelved for now).

[Vanillacide @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:02PM]

Apple is also PART OF THE HD DVD GROUP.

Final Cut Pro supports authoring of both, doesn't iDVD in Leopard also play both formats (if you plug external drive in).

It's got to be more likely that they support both Blu-ray and HD DVD than limit their customers to either format, just as the did in the equally as pointless +r -r format war.

"Yeah another nail in the coffin of the -r format", said +r format fanboi.

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:17PM]

You cant compare the +r/-r battle to BD/HDDVD. BD is technologically superior (the disks and hardware itself, leaving out all the software side which can be argued) because of the huge difference in storage capacity.

And for those saying Apple is part of the HD-DVD group could you please point out on this website (http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/partners.html) where do you see the Apple logo? And while your at it check out this website (http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_developers) and see who developed bluray.

Let me give you a hint, Apple is nowhere to be found on the HDDVD site and Apple Inc. is the first one in the list at the Bluray site.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:28AM]

werent they pricing the ultraportable macbook pro at 1500?? i think we are asking too much.. ultra portable, solid state drive, blueray disk!

I would guess they are going to go blue-ray but i dont think the tech is there to make it as slim as it should be.... maybe we will just see it in desktops for now??

[Devin @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:32AM]

I don't think the Blu-ray rumor is meant to be applied to the rumored ultraportable (since its rumored to be optical drive free)

[Matthew Hilario @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:41AM]

oddly that's what i was thinking as well.
ultraportable macbook pro + ssd + blu-ray + geforce 8800 + plays doom

[bob sakamano @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:29AM]

blu-ray*

[CharlieX @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:31AM]

Apple's never been one to offer many choices. It streamlines their engineering, simplifies their software, and makes dumbs it down for the consumer. They'll either go all Blu, or stay out of the fight until a later time.

[Devin @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:34AM]

With that mentality though, it makes more sense for them to do a dual format drive. That way a consumer can buy whatever disks they want and just use them. It's a lot more simple than making sure all the customers understand what blu-ray is and why they can't use hd-dvd disks in their computers.

[cduran01 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:34AM]

Exactly what I was trying to say

[Kiwi616 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:35AM]

Apple should go BLU, they already used Sony TV's to display the Apple TV in their stores here in NYC. Seems logical to display new HD LCDs with a BD MacPro beside it! Maybe an update for their Apple TV to support 1080P also with a Sony TV (speculation of course).

[jedigolf @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:44AM]

Funny, all the Best Buy stores in IL are out of 24" iMacs and are not getting more for 2 weeks, after MacWorld.

[ShyGuy91284 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:45AM]

Hybrid drive is a no-brainer in my opinion. It'll only be in higher end Macs to start so it's not like price will be a problem. And with the format war still going on I'm sure Apple knows they may loose some potential customers who prefer one format over the other if they don't support both.

[Dave8964 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:51AM]

Apple choosing blu ray wont have any affect on the format war...apple has like what now...5...maybe...10 percent of computers market share. Everybody else in the world who owns a computer (pc) will probably be buying dual format players or one or the other. Macs have little effect on any new technology succeeding or failing.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:03PM]

In order to have a format war, you have to have Major companies choosing diametricaly opposssed format solutions.

SONY backs Blu Ray
Apple backs blu ray

Microsoft backs HDDVD

Sony and Apple are friendly to each other - and both are enemies of microsoft.

If you have major companies which carry so much consumer buying power flocking IN ONE DIRECTION OVER ANOTHER...then yeah...it does make a difference.

[Reid Conti @ Jan 3rd 2008 1:23PM]

You're right and wrong.

You're wrong because Apple has far more sway in the world of innovation and change than their marketshare suggests. USB, Firewire, the death of the floppy drive, and countless technologies were helped to a huge extent by Apple.

But you're right because who the hell cares what format Apple choses? This war will be decided in the living room, not on the PC. And certainly not a 5-10% PC.

