Finally, Apple's DVD Player (http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/features/dvdplayer.html) is showing some actual solid signs of evolution. Although I've seen mock-ups before today's presentation, the screen captures on Apple's site look good.

LOVE, love, love that we finally get a decent fullscreen controller - including a scrub bar. And the chapter navigation using thumbnails is a slick touch. I'm not often wanting for Zoom, but know there are plenty of folks who will like that feature being addressed.

Looking forward to October's release! :D

We'll see. Unfortunately, "looks good" without "plays good" will still equal "no good."

We'll see. Unfortunately, "looks good" without "plays good" will still equal "no good."
Amen brother!

We'll see. Unfortunately, "looks good" without "plays good" will still equal "no good."

point good.. :)

ken

Needs more "under hood"

I'll take ANY improvement over the current stagnant app...and I'm surprised that growth in the product isn't openly embraced.

If VLC could be swapped as the DVD player in FR, I wouldn't have even posted (let alone be excited) about the Leopard upgrade. But it's not like we have a lot of DVD playback options under Mac's OS.

I guess I'm just the type to get excited as opposed to suspicious...we can assume it won't be any worse than what we have available to us today. ;)

I'll take ANY improvement over the current stagnant app...and I'm surprised that growth in the product isn't openly embraced.

If VLC could be swapped as the DVD player in FR, I wouldn't have even posted (let alone be excited) about the Leopard upgrade. But it's not like we have a lot of DVD playback options under Mac's OS.

I guess I'm just the type to get excited as opposed to suspicious...we can assume it won't be any worse than what we have available to us today. ;)Sorry--we don't mean to rain on your optimism. many of us have become very cynical about DVD Player development over the years. It's just that DVD Player has been the focus of much criticism about Apple's htpc strategy. Of course any improvement will help it. But that probably won't be enough until some major deficiencies are remedied for many of us to try using it again. But it will get a fair shake as soon as it can be tested out, that's for sure.

In this high-definition age, it seems to be a little too late. Now if it also played HD DVDs or hi-def movie files, I'd be more prone to embrace it.

In this high-definition age, it seems to be a little too late. Now if it also played HD DVDs or hi-def movie files, I'd be more prone to embrace it.

For watching movies on the go, DVD is "good enough." But can we please get some Dolby Headphone action going on this thing? It can't be that hard!

As for HD DVD, Apple would probably prefer to sell you an HD movie through iTunes, just like M$ with Xbox Live.

As for HD DVD, Apple would probably prefer to sell you an HD movie through iTunes, just like M$ with Xbox Live.

Whatever it takes to get Apple to actually use the phrase "HD" in a concrete statement...I'm still amazed they pulled off launching Apple TV without any real attention to Hi-Def content. :mad:

Whatever it takes to get Apple to actually use the phrase "HD" in a concrete statement...I'm still amazed they pulled off launching Apple TV without any real attention to Hi-Def content. :mad:

You'd think they'd at least match DVD resolution.... :rolleyes:

Whatever it takes to get Apple to actually use the phrase "HD" in a concrete statement...I'm still amazed they pulled off launching Apple TV without any real attention to Hi-Def content. :mad:

yeah im quite surprised they didnt announce something at wwdc.... i really didnt think they would let ms have that crown still.

yeah im quite surprised they didnt announce something at wwdc.... i really didnt think they would let ms have that crown still.
This was a developers conference, not a new-product announcement. I think the next product announcement is due in the fall. Personally, I hope that there will soon be one format for high definition, not two competing formats -- it would make me more interested in the medium.

Well, EndgagetHD (http://www.engadgethd.comwww.engadgethd.com/2007/06/12/leopard-to-support-hd-dvd-and-blu-ray/) notes someone from MacRumors saw something interesting during the WWDC keynote:

Someone at MacRumors has discovered that the new DVD Movie Player.app in Leopard now includes preferences for both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Sure, Tiger included a preference pane for "HD" (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/03/03/apples-dvd-player-hd-ready/), but this was for discs with H.264 encoded HD video created in Apple's DVD Studio Pro -- or the like.

