Next Generation iPhone to Support HD Video and Apple TV-Like Behavior?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/04/20/next-generation-iphone-to-support-hd-video-and-apple-tv-like-behavior/)

A report from PhoneNews last week (http://www.phonenews.com/apple-consolidating-av-cables-ahead-of-iphone-hd-launch-7648/) claims that Apple may be planning on integrating High Definition playback in their future iPhones and iPod Touches.

The phone site believes that Apple's recent clearance of Apple Composite AV Cables and Apple Component AV Cables are to make way for a new consolidated cable that will ship ahead of the next generation iPhone. Apple will remedy this with a cable, which is known simply as the Apple AV Cable. The cable will function similar to the Xbox 360 Component AV Cable. The consolidated cable will support both component and composite output, allowing users to plug in to both HDTV and SDTV displays without the need for multiple cables.PhoneNews claims the reason for this consolidation will be the incorporation of HD display capabilities on the devices as well as HD video output (720p and 1080i).

What this could mean is that the iPhone or iPod Touch could act as a make-shift Apple TV. They envision plugging your iPhone into an Apple AV Dock connected to your HDTV. This would then be able to stream video over Wi-Fi from your computer's iTunes library. This added functionality would skip the time-consuming step of syncing HD videos to the device itself and replicate some of the behavior of the Apple TV.

We're not sure what to make of this report though the possibilities are intriguing. PhoneNews has not been a regular source of Apple rumors and their last try (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/17/notebook-event-rumor-wrapup-winners-and-losers/) wasn't accurate.

Article Link: Next Generation iPhone to Support HD Video and Apple TV-Like Behavior? (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/04/20/next-generation-iphone-to-support-hd-video-and-apple-tv-like-behavior/)

[talkingfuture]

Could be a neat solution that is a lot cheaper than Apple Tv for occasional use or showing stuff on a friends TV.

[Airforcekid]

If it could use boxee it would be a big win or stream hulu and youtube to your tv!

[tjcampbell]

Sold!

[bigandy]

That would quite obviously sit in the DO WANT category if true. :)

[xhambonex]

Theres some good news.

But this is what my xbox is used for.

[JAWWC]

Bye bye Apple TV for me if this happens.

[Airforcekid]

Bye bye Apple TV for me if this happens.
The apple tv will still have more memory it would kind of be annoying if you have friends over and a private text message appears on your 50 inch screen half way through the movie thats why apple tv still would have a chance.:apple:

[blizaine]

It would be nice to have "AppleTV" like ability on any TV in my house. I'd just buy a couple docks.

[dan-o-mac]

It's not HD Video but you can do this already with Telekinesis.

http://code.google.com/p/telekinesis/

[JAWWC]

The apple tv will still have more memory it would kind of be annoying if you have friends over and a private text message appears on your 50 inch screen half way through the movie thats why apple tv still would have a chance.:apple:

This is a good point, but you'd think Apple would make it so it pops up on just the phone and not the TV. It would be a bit more inconvenient, but for the money I could get for the Apple TV I think it would be worth it. Also I only use it for streaming, not syncing.

[steve10172]

Does it mean there will be different connection on the back of dock, or same 30 Pin connector with 7 Cable outputs (3 for Composite and 4 for Component)?

[DeSnousa]

Doesn't sound like Apple, they like simplified products and an iPhone media player is confusing, complicated and messy compared to the Apple TV. The iPhone will stick to basic video tasks on tv if you ask me.

However when I think about it, this would accelerate the iTunes Movie Store?

[dannyboi83]

For streaming this would be great, and the more use for the iphone, the better I say. Also the apple TV seems to be a bit of a waste of time when you have a mac in the house. especially with the HD movie downloads now on itunes too (just hope they come to the UK soon).

[tbealmear]

While this sounds really cool, I wouldn't think that the iPhone or iPod Touch would be capable of doing high definition content. Correct me if I am wrong...

[twoodcc]

i think the only way this happens is if the appletv gets a major update

[jfruh]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you couldn't push real HD content (720p or 1080p/i) over a component or composite connection?

[kdarling]

Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Why would I want to dedicate my phone to acting as a WiFi media server?

Sounds more like a college kid's fantasy... you know, where you can only afford one device plus Mac'n'cheese for dinner :)

HD output makes more sense on such as the Omnia HD phone: it can take HD movies and replay or transfer them.

