"For example, one of the first demos NetBlender has shown is that of moving a portable media file from a Blu-ray Disc directly onto an iPhone. "We know that movie studios are very hot on doing digital copies, but prior to BD Touch there's been no elegant way to get them from the disc onto the mobile device," says Harrington. "It was up to the viewer to go put the disc into a computer and have the right hookups to move stuff over." Now on the Netblender website you can see a demo of how moving these files can be drag-and-drop simple from within the iPhone without need for a third computer.
But this is only the beginning.
On a simplistic level, using an iPhone as a remote control for your Blu-ray player will allow for things like using the iPhone's QWERTY keyboard to more easily input data, such as credit card information.
Another level up would be to recognize the value of having a remote control with a screen for applications like trivia games where what's shown on the iPhone can differ from what's on the TV screen."
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Eric Pautsch on Apr 29, 2008 at 7:23:33 pm
Netblender's iPhone tool won't have anything to do with Apple supporting (or not supporting) BD. It's just a nifty little tool developed out of Apple's iPhone SDK made available a couple months ago.
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Alan Okey on Apr 29, 2008 at 7:57:36 pm
[Nate Stephens]"This might be the reason we finally get Blue Ray on our Apples.. And we will have to thank Mr Harrington for pushing Mr Jobs to wake up.."
It's amusing to me how people assume that it is through sheer cluelessness that Apple hasn't yet added Blu-ray support to Macs. Despite the rumors to the contrary, Steve Jobs is a pretty bright guy, and I'm sure he's given the issue a lot of thought. If there's not yet a publicly announced Blu-Ray strategy for the Mac, you can bet it's for a good reason/reasons.
To imply that the company that created the iPod, iTunes Music Store and the iPhone somehow wildly missed the mark on Blu-Ray is pretty presumptuous. Keep in mind that Apple is notoriously secretive. Speculation runs amok until Apple shows its cards on a particular topic.
If Apple does eventually support Blu-Ray authoring, I'll wager they will do it with an elegance and thoroughness that sets the bar for the rest of the computer industry. As for the playback of commercial Blu-Ray discs, I suspect that the DRM limitations of the platform make it very unpopular with Apple as a matter of philosophy, not to mention its competitive status with Apple TV.
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Dave LaRonde on Apr 29, 2008 at 8:41:37 pm
[Alan Okey]"If Apple does eventually support Blu-Ray authoring, I'll wager they will do it with an elegance and thoroughness that sets the bar for the rest of the computer industry."
I hope you're right, and let's all pray they don't follow the model of recent versions of Quicktime.
Dave LaRonde
Sr. Promotion Producer
KCRG-TV (ABC) Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Alan Okey on Apr 29, 2008 at 8:59:15 pm
[Dave LaRonde]"let's all pray they don't follow the model of recent versions of Quicktime."
Boy, you're not kidding...
I would love to see an intelligent update installer that could detect whether or not certain Pro Apps are installed on a system, and at the very least provide a warning that certain applications may not function correctly if a given update is applied. Once the update has a chance to be tested/certified internally by the Pro Apps division, a certificate could be issued that would "approve" the installation of a given update on systems with Pro Apps.
It's maddening that Apple still makes a distinction between Quicktime and Quicktime Pro (and charges for that distinction), but doesn't take adequate steps to ensure that any updates won't break Quicktime Pro functionality within Pro Apps.
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Stu Siegal on Apr 30, 2008 at 3:00:55 am
The Boston Final Cut User group had a great session on Bluray last night, and after listening to Bruce Nazarian, I left feeling there's a reasonable likelihood that Bluray will wind up as the HDV of shiny discs - a comparatively short-lived interim format.
Why? Well, for one, the cost of replication licensing is prohibitive - somewhere around 5 K per project, and this doesn't look to change any time soon. The cost of duplication is nil, but compatibility issues and cost of media are still problematic.
The potential for hd content to be delivered online is a Bluray killer, when and if - and that is a big if - it happens. If Apple's not on the Bluray bandwagon, perhaps they've set their sites one step ahead. Interesting food for thought...
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by David Roth Weiss on Apr 30, 2008 at 3:48:11 am
[Stu Siegal]"I left feeling there's a reasonable likelihood that Bluray will wind up as the HDV of shiny discs - a comparatively short-lived interim format."
Stu,
I don't want to highjack the Blu-ray thread, but...
HDV is actually very much alive and kicking these days. I was very surprised to read recently that HDNET is not only accepting HDV, but even demanding HDV 1080i60 on some of their funded documentary projects. If anything, it seems that HDV is coming of age now and the ability to handle it better in post has given it more life now than anyone would have imagined early on when it was labled as you say, "an interim format." So, I'm not certain the comparison with Blu-ray really works.
David
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
POST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW's Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, and Indie Film & Documentary forums.
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Stu Siegal on Apr 30, 2008 at 1:15:21 pm
Hey David,
Point well taken, didn't mean to slag the format - quite the opposite, actually. I shoot HDV exclusively and am very happy with it. Perhaps short-lived might have been a better way to put it.
At some point in the next 5 years, max, there will be a new flavor that will quickly erode the HDV marketplace - maybe Scarlett, maybe something else. Granted, it's not just about the format, a workflow and hardware to support it need to come along, but it will, as it always does, and we'll all shell out for new gear and do our little part to keep the economy moving.
DVD's are enjoying a great run of what, maybe 10 years of market dominance? My point was that if Bluray drags its feet in terms of licensing and mass market acceptability, they won't be the next mass market format, because by the time they get their act together something better will have supplanted them. Perhaps this is what apple thinks, putting their main focus on delivering content via Apple tv and itunes. A quick look at imovie shows that they're encouraging the consumer crowd to upload instead of burning a dvd.
BTW, congrats on being an official forum leader. Happy to read your bio and see a fellow COM person (or was it SPC when you were there?) with his name in the bright lights atop the forum!
Re: iPhone with Blu-ray by Kevin shaw on Apr 30, 2008 at 3:07:19 am
"To imply that the company that created the iPod, iTunes Music Store and the iPhone somehow wildly missed the mark on Blu-Ray is pretty presumptuous."
Whatever reasons Apple may have for lagging on Blu-ray support aren't helping their customers or their reputation any. I share the hope that if/when Apple implements Blu-ray it will be a trend-setting solution, but until then it would be nice if they'd put a "quick and dirty" option into iMovie.
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Kevin Shaw
Always Memorable Videos
