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iOS 5 Opens Door to True 1080p Apple TV

I plan on getting the AT3 mainly because I have been considering getting a second AT2 for my daughter's room. Now she can take it and I can put the new one in the living room where the big TV is.
 
This is almost perfect for me. My ATV2 in my living room is currently hooked up to a 1080p display. I can move that one to my bedroom, which has a 720p display, and get an ATV3 for the living room. Awesome.
 
Ah, shoot. That of course is not the news existing AppleTV owners like myself want to hear. If only my AppleTV 2.0 would support 1080p. Oh well. It would be nice if is support Pandora, Hulu Plus, and sported the App store too but I won't hold my breath. :)
 
who's serious about 1080p!

chrmjenkins said:
I don't consider apple serious about 1080p until they actually start offering it in their own itunes store.
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I don't consider consumers serious about 1080p until they actually own a 70"+ screen on which to display it.
 
So the VXD375 video decoder in the AppleTV 2 physically can't do 1080P? Surely this isn't the case?
I've got a $70 Chinese media player that plays >10gig 1080p Bluray rips beautifully, with DTS HD/DD True HD. The Apple TV2 is rather crippled if this is the case.
 
Just ordered my TV2.
I will be upgrading my iPad soon so as long as I have wireless mirroring I wouldn tbother with TV3 to be honest, unless its something really drastically special!
 
afireintonto said:
that's A LOT different, than an upgrade from 720p to 1080p.
the difference between 720 and 1080 is so marginal that unless your sitting like 5 feet away from your tv you won't be able to see the difference.

plus, a retina display is actually 4 times the number of pixels of what the current ipad has.
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It's so funny how we Mac fans post so much about the hunger for more, more, more (better CPUs, latest graphics cards, retina displays, more storage in iDevices, more Flash in iDevices, higher resolution cameras, etc), except for this ONE thing where we somehow have convinced ourselves that less than the max standard is THE way to go.

4 times the number of pixels on a 9-inch screen makes sense, but just 2 times the number of pixels on a 40, 50, 60, 70+ inch screen doesn't. So funny.

It is not "marginal" differences for everyone; I find it very easy to see the difference in my own situation. That's not saying that 720p looks bad. It's more along the lines of "why not?". If YOU are satisfied with Apple 720p standard, GREAT! You could still enjoy it to the fullest on 1080p hardware too, as better hardware can always play lesser-demanding software. It just doesn't work the other way.

Just about every other set top :apple:TV-like box has long been 1080p. If Jobs wants to turn the page (vs. BD), he needs to deliver something that competes in the most fundamental benefit of BD: picture quality. When it comes to the fundamentals of computing technology, "good enough" is rarely what people want... they want "great". Except, for some reason, with this thing.
 
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peterjcat said:
Nobody should consider anyone serious who only considers screen size and not viewing distance :)
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Exactly. On a 70" screen, the pixel density of 1080p is only 31.47 ppi. You would need to sit further away from the set than you would say, a 56" set with the same resolution (39.34 ppi) for it to look proper. That is to say, one can certainly appreciate the full glory of 1080p on a sub-70" set, even while sitting closer to the screen.

Personally, I'll welcome the additional horsepower (and potentially storage) the 3rd gen :apple:TV will have. That said, I'll likely keep to high bit rate 720p files over 1080p. A 10-12GB 720p file gives me 85-90% of the picture quality (to my eyes) and 100% of the audio quality at 1/5 the file size. Storage is cheap, but not cheap enough to store 50+ TV series and 300+ movies at full resolution.
 
emaja said:
Cool!

Bummer is now if I want to go 1080P I will have to re-encode my collection. I am happy with the balance of convenience and resolution of the current ATV, but as someone with borderline obsessive compulsive tendencies, I will do it anyway - LOL!

I'll just have to figure out a way to do 720P to the kids' TV since it does not do 1080P. I suppose I'll have to have theirs linked to their iMac with the 720P stuff on it where the living room TV will be linked to my MBP with the 1080P encodes.
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The aTV2 can play 1080p videos (albeit, outputted at 720p), so you can keep one copy of the movie in 1080p and the kids aTV2 and your rumored-aTV3 can play the same file.

note - 1080p videos on the aTV2 may result in some frame drops, depending on the encoded bit rate and other factors. I'm guessing that when aTV3 shows up, the Handbrake guys will come up with a great pre-set that encodes in 1080p at the appropriate bit-rate to look great on both the aTV2 and the aTV3.
 
