So, how would a Mac user create an HD MP4 with AC3 audio that will playback properly in a PS3?

I've wondered this as well. You can use the compressor Apple TV setting and it creates a 960Xsomething .m4v file. You can change the extension to .mp4 and it works great on the PS3. Problem is, while it looks real nice, it ain't HD.

As for Apple and Blu-Ray. As a long committed Apple user, I think Apple IS holding back because it will hurt iTunes HD downloads. I don't really care though because I don't have a use for Blu-Ray right now. The discs are ridiculously expensive with extremely slow burn times.

I agree, I also think Blu-Ray is going nowhere on the consumer side. There's nothing wrong with it, it's technically great BUT, traditionally, consumers switch formats because the new technology is more convenient, not because the technology is technically superior. I don't understand why a large part of the industry is constantly forgetting this - Sony most of all - it's like they believe their own sales & marketing hype. The ma$$ market could care less about "hi-resolution" they just don't want to jump through hoops to get their music and movies.

For example, I'd argue that the following format changes were accepted by consumers because they gave consumers a more convenient way to listen to and store their music.

LPs to Audio cassette
(easier to store, more portable, even more important to the mass market than "better audio quality" or random access to the music)

Audio cassette to CDs
(even easier to store, and much more portable, and I get my random access back again, oh and the nice salesman says it's better audio quality, he's so nice)

CDs to iPods
(extremely easy to store, extremely portable - and it really nails the point, people want convenience over technical quality. They are willing to downgrade their music from 16-bit 44khz to .mp3 because it's just much more convenient - they don't have to jump through hoops to listen to their music.

If you look at almost all mass accepted consumer formats, it's the same story over, and over, and over, and over again.

Betamax to VHS (hey great I can record longer!)
VHS to DVD (takes up less shelf space, quick start/stop, random access)
DVD to .... ??? Anything more convenient ??? (hint: not Blu-Ray)

And that's what I think is Blu-Ray's main problem, the only real selling point is higher resolution, but people don't switch because of better resolution, they switch, because the tech got out of the way, and watching the movie became more convenient.

And all this from someone's who is currently collecting Blu-Ray discs for his collection!

Wow, I'm in the exact opposite boat. My clients keep requesting BluRay since I switched to shooting HD. I've delivered a COUPLE of HD-DVD ISO on DVD disks authored in DVDSP to the handful of my clients that have HD-DVD players and they are thrilled. LOTS of interest in my market. Mind you, lots of people around here have large screen HD TVs as well. The winter here is 5 months long, we spend a LOT of time indoor in front of the TV from December to March or April.

Name any other medium that can store one hour of 1920x1080p video in a playable format for less.

ANY...


And if you can't, tell me the gap between 1 hour on BluRay, and 1 hour on the next closest format.

Soooo.... Why are people buying flat-panel TVs? They aren't any more convenient. They have been costing a boatload more than tube TVs. Really, their main claim to fame is that they offer higher resolution. Is it perhaps because the manufacturers essentially stopped shipping CRT based units?

So what happens when all the new movie releases shift toward BluRay? Much like what happened when we used to go to the store to rent movies, and the new releases were only on DVD...

tape me thinks

Since when is expense a concern of Apple? This is the company that was charging $400 for a gig of RAM not so very long ago. Add it as a BTO option for the MBP and roll the licensing fee into the cost of the drive. When a laptop has an entry level price of $2k, I don't think cost is a major factor for the consumer.

Without a HD feed (which most people, here at least despite owning 'HD ready' sets don't have) the resolution isn't a good as the CRT sets...they look pretty on the wall and take up a lot less space/real estate in your living room. :)

True.

I've noticed that today with corporations and Politics there's no fear in dishonesty. PC manufacturers have Blu-ray playback devices in laptops that are in the Macbook range. The difference is HP, Acer and others aren't trying to sell you HD rentals online.

Apple's never been a richer company yet they still deliver hobbled hardware and overpriced accessories (which they aren't alone to be honest).

They aren't supporting Blu-ray as of yet because of "profit" not "cost"

Well it remains to be seen if the studios start shipping movies on Blu-ray first and then DVD. I don't think it's going to happen in this economic climate.

I'm willing to bet that this is going to be the worst Christmas from a sales standpoint than we've seen in over a decade. I know i'm going very light and no one I know is looking forward to the Christmas rush.

At 26 bucks a Blu-ray movie in stores compared to 10 bucks for a DVD I doubt that Blu-ray makes a splash. Even if consumers get $200 players (which is 4x the amount they want to pay for a DVD player) they still realize the movies are twice as much.

Well I'd argue that flat panels TVs are more convenient for the house. The mass market consumer is thinking you get a bigger screen but it takes up less room - you actually get space back even though the screen is bigger. Heck I can even hang it on the wall like a painting, how convenient is that. Plus the smaller flat panel TVs are much easier to move around than a similarly sized CRT, many people who would have a hard time bringing a small CRT home would probably will find a small flat panel relatively easy.

Consider this, what do the majority of people who buy flat panels hook it up to? A hi-def source? No way, they hook it up to a DVD player, cable TV, or as my neighbor has done hooked it up in the kitchen with an antenna. Even though the required video scaling always looks worse than if they'd stuck with a CRT TV. But convenience is a big factor, and the low profile of flat panels is very convenient and probably the biggest selling point.

Same goes for buyers of computer LCD monitors vs. CRT - it's just more convenient, you get all that desk space back.

Well, I don't see this argument. Majority of people don't buy movies, they rent them. Disk as a medium is still going to be on the market for a while. Also a lot of places (rural areas) still have limited access to high speed internet, so the whole issue of streaming content is still far far away. I am sure companies from China will start flooding the market with cheap blue-ray machines soon. After all the price is almost half what it used to be a year ago. I just purchased blue-ray player, even though I am a cheep bastard. Personally I think Apple is making a huge mistake on this one.

Money talks. Those companies won't abandon DVD, it's a huge well established market, and their main bread and butter. Don't get me wrong, Blu-Ray will penetrate the market place, but I think more like a modern day Laser Disc than the gigantic behemoth that is DVDs. Something will eventually replace DVDs, but based on past consumer format changes, I really don't think it will be Blu-Ray.

I think the next consumer delivery format that replaces DVDs will have this one thing going for it - it will have less barriers between the consumer and their movies.

At no time, did laserdisc EVER have the Hollywood support that BluRay is currently enjoying in it's infancy. I am not saying that the adoption of BluRay as a replacement to DVD will be forthcoming in the near future. But I do think it will happen.

Again, I give it 18 months, before we start to see a significant shift. I suspect that by this time next year, BluRay will be seeing earlier releases than DVD. Studios do not want to support two expensive formats. I think if the economy wasn't in the tank, the adoption would be quicker.

But hey, I could be wrong. I have been before. Regardless, I think Apple has made a significant error in judgement by not supporting BluRay at this point, and I do think it will come back to bite them. In fact, if this forum is any indication, it already is.