Why does Apple hate Blu-ray?

[John Jones]

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So the new Final Cut launches with a plethora of improvements and you can export a H.264 file ready for Blu-ray but you still have to use a third-party app to do anything with it. I don't get it. Why doesn't Apple add the native support in?

What's even more funny is it seems this is a subject Apple never seems to want to directly answer... at least not to me. *sigh*

[Ed Waldrup]

What I find odd or interesting about this is that you can purchase Adobe's Encore and Premiere which have been Blu-ray compatible for some time. Can't be licensing or copy protection because with Final Cut and DVD Studio Pro you are burning original content. You can purchase Blu-ray hardware from Apple competitors. Adobe does not make hardware. Apple hardware competitors have no web HD downloads as far as I know. You still can't play Blu-ray on a Mac as far as i know. It would seem natural that an optional Blu-ray burner could be available on the Mac Pro.

Are Blu-ray disc purchases and rentals a potential competitor for iTunes? Yes, I think so. I personally prefer a 70 inch Sony XBR to watch Bly-ray with a professional quality reference audio system. As an Apple TV owner I have refrained from purchasing any HD from iTunes. Maybe I am just a knucklehead.

It is somewhat odd that Apple has in the past positioned itself as the multimedia focal point and leader. The Blu-ray foot dragging is odd to me. I think that as Blu-ray becomes mainstream Apple will be forced kicking and screaming to go along if it impacts their competitive position or bottom line. One only has to go to the Frys in Plano to see the writing on the wall. Blu-ray is here to stay I think and as software prices come down the adoption rate will increase. Netflix is my answer to high prices for disks.
If you want to put a Blu-ray burner in your Mac Pro, Taylor and I have already done it and had success, at least I have. Toast 9 or 10 with the Blu-ray plug in will work nicely as a burner software.