[ez17 @ Jan 3rd 2008 9:08PM]

@dave8964, Apple doesnt have any effect on technology? LoL!!!!
Ok so lets see:
First with GUI, everyone else follows
FIrst Mouse, everyone else follows
USB in iMac, wiki: "the iMac’s popularity and sole dependence on USB helped popularize the interface among third party peripheral makers, as evidenced by the many early USB peripherals that were made of translucent colored plastic to match the color schemes of the original iMac"
First wifi enabled laptop, ibook, everyone else follows
First 17 inch screen eveyone else follows
First USB mouse, everyone else follows
First to implement Bluetooth in OS and line of laptops
Built in cameras one of the first maybe sony did it first idk
First to give people palm rests on laptops by pushing the keyboard toward the screen
First to use trackballs in laptops
1988 - First CD-ROM Player ; Apple Computer ; Introduced in March
1991 - First Built-In CD-ROM ; Apple Computer ; Centris Line
1991 - First Built-In Video In-Out ; Apple Computer ; Quadra 800/AV
1991 - First Mainstream Voice Recognition (Standard in OS) ; Apple Computer ; Quadra 800/AV
1994 - First Trackpad ; Apple Computer
First Mainstream UNIX platform designed for use by end users ; Apple Computer ; OS X
2001 - First Built-In Consumer DVD Burning Capability ; Apple Computer ; G4 Minitower intoduced 1/9/01 as MWSF with "Superdrive" and iDVD
2003 - First 64-Bit Microprocessor-Based Desktop Personal Computer ; Apple Computer ; G5 with the IBM PowerPC 970 Processor, 1Ghz Frontside Bus and Hypertransport Introduced 6/23
2003 - First Personal Computer with Built-In Optical Audio ports ; Apple Computer ; Afore-mentioned G5. Introduced 6/23
the list goes on but you get the idea :)

[Dave8964 @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:07PM]

just because apple was first to do all of those things you mentioned they still had little affect on the technology succeeding...pretty much anything you listed on your list only became popular because PC stole the idea and gave it to the masses. Yes apple is more innovative but as for a new optical drive succeeding on a computer, it will be decided by a computer (PC) that has around 90% of the market share, not apple.

[ez17 @ Jan 5th 2008 5:58PM]

@dave8964: "Macs have little effect on any new technology succeeding or failing."

"just because apple was first to do all of those things you mentioned they still had little affect on the technology succeeding...pretty much anything you listed on your list only became popular because PC stole the idea and gave it to the masses. Yes apple is more innovative but as for a new optical drive succeeding on a computer, it will be decided by a computer (PC) that has around 90% of the market share, not apple."


ye.... exactly what would you call an "effect"??? Apple is the trendsetter what they do people follow.

[Dave8964 @ Jan 4th 2008 4:58PM]

Again...apple may be a trendsetter but with microsoft showing backing to HD-DVD over blu ray and blu ray drives already being offered on PC, mac choosing blu ray will have little to no effect on who wins or looses the format war. Now if MS decided to only support HD drives or only BLU drives on PCS that would have a huge effect and could change things drastically. But most likely dual format drives will be the ones to go with on PC

[ez17 @ Jan 5th 2008 6:02PM]

@dave8964:

"Again...apple may be a trendsetter but with microsoft showing backing to HD-DVD over blu ray and blu ray drives already being offered on PC, mac choosing blu ray will have little to no effect on who wins or looses the format war. Now if MS decided to only support HD drives or only BLU drives on PCS that would have a huge effect and could change things drastically. But most likely dual format drives will be the ones to go with on PC"

well you see Microsoft..... does not make hardware....... so its the other companies like dell Sony and HP that matter and being that they do what apple does...........

[Joe @ Jan 3rd 2008 11:55AM]

Why not toss Blu-Ray into the Apple TVs and Mac Minis, too? As far as I can tell, it should be a simple swap-out between this and a DVD drive. And if they add it to any device that runs OSX, then everything they have that runs OSX should be able to recognize and use the hardware.