[dernhelm]

Interesting. I've been struggling with whether or not I need two encodings for video that I would want to look good on an Apple TV (or mac mini) and video I would also want to display on my iPod. I was even investigating the AV cables for the iPod, but then realized I would want both component and composite - and at near $100 for the pair, I just wouldn't jump.

The Apple TV (or normal) setting won't also play on my iPod - and my iPod HiRes setting is fine on a standard def TV, but leaves a lot to be desired on a 60" 1080p HDTV.

So right now, I have multiple encodings for a given video, but that's far from desirable. If the next gen iPod Touch could play back HD video (or really anything that the Apple TV could play), then this conundrum simply goes away, and things get a lot simpler.

[BMWFan]

Sounds like Apple being forced to respond to Zune HD rumors.

[Saladinos]

Doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Why would I want to dedicate my phone to acting as a WiFi media server?

Completely agree. Sounds high-tech, is actually pointless.

[dernhelm]

Sounds like Apple being forced to respond to Zune HD rumors.

Right. I'm sure Apple is really worried about the Zune marketshare rocketing up (to what, single digits?) with the rumors of Zune HD...

:rolleyes:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you couldn't push real HD content (720p or 1080p/i) over a component or composite connection?

OK - I'll correct you. Component cables can handle HD content, but composite cannot.

[schimanke]

I think this is pretty likely, since you can already access lists with movies over the WiFi iTunes Store.

[BMWFan]

Right. I'm sure Apple is really worried about the Zune marketshare rocketing up (to what, single digits?) with the rumors of Zune HD...

:rolleyes:

MS came out of nowhere with the Xbox and now dominates the hardcore gaming market with the Xbox360. If they manage to tie Xbox360 and Zune functionality, there could be a large increase in market share. MS should also ramp up the marketing. When was the last time you saw a zune commercial?

Also, Apple should really give up on Macs as they are having such a hard time taking market share away from PCs :rolleyes:

[russellelly]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you couldn't push real HD content (720p or 1080p/i) over a component or composite connection?

Component can but without any HDCP (content protection) making it highly unlikely they'd allow iTunes movies to be played in HD over component.

[JonHimself]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you couldn't push real HD content (720p or 1080p/i) over a component or composite connection?

Component cables can (red, blue, green), composite (yellow) cables cannot... I think.

[DELLsFan]

...can those of us who've already purchased the Apple TV please get NetFlix and Hulu integration first?

I mean - come on ... why not?

For a little more money, maybe I should have bought a Mini! I'd be able to play multimedia in far more media choices that way. :(

[retroneo]

Component can but without any HDCP (content protection) making it highly unlikely they'd allow iTunes movies to be played in HD over component.

There is only a requirement for digital outputs to be encrypted, so component HD is okay.

[mambodancer]

...can those of us who've already purchased the Apple TV please get NetFlix and Hulu integration first?

I mean - come on ... why not?

For a little more money, maybe I should have bought a Mini! I'd be able to play multimedia in far more media choices that way. :(

It would be nice if it were integrated from Apple but in the mean time you do have Hulu integration (and a lot more) with aTV.

http://www.atvflash.com/product_info.php?products_id=27

[voodoofish]

The Apple TV (or normal) setting won't also play on my iPod


If you encode with the universal setting on handbrake or the apple tv setting on the elgato turbo.264, you can make files that play on all but (i think) the very first ipod that played video. even though the videos files technically don't meet the specifications that apple says ipods will play itunes will still sync them and the ipods will still play them. this way i've been able to get single files that play on the apple tv and my ipod. i've tried them on an iphone, ipod touch, and ipod nano (the first one which could play video - i can't remember which generation that is though!) and they all play fine.

[Shookster]

Or maybe they just want it to be compatible with more TVs. I seriously doubt HD content is coming in a device with (presumably) only 32 GB of memory. It would also need enough firepower to decode H.264 at HD resolutions and enough battery life to last the entire length of the movie (at a minimum).

[cleric]

Why would anyone want to play HD from their phone/ipod. The device has way to little storage and though I realize that new ARM processor has a h264/vc1 decoder chip how many reference frames is this thing really going to be able to handle? This applies to the "ZuneHD" too it all seems silly.

[timotheezz]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that you couldn't push real HD content (720p or 1080p/i) over a component or composite connection?

What's your definition of real HD? Cable providers' pixelated version of 720p and 1080i? Or 2007's HD Buzz Word of the Year: 1080p?

