MCE's 8x internal Blu-ray burner for Mac Pros now shipping, great for anything but playing Blu-ray movies

Here's some perspective: when MCE first released its internal Mac Pro Blu-ray burner, it boasted 2X speeds for a hefty $699 price tag. Cut to present day, when the new generation of the drive that's a noticeably faster 8X Blu-ray read / write and 16X DVD±R/W, all for a hair under $400. Works with Adobe Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro and Roxio Toast 10 Pro ... but if you want to play studio Blu-ray movies, you'll have to either dual boot Windows or wait until some indeterminant time when Apple adds BD support for OS X. Them's the breaks.

[Via Macworld]

[Miles @ Apr 10th 2009 2:26AM]

idk, as an apple and PC fan, thats just disappointing that they wouldn't have like an update like right away with this one.

Sucks you gotta boot Windows Just to watch A movie.

[Joe @ Apr 10th 2009 2:49AM]

I'm pretty sure they will have an update soon. But on top of that, I'm sure some third party will have it first. Now that they are cheaper someone will come along. Not for nothing, Isn't MCE the one that suppose to make it play on Mac? I mean do we really know the real story behind this?

[Joe @ Apr 10th 2009 2:56AM]

OMG, never mind. All they are saying is that there isn't a software known yet to play it. As soon as those software companies get their hands on one of these, they'll know what to do. That's why they say that it will change quickly. Apple would have to make a new player not called DVD Player for this one if they want to get their hand on it. But maybe VLC will do it first.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 4:01AM]

Big bag of hurt...

[霽月瀛台 @ Apr 10th 2009 4:28AM]

build in Blu-ray player + Apple Cinema Display
but no blu-ray movie playing software?
hilarious!

[barth @ Apr 10th 2009 7:52AM]

That can't be right... Macs just work don't they?

[darkstar @ Apr 10th 2009 8:54AM]

yeah, Macs can run all sort of softwares now, even windows.... all u gotta do is dual boot.
does that make any sense???

i dont know about you people. but when i turn my windows on, i leave it on all day and night. dual boot is a joke!

[Jon Acheson @ Apr 10th 2009 10:25AM]

That's OK, you most likely won't be able to watch on the PC either unless you've bought software to bypass the DRM.

Seriously, Blu-Ray on Windows is a MESS, I can see why Apple doesn't bother.

[bjsguess @ Apr 10th 2009 11:33AM]

Jon Acheson ...

You can pick up a Blu-Ray burner in a retail package (i.e. comes with all the necessary included software for playback) for under $200. I just got over the weekend the LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD combo drive. Within 20 minutes of receiving, the drive was installed, software installed, and I was watching Blu-Ray. It really isn't all that hard. My total cost was $110 shipped. Playback was a snap.

[David Bedard @ Apr 10th 2009 12:58PM]

Sam,
I should be able to watch Blu-Rays on my Macbook Pro. I watch them on my 42" screen and should be able to take them on the road with me. As it is, I can only take my DVDs.
The fact of the matter is, Apple's other businesses are interfering with its core business. It's like the reason why the Glass-Steagal Act separated investment and consumer banks: the act looks out for the consumers. I was worried, and rightfully so, when Apple Compters removed the Computers from their name.
As a videographer, I also want to be able to burn Blu-Rays using Final Cut Studio and verify the disk using the same system.
The i-Tunes and i-Phone businesses are detracting from the computer business. Apple is more concerned about developing the i-Phone than in updating the Mac Pro with the latest GPUs, instead we're stuck paying double for a last generation ATI 4870. Thank you Apple.
I understand why Jobs thinks video downloads are the future and optical formats are on their way out. But there are a few technical problems with the Fuhrer's dictates. First off, we here in America have some of the slowest broadband in the industrialized world. Second, ISPs are clamping down on how much data we transfer monthly and even 720P movies are data hogs. Third, I want to be able to grab my Blu-Ray, drive over to my brother's house, pop the disk into his PS3 and enjoy watching 300. Can't do that with i-Tunes.
Seriously considering switching back to Windows, learning how to use Adobe Premier Pro along the way.
Thank you Apple.

