Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Actually, you'd be lucky to get 2 BD movies in 64 GB. (The BD .ISOs on my home server average about 40 GiB each.) To fit 15 HD movies in 64 GB, they'd have to be horrifically compressed to half the bandwidth of a DVD.

In other words, I'd guess that igazza was talking about Itunes "HD" video.

Probably... most people don't know the difference, and believe that HD only equals to BluRay.

You can fit an HD movie in x264 at 4GB for HD and 2.5GB for 720p and still maintain good quality, perfectly watchable on an iPad or AppleTV with XMBC.
 
Probably... most people don't know the difference, and believe that HD only equals to BluRay.

Actually, I'll buy into the "HD only equals to BluRay" camp (but it's "Blu-ray", not "BluRay").

Although it's legally permitted to call something HD if it's 720p or 1080p regardless of the bitrate - in the real world if you're not pumping 10 to 40 Mbps into the video stream it is a noticeably inferior experience compared to BD.


You can fit an HD movie in x264 at 4GB for HD and 2.5GB for 720p and still maintain good quality, perfectly watchable on an iPad or AppleTV with XMBC.

Considering that x264 at 40 Mbps is common for BD, I doubt that you can cut the bandwidth by a factor of 10 using the same codec without a very noticeable loss of quality.

But, I guess that it's all "in the eye of the beholder". Some people find Youtube "perfectly watchable". And it is perfectly watchable for the 30 second clips of someone's cat being adorable. (Cats are always adorable.) For me, though, not "perfectly watchable" for two hour movies.
 
It won’t be called iPad 3

It will be called “iPad 3D”.

(Whatever that is supposed to mean.)
 
Actually, you'd be lucky to get 2 BD movies in 64 GB. (The BD .ISOs on my home server average about 40 GiB each.) To fit 15 HD movies in 64 GB, they'd have to be horrifically compressed to half the bandwidth of a DVD.

In other words, I'd guess that igazza was talking about Itunes "HD" video.

iTunes HD videos are just fine on an iPad 1/2. They're technically not even displayed in HD anyway since they play at 1024x576. It would be overkill to have uncompressed 1920x1080 downscaled to 1024x576

But on an Retina iPad 3 it would look awesome. :)
 
Remember what happened to the white Macbook?

Apple would never have an older product to compete with their newer product.

They would rather convince you to buy the new one, and avoid hearing clients whining about their device not performing.

If they want to compete with the Kindle Fire, they may offer the iPad 2 32GB for $399.00 only if the production cost justifies the effort.
Otherwise, the wise choice is to offer it to a limited market such as Education.

The white macbook was completely outdated. It did not fall in line with anything else that apple is selling. Made sense to axe it. The iPad2 has not been around that long.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

iBooks textbooks are weighing in at multiple gigabytes. A student with 7 classes will need 14-16 gigabytes just for his books, not to mention coursework, OS, etc.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

iBooks textbooks are weighing in at multiple gigabytes. A student with 7 classes will need 14-16 gigabytes just for his books, not to mention coursework, OS, etc.

That's be cause everyone is defaulting to multi-hour long video clips in 720i/p instead of letting HTML canvas elements take the bulk of those animations. I knew the video was going to become a crutch for most of the publishers and really the power of the books needs to be coming from interaction not canned lecture.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Insightful comment. Thank you.
 
Considering that H.264 at 40 Mbps is common for BD, I doubt that you can cut the bandwidth by a factor of 10 using the same codec without a very noticeable loss of quality.
H.264!!! I fixed that! x264 is an encoder!

x264 is maybe the best H.264 encoder.
Apples H.264 encoder is maybe one of the worst.

