The Boy Genius Report has “received a tip from a pretty reliable source” regarding “some of iTunes 9’s upcoming features.”
“One of the new additions to iTunes is said to include Blu-ray support which lines up nicely with a recent Apple Insider report about Apple integrating Blu-ray into their new iMac line-up. Something else that will most likely make a bunch of people happy is that we’ve been told iTunes 9 will finally include the ability to visually organize and arrange your iPhone and iPod touch applications,” TBGR reports.
“Something that wasn’t so clearly described was some kind of Twitter/Facebook/Last.fm integration,” TBGR reports. “Maybe broadcasting what song you’re playing to your friends?”
Full article here.
Nate Lanxon reports for CNET UK, “Typically, Apple releases major new versions of iTunes and iPod hardware at special events it holds every September. This year, September will also be the month in which OS X Snow Leopard goes on sale, and just so happens to include an entirely new version of Apple’s Quicktime video player — Quicktime X — as well.”
“One of the key features of Quicktime X is better support for modern video codecs,” Lanxon reports. “So could Snow Leopard, Quicktime X and iTunes 9 all bring Blu-ray playback to a new line of Macs fitted with Blu-ray disc drives in September? We’ll be spending the rest of this unnecessarily hot Sunday afternoon hoping so.”
Full article here.
Don’t you guys take any time off, it’s Sunday!
I know they want to continue leveraging iTunes as the “one stop shop”, but I think they need to rethink this strategy a little. Why not build a “hub” application that the user interacts that is highly modular and automatically adds the components needed by the user: music management, movie management, iPod management, iPhone management… all separate “plugin modules”. The user would get the same one-stop-shop experience, but the app would be simpler for those that don’t need all of the components. It would be a huge engineering task, but I think it’s possible.
Even better, why not let the devices that are normally managed within iTunes be managed outside of iTunes. Connect an iPhone and it appears on the computer as a device. Double-click it and up opens an application for managing it. No iTunes needed for that.
mks1,
Yes, but there is nothing better than drinking some java, watching Meet The Press, and reading MDN on a Sunday morning.
Oh, and the occasional bowl helps, too.
It looks like the Blu-Ray “bag of hurt” has turned into a “bag of indian burn”.
Hoorah! Maybe time to swap out my MBP??
I’m thinking iTunes needs Blu-ray support so that you can fire up your Blu-ray player, then convert it in real time to h.264 and stream it to your TABLET! (or iPhone, iPod, or APPLE TV!) Or, maybe PA Semi made a chip for that.
Blu-ray cant do anything to iTunes, because the restrictive DRM doesn´t allow ripping, streaming or something else – you can only playback a bluray film in a configuriation with complete HDCP chain from the drive to the screen. Without HDCP you wont even get digital sound out of the box, and till now not one single Apple computer support audio via Displayport or HDMI. So forget blu-ray on the mac, because broadband will develop quicker than optical disks.
And my guess is the next iTunes version will jump directly to iTunes X like Quicktime.
mks1, “Don’t you guys take any time off, it’s Sunday!”
Do you??????
@peter.s.,
So forget blu-ray on the mac, because broadband will develop quicker than optical disks.
You have those backwards, and there’s no will about it. Blu-ray’s retail and rental market share is increasing rapidly, while DVD is starting its decline.
The vast majority of the US still has (relatively) slow broadband internet connections, which are drastically inadequate for streaming decent HD, not to mention the massive backbone and other internet infrastructure improvements that will be necessary to support mass-market HD streaming.
It’s going to be YEARS before HD streaming is mass-market, and by then, Blu-ray will be in the majority position.
Watch for Blu-ray on the Mac by January, if not this fall. Yes, you can iCal me.
@ Peter S.
I like how you spelled Blu-ray 3 different ways in 1 paragraph.
You left out about 8 more versions. I’m sure the following posters will pick up the slack.
I’m skipping Blu-ray because I don’t want yet another collection of physical media. I just don’t know what the best alternative source of HD is going to be (and I want to download, not stream)
@ron Actually I did take today off only because of a very hard Saturday golf tournament with $1 beers all day.
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@cubert I like your Sunday set up better than mine
C’mon, figured a bunch of you would be chompin’ at bit for Blu Ray ?
One disc could hold your entire Porn Collection …
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(bada boom bada bing)
Yea, yea, and don’t miss the Midnight Show in Main Lounge
—————–
Now, coolfactor … Good catch on iTunes
Hate to say it, or even use the word, but iTunes seems to have the potential – if not there already – to become …. awwww … here’s that word …
Bloatware
Sorry, but is lot of stuff going on with iTunes, a LOT of “stuff”
(and don’t flame me for using that word, remember said “potential”)
Even now if I need to listen to just one song, won’t launch it but use QT, faster and easier.