[billy bob thorton @ Apr 11th 2009 12:04PM]

@Jon Acheson

you're right the DRM is a mess but that does not excuse Steve's lame excuse for not including it. I had problems watching Blu-ray on both my vista machine and the XP one. I had problems because it claimed I wasn't using an approved monitor (professional NEC LCD). XP just wouldn't work without powerdvd and then wouldn't play the damn movie because it was connected to my plasma.

So yea the solution to the big bag of hurt is Slysoft's DVD anywhere (for windows anyway)

The studios need to lay off the DRM. Nothing I was doing was against the law yet I had to find a quasi-legal work around just to watch movies. Idiots.

Since most people that have macs also mac apple monitors I don't see why there would be any playback issues, except for all those macs with slow video cards. HDCP should be a non-issue

[a ham sandwich @ Apr 10th 2009 2:27AM]

"but if you want to play studio Blu-ray movies..."

well, they sure are appealing to a niche market aren't they?

[Quantumphysics @ Apr 10th 2009 2:38AM]

I see no reason why I should have to buy Blu Ray when DVD's are less than $10 and storage capacity of solid state memory is getting increasingly cheaper. As far as I'm concerned, I'm happy with a standard DVDRW + a DVDROM for drive to drive copying.

When Blu Ray drives are under $100 than I'll bite.

[dkrift @ Apr 10th 2009 3:55AM]

@Quantumphysics, you're buying a Mac pro and you are worried about Bluray costing too much? LOL

[Matt @ Apr 10th 2009 3:22AM]

"When Blu Ray drives are under $100 than I'll bite."

I picked up an internal LG Blu-ray(combo HD-DVD - oh yeah!) reader online for about $90. Note: Running a Windows OS though.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 4:02AM]

dkrift,

ZING !

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 4:04AM]

Matt,

Yep, you've got to love Windows PC's.

The choices are endless, and we keep getting more and more everyday.

Faster, cheaper, more powerful, and Windows 7 works with Blu-Ray flawlessly right now as well.

The best of all worlds, hardware and software.

[dannyboy414 @ Apr 10th 2009 7:01AM]

@Matt

Yah thats just a driver not a bluray burner... Bluray burners are still $200.

[extramedium @ Apr 10th 2009 7:56AM]

OK so they are half as much as the Mac version and you can actually watch Blu Ray on them? Sounds like a winner.

As far as the product post though, I don't get why you'd want a Blu Ray drive when you can't even watch the movies... that's the whole point.

[Shenanigans @ Apr 10th 2009 10:20AM]

@ Matt-

That LG drive you speak of also works with the Mac Pro. I amlost picked one up.

I read it was a crappy drive so I didn't buy it.

[bjsguess @ Apr 10th 2009 11:38AM]

Shenanigans ...

The LG drive he was referring to has an 84% 4 or 5 star rating on Newegg (173 reviews). The retail version of that same drive has an 85% approval rating with over 450 reviews. When you read the comments a lot of the negative reviews were from idiots that thought they were getting burners.

This is a solid drive by all accounts.

[Adam @ Apr 10th 2009 2:30AM]

If you are spending the kind of money required to buy a Mac Pro I am sure buying a copy of Windows will not kill the budget lol.

However that sure does suck that OS X does not support being able to watch a blu-ray. One day most likely...

My guess was that it was standard by now. You can even do it with XP and that OS is old lol.

[kal326 @ Apr 10th 2009 1:27PM]

I'm sure one day it will support it, but it will probably cost around $129.99. However, it will come with a bonus .1 increase and a bunch of added stuff that probably would have been free on most any other platform. For the same $129.99 you can also buy an OEM copy of Windows, get blu-ray support now and access to thousands of additional applications at no extra charge...the choice is yours.

[A-style @ Apr 10th 2009 2:32AM]

Steve was right this is becoming a big bag of hurt to OSX users.

[nerdtalker @ Apr 10th 2009 2:36AM]

You, my friend, just won 1 internet.

