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Apple and the imminent death of HD DVD

Time is running out for Toshiba and friends; the high definition format wars are almost over now officially over. HD DVD hasn't found the footing it needed to earn the support of retailers and studios alike, and it seems that Sony's champion, Blu-Ray, is going to win the day.

So what does that mean for Apple users? Several years ago, Apple latched onto Blu-Ray as a format, but aside from an MCE Blu-Ray drive, we still haven't seen HD media used in any of Apple's products. There have been plenty of rumors (aren't there always?), but whether it's because they want to sell HD content in iTunes or for some other reason, a Blu-Ray drive to replace the SuperDrive hasn't happened yet.

Which leaves us wondering: now that we've seemingly got a winner, will Apple step up with the Blu gear? Of course, the MacBook Air doesn't even have a drive, and we're sure Apple would love to have content distributed only through iTunes and Apple TV. But surely consumers still have a need for physical media -- will Apple now take advantage of its early-advocacy position on Blu-Ray and update the hardware?

Putting the Apple Store geniuses to the test

Challenging customer service folks in retail stores is pretty much shooting fish in a barrel-- sure, Apple claims to have a great retail environment, but if those Geniuses are getting paid as little as I was when I worked in retail, there's no real reason for them to know the difference between the Apple ][ and the Apple //e (that's what you have TUAW for).

Still, Laptop's writeup on their trip inside the Apple Store is pretty entertaining anyway. The Genius confirms what we all knew about the Macbook Air (it's a "supplemental computer, like, if you already have a desktop at home"), and messes up some specifics on HD-DVD and processor speed and size. My own Apple Store experience wasn't much better-- I had to explain what a KVM switch was (to switch between my Mac mini purchase and my gaming PC). But just like Laptop's experience, my person was helpful and quick, and what more can you really ask from a retail experience?

Long story short, do your research at home, and show up at the Apple Store (or the Best Buy, or the Circuit City, or wherever) only when you know what you really want to buy. The guys and girls with nametags on at the store know a lot about how to sell stuff, but they just don't get paid enough to make your choices for you.

Blu-ray Arrives for the Mac, Where's HD-DVD

As you probably know there's a format war going on right now to be the high-definition successor to DVD between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Like many computer makers, Apple has thrown their lot in with Blu-ray, primarily because of its higher disc capacity (at least in each format's initial form), but has yet to ship a Mac with a Blu-ray drive. Fortunately, MCE is now offering an internal EIDE Blu-ray recordable drive for the Mac Pro or Power Mac G5 that supports both single-layer 25GB and dual-layer 50GB discs (as well as a variety of DVD and CD formats).

The future (well, unless HD-DVD wins) is yours today for only $699.00 and they even throw in a copy of Toast 8 Titanium so you can actually use the drive. Hopefully, a HD-DVD drive option will also be forthcoming, even if it's just for playing movies. It has been reported that the Mac can actually detect the XBox 360's USB external HD-DVD drive as a mere DVD drive, but no software yet exists to allow it to read HD-DVDs.

[Via Macworld]

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