Upcoming Apple TV loses 1080p playback, gains apps… and will be renamed iTV
This is not all that surprising, but disappointing from an enthusiast’s perspective. That being said, I think Apple is doing what they have to to A) Hit a price point of $99, and B) Hit what the masses have…that being most don’t know or care about 1080p. I probably won’t be buying one though.
Apparently the box won’t be capable of handling (or enabled to handle) 1080i or 1080p video. Instead it will only push out 720p clips. The word — and cause for much internal debate, we’re told — is that this has something to do with the A4’s inability to crank on higher resolution content, but we don’t see how that’s possible considering the iPhone 3GS could play back full HD video. Furthermore, the device will be getting apps and presumably an App Store entry, though it’s unclear if there will be cross-pollination between iPad and iPhone / iPod touch offerings and new Apple TV applications.