They're all HD. Component can handle all of them, but I'm not sure if component can pass 1080p/24; only 1080p/60.

At any rate, I'm going to have to agree with a few of the other posters. DO WANT !

[EgbertAttrick]

Do want; won't have.

[diamond.g]

What's your definition of real HD? Cable providers' pixelated version of 720p and 1080i? Or 2007's HD Buzz Word of the Year: 1080p?

They're all HD. Component can handle all of them, but I'm not sure if component can pass 1080p/24; only 1080p/60.

At any rate, I'm going to have to agree with a few of the other posters. DO WANT !

If component can do 1080p/60 it would have ample bandwidth to do 1080p/24.

[RaZaK]

It doesn't make sense for Apple to sell a component cable for the iPhone\iPod if they don't output HD. Most HDTVs have composite ports anyway.

So, it would be really cool if this was true.

[diamond.g]

It doesn't make sense for Apple to sell a component cable for the iPhone\iPod if they don't output HD. Most HDTVs have composite ports anyway.

So, it would be really cool if this was true.

AFAIK 480p can't be done over composite.

[RumMunkey]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US) AppleWebKit/525.19 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/1.0.154.53 Safari/525.19)

When I first read "Behave like apple TV" I thought "Great! After I listen to one song, it'll stop everything to 'sync with iTunes...'"

I kid because I love...

Anyway, if this does happen it's clearly directed as a way to get people's foot in the door to buying from iTunes (and maybe even pushing people toward Apple TV once they've tried it out using their phone).

It's not an AppleTv killer by any stretch.

[notjustjay]

[SIZE=1]Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0

It's not an AppleTv killer by any stretch.

Apple has always taken the position that Apple TV is a hobby. I interpret that to mean that it's a testing ground for new technologies as much as it is a useful product. Apple has been known to develop a cool technology in one product and then apply it to another, so this fits.

[DS Flyer]

Interesting... lets wait and see (not that we have a choice).

[smartaleck]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/business/20isp.html?_r=1&ref=technology

“All of our economics are based on engineering for the peak hour,” said Tony Werner, the chief technical officer of Comcast. “Just because someone consumes more data doesn’t mean they drive more cost.”

Yet even as the providers continually upgrade their networks, the cost of the equipment needed to do so is shrinking steadily, reflecting the well-worn economics of computing.

Indeed, the equipment needed to add capacity to any household costs a fraction of one month’s Internet service bill. Comcast, the nation’s largest cable provider, has told investors that doubling the Internet capacity of a neighborhood costs an average of $6.85 a home.

The cost of providing Internet service is about to fall even more, as cable companies install new technology, called Docsis 3, that will both increase their capacity and allow them to offer much faster download speeds.

So far, however, companies in the United States have chosen to use Docsis 3 as an opportunity to offer far more expensive Internet plans. Comcast has introduced a new 50-megabit-per-second service at $139 a month, compared with its existing service that costs about $45 a month for 8 megabits per second. Time Warner just announced it will charge $99 for 50 megabits per second.

By contrast, JCom, the largest cable company in Japan, sells service as fast as 160 megabits per second for $60 a month, only $5 a month more than its slower service.

Why so cheap? JCom faces more competition from other Internet providers than companies in the United States do.

Cable systems in the United States use the same technology and have roughly the same costs. Comcast told investors that the hardware to provide 50-megabits-per-second service costs less than it had been paying for the equipment for 6 megabits per second.

[IVIr.S3CR3T]

plzzz apple

[MJWaters1985]

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=7918327#7918327

Go figure.

[flottenheimer]

Yes! Now all we need is for it to support all the file formats that you can throw at the QT+Perian+Flip4Mac combo.
Not gonna happen I guess.

[yorkshire]

Great stuff. But I wonder if HD is that important on a device that small. Nevertheless, it can only be a good thing.

[LaDirection]

Sounds like Apple being forced to respond to Zune HD rumors.

Come on... You don't launch such a complex technology at the last moment because macrumors posted a piece on a competitor about it! They've been working on this for well over a year at least.

[MysterMac]

I have a 160gb atv with latest boxee and even it cant handle ALL the bitrates I throw at it, so I cant see an iPhone replacing it.
Besides, I just think the new phone will just output higher resolutions, none of this "atv-killer" boloney.

