No BD drive on Mac Pro

[cartier]

Apple has updated their Mac Pro line ahead of next weeks Mac World Expo, which is a bit odd. Anyway, here is the link to the news/spec info: http://www.apple.com/macpro/?sr=hotnews.rss

Perhaps there will be other Blu news next week in one of their other products.

[desmond]

damn.

[CptGreedle]

Apple has a history of NOT putting out all the info until the product announcement is made.
Do not expect this page (which does not look like any major updates) to be the final result.
It might still be possible that there will be no BD drive, but don't rule it out either. Besides, the talk was of a laptop, not a desktop, BD drive.

[monkeytap]

Yes, I saw they announced the new mac pros without blu ray

BUT.... assuming they are announcing blu ray support soon....THIS IS NOT that surprising for the following reasons:

1) MacWorld is typically reserved for consumer electronics (mac pro announcement does not work)

2) with a whole slew of rumored/expected announcments next week, a measely speed bump in the mac pros is not keynote worthy, no matter how big the bump is. blu-ray support itself is also not keynote worthy, seeing it will probably be a BTO and geared more towards PRO consumers (point #1)

this brings me to my next point....

3) read this post I made earlier this month in another thread. I believe this event is where blu-ray support could be announced.

the facts: <> Apple will present a product it has yet to announce at a Final Cut Pro user group event just a day after the Macworld keynote.

<>The January 16th gathering, which follows a day after Apple chief Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote, will feature "something super secret" from the Mac maker, according to the announcement.

<>Historically, Apple has at times used professional audiovisual industry gatherings to discuss its high-end computers, including the MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and Xserve.

<>Despite the nature of the group, the Apple unveiling is unlikely to include an update to the Final Cut Studio video production suite, which was updated in April and has rarely been updated during the San Francisco show in the past.


to me, this definitely seems like it could be blu-ray support/authoring...and if it is true, I am proud to say I called it first


edit: i kinda got carried away on the whole prediction thing, and forgot a part to my speculation:

4) the architechture in the new mac pros is neccessarry for blu ray support and they didn't want to draw attention away from blu-ray and other products by also being forced to announce new mac pros.

[McBain]

Press release:

Apple Introduces New Mac Pro

Fastest Mac Ever—Eight Processor Cores Standard

CUPERTINO, California—January 8, 2008—Apple® today introduced the new Mac® Pro with eight processor cores and a new system architecture that delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor*. The new Mac Pro combines two of Intel’s new 45 nanometer Quad-Core Xeon processors running up to 3.2 GHz, powerful new graphics and up to 4TB of internal storage to offer the ideal system for creative professionals, 3D digital content creators and scientists. The standard 8-core configuration starts at just $2,799.

“The new Mac Pro is the fastest Mac we’ve ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With 3.2 GHz 8-core Xeon processing, a 1600 MHz front side bus and 800 MHz memory, the new Mac Pro uses the fastest Intel Xeon architecture on the market.”

The new Mac Pro features the latest Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5400 series processors based on state-of-the-art 45nm Intel Core microarchitecture running up to 3.2 GHz, each with 12MB of L2 cache per processor for breakthrough performance and power efficiency. With a new high-bandwidth hardware architecture, dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses and up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC FB-DIMM memory, the new Mac Pro achieves a 61 percent increase in memory throughput**.

Every Mac Pro comes standard with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256MB of video memory. The Mac Pro includes a new PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers up to double the bandwidth compared to the previous generation, and supports the latest generation of graphics cards from NVIDIA, such as the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of video memory and a 3-D stereo port for stereo-in-a-window applications. With support for up to four graphics cards, the new Mac Pro can drive up to eight 30-inch displays at once for advanced visualization and large display walls.

The Mac Pro is the most expandable Mac ever, featuring four internal hard drive bays with direct-attach, cable-free installation of four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives, totaling 4TB of internal storage and support for two SuperDrives. With optional 15000 rpm SAS drives that can deliver up to 250MB/s of RAID 5 disk I/O performance, the Mac Pro is ideal for film and video editors. Combined with SATA or SAS drives, using an optional Mac Pro RAID card offers the ultimate data protection and disk I/O performance on the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is easily and conveniently accessible in front and back so users can connect external devices with five USB 2.0, two FireWire® 400, two FireWire 800, optical and analog audio in and out, dual Gigabit Ethernet ports and a headphone jack.

