Apple has always been a little slow off the mark to get 1080p content on it’s devices. They are famously unwilling to pay the license fee for Blu-Ray and only offer 720p movie rentals on iTunes.
According to AppleInsiders their sources have told them that the current offering of 480p and 720p will be bolstered by a 1980x1080p (full HD) version on some movie from this autumn.
So what’s changed that may be influencing Apple’s decision? It now has a superior A5 chip that can handle 1080p streaming on the iPad 2 and could find its way into a new version of Apple TV that’d be available for the holiday shopping season.
Broadband speeds and market penetration are also increasing, which makes more homes capable of streaming 1080p without as many hiccups as in the past.
Apparently people familiar with the matter reckon that documentation for a handful of releases slated for September and October have been submitted with an “optional 1920×1080 resolution.
Apple has been long criticised for offering the meagre 720p resolution for movies and has left many movie buffs disappointed that they can’t enjoy the best of what Hollywood has to offer – this news will be like a second Christmas for the cinephile’s of this world.
The AppleInsider report also claims that Apple may be working on a new version of its Apple TV set-top box, with a faster processor to enable 1080p HD playback.
The current model can receive a 1080p signal, but spits it out on your TV at 720p because the A4 chip inside lacks the necessary power for full HD.
The 1080p rumblings are supported by the discovery that the developer build of iOS 5 contains a new video player which would allow the playback and syncing of full HD video to the iPad 2.
The main challenge is that for consumers with low internet connection speeds, streaming 1080p content could cause long waits for the buffering process to be complete.
Apple Prepping 1080p Movies For iTunes is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com