[pmjoe]

LOL! This article is a stretch. The Apple TV won't even play 1080i. Don't look for the iPhone to play back anything more than scaled down stuff for some time yet. And who would want to tie up all their iPhone storage with a few movies of that resolution, because that's all that would fit.

[marv08]

Zune HD -> HD Radio
iPod Touch HD -> full res IMAX :eek:

MS is really closing the gap here...

[Saladinos]

MS came out of nowhere with the Xbox and now dominates the hardcore gaming market with the Xbox360. If they manage to tie Xbox360 and Zune functionality, there could be a large increase in market share. MS should also ramp up the marketing. When was the last time you saw a zune commercial?

Also, Apple should really give up on Macs as they are having such a hard time taking market share away from PCs :rolleyes:

The video games market is absolutely nothing like the PMP market.

Microsoft increased their market share at Sony's expense. Sony dropped the ball with the PS3. Apple are much smarter than Sony.

[mikeinternet]

Why component and not hdmi?

I would prefer a simple ipod connector to hdmi cable, over a cable that breaks out to 6 connectors. (3 for component video, 1 for regular video, and 2 more for audio.)

[Dimka]

apple netbook will not be a netbook, it will be a hybrid between media player and internet tablet. in a form of bigger iPod Touch, with 720x405 touch screen.
New OS 3 allows bluetooth keyboards and other accessories.
New video output cables will connect its dock to tv or stereo system.
Internet will be tethered via iPhone 3G in addition of wi-fi and bluetooth.
User can see HD movies from iTunes and browse internet and use iPhone apps.
Priced 599-799

[Superman07]

I feel like everybody is missing the point of the article stating this would be the function of a new iPhone - not any of the existing ones. It's been 2 years - technology exists for mobile HD playback. Yes you don't need it on a screen that small, but it allows for more uniformity of files. I'm sure Apple would be happy to only send out the HD file instead of an HD and SD file every time somebody rents/buys an "HD" film/show.

[kornyboy]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

I'm excited about the cable. I wonder how much they will be selling it for?

[Bye Bye Baby]

Sounds interesting. Just have to wait and see.

[Elbon]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/04/20/next-generation-iphone-to-support-hd-video-and-apple-tv-like-behavior/)

What this could mean is that the iPhone or iPod Touch could act as a make-shift Apple TV. They envision plugging your iPhone into an Apple AV Dock connected to your HDTV. This would then be able to stream video over Wi-Fi from your computer's iTunes library. This added functionality would skip the time-consuming step of syncing HD videos to the device itself and replicate some of the behavior of the Apple TV.

Article Link: Next Generation iPhone to Support HD Video and Apple TV-Like Behavior? (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/04/20/next-generation-iphone-to-support-hd-video-and-apple-tv-like-behavior/)

If this is true, then maybe the next Apple TV software update will restore usable streaming behavior. Currently, Apple TV works primarily via sync - streaming seems to be very much an afterthought.

[Hattig]

My TV's component inputs are connected to my Wii, and they're on the back of the TV.

On the other hand I have three HDMI ports, connected to one device - a PS3 (providing games, BluRay and DVD playback).

Please, Apple, make a HDMI cable adaptor, not a bulky component cable adaptor.

[Hattig]

LOL! This article is a stretch. The Apple TV won't even play 1080i. Don't look for the iPhone to play back anything more than scaled down stuff for some time yet. And who would want to tie up all their iPhone storage with a few movies of that resolution, because that's all that would fit.

The Apple TV is a very old design now, and uses a pretty old GPU for video decode assist, and I think it has difficulty over 8mbps streams (whether they're 720p or 1080p) due to its old hardware design. A single chip nVidia Tegra would probably perform better for a fraction of the hardware cost, or an Atom + 9400G if we keep to the x86 world.

[jicon]

Sounds fishy to me. What's the point? I plug an iPhone in to a dock, I sit down on my couch, then need to change volume/video whatever... gonna give me another Apple Remote? No thanks.

What iTunes needs, first of all is a name change. Movies/Podcasts/TV Shows, not necessarily 'tunes'.

Secondly, AppleTV has cemented the need for Apple to make a proper iTunes 'server'. Streaming audio/video from iTunes works fine over 11n networks, only issue being iTunes ALWAYS needs to be running on a machine, and consuming copious amounts of HDD space. It's ridiculous that the program ALWAYS needs to be running to sync/stream data on a share.