Granted, with Steve's influence all but gone now, I doubt it will be much longer before we see BD playback on OS X.

[nak @ Apr 10th 2009 2:48AM]

Did he really say it was a bag of hurt to OS X users? I interpreted his "bag of hurt" comment to mean it was bad for Apple.

I thought Jobs didn't like the idea of Apple paying to license Blu-ray which is ostensibly a competitor to his iTunes movie business. I don't think he often gives a lot of concern to what actual OS X users want.

[Leo @ Apr 10th 2009 7:57AM]

I thought the comment was good, but winning a whole internet? Those things are being given away like crazy these days - maybe they've depreciated because of the economy?

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 9:02AM]

A-Style,

Actually I could have gotten the Klipsch 5.1's but quite honestly they are EXTREMELY lacking in terms of features.

If you've done your homework, you would know that.

As for my monitor, WRONG.

I am not your typical ignorant mac fanboy, I am a well educated computer engineer who knows his hardware inside/out.

Im sporting the HP LP2475W, and if you knew anything about these monitors, then you'd know that these are arguably some of the finest 24" units on the planet. They are in fact only one of about 3 different 24" H-IPS panels on the market.

Yeah, chew on that for a while.

[Zak @ Apr 10th 2009 11:55AM]

"I am a well educated computer engineer who knows his hardware inside/out."

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


*gasp*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Oh good god. Anybody who's "well educated" wouldn't be such a massively biased Microsoft kissass. Thanks for the laugh though!

[xtasi @ Apr 10th 2009 2:38AM]

You fools, MAC is better, therefore bluray sucks. That's the only reason you peasants aren't allowed to have it.

[WGSXFrank @ Apr 10th 2009 2:43AM]

What the hell do MAC cosmetics have to do with blu-ray?!? o.O

[Joe @ Apr 10th 2009 4:25AM]

You can always spot a non-Mac user... They always write it MAC. :)

[Luke @ Apr 10th 2009 2:40AM]

It's so weird that Apple has bungled Blu-Ray so badly. Traditionally, there hasn't been too many reasons other than video editing to own a Mac. Nothing like editing your video in OSX and booting into Vista to burn or watch it on Blu-Ray.

I guess Mac Pro's continue to be the machine of choice for jocks with too much money and too little knowledge about buying balanced hardware. Oh, and the 5% of the population that legitimately needs duel Xeon Quads coupled with a lethargic GPU.

[AMiSH PiRATE @ Apr 10th 2009 2:56AM]

jocks with too much money like to buy mac pros?

[Joe @ Apr 10th 2009 5:37AM]

Why would a Mac have to boot into Windows to watch a blu ray it cut and burned? AACCS doesn't exist for Mac so if you burned it yourself it's extremely unlikely you would also DRM yourself into a whole.

Remember when Vista was release and everyone swore the DRM was always running and making the system slower. I'm glad I'm not back to those days.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Apr 10th 2009 11:57AM]

Also, remember Steve Jobs and the "year of HD" a few years ago where he had a Sony exec (CEO?) onstage? Also, IIRC, Apple was on the BluRay bandwagon all along. Quite strange indeed that they're not supporting it yet.

Personally, I said I'd buy a BluRay player for my TV as soon as the format war was over.. Fall of '07 it became clear that HD-DVD was gonna die.. 18 months later and I still haven't bought one. It's like, once the format war was over, most of us stopped caring.

[pika2000 @ Apr 10th 2009 2:49AM]

Okay, to be honest, how many people actually watching blu-ray on their computers? The regular consumers are more than happy with cheaper SD DVDs. The geeks are probably watching HD movies from torrents. Videophiles would prefer watching blu-ray on their stand alone player with their home theater setup.
The biggest problem of blu-ray is that it is heavily advertised as a movie medium instead of data storage. With Apple having HD movies via iTunes, and the focus trend of eliminating disc media with the Macbook Air, I don't think we would see an official BD equipped Mac/movie playback support from Apple anytime soon.