So, will we be complaining about the 'Movie Player' as EndgagetHD notes. Just wish the DVDO (http://www.anchorbaytech.com/company/) guys--former Apple employees[/url] could make their own app.

Great news guys, this from a friend attending WWDC:
Supposedly, the de interlacing has been much improved using the much discussed Acccelerate framework, which is an abstraction layer on top of the chip specific advanced instruction set.

The Internet is such a wonderful place.
First I read about the Leopard DVD player on AVS, linked to MacRumors. Then I post it on EHD, then my post gets posted at AVS in another section. Ha!

I just wish we had some screen shots or more details about either Blu-ray or HD DVD support.

I just wish we had some screen shots or more details about either Blu-ray or HD DVD support.
My friend (so far) has no info on HD/BD support, just the de-interlacing improvements.

But he'll be in NYC tomorrow, so I'll have a chance to look at his Leopard preview, I'll look for this alleged "MoviePlayer".

Upscaling/Upconverting standard DVDs to HD 1080p quality (like the PS3 with newest firmware rev)?

Upscaling/Upconverting standard DVDs to HD 1080p quality (like the PS3 with newest firmware rev)?
The existing Apple DVD Player in Tiger does it -- it is just a question of quality. IMO it is not as good as a Denon 2910 (upscaling DVD Player) for NTSC film based material, although it is more than decent, and will allow you to zoom non-anamorphic material incrementally, which the Denon does not. For PAL material the Apple DVD Player blows the Denon out of the water. The testing was done with a 1080P Samsung LCD connected via DVI/HDMI at 1080P.

I'm not holding my breath for HD DVD or Blu-ray playback anytime soon: format war, etc.. If they went combo drive (no, not that combo drive :rolleyes: ), are there even any slot-loading HD/Blu Super-Multi-Whatever-the-f*ck drives on the drawing boards just yet?

Maybe thow an Xbox add-on HD drive on there? How messed up would that be? :p

Isn't Apple a part of one group or the other?

Isn't Apple a part of one group or the other?

Ostensibly, Blu-ray (Disney, etc.), but there seems to be upcoming software support for both. I think there may already be HD DVD support in Studio.

I'm pretty sure Apple is a member of both standards groups. Disney supports Blu-ray and Jobs is on Disney's board, but I seriously doubt that will have any bearing on Apple's choice. I am betting they will support both formats.

And even if they don't provide the drive(s), software is more important -- one can always hook up an external Firewire drive.

Apple is on the board of the Blu-ray Disc association, but is also a member of the DVD forum -- which isn't saying much considering so is Sony, Pioneer etc.

Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if they support both, if for no other reasons than for professionals who want to author both types of discs.

The existing Apple DVD Player in Tiger does it -- it is just a question of quality. IMO it is not as good as a Denon 2910 (upscaling DVD Player) for NTSC film based material, although it is more than decent, and will allow you to zoom non-anamorphic material incrementally, which the Denon does not. For PAL material the Apple DVD Player blows the Denon out of the water. The testing was done with a 1080P Samsung LCD connected via DVI/HDMI at 1080P.

just read this and very interested.

being in the uk all our dvds are pal. i'd always read these forums low view of the upscaling capabilities of macs - when compared to midrange standalone dvd players....

so pal dvds are not too bad eh..? why is that....? osx htpc could be back ON!!!

More info on de-interlacing in the Leopard DVD Player: there is a menu item for de-interlacing allowing the user to choose between three different levels of de-interlacing quality.

Zoom also offers several new automated settings, in addition to the existing sliders.

At this point, I would be shocked if the improvements are just cosmetic -- I suspect there has been major functionality and hopefully quality enhancements.

I've heard reports that Leopard's DVD Player will play from VIDEO_TS folders.

Tiger's DVD Player.app plays VIDEO_TS folders.

Tiger's DVD Player.app plays VIDEO_TS folders.
Every Apple DVD player (long before Tiger) that I remember has played VIDEO_TS folders. There is nothing recent about that capability.

Macs are used for DVD Authoring -- you need to be able to test before you burn.

