[Jeremy Garchow] "As of right now, Apple cannot do BluRay in way that makes sense and that is 'Mac like', otherwise they would. As of right now, it's a bit too complex for the consumer and it sounds like it's pretty complex for professional application builders as well. I think that BluRay is still too new to simplify. "
Agreed - I think this makes a lot of sense - apart from the last part about it being too new - it's just not that new a format, it's so old in IT terms it's about to be superseded by iTMS downloads (hopes Apple). It's definitely a programming mess - ask Adobe. Still - this is the best argument right now for Apple's reluctance to join in. Still not sure I believe they don't already have this working in the labs however - Toast manages iDVD standard of Blu-Ray authoring already.
[Jeremy Garchow] "if this were the case, they wouldn't put DVD drives in their computers either as DVDs still outsell BluRays by far. I just don't believe that putting a BluRay burner in their computers would help or hurt iTunes sales"
Nice point - but misguided IMHO. The difference between Blu-Ray and DVD was the level of market penetration when this became an issue for Apple. When they started selling movies, DVD was already the default format for movies - and they had to support it. It also makes a great data format for software and archiving - which is what Blu-Ray could be - imagine the whole FCS install on ONE disk. Remember the piles of floppies we used to get before CD-ROM?
In the case of HD rentals/purchases, there is still a battle to be won. A much as Blu-Ray has won the HD-DISK war, downloading movies is rapidly becoming a viable alternative, which is why the likes of Netflix have also started offering a download service. Faster broadband will, eventually, render Blu-Ray disks pointless for movies IMHO, but it'll take a while. I think Apple would rather sit it out until this point in time - but at the moment it'll just take too long for this to happen. In the end, they will have to join the party.
[Jeremy Garchow] "And seriously, the Macbook shouldn't be used as an editor anyway (in my opinion). You can get the new 15" macbook Pro for $600 or $800 more and have a computer that really works instead of one that limps along"
Now, I was pretty clear at the start of the thread I didn't want this as a main machine - just a travel machine for work and a little prep etc. I'm typing this on a MBP I guess I will be working with for at least another 12 months. But that's not the point here: The new Macbook SHOULD (and - hey - this is only an educated guess) be able to run FCS just fine - even Motion. For many users, especially FC Express and iApps users, the MacBook is now a Pro spec machine, with one glaring omission....
Take a look at Gizmodo's unusually good review of both systems:
http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review
Look near the end at this section:
"So Who Needs The MacBook Pro over the Macbook?
In one word, pros. (Suiting, we know.) Video professionals will need the MBP because the MB no longer has FireWire, still a big deal for video guys. USB is fast, but its speeds aren't sustained. Those who use FireWire require predictable transfer rates, a connection that won't drop during realtime video playback from an external hard drive or capture from a video deck.
Anyone who requires an ExpressCard, too, will need to spend the extra cash on a MBP. Many 3G peripherals use this slot—and some correct Apple's willful memory-card ignorance by filling it with an SD/MS reader—but there are just as many USB peripherals, so its omission in the MB probably isn't as damning as FireWire's.
And then, of course, there's the group that requires the MacBook Pro's discrete graphics card with a half-gig of dedicated RAM. Large textures and massive Photoshop files require a level of performance that the basic MacBook's integrated graphics, even Nvidia's most boastworthy—just can't replace.
In this regard, we see the line drawn in the sand between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro. Similar processors, different graphics and FireWire and ExpressCard only if you pay up."
Yup - the gfx aren't as wiz-bang on the MB, but they're not far off the last-gen MBP, and for all I know they're better than the gfx on my own X1600 MBP. These 'integrated' gfx on the new MB are 'integrated' in system terms only - they suffer from nowhere near the same slowdowns as the old Intel integrated setup.
Look - Apple can do what they like. The world won't stop turning. Just realise that where they used to court Pro users (and I've spent over $20,000 with them in 2 years) they now have a different focus. I have to look a few years ahead - and barring an amazing FCS update, I'm worried about the future support I can expect to receive from the single manufacturer into whose basket I put all my eggs. I think the Blu-Ray and FW issues ARE symptomatic of a change of direction from Apple. The next 12 months will prove if I'm right.
Feeling your jetlag - I think 10 percent of me is still out in Kentucky from the Ryder, and another 10 percent is in Dublin from last week....
Kind regards
Ben
Edit Out Ltd
----------------------------
FCP Editor/Trainer/System Consultant
EVS/VT Supervisor for live broadcast
RED camera transfer/post
Independent Director/Producer