I know it isn't their top priority, but I'd buy an apple tv or a mac mini in a heartbeat if they had blu-ray. If both had it, I don't know which I'd get... but that would be a god problem.

[Eddie @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:03PM]

I don't think you'd have a God problem just because He prefers HD DVD.

[helloUser @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:00PM]

Better graphics cards would help greatly. And why doesnt OS X not support SLI when apple ships a geforce thats branded by apple that has an SLI connection? Im planning on buying a 24" monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 but none of the graphics cards are good enough to handle decent games at that resolution.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:02PM]

just had a thought... why does apple even want to put blu-ray on their computers? other than video editing/creation.. isn't it in their best interest to forgo any kind of disk and promote the itunes video store?

especially since we might be seeing itunes video rentals in the not too distant future

[Organic_Shadow @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:03PM]

Seriously, since when did Apple start caring about giving their customers choice? Never. The only company that seems to be throwing that phrase around is M$ with the 360, and it's plethora of *optional* add-ons and accessories it doesn't come with.

Apple knows they can end the format war. They're so popular with the "hipsters" that they know they could turn their opinion on the formats simply by throwing one into their macs.

Disney... Apple... Blu-ray Consortium... 'nuff said.

[Marcin @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:04PM]

have fun with those bluray drives when Warner goes HD DVD exclusive; it will happen, i guarantee.

[sequitur @ Jan 4th 2008 10:38PM]

How perceptive of you.

[MaX PL and the 360 r4pe Tr4iN @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:09PM]

"oddly that's what i was thinking as well.
ultraportable macbook pro + ssd + blu-ray + geforce 8800 + plays doom"

only $4999.99

[pigfister @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:31PM]

ah well i suppose the MPAA had to force DRM-Ray and HDCP HDMI DRM on us at some point!

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/01/03/netflix-and-hd-a-drm.html

FTA: I recently purchased a new HD monitor, but when I installed it, I lost the streaming capabilities on Netflix's website. When I tried to troubleshoot the issue, I had to agree to let Netflix "reset my DRM" by destroying my Amazon.com files. After talking with Netflix's technical support, I learned that the real issue had to do with the HD capabilities of my PC setup. Because Hollywood wants to punish people for using technology that is outside of their protocol, they are denying me access to low resolution internet videos until I downgrade my monitor to standard definition.

As if DRM isn't evil enough already, I now have to give up access to files I've already bought and even then might not be allowed access unless I have specific approved HD equipment that allows Hollywood to control how I consume my media content. I understand that content owners want to be able to charge for their content, but something is wrong when their DRM won't even allow you to pay to use their product.



The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 3rd 2008 12:44PM]

Bravo, "not close to immaculate" is hereby declared euphemism of the day. Shaw Wu's "predictions" are just as good or bad as those of anyone willing to spend 5 minutes on Apple-related gossip a week, only that he get's paid for doing it. Don't get me wrong, it's just that I wish I would be paid for that kind of "work" too ;)

[themster @ Jan 3rd 2008 1:32PM]

Apple's DVD Studio Pro software currently only allows users to create HD-DVD format high definition DVDs, not Blu-Ray DVDs. It is hard to imagine that Apple would abandon their existing users by including Blu-Ray-only drives in their machines.

Final Cut Pro does not "support" Blu-Ray or HD-DVD format DVDs. Final Cut Pro is a video editing program, not a DVD creation program.

[cckrobinson @ Jan 3rd 2008 1:38PM]

I'd love to see an optional Blu-ray drive for the Mac Mini, but I'd settle for native Blu-ray support in Leopard and FrontRow and an HDCP certified HDMI port. That way I could buy a cheaper 3rd party Blu-ray drive and plug it in via USB.

[Technex @ Jan 3rd 2008 3:06PM]

Blue ray and Macs... Can it get worse?