And VLC has been byatch slappin’ iTunes/QT for years with movies, vid clips, etc
Can’t imagine any of this is due to foundational situations – even VLC uses QT’s core audio/video “stuff” yes ?
And I’ll be first to confess my lack of current tech expertise on inner workings of all this “stuff” and can’t imagine Apple is not aware.
So we’ll see where QT X, iTunes 9 takes us down the road.
Just better not be a “Microsoftian Solution” of longer tail fins, bigger bumpers, and new hood ornament.
BC
Finally more codecs in QuickTime! This has been a major failing on Apple’s for many years. QT did not come across very well to potential switchers, and that did a disservice to the Mac. If the Mac is the king of video and audio, then QT should be the premier application for bringing video and audio to the desktop. Period.
Ahhh …
Cube, is a bowl of Shredded Wheat you talkin’ about, yea ?
@KingMel,
I’m a long-time Apple/Mac user, and I’ve never been able to understand why Apple didn’t add more codecs and media handling to QT, either… They charge $30 for the damn Pro version… Why not make it handle all sorts of stuff right out of the box?
Why, oh why would they give away iLife with a new Mac, but not QT Pro?!?!? QuickTime could be one of the Mac’s “killer apps”, but instead, they seem to have made it a thorn in the side for a lot of people.
I just don’t understand Apple sometimes.
@BC Kelly,
“Ahhh …
Cube, is a bowl of Shredded Wheat you talkin’ about, yea ?”
Nah. Grapenugs.
The Horror Cube
The Horror
All those poor little castrated grapes
I agree with a lot that is said here. iTunes is pure bloatware. I only use it when absolutely necessary! VLC gets used 10 times more often because it is so damn fast. iTunes is a slow pig.
And Quicktime’s lack of codecs is an outright embarrassment to Apple. Again, VLC gets to take on the role when Quicktime fails (which is very often).
Blu ray support is overdue. I hope this rumor is true. I’m tired of having to switch back to windows for blu ray work….
Rattle Rat
You said “it” (that “b” word) for iTunes and called it “pure”
I just said “potential” … YOU could be up for Heresy …
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So careful, couple of things may now happen
Some MDN Villagers might come after you with their Pitch Forks
Or the Ballmer Boyz would find out – and then give you nuggies
BC
Gimme blu-ray burn’n or it’s no new mac. Sony has a tv/blu-ray burner for $2000.
And how about Apple making a SED or FED tv?
O.k. that was asking too much.
What is wrong with this picture: Blu-Ray support in iTunes.
What does iTunes have to do with Blu-Ray? Maybe the ability to burn iTunes media onto a Blu-Ray data disc? That could work. Otherwise, huh?
So why is anyone thinking this has anything at all to do with playing Blu-Ray movie DVDs on a Mac? Beats me!
And if the new iMacs support Blu-Ray, then the question is: HOW? By having a Blu-Ray playing drive as part of the hardware? Play what? Data Blu-Ray discs? That makes sense. Movie Blu-Ray discs? That makes NO sense. Not possible.
What it takes to play Blu-Ray movie DVDs:
1) Either an internal or external drive that can play Blu-Ray movie DVDs.
2) Mac OS X support, including a player program, codec support and DRM crap support. (Blu-Ray movie DVDs has 3 layers of DRM crap).
If you don’t have both hardware and OS support, you don’t have Blu-Ray movie DVD playing support.
Potentially Apple will provide both in Macs the come with Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6, installed. NOT BEFORE. Not gonna happen. No way no how.
As for data Blu-Ray DVDs, we’re already there. No modification of Mac OS X is required. You can read and write Blu-Ray data DVD discs via Roxio Toast Titanium 9 and 10 as long as you have the Blu-Ray plug-in installed and an external reader/writer.
You can also use Toast 9 and 10 to write Blu-Ray movie DVDs, but NOT play them.
Oh and: Considering the continuing exorbitant price of Blu-Ray do-it-all drives, I know there will be demand for Macs WITHOUT the Blu-Ray drive installed.
In the past Apple have provided an option regarding new technology drives. Once the price of such drives dropped to mere-human levels, Apple then made them standard equipment.
One potential option: Macs with Blu-Ray read-only drives standard. Read & Write drives will cost you extra.