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Apple May Be Close to Blu-ray Decision
by , 2:35 PM EST, January 14th, 2008
Apple may be closer to making a decision on Blu-ray, according to ITWire on Monday. Shaw Wu has predicted it, and the move may make sense as Apple seeks way to cozy up to Hollywood.
Apple has officially supported Blu-ray all along, but the Intel chip set hasn't so far. Now, Apple may be close to making the move wrote lex Zaharov-Reutt on Monday. In fact, Mr. Wu has even speculated on a dual HD DVD/Blu-ray device offered by Apple.
However, what Apple customers are really looking forward to is a Blu-ray burner. A standard DVD disc with 4.74 GB for backups is no longer satisfactory, and Blu-ray's 50 GB capacity is very compelling.
It's not clear where the drives will first appear -- perhaps it's more likely in the desktop iMacs and Mac Pros than an ultra slim notebook.
Another consideration, TMO notes, is the politics. Steve Jobs sees the future of HD TV as Internet downloads, not physical discs. Even so, Apple seems to be in a compromise mood lately, and bringing Sony Pictures on board might require Apple to make a Blu-ray concession. Coming so quickly after CES, Apple shipping Blu-ray drives would certainly be another (perhaps last) nail in the coffin of HD DVD.
Observer Comments
QuoteGuest wrote:
Am I right in thinking that MS has officially supported HD DVD over Blu-ray? I'd particularly like Blu-ray to "win" if that were the case...
Yes, Microshaft has been supporting HD instead of Blu-ray. However, with the recent events, like Warner Bros, Lionsgate and a couple others jumping ship to BD exclusively, MS is being non-committal. One of the CES events was supposed to be a joint Toshiba/Microsoft HD-DVD presentation that was pulled at the last moment. Speculation is that MS is rethinking their position. MS has never been one to lead the industry from a technical innovation standpoint, but they've always been on track with big money. So it stands to reason that they'd back Blu-Ray once it starts to dominate (if it indeed does, and I hope so).
Big scary decision. Oh wait, it isn't. IT'S AN OPTICAL DRIVE, not a media commitment.
Last I heard those things slotted right in and out very easily, in units and product line-ups. Optical drive choices do not make or break computer companies.
...
... anymore. It's been a long time since the fruity bunch at the Loop shoved CD burners into (rather expensive) iMacs at the turn of the century, only to apologise post-facto for being so short-sighted and forgetting to give iMovie a reason to exist.
OK, hands up who thinks either HD format will last as long as DVD... anyone?
"However, what Apple customers are really looking forward to is a Blu-ray burner. A standard DVD disc with 4.74 GB for backups is no longer satisfactory, and Blu-ray's 50 GB capacity is very compelling."
Yes, if you have the time to wait for it to burn. From what I've read, they're a bit slower to burn than DVD-R drives. It could easily take 1-2 hours to burn a Blu-Ray disk.
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