“In a report issued to clients early Thursday morning, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu cited sources who say the Cupertino-based Mac maker, which already occupies a seat on the Blu-ray consortium, is set to begin shipping some of its computers with support for the next-generation DVD format,” Slash Lane reports for AppleInsider.
“‘We believe this is a key announcement as current Macs ship with the DVD format and Sony gains a strong ally in Blu-ray,’ the analyst told clients. He added that Disney, for which Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is a Director, is a firm supporter of Blu-ray, while rival Microsoft Corp. has placed most of its eggs in the HD-DVD basket,” Lane reports.
“However, Wu hedged his bets somewhat, saying there is ‘a smaller chance Apple may use a combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive to ensure full compatibility and not get involved in the format wars,'” Lane reports.
More in the full article here.
All moot when HD streaming starts. As for file backup – who wants to burn a disk when you can save it to a drive?
Buster:
Sony makes a list $399 Blu-ray player:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId;=-1&productId=8198552921665088000
Samsung makes a $300 Blu-ray player.
LG (UGH) makes a cheap Blu-ray player, too.
They upsample standard DVDs to 1080p as well.
It’s only a matter of time before HD DVD tanks and Microsoft gives up dishing out payola to movie studios to support it. Or does HD DVD die AFTER the payola stream stops? Hmmmmmmmmm…
@Buster
The Sony PlayStation 3 is the cheapest Blu-Ray player around.
399.99 — ooooppps Mr. Reeee say no!
ANY WAYS – cos HD-DVD is part of Microsoft is some way or other; I am so happy to see Apple looking more serious at Blu-Ray.
Hahahaha – it is natural anyways. Blu-Ray has been out selling HD-DVD. And M$ has again decided to use the price drop to get customers.
“”However, Wu hedged his bets somewhat, saying there is ‘a smaller chance Apple may use a combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive to ensure full compatibility and not get involved in the format wars,'” Lane reports.”
There again we see an Apple perspective… one that has been a constant… if customers want it Apple shall find a way to provide.
Avoiding the FORMAT wars would be a good idea.
Relating to why Apple continues to use some music formats old and new – just enough spectrum to find a happy medium of media.
I am all for a COMBO drive… but then I am NOT if it means I will lose my DVD burner… will this COMBO Blu-Ray/HD DVD player also burn regular DVDs and CDs?
Wait a minute. I would like to ask anyone this question.
Roxio – does M$ own or support that company?
If so, though I vaguely remember that it did occurred — Toast 8, I believe supports a Blu-Ray DVD for burning. Why would M$ do this if they have invested interest in HD DVD?
interesting
Lets hope Apple chooses a combo option for use.
Walter
I still use Toast 7. So I am sorry I can not answer your question.
But knowing Toast 8 can write onto a blank Blu-Ray is cool!
R8 also does Divx too.
Touche!
You continue to crack me up!
Why is it that MDN loves to bash Sony every chance they get, but if Apple adopts Blu-ray eveything is fine and dandy? Yeah, I know MS backs HD-DVD, so I suppose it is the lesser of two evils.
The whole HD wars is a crock. Upscaled standard DVDs look absolutely great. Go out and buy what you already have – again – we’ve just forced obsolescence upon you.
BTW: Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray use the exact same codecs (VC-1 and AVC) so the only issue as far as image quality is concerned is how much time and effort the studio puts into transfering the existing content to the new format – this can make a HUGE difference.