“Professional” tools for Blu-ray video encoding can cost as much as $100,000 and are often utter garbage. Here are two actual screenshots from real Blu-rays: I wish I was making this up.
[...]
With x264′s powerful compression, as demonstrated by the incredibly popular BD-Rebuilder Blu-ray backup software, it’s quite possible to author Blu-ray disks on DVD9s (dual-layer DVDs) or even DVD5s (single-layer DVDs) with a reasonable level of quality. With a free software encoder and less need for an expensive Blu-ray burner, we are one step closer to putting HD optical media creation in the hands of the everyday user."
http://x264dev.multimedia.cx/archives/328
 
Last edited:
hey apple,

There is a large community of entertainment creatives. We make your blockbuster movies. We design your video-games. We produce your favorite songs. We do all of this on Mac Pros. Sadly neither Ipads or Imacs are up to those tasks...

Why are you shafting us?

It's not Apple, it's Intel. Believe it or not, Apple can only make workstations with the hardware available to them. You won't find any other company making a workstation with newer hardware because it doesn't exist until Intel starts shipping it.


Anyway, the iPad 3 is all about the retina display. If it has one, it's going to be very, very hard to resist. Here's all that matters:

1) Display
2) Battery life
3) Size and weight (ergonomics)

Everyone wanting more RAM or a faster CPU, these things are important, but only to the extent that they allow developers to do a little bit more with the platform, but as it is, what exactly does the iPad need with more of those things? I fully expect spec bumps, but remember this is Apple we're talking about. Specs matter less than usability. iOS has efficiencies built in to let it do more with less. We all remember the comparisons between iOS running apps with a snappier UI and load times compared to supposedly better hardware on other platforms. Developers are going to still want to have most of their software run on both the new iPad and probably any other hardware that can run OS 5.0, rather than require the absolutely latest device and lose access to a lot of customers.

Specs give you longevity, but for the immediate future, what matters most is how bright and clear the display is, how long you can use it without charging, and how easy it is to carry around. Let's face it, those of you chomping at the bit for crazy high end specs are going to be buying the iPad 4, iPad 5, and so on, so you'll always have the latest no matter what.
 
I'll believe release dates when they come from the mouth of Apple.

Sure this is a nice rumour. But if people take this date guessing as a concrete date they are just kidding themselves. Just dreaming. Actually the article title does make it sound like this week in March is set in stone. Maybe it is, maybe it is not. No one apart from Apple knows this.

People wonder why every article on MacRumours is questioned as to it's legitimacy and why it is even on the website. Well remove this ambiguity and bias from the articles and then no one will question.

I know I am speaking to deaf ears here. But I have to get it out.
 
Yes, I think it will be:

iPad 2 - 16GB - 399$
iPad 3 - 32GB - 499$
iPad 3 - 64GB - 599$
iPad 3 - 128GB - 699$

That's what people thought about iPhone 4S... then it turned out to be:

iPhone 3GS 8GB - Free
iPhone 4 8GB - $99
iPhone 4S 16GB - $199
iPhone 4S 32GB - $299
iPhone 4S 64GB - $399

No price drops for memory capacities.
 
That's what people thought about iPhone 4S... then it turned out to be:

iPhone 3GS 8GB - Free
iPhone 4 8GB - $99
iPhone 4S 16GB - $199
iPhone 4S 32GB - $299
iPhone 4S 64GB - $399

No price drops for memory capacities.

However, the original iphone came in 4 and 8GB. A 16GB version came out a bit later. When the 3G launched at 199 and 299, the sizes were 8GB and 16GB. Then, 32GB took over for 16GB at the $299 price point with the 3GS and iPhone 4. The 4S is the first subsidized phone to hit the $399 mark. So, there's both a precedent for them replacing the highest capacity with higher capacity at the same price point and introducing a new price point. They may not even introduce 128GB though. They didn't for the iPod touch when they could have.
 