Bout' darn time.

I thought it hilarious that all the ATV acolytes defended 720p tooth and nail...while citing the only 2 advantages of 720p>1080P, being file size and processing requirements(which is almost moot). Watch them do a 180 and talk about how wonderful 1080p is now. Yeesh
 
toddybody said:
Bout' darn time.

I thought it hilarious that all the ATV acolytes defended 720p tooth and nail...while citing the only 2 advantages of 720p>1080P, being file size and processing requirements(which is almost moot). Watch them do a 180 and talk about how wonderful 1080p is now. Yeesh
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1080p is a great thing, i love streaming 1080, i just don't see myself buying it...ever - especially in digital format, it's just way too much to store comparatively.

I get bluray's via netflix, and i love watching a good film on bluray. But i'm not convinced that renting a movie from iTunes in 1080, will compare to the sound and picture that bluray offers, and it's definitely not worth another $99 because netflix steaming will still be 720. And I never rent from iTunes, wasted money when i can get unlimited bluray's a month from netflix as part of the $12 subscription.
 
How many people have a TV big enough to see the difference between 720p and 1080p? It's really just a marketing bullet point if you don't have a 55+ inch TV, so I'm not I expect a big bump in AppleTV sales when this feature is added in the fall.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Afraid not. A lot of the "zone 2" functionality on receivers requires analog (not digital) out.
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That's correct, some receivers can't handle digital on zone 2. For those you need to get a 20 dollar TOSLINK to analog converter from monoprice.com and you're good to go.
 
Aragornii said:
That's correct, some receivers can't handle digital on zone 2. For those you need to get a 20 dollar TOSLINK to analog converter from monoprice.com and you're good to go.
Click to expand...

Or Apple could just build it in as the same board is the basis for other iDevices that include analog audio out. It would cost Apple a tiny fraction of $20 to include it and it would be a nice value add.
 
Rootus said:
How many people have a TV big enough to see the difference between 720p and 1080p? It's really just a marketing bullet point if you don't have a 55+ inch TV, so I'm not I expect a big bump in AppleTV sales when this feature is added in the fall.
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It makes a fairly noticeable difference if your set is native 1080p. It does no good at all if your set is native 720p.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Afraid not. A lot of the "zone 2" functionality on receivers requires analog (not digital) out.
Click to expand...

I have the same issue. I have zone two audio going up through the ceiling, to the opposite wall and out to the back yard where I have quality rock speakers from TIC. I also have a video line that goes out there. I can play music or carry my projector out (usually I have sports on the side of the house).

The video is not HD btw but from 25ft, the projected video is really good. No complaints. If I want HD I go inside.

Anyway, if I stream music to zone 2 I use the airport express. The appletv can't do this. For video I can't use the appletv either because I'd have to get an HD projector and run an HDMI cable out. I usually send Directv signal or if I want video from itunes I use my older macbook with a video adapter. That adapter will not work with newer laptops though.

The ideal situation would be to have an appletv that could simultaneously put out digital and analog audio and video like the directv unit does.

Another option for the future would be to use the laptop outside plugged into the projector directly and be able to send the audio wirelessly to the airport express. Right now it is not possible because while Apple allows you to watch video on an iOS device and send audio through airplay, you cannot do this from itunes. It is insane. Perhaps this will change in Lion?

I use an older G-speed wifi express. It works fine for streaming music and you can find them for less.



kppolich said:
its 2011 people, 720p has been around for 10+ years, like all things, its time to upgrade, and YES there is an actual difference.
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^^
Yes we will all get to 1080p eventually. But seriously having grown up with a CRT TV, 720p is great. I have a 1080p TV but only 480p Directv and 720p Appletv. I do have a PS3 for bluray but it hardly gets used. I refuse to pay extra for HD from a TV carrier. I do not watch enough network TV to justify it. I watch sports mostly but I am more interested in the game itself than if I can see the individual ice crystals kicked up by the hockey skates.

The thing is that 720p allows for a larger TV in a smaller room than would be possible with standard def. The same is true for 1080p but really the size of the TV in my room is just fine with the given distance with 720p. Even the 480 looks fine for broadcast TV. 480 is HD too compared to older broadcast TV.
 
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