Every Mac Pro includes Leopard™, the sixth major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. Leopard is packed with more than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine™, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac. Featuring an improved scheduler and other multi-core technology, Leopard is a perfect companion to the Mac Pro, making applications faster and helping application developers take advantage of multi-core systems.

The new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard now ships with every Mac Pro and built-in Bluetooth 2.0 makes it easy to reduce cable clutter with the optional Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse.

Pricing & Availability
The new Mac Pro is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The standard 8-core Mac Pro, with a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:

* two 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors with dual-independent 1600 MHz front side buses;
* 2GB of 800 MHz DDR2 ECC fully-buffered DIMM memory, expandable up to 32GB;
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory;
* 320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
* 16x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
* two PCI Express 2.0 slots and two PCI Express slots;
* Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; and
* ships with Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.

In addition to the standard configuration, the Mac Pro offers numerous build-to-order options including: one 2.8 GHz, two 3.0 GHz, or two 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors; up to 32GB of 800 MHz DDR2 fully-buffered ECC memory; up to four 1TB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm or up to four 300GB SAS drives running at 15000 rpm; Mac Pro RAID card; up to two 16x SuperDrives with double-layer support; NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards; AirPort Extreme 802.11n; Apple USB Modem; Apple wireless Aluminum Keyboard; Apple wireless Mighty Mouse; and Mac OS X Server Leopard. Complete build-to-order options and pricing are available at www.apple.com/macpro.

*Based on estimated results comparing a preproduction 2.8 GHz 8-core Mac Pro with a 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Mac Pro running professional applications like Maya, modo and Logic® Pro.

**Testing conducted by Apple in December 2007 using a preproduction 2.8 GHz 8-core Mac Pro with a 2.66 GHz quad-core Mac Pro. All systems were configured with 4GB of RAM. Results are based on the STREAM v. 5.6 benchmark (www.cs.virginia.edu/stream/ref.html) using OMP support for multiprocessor-compiled builds. All systems were configured with 8GB of RAM. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac Pro.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

[RAMPCHECK]

There most likely will not be a portable with a Blu-Ray drive before the Macpro.

The Macpro is marketed to the video gurus.
NAB would be the place to release something like this, not MacWorld.

[FilmmakingFiasco]

Originally Posted by monkeytap

<>The January 16th gathering, which follows a day after Apple chief Steve Jobs' Macworld keynote, will feature "something super secret" from the Mac maker, according to the announcement.

I thought the cat was already out of the bag on this one and it was going to be full support of the Red Camera and it's 4k resolution through compression or something?

[RAMPCHECK]

I don't know anything about a camera but the more I look that the specs on the macpro the more I like it

[monkeytap]

Originally Posted by RAMPCHECK

Yeah, I saw that post. I'm pretty well informed for all things Apple and I don't forsee anything happening at MacWorld.

daaaang. the question is: how informed are you, I would like to consider myself fairly informed for all things apple, but they are also fairly secretive (understatement)

Originally Posted by FilmmakingFiasco

I thought the cat was already out of the bag on this one and it was going to be full support of the Red Camera and it's 4k resolution through compression or something?

yeah, that makes as much sense as blu ray, damn you.

although....... what better combination than both?

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by FilmmakingFiasco

I thought the cat was already out of the bag on this one and it was going to be full support of the Red Camera and it's 4k resolution through compression or something?

RED support was officially introduced months ago (I was at a Apple Show this summer where they showed it).

[mykevermin]

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Their new high-end tower is available for purchase online, and even though it offers all sorts of expensive additions (such as the option to have *two* 16X SuperDrives), noticeably absent is the option for the inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive.

Given that this is Apple's high-end computer, this does not look favorable for an imminent announcement that Apples will begin including BD drives in them. At least, not for the near future.

[Robmx]

Originally Posted by mykevermin

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Their new high-end tower is available for purchase online, and even though it offers all sorts of expensive additions (such as the option to have *two* 16X SuperDrives), noticeably absent is the option for the inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive.