[Uncontrol @ Apr 10th 2009 2:58AM]

As an Mac user, can I ask that we please stop making excuses for Apple all the time on shit like this? Every time Apple does something that is clearly not in the best interests of the consumer, all the Applevangelists chime in with, "oh, you're not in the target market, the market doesn't want that, xxx."

Would this type of corporate apologetic-ism be tolerated if any other company was the subject at hand? No. If this was Microsoft we'd all be fuming, and rightfully so, just as everyone should be mad at Apple's stubbornness and blatant anti-consumerism.

As Mac users, it is _in our best interests_ to ride the fuck out of Apple every time they do something wrong. If we bend over constantly eventually we're going to realize that we're stuck with fashionable bricks and a closed ecosystem (yes, even more closed than it is already).

I don't watch Blu-Rays, but maybe if my MacBook supported them I would. I love my Mac, but fuck if Apple doesn't make me want to give it all up sometimes.

[seriousam7 @ Apr 10th 2009 3:28AM]

Thanks Uncontrol, I knew there was a Mac user with a brain somewhere out there.

[pika2000 @ Apr 10th 2009 3:28AM]

@Uncontrol: I'm not making excuses for Apple, but merely stated the way the market is for blu-ray. Is it really in the best of interest of the consumers for Apple to have OS X infested with DRM to the satisfaction of the movie industry? I think Apple has a different strategy and belief of the future of digital entertainment consumption. It's not like there are no other option to play blu-ray movie on a laptop, Sony has many Vaio laptops with blu-ray playback capability. Are people fuming over Linux for not supporting commercial blu-ray playback out of the box?

[mayq @ Apr 10th 2009 3:30AM]

I watch movies on my 27inch dell lcd that is connected to my imac. I also bought a ps3 to watch blu ray movies though..

I think you're just too self centered

[seriousam7 @ Apr 10th 2009 3:32AM]

By the way, I'm also pretty pissed at Microsoft for not including native Bluray support with Windows 7. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that the final version will have it, but...

[chuuchdizzle @ Apr 10th 2009 3:50AM]

@pika2000 FYI OSX already has HDCP.
as noted here:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/17/apple-itunes-multimedia-throwing-hdcp-flags-on-new-macbook-mac/


the exclusion of Bluray in the system that's touted to be the best for movie editing is kinda bizarre and wholly sad.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 4:10AM]

I do.

I have a 1920x1200 24" display and I intend on using it to its fullest.

This thing puts out a better/crisper picture than most HDTV's as far as movie playback goes, plus I have a 5.1 500+ watt surround sound system (Z5500's), once again better than many home theater setups, and I plan on using them as well.

Just because you guys don't have the option doesn't mean that you have to sit here acting like you don't want it or don't need it.

I guarantee you the minute Apple gets Blu-Ray support added to their OS, the same detractors and denouncers will be praising them, making idiotic comments like : "Apple waited to make it just right, we weren't ready for it before, and besides Steve Jobs will show everyone now how Blu-Ray is supposed to be implemented", or some other foolish nonsense.

Just watch.

[pika2000 @ Apr 10th 2009 4:39AM]

And I'm already streaming HD content from my Windows Home Server (finding and switching discs is so 90s). That doesn't mean the regular consumer is doing it. So 1 or 2 people are watching blu-ray on computers. Big whoop. Just because you want/use something techy, doesn't mean it's relevant to the market or whatever business decision a company chose. The main consumer are fine with SD DVDs. iTunes already offer HD movies. Consumers are not even aware of HD, let alone blu-ray. Again, do I see people fuming that Linux doesn't offer blu-ray playback out of the box? Even Vista doesn't have support for H.264 out of the box. Apple has their own idea of digital content distribution. So be it.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 5:30AM]

pika,

You are a quintessential example of an apple mind-controlled (via the RDF) fanboy.

You're spouting the same typical, nonsensical, apple fanboy talking points that I've come to expect from your side:

"We don't need it, because if we did, Lord Jobs would have provided it for us"

With that sort of mentality, we'd all be stuck in the dark ages of computing still.