My iPad 3 Price Predictions

G77 said:
Yes, I think it will be:

iPad 2 - 16GB - 399$
iPad 3 - 32GB - 499$
iPad 3 - 64GB - 599$
iPad 3 - 128GB - 699$

1080p said:
1080pThat's what people thought about iPhone 4S... then it turned out to be:

iPhone 3GS 8GB - Free
iPhone 4 8GB - $99
iPhone 4S 16GB - $199
iPhone 4S 32GB - $299
iPhone 4S 64GB - $399

No price drops for memory capacities.

However, the original iphone came in 4 and 8GB. A 16GB version came out a bit later. When the 3G launched at 199 and 299, the sizes were 8GB and 16GB. Then, 32GB took over for 16GB at the $299 price point with the 3GS and iPhone 4. The 4S is the first subsidized phone to hit the $399 mark. So, there's both a precedent for them replacing the highest capacity with higher capacity at the same price point and introducing a new price point. They may not even introduce 128GB though. They didn't for the iPod touch when they could have.

Wow, so much speculation. And anyone could be right.

However, in this case, since there is so much more technology likely to come with the iPad 3, and Apple doesn't usually change the prices with new versions. I think the iPad 3 will come out at the same prices for the same memory, and 128 GB version (because of new power, uses, and added consumer market (for high-res, Airline, Medicine, Text Books, etc.) in the iPad 3.

So because of the new (more expensive) technology, so no price drop for memory capacity, but an additional amount of memory (128 GB) is possible. I think the iPod didn't get 128GB when it could have because, either Apple felt not enough people would use it because of iCloud, and/or Apple didn't want a $499/$599 iPod (remember 128GB cost more per GB still and it's an additional 64GB!)

It's easier to charge a $499 starting price point an extra $100 or $200 for the additional 64GB to make it a total of 128 GB, than it is to charge the extra same amount for something that starts at only $199. So maybe that's why there is not 128GB iPod, too expensive, Apple still wants everything to profit and not sell only a few thousand of one version.

So, I think it will be:
iPad 2 (16 GB) - $299-$399 (not to compete with the "Fire" but may sway first time buyers)
iPad 3 (16 GB) - $499
IPad 3 (32 GB) - $599
iPad 3 (64 GB) - $699
iPad 3 (128GB) - $799-$849

So, no drop in price for memory capacity, but an additional high price point. Unfortunately, flash memory seemed to stop dropping in price dramatically since 2010?

(In 2010, I figured we'd have a 1TB iPhone in 2014 because of doubling memory at mostly same prices every year, but it looks like either 1TB iPhone won't happen, or it'll be ~2016 at $399-$599)
 
Last edited:
Is there really a 3 month wait if you don't get on a line or get a pre-order in? I've seen others here say that you can usually find these products available at many of the Apple vendors? I'm not sure I want it on day 1 anyway. I'd like to see a few user reviews before I spend that much money.
 
Actually, I'll buy into the "HD only equals to BluRay" camp (but it's "Blu-ray", not "BluRay").

Although it's legally permitted to call something HD if it's 720p or 1080p regardless of the bitrate - in the real world if you're not pumping 10 to 40 Mbps into the video stream it is a noticeably inferior experience compared to BD.


Not on a 9" screen. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
 
Actually, I'll buy into the "HD only equals to BluRay" camp (but it's "Blu-ray", not "BluRay").

Although it's legally permitted to call something HD if it's 720p or 1080p regardless of the bitrate - in the real world if you're not pumping 10 to 40 Mbps into the video stream it is a noticeably inferior experience compared to BD.


Not on a 9" screen. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

If you're looking at the 9.7" display from 1.3 feet (16 inches) away, you can still get about the 30º (30 degree, SMPTE Certification Standards) viewing experience and notice all the detail of 1080p video. (Home Theater viewing distances should be between 2 to 5 times the screen width, that would be 1.3 to 3.3 feet, seems very reasonable for an iPad anyway)

As for not seeing artifacts at 1.3 feet (seeing full detail) the data rate should be at least 10 Mbps for slow stuff, and up to 36 Mbps for action. Ever pause during an action sequence? You can really notice low bit rate artifacts. Though, I can make a 1080p video at only 1 Mbps look perfect if there is almost no movement.