Ok, to be a bit more specific about what I read elsewhere, DVD Player has a note in the "What's New In DVD Player" help file that says: "You can play any media whose VIDEO_TS folder is placed inside a folder that has the “.dvdmedia” extension."

Ok, to be a bit more specific about what I read elsewhere, DVD Player has a note in the "What's New In DVD Player" help file that says: "You can play any media whose VIDEO_TS folder is placed inside a folder that has the “.dvdmedia” extension."
wildrock,

What exactly does that mean?

I'm hoping that it means that I can create a package that includes a VIDEO_TS folder and tag it with a .dvdmedia extension, and then I can double click it and it'll load the movie right into DVD Player.

Right now, it's a hassle to drill down to the VIDEO_TS folder and drag it to the DVD Player dock icon.

ft

Ok, to be a bit more specific about what I read elsewhere, DVD Player has a note in the "What's New In DVD Player" help file that says: "You can play any media whose VIDEO_TS folder is placed inside a folder that has the “.dvdmedia” extension."
From there it would be one more small step for .dvdmedia to play under Front Row.

I guess we'll have to wait until someone tries it out. Until then, it sounds like it is another one of those cryptic Apple "features" that we'll get wind of closer to Leopard's release.

some additional rumor/reports on Leopard DVD Player from Apple Insider:
Note - this NOT a news site...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/06/26/apple_places_full_screen_qt_zfs_more_hidden_features_in_leop ard.html

"
The most apparent upgrades involve media playback tools, the sources say. A new version of QuickTime included with Leopard will reportedly allow full-screen mode without a QuickTime Pro key, echoing the feature added months before to iTunes. DVD Player will also see a major update with an HD options pane for Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs as well as the opportunity to add DVD cover art and change movie region support on the fly.
"

ken

Region free? Or just a faster way to use up your 5 "trials"? Good stuff there. Let's hope that it really is region free!

I don't see how they could make it region free, unless Apple has managed to sign a new agreement with the DVD Consortium (or whatever the exact name of the governing body was). Anything is possible, but...

I don't see how they could make it region free, unless Apple has managed to sign a new agreement with the DVD Consortium (or whatever the exact name of the governing body was). Anything is possible, but...

Well with the advent of Blu-ray and HD-DVD the region encoding scheme is become quite watered down. HD-DVD has none, while Blu-ray is down to 3 regions, with many discs not restricted at all. So I can imagine that Apple did indeed bargain this into OS X. :cool:

Big news! I can confirm renaming a folder with .dvdimage does work on leopard with new DVD Player.

For example

ET.dvdimage
Under that the VIDEO_TS folder resides

In addition, when you go play VIDEO_TS folder a second time on new Front Row, you get three menu choices, Resume Play, Start from beginning and DVD Menu.

This is fantastic news everyone!

On a side note, the new Front Row displays ET.dvimage as the name of the movie when you place VIDEO_TS file name or alias. Also, there is no way that I can figure out how to display cover art. I have jpg file under VIDEO_TS file at this time. I am sure someone will figure this piece out eventually.

Definitely a big step though!

This sounds very exciting Vertigo!

So, just to confirm. In order to play video TS files from the new Front Row, all we need to do is rename the folder that it resides in?

How would you rename each folder (can you give an example?)?

If this is the case, I'm hoping this will affect aTV as well? Is that the case?

This could be huge for me.

Thanks for the update.

In order to play video TS files from the new Front Row, all we need to do is rename the folder that it resides in?
...
If this is the case, I'm hoping this will affect aTV as well? Is that the case?
Not unless Apple starts offering MPEG2 support in aTV. But with the new VIDEO_TS support in Front Row, such as step is not impossible to imagine. Certainly the CPU/GPU on aTV should have the horse power to play VIDEO_TS.

A while back I posted that Apple was withholding certain type of functionality (like VIDEO_TS support) to butter up the studios to let iTunes have movies, but since the carrot isn't working, Apple is going to the stick -- making rips play seamlessly, and telling the studios in effect "if you don't give us the content, we'll make sure our users can get it elsewhere (like Netflix) and you don't see a penny when they rip."