Your side already has its' choices made for it -- i.e., you don't have that many choices, just whatever scraps Jobs throws your way every 12-18 months or so.

Thank god we don't have to limit ourselves to one machine, one company, one standard, and one man's vision.

Remember, choice is a good thing, and advancing technology is also a good thing.

Also, why do you suppose Blu-ray drives for PC's can now be had for < $100????

Think about it (hint: it has something to do with supply and demand -- so much for that theory of yours...)

[A-style @ Apr 10th 2009 7:42AM]

@Hamidax

Those z5500's are mediocre at best. You should upgrade if you want something better than some home theater setups. I'd recommend a nice used pair of Klipsch Pro Media 5.1 Ultras.

I'm sure you have some crap TN panel LCD. Compared to Vizio LCD's I'm sure it does look better.

[Hamidxa @ Apr 10th 2009 9:01AM]

A-Style,

Actually I could have gotten the Klipsch 5.1's but quite honestly they are EXTREMELY lacking in terms of features.

If you've done your homework, you would know that.

As for my monitor, WRONG.

I am not your typical ignorant mac fanboy, I am a well educated computer engineer who knows his hardware inside/out.

Im sporting the HP LP2475W, and if you knew anything about these monitors, then you'd know that these are arguably some of the finest 24" units on the planet. They are in fact only one of about 3 different 24" H-IPS panels on the market.

Yeah, chew on that for a while.

[Eh? @ Apr 10th 2009 11:04AM]

Huh pika?

I guess all those HDTV's and blu-ray players being sold (more and more every year at that) totally mean that the consumer has no idea of the existence and benefits of blu-ray.

iTunes has its own DRM which is even more restrictive than what Blu-ray has. With iTunes you have to not only download the movie first (thereby possibly quickly running up against the ever-increasing prevalence of arbitrary usage caps set by ISP's), but you can only "authorize" a set number of computers to play the item as well. If you max out that limit, you're out of luck. While you can de-authorize a computer to authorize another, it means on the computer you de-authorize you suddenly cannot use the content you paid for on that computer any more. In addition, the HD quality of a movie from iTunes is limited and not as thorough as a disc.

It's not that people don't understand that there are other computers that have the ability to play a blu-ray disc, it's that they want to play it on their platform of choice, without having to resort to running multiple, incompatible, platforms. OS X already has HDCP, so why not blu-ray support?

A blu-ray player in a macbook would allow people to do with their chosen platform what I can already do with my HP laptop that has a blu-ray player. Take my machine to any TV in my house/apartment or to a friend's/families' house/apartment, hook my machine up, and play a disc I brought with me with no problems.

While I can conceivably do the same with iTunes and my Macbook, that sort of defeats the purpose of digital content don't you think? Heck, if they have a blue-ray player, I can leave the computer at home completely and just bring the disc. The DRM with a blu-ray disc is universally supported by a convenient disc I have and blu-ray player the user has, the player doesn't call back home asking permission to play the disc, it just plays it. While it is still DRM, it's still far more convenient than what iTunes does. Why wait to authorize my friend's comp to play my file and then wait for it to download from iTunes and play in less quality when I can just pop the disc in and play it with full quality?

You do make a couple valid points, but unfortunately, the condescending and flippant tone you use do much to harm any credibility they had.

As for why people are not up in arms that Linux does not support commercial blu-ray out of the box? I would venture to guess that there are people upset that there isn't blu-ray support out of the box. However, I would also hazard a guess that those who do care would much prefer an open source approach to blu-ray support as opposed to a closed, proprietary solution. It goes back to the basic, underlying philosophy which drove the creation of Linux in the first place. While OS X is built on top of an open source OS, the operating environment that is the UI of OS X is anything but. The good thing is that if there were ever an open source blu-ray player developed for Linux, I can pretty much guarantee you it will very likely be ported to OS X (or at least be able to be used in X11 on OS X) post haste.

[m3tric @ Apr 10th 2009 11:39AM]

Lulz...let me guess you're still watching tv shows on that massive 13" black and white and setting up your VCR to record the shows you miss?