Questioned about Blu-Ray coming to Apple Macs at today’s new MacBook and MacBook Pro unveiling, Steve Jobs steered clear of the usual denial, simply stating that Apple is waiting for the right time to include Blu-Ray in its line-up.
The problem, according to Jobs, is the red tape tying up Blu-Ray’s licencing.
Describing Blu-Ray as “a bag of hurt” Jobs said “It’s great to watch movies, but licensing is so complex, we’re waiting until things settle down and Blu-Ray takes off.”
Of course, it’s no secret Apple is on the Board of Directors at the Blu-Ray Disc Association. At the time of its appointment, Jobs even said: “Consumers are already creating stunning HD content with Apple’s leading video editing applications… and are anxiously awaiting a way to burn their own high def DVDs.”
Anxious as Steve’s customers may be, he’s not willing to wade into a sea of complex licensing agreements to please them any time soon.
However, today’s announcements make it clear that new Macs are all set to work with Blu-Ray. At the MacBook and MacBook Pro launch today, Steve gave clarification that all Macs will come packing a DisplayPort connector, giving hope to those with Apple-flavoured HD dreams.
See, Blu-Ray’s mandatory copy protection system is based on HDCP, or high-bandwidth digital content protection, signals. They can only be passed over certain cables and connectors, including HDMI and DisplayPort. Without them, there’s no way to watch Blu-Ray material on external screens.
It seems Steve’s edging closer and closer to Blu-Ray, but since implementing HDCP also carries its own set of licences, we’re not expecting Blu-Ray on our Macs any time soon.
TBC | £TBC | Apple
