New Apple notebooks due out later today. For sure the Pro, and maybe the regular MacBook too. I really need to upgrade, although my super old 867 Mhz Titanium PowerBook continues to work flawlessly despite the incredible amount of use it has seen. Just an amazing product. But software continues to require more and more power, and this means it has gotten - relatively - slower and slower over time.

One interesting note on the new machines - Displayport connectors. You out there Mark? Any advantages here?
- jim 10-14-2008 9:59 am

displayport is a more generalized interface {packet based} which seems like a good way to go -- for the future. but hdmi is THE interface right now. if they have an hdmi mode on the displayport interface, it's win-win.
- mark 10-16-2008 4:54 pm


They have adapters for VGA, DVI, and Dual-link DVI. HDMI is just like DVI-D, except it has a different connector, and it carries *audio*. I'm puzzled. To plug into your average TV, you need HDMI. One could go displayport (in backward compatible mode) to DVI to HDMI with no loss to the video, but the audio is discarded at the DVI connector, requiring the mini-stereo phone jack to dual RCA route. Unless I'm missing something, this is a very odd ommission from a multi-media savvy company.

(BTW, DVI is a late 20th century protocol.)
- mark 10-16-2008 5:46 pm


Plus the connector is "Mini" DisplayPort, and people seem unsure if this is a proprietary connector (much smaller than DisplayPort from just looking at it.) Opinions are mixed, but at least some people claim that it will be technically possible for them to make a mini displayport to HDMI cable that will carry audio. What the price will be I'd rather not guess. Hopefully they will at least make it though. And as of right now, there is no mini displayport to displayport cable! So you can't even hook it up to a display with a regular displayport connection!!!

I really don't like all this. On the other hand I don't hook my computer up to external displays that much, so for me personally it's not that big of a deal. Still seems like a bad choice on Apple's part though.
- jim 10-16-2008 6:19 pm


I've never seen DisplayPort on "television" monitors, only "computer" monitors. They sometimes look very similar and can be used interchangeably to a degree. But they're different. So for video geeks, the DisplayPort choice is unfortunate. DVI is antiquated, but at least cables/adapters are readily available.

If they do allow a backward compatibility mode to HDMI, and do provide adapters, I'd be tempted to upgrade -- if the CPU is able to decode my camcorder videos at full frame rate.
- mark 10-17-2008 8:03 am


Looks like CPU power is about the same, but graphics have significantly improved. But I'm guessing that won't help your video decode. Possibly the faster front side bus the basically similar CPU is sitting on could help a bit. Do you have the glossy or matte screen now? Only glossy available on this model which I think is a bummer but I see why they did it.
- jim 10-17-2008 6:13 pm


From the Ars forums:

I just got back from checking out the new MBPs at an Apple store. One of the tests that I did on it was how well it could handle this video in 1080p. (There are points throughout the video where the bitrate jumps to > 40MBit/s.) I found that when playing the video only 30-40% of the CPU was being used without skipping a single frame. On the same video the 17 incher next to it was using > 70% the whole way through.

I had a look at the /System/Library/Extensions folder, and all the GeForce Drivers appeared to have been updated (Date Modified said 20/9/2008). Is it possible that in the next update to OS X we'll see this feature brought to other Apple computers that are capable of it?

- jim 10-17-2008 6:26 pm


Finally pulled the trigger and bought the low end MacBook Pro. Really sweet machine.
- jim 10-21-2008 9:13 pm


I just looked back on the blog and it was 11/14/2003 when I bought my old powerbook, so almost 5 years exactly. I can only hope this one can last that long (or that I'm in a position not to have to wait as long!) I almost went down to the MacBook this time, but then I was thinking how long the last Pro model lasted me and I just went for it. Not sure it really makes sense for me though as the regular MacBook is pretty sweet too.
- jim 10-21-2008 9:18 pm


Good job! May speed be at your fingertips!
- b. 10-21-2008 9:26 pm


It's just ridiculous how much faster (d'uh) this is than my old computer. My mind is blown.
- jim 10-21-2008 10:25 pm


i love a blown mind!!
mine is now 4 years old, linda must be at 6-8
but we use them a limited devices
- Skinny 10-22-2008 3:17 pm


Glad to hear they've engaged the graphics chips in the video decode. It's the right way to do it. Encode acceleration is the next step.
- mark 10-23-2008 8:19 am





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