On a side note, the new Front Row displays ET.dvimage as the name of the movie when you place VIDEO_TS file name or alias. Also, there is no way that I can figure out how to display cover art. I have jpg file under VIDEO_TS file at this time. I am sure someone will figure this piece out eventually.

Definitely a big step though!

You don't need to append ".dvimage" to the folder for it to work in Front Row 2.0. A folder simply called "ET" with a VIDEO_TS folder inside is sufficient.

Cool. Yes, all you have to do is put Alias or Movie folder under /Movies folder and Front Row will play it back. No need to rename the folder with .dvdimage at the end of the name.

Also, I forgot to mention that DVD picture quality is fantastic. A big breakthrough. It is very good.

Under Deinterlace you have many choices as well:

Optimal Quality
Good Quality
Better Quality

I am personally hoping that someone will be able to take DVD appliance from Front Row and make it work on AppleTV. This would be great for those of us that are running AppleTV on our Intel Macs. I run it on my mini with ATVFiles plugin and DVD Assist.

The reason I prefer AppleTV to Front Row on my Mini is that I can sync with my Main Mac. Front Row cannot do that. You need to have Pictures, Movies and Music on the computer you are running it on with iPhoto and iTunes installed.

Vertigo,

Do me a favor...

Option-Click (right click) on the new Front Row app and select "Show package contents" and drill down into the Contents folder and let me know if you see any signs of a 'Plugins' folder.

This would be HUGE news if you see one... and for kicks, if you do have one what files are contained within that plugins folder?

Dave

Here are the plugins:

DVD.frappliance
Movies.frappliance
Music.frappliance
Photos.frappliance
Podcasts.frappliance
TV.frappliance

I tried copying the DVD.frappliance to AppleTV and AppleTV does not show it. I believe someone at insanely mac forums mentioned the plist files are different on Front Row than they are in AppleTV.

Contents of Info.plist on Front Row

key>CFBundleDevelopmentRegion</key>
<string>English</string>
<key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
<string>DVD</string>
<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.frontrow.appliance.dvd</string>
<key>CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion</key>
<string>6.0</string>
<key>CFBundlePackageType</key>
<string>BNDL</string>
<key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
<string>2.0</string>
<key>CFBundleSignature</key>
<string>fnrw</string>
<key>CFBundleVersion</key>
<string>2.0</string>
<key>FRApplianceDataSourceType</key>
<string>Local</string>
<key>FRApplianceIconHorizontalOffset</key>
<real>0.046899999999999997</real>
<key>FRApplianceIconKerningFactor</key>
<real>0.10000000000000001</real>
<key>FRApplianceIconReflectionOffset</key>
<real>-0.125</real>
<key>FRAppliancePreferedOrderValue</key>
<real>-1</real>
<key>NSPrincipalClass</key>
<string>RUIDVDAppliance</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Does apple dvd allow you to bookmark the start of a movie after the menu with a full dvd rip to a hard drive? If so, are those bookmarks machine specific? Theatertek limits you to making each new bookmark on each machine. It is windows limitation I think.

Look, I'm a pc guy- but if the below is true, man I love apple- I will convert!!!

Microsoft products have everyone running around trying to find hacks and work arounds to the most basic problems!

Not unless Apple starts offering MPEG2 support in aTV. But with the new VIDEO_TS support in Front Row, such as step is not impossible to imagine. Certainly the CPU/GPU on aTV should have the horse power to play VIDEO_TS.

A while back I posted that Apple was withholding certain type of functionality (like VIDEO_TS support) to butter up the studios to let iTunes have movies, but since the carrot isn't working, Apple is going to the stick -- making rips play seamlessly, and telling the studios in effect "if you don't give us the content, we'll make sure our users can get it elsewhere (like Netflix) and you don't see a penny when they rip."

Here are the plugins

Nice, so they are instituting the same 'style' of plug-in support as the AppleTV has. Even if the plugins aren't swapable (yet) its likely that they are developed in a very similar manner...

Good News!

Dave

I wonder what the CenterStage, MediaCenter, and Matinee devs are going to do now...the (lack of) ability to integrate Video_TS into the FrontRow library was their biggest marketing point.

Is cover art possible in Leopard now on a Video_TS movie?