The hardware is capable of RECORDING 720p (from the camera) and playback is always easier then recording. So it should be able to playback at least 720p too
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iPhone 3GS Capable of High-Definition Video Playback?
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It's not hard to imagine that the next version of the iPhone will have a 5MP camera (with flash and a good digital zoom) and be capable of shooting 720p HD video and maybe an LED display. Assuming a storage bump to 64GB, you could probably shoot a fair amount of HD footage. Those kinds of features along with a chipset capable of 4G would be killer.
This ties into something I discovered by accident this morning. I wanted to watch a 720p HD Revision3 podcast on my iPhone that I had downloaded to my Mac in HD. Of course, it wouldn't sync over to the iPhone. BUT - Using the iTunes app on the iPhone I COULD download and play it, so apparently the phone DOES support at least 720p, it's just not easy to get it onto the device. Didn't try outputting to a TV though.
Even the PowerVR site itself doesnt say what resolutions and framerates the PowerVR VXD module supports, so I'm guessing it isnt exceptional in that area. If it supported 1080p, they'd be shouting it from the hilltops.
The Tegra in the ZuneHD is pretty much the bleeding edge of system-in-a-chip mobile designs, the iPhone3GS is using last year's technology, but with a speed bump and GPU update.
It was already a fact that the iPhone 3GS could playback 720p30 video, but 1080p is new for me. It seems like the iPhone can't playback 1080p when using battery power. You would literally burn your iPhone. USB power will just be enough likely, but before Apple unlocks the iPhone to support higher resolutions than 640*480 they will likely announce a new kind of dock that should have a DVI or DisplayPort out.
There u go, your MBA is inferior to your iPhone. Admiting that is half the battle. The original MBA has always been just a novelty that fits in an envelope. Too bad to be an early adopter of an Apple product.
On the other hand, a rev B/C MBA with Nvidia GPU, Penryn CPU, SATA-II drive controller, and Mini Display Port is quite capable of 1080 playback. Really capable of all the things the original wasn't capable of.
I definitely believe the iPhone 3GS is just as capable as a Zune, as Apple isn't going to let Microsoft win at anything. Surely had prepared for this and we are just a software update and $79 cable away...
That thread makes me sad, so many blockheaded people who can't see the point being made - that is the device can play back video far exceeding the advertised specifications (advertised: 1.5Mbps, actual: 8Mbps, this thread possibly 30Mbps), which will mean future firmware feature enhancements (HD dock for 3GS-level devices, etc, seems likely if Apple's component output can handle HD in addition to the advertised SD output). Regardless, the hardware is willing but the software is, err, soft.
The Tegra is last year's technology attached to some NVIDIA graphics/video technology. It's hyped a lot. It isn't all that, really. The CPU is far weaker, and there may be two of them but is that SMP or simple co-processors? The graphics are probably the strong point, it can probably beat out the 3GS in 3D easily, and maybe decode video at a higher bitrate, but in the end there will be a power consumption cost.
I'm hardly a Zune fan, but you have to recognize that right now the Zune HD advertises a (useful) feature that the iPod/iPhone does not match.
it wouldnt really be HD
at 30 Mbps the quality of the HD video would be dramatically lower than the quality of a bluray or even the HD video files you get on iTunes. they probly wont enable it because they dont want people to think that the iphone is bad at playing video. you wouldnt get much better video quality than a properly made anmorphic video file and the "HD" videos would take up waaay more space.
at 30 Mbps the quality of the HD video would be dramatically lower than the quality of a bluray or even the HD video files you get on iTunes. they probly wont enable it because they dont want people to think that the iphone is bad at playing video. you wouldnt get much better video quality than a properly made anmorphic video file and the "HD" videos would take up waaay more space.
Yea, I am interested in outputting ALL of the iPhone apps including Springboard to a TV or monitor -- this functionality is LONG overdue... 
Exactly, at this point we cannot use it, so who's having the last laugh? Definitely not us.
I wouldn't be surprised if after the event in a few weeks there still won't be full HD playback, OR a dock with HDMI output for that matter.
Tegra uses an ARM11 core, which is what powered the iPhone3G, but so many of its functions have been moved off the central core to custom nVidia components, it's not nearly as important.
The iPhone3GS uses the newer Cortex-A8 ARM core, which is admittedly more advanced, and a newer PowerVR SGX gpu (I dont know if this is integrated onto the ARM die, or a seperate component.), so it *is* fast, but in terms of an all-in-one device (graphics/video/multimedia/etc), I'd put my money on the Tegra.
Just watch a few videos of some of the Tegra demo UIs that nVidia knocked up, they're as smooth as silk compared to even the iPhone3GS, with multitasking and even HD video decoding from within 3d UI elements.
Honestly, out of all the claims made about this, its the 30mbps claim that sounds the most bogus to me.
The flash chips in the iPhone wouldnt be capable of that kind of performance, in such a small device they'd go for the cheapest they could get away with. I havent seen any of the iPhone strip down photos, but Im guessing they're some kind of Samsung flash chip, and not bleeding edge, performance wise.
Im starting to think this whole thing has come out of the PowerVR SGX spec sheet which says its capable of Blu-Ray profile 1.1 (im guessing the secondary processor side of it), not any kind of practical application.
thank you!!! mine can't even play 720p (first MBA model) and it struggles to keep up with **** def (standard) when im running safari alongside it... soooo frustrating considering what they cost
x 
Of course it is.
But that's only because you're unable to make an intelligent response.
30 Mbps is almost 3 times the bitrate Apple is using for it's trailers on their trailer website (pretty nice quality there) and way more than their 720p iTunes Store videos that run at around 8 Mbps if I'm right? The iTunes store videos are encoded with settings that don't need really much CPU-power, but this is a loss for the quality and a gain of bitrate. Blu-ray is using 32 Mbps average. With optimized settings and the latest encoders 30 Mbps should in most cases equal Blu-ray.
thank you!!! mine can't even play 720p (first MBA model) and it struggles to keep up with **** def (standard) when im running safari alongside it... soooo frustrating considering what they cost
Wow -- both people that bought a MBA are on this thread!
So the hardware and software can play video at the size of a 10" screen?
Very good. Glad to know that. Thank you.
Very good. Glad to know that. Thank you.
here you are:
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...rts_chip_with_720p_hd_video_capabilities.html
It's the only reason I didn't buy an iPhone yet.