Given that this is Apple's high-end computer, this does not look favorable for an imminent announcement that Apples will begin including BD drives in them. At least, not for the near future.

It will be a option as of summer at the latest, this has been discussed over and over ! Trade show in Feb it should be announced !

[BryanHyde]

wait til macworld....bluray is a big add on that im sure they would like to announce at macworld, especially due to the massive hype and press/promotion itll benefit from the keynote.

[Dalese]

Originally Posted by mykevermin

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

Their new high-end tower is available for purchase online, and even though it offers all sorts of expensive additions (such as the option to have *two* 16X SuperDrives), noticeably absent is the option for the inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive.

Given that this is Apple's high-end computer, this does not look favorable for an imminent announcement that Apples will begin including BD drives in them. At least, not for the near future.

I'm not familiar with Macs and their marketing but isn't there a big Apple Trade Show coming up? Might any new Blu-ray-based products be introduced then?

[mykevermin]

Originally Posted by Dalese

I'm not familiar with Macs and their marketing but isn't there a big Apple Trade Show coming up? Might any new Blu-ray-based products be introduced then?

You could say the same thing about introducing a new tower configuration. They're consistent in that they tend to break stuff at the coming expo (at least, around this time of year), while inconsistent about whether it happens prior or during.

I don't think that they would allow consumers to configure and purchase their new tower, and a week later (after purchases have been made and shipped, as they are currently ready to go in 1-2 business days) announce that they're adding a BD player (excluding early adopters of a whopping week from that purchase). They screwed the pooch with their planned iPhone price drop, and they'd do even more damage to the goodwill people have for them by announcing a BD option a week after they start shipping new towers.

It would be nice if they included BD sooner than later; but let's try to be realistic.

EDIT: I'm not sure what y'all mean by "Trade Show," but the Macworld expo starts next Monday. That's the annual "big one." They would never announce a new tower without BD option, only to add it in 6 days.

[JadedRaverLA]

Hmmm... that is odd. A couple of things, though:

They are using the new "Harpertown" Xeons which have support for the SSE4 instruction set (great for media playback)
The graphics card options support the latest iterations of Nvidia and ATI's media decoders (also, great for media playback)

These systems are practically "screaming" for a Blu-ray option. I am starting to question what the hold-up is. I wonder if they're running into the same problems as Cyberlink with BD+ and other compatibility issues.

FWIW, I still think we'll see some BD options from Apple soon -- possibly as an add-on option (external or otherwise).

[BluStar88]

FYI it is availble through fast mac upgrades. www.fastmac.com

also bill hunt at the digital bits says its comming. www.thedigitalbits.com

[gavomatic57]

If a mac came with a blu-ray drive, customers will expect to be able to play blu-ray movies....

If the HDCP flag has been turned on, OSX can't handle it. You'll end up watching an expensive standard def movie on an over-priced computer. Only Vista (at the moment) can handle a protected video path.

[CptGreedle]

Originally Posted by gavomatic57

If a mac came with a blu-ray drive, customers will expect to be able to play blu-ray movies....

If the HDCP flag has been turned on, OSX can't handle it. You'll end up watching an expensive standard def movie on an over-priced computer. Only Vista (at the moment) can handle a protected video path.

umm.. I don't know where you get your info, but I highly doubt that MAC OS will not allow someone to play a BD. Perhaps an upgrade is all that is needed, and those are given out all the time, or perhaps there is a lack of support in software, which will also come.
If Apple were to announce a BD drive, it WOULD be able to play movies, they would NOT short change users like that.

[bilbravo]

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

umm.. I don't know where you get your info, but I highly doubt that MAC OS will not allow someone to play a BD. Perhaps an upgrade is all that is needed, and those are given out all the time, or perhaps there is a lack of support in software, which will also come.
If Apple were to announce a BD drive, it WOULD be able to play movies, they would NOT short change users like that.

I think that right now the Mac OS does not have the required HDCP/DRM requirements. Vista is obviously DRMed up, so it will work (and does). I don't think this guy is saying the Mac can't play them, just that it wouldn't play full resolution until that HDCP compliance is met. And as you said, that can probably be done with an update.