It seems likely that the iPad 3 resolution will be 2048x1536, but I would have really liked 2560x1920, it would still be 4:3 ratio, and be able show two 1080p videos top to bottom (in Portrait view) with 400 lines to spare (about 1.2 inches at 330 ppi/dpi). (I know, someone is going to say, but WHY?)

2560x1920 resolution would be 330 pixels per inch, just a tad over the iPhone 4/4S pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. Apple could really say it's truly retina at any distance the say way they claim the current iPhone to be. But that would be a linear increase of 2.5 instead of doubling, giving a 6.25 times resolution (4.9 MP, 137% more than Full HD) instead of a simple 4 times resolution at 264 pixels per inch (3.1 MP, 52% more than Full HD).

(I know, Developers wouldn't like to deal with resizing everything to 2.5 times linear resolution, we're still stuck with resolution dependence because some people still like to use old fashion bitmaps)
 
Why wait?

Is there really a 3 month wait if you don't get on a line or get a pre-order in? I've seen others here say that you can usually find these products available at many of the Apple vendors? I'm not sure I want it on day 1 anyway. I'd like to see a few user reviews before I spend that much money.

I'd like to get it on day 1. If by a rare chance there is a minor (or major) problem with it, Apple will fix it at the same later point for free anyway. So it would be a minor hassle, but i'll take the rare chance of a initial bad iPad 3.
 
It better not be called iPad 3D or iPad 2S!

It will be called “iPad 3D”.

(Whatever that is supposed to mean.)

It will never be called iPad 3D, at least the next one coming out. 3D is over rated and not practical for an iPad, but it better not be called iPad 2S, because that would suggest a minor update, like a better camera (finally), 4G LTE (though it'll be very welcome later this year, so include it now), or slightly longer battery life.

It better be Quad Core, and Quad Resolution (2048x1536). That deserves a full number change to iPad 3.

Some part photos already show a smaller logic board, giving the idea of room for a larger battery, that makes sense with a Quad Core CPU, 20x better graphics, and Quad resolution display.
 
iTunes HD videos are just fine on an iPad 1/2. They're technically not even displayed in HD anyway since they play at 1024x576. It would be overkill to have uncompressed 1920x1080 downscaled to 1024x576

But on an Retina iPad 3 it would look awesome. :)

I doubt that 1920x1080 would look better on a retina display than 720p scaled to the retina resolution.

On top of that for my eyes 480p is absolutely sufficient for video. The purpose of a retina display is for reading through pdf's with pictures and graphics.
 
Well, I'm not gonna dare speculate but I will say this. I used a 12" Powerbook, Mac Mini g4, and a Powermac g4 in college. When I got out of school I bought a Lenovo notebook and switched to Ubuntu (which hasn't been a bad experience really), I dropped my iPhone 1 for an Android device, and have used an HP Touchpad recently.....

Today, I bought an iPhone 4 (new off ebay) to get back in the game and do me over until the iPhone 5. I don't need an iPad 3 but I've sold my Touchpad in hopes of the lowering of prices on the iPad 2's. I'm waiting on the MB update this summer to switch back completely. I felt right at home today when I activated my iPhone 4 and I'm sorry for the seperation. But I promise this. I will never look back again. Glad to be back in the family. It's been a long time since I've logged in this site and it's great. I LOVE YOU GUYS!
 
I don't really care about the screen resolution, as long as the battery life doesn't suffer.
 
In anticipation, I sold my iPad 2 (64GB Wifi) today for $550! It came with a smart cover -- I did the math and even with tax, it's like I rented the iPad 2 for $24 a month for the 10 months I had it. Considering the rumor that the iPad 2 will stay around and enjoy a $100 drop in price (making the model I sold $599 new), I'd say I did OK! :cool:
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.