Build something in to TimeMachine to back up my media, and let me share it out to any computer/AppleTV or iPod\iPhone in range.

[gilbertgilbert]

Sounds fishy to me. What's the point? I plug an iPhone in to a dock, I sit down on my couch, then need to change volume/video whatever... gonna give me another Apple Remote? No thanks.

you forgot -

...and then some one calls me, i miss it, they leave a voice mail, i stand up check it, sit down then someone else texts/soon to be mms me (a picture).

...annnyyyoingggg

[lazyrighteye]

Meh - sounds more like a fanboy wish list than something I see Apple doing at this point in time.
Apple has never been a "because we can, we will" kind of company. And I know Apple has never referred to the TV as a "hobby," but would they kill (or cut into sales of) that platform and bundle that functionality with a phone? I'm thinking "no."
Maybe this rumor fits better within the tablet/netbook world?

I mean, on the iPhone = cool. Sign me up. Just doens't feel like something they woudl do, right now.

[libertyforall]

Well, it's ABOUT TIME they consolidated cables! This should have been done since DAY 1 for a $50 cable!!!

[libertyforall]

No doubt to avoid some DRM issues I bet...


Why component and not hdmi?

I would prefer a simple ipod connector to hdmi cable, over a cable that breaks out to 6 connectors. (3 for component video, 1 for regular video, and 2 more for audio.)

[libertyforall]

If they're going to support HD, then support FULL HD at 1080P otherwise it's only a partial implementation!

[aviddk]

apple netbook will not be a netbook, it will be a hybrid between media player and internet tablet. in a form of bigger iPod Touch, with 720x405 touch screen.


Ding, Ding, Ding we have a winner!:D

[MacFly123]

The apple tv will still have more memory it would kind of be annoying if you have friends over and a private text message appears on your 50 inch screen half way through the movie thats why apple tv still would have a chance.:apple:

Haha and what if it were an inappropriate text! :p THAT would be funny!

I would love this of course, but I would still want my Apple TV. There is a lot the Apple TV offers that a docked iPhone still would not.

What I REALLY want, is for Apple to release and App Store and SDK for the Apple TV! :eek:

apple netbook will not be a netbook, it will be a hybrid between media player and internet tablet. in a form of bigger iPod Touch, with 720x405 touch screen.
New OS 3 allows bluetooth keyboards and other accessories.
New video output cables will connect its dock to tv or stereo system.
Internet will be tethered via iPhone 3G in addition of wi-fi and bluetooth.
User can see HD movies from iTunes and browse internet and use iPhone apps.
Priced 599-799

Ding, Ding, Ding we have a winner!:D

That is what I have been saying too. People get so caught up on the NETBOOK thing and that is not going to be the major target of the tablet. It is all about the entertainment center and Apple's ecosystem! I AM EXCITED! :)

[Hot Snowboarder]

HD output from the touch/iphone is great... but i think it's kind of pointless for it to operate as an Apple TV. Kind of defeats the purpose of a portable video device if you only take it from dock to dock.

[Donz0r]

This will not happen. They're coming out with new cables, maybe a consolidated one or an HDMI one. They're not turning the iPhone into an Apple TV that would be ridiculous. It's a portable device for godssake.

"Hold on while I pause the movie to read my text message"

not gonna happen.

[branjosef]

With HD movies and a 16GB hardrive, I can put alot of movies on my phone if you think "alot" is 4. I would rather have a longer battery life or more hard drive space than "HD" on a PHONE!!! Thats like a crack whore who advertises she is intelligent. IT'S A CRACK WHORE !!!.. if you're with her, odds are you could care less about debating socioeconomic pitfalls that led to the downfall of the soviet union. All you care about is her energy level and storage capacity.
but I digress. :rolleyes:

[Bye Bye Baby]

I wonder how it will work?

[ugacdawg]

Yes you don't need it on a screen that small, but it allows for more uniformity of files.


Ding, ding ding! We have a winner!

I don't care if the screen will even display a full 720p picture, I just want the ability to drag my ATV formatted movies, both SD and HD over to the iPhone for portability...

I currently use the iPhone in the car on trips to play movies plugged into the factory DVD system's game port without having to haul DVDs and I've even hooked it up to hotel and the in-law's TV for the kids to watch.

If they will give me a 64GB option on the phone then I wouldn't mind dragging my 4GB 720p movie files over to it to take with me, without having to scale them down...