Most consumers can't even tell the difference between 720p, 1080p and upscaled DVD ???????
Are you kidding ??? Just open your eyes ....
The difference between 720p and 1080p is just HUGE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, but I disagree. I can tell the difference between LCD vs. Plasma 1080p, and I can tell the difference on 720p and 1080p settings for my video games. But on my 55" LG LCD it is tough to tell the difference between my Panasonic Blu-ray at 24 FPS 1080p and my Mac Mini running a downloaded 720p movie.
And don't even ask the wife. She claims there is no difference between the 55", the 720p 32" vizio upstairs and the old 32" tube JVC we used to have.
Don't worry, 1080p/i will be coming next year along with a slightly faster processor and a little more memory so all you fan boys can shell out for the same product twice in 12 months!!! Yay iFun !!
And it will make no difference to 90%+ of users, and increase usability by increasing streaming speeds.
When the pipes are up to it, 1080p will make a marginally better experience. Until then responsiveness is more important.
Apple knows that.
You fail to understand how modern streaming can work. Microsoft will stream up to 1080p through the Xbox 360. If you lack the bandwidth you get 720p, or 480p, or lower. It scales smoothly and without user interaction.
Im sorry but I disagree that recent experience suggests Apple will be able to use the name iTV. The issue is that whilst the others are names which were no longer used, ITV is one of the 5 main TV stations in the UK and as it is a product effectively forming your own TV station I highly doubt they will allow usage of the name. There would be too much confusion for everyone in the UK who knows ITV as a TV station that has been around for decades, its like if they released a product called NBC. Its just a bit ridiculous.
The A4 video encoder is based on the VXD 370 and Apple will not need to worry about power consumption so if they limit to 720p it is to reduce file size of the stream.
Don't forget that online streaming will be from iTunes only, which does not offer 1080p anyways.
The difference between 720p and 1080p is just HUGE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Didn't you read the article? all the experts agree that under a 55 inch TV, nobody can even tell the difference. The number of people with 55 inch tvs is tiny. 720p is better for the vast majority of people.
I didn't say that I couldn't tell the difference. I said most consumers.
The problems with 1080p is:
-The cost of streaming 1080p is too high
-Most don't have 1080p sets
-It may cost more
-Many people in the US have lousy bandwidth. A household full of iTV all streaming 1080p content is probably not even possible
-It won't be true 1080p because they will lower the bitrate which makes it essentially pointless
I totally agree with you on your 4th point. The VAST majority of US households are living on slow, crappy DSL or worse (shudder at my parents), DIAL UP. I've got 20 mbps max via Midcontinent, and there are times my netflix 1080 streaming gets choppy. Meanwhile, the rest of the modern world has access to 40 mbps speed at prices less then we pay!
Most consumers could very well love this product (like they love the iPad) and purchase it in droves as the dumping sat. and cable trend continues.
Didn't you read the article? all the experts agree that under a 55 inch TV, nobody can even tell the difference. The number of people with 55 inch tvs is tiny. 720p is better for the vast majority of people.
So if I can tell at 30", that makes me nobody does it?
I paid extra for my gigantic 60" 1080p HDTV flat panel and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend money on a device - and subsequent download rentals - that can't feed the beast the resolution it deserves.
You are among a tiny, tiny minority who might benefit a slight amount form 1080p. But the normal consumer, of which there are millions, cannot see any difference and does not really care about crazy numbers.
Im sorry but I disagree that recent experience suggests Apple will be able to use the name iTV. The issue is that whilst the others are names which were no longer used, ITV is one of the 5 main TV stations in the UK and as it is a product effectively forming your own TV station I highly doubt they will allow usage of the name. There would be too much confusion for everyone in the UK who knows ITV as a TV station that has been around for decades, its like if they released a product called NBC. Its just a bit ridiculous.
So they can call it iTV everywhere but the UK. and call it something else in UK only. not a big deal in the global scheme of things.
You fail to understand how modern streaming can work. Microsoft will stream up to 1080p through the Xbox 360. If you lack the bandwidth you get 720p, or 480p, or lower. It scales smoothly and without user interaction.
It really doesn't matter what iTunes quality is at anyway. The big deal about this is third party apps like Netflix & Hulu which can stream at the bitrate of their choosing.
The average US home bandwidth is about 4MB/s download 1MB/s upload. It would be hard for me to believe that all of Europe is drastically better in this regard.
With a Slingbox HD you need anywhere from 2-3MB/sec just to stream 720p. One can only imagine how much 1080p uses. Some of the movie can be cached but I don't feel like waiting a half hour for my movie to start.
For the vast majority of HDTV owners, 720p is just great. (most HD on cable is 720 anyways) and since streaming is an important part of the Apple TV, 720p makes good bandwidth sense too. ...
Agreed.
People are forgetting also that most HD content is highly compressed. Most HD channels on TV are not even 720p or they are double letter-boxed 720p which is even worse than regular broadcast quality. The only time the average viewer will even come across 1080p or 1080i material is if they buy a BluRay disc of a recent movie and have a very good player and the latest TV.
True 720p, uncompressed looks fantastic and most people will be happy with that if it turns out to be the case.
Comments
Most consumers can't even tell the difference between 720p, 1080p and upscaled DVD ???????
Are you kidding ??? Just open your eyes ....
The difference between 720p and 1080p is just HUGE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, but I disagree. I can tell the difference between LCD vs. Plasma 1080p, and I can tell the difference on 720p and 1080p settings for my video games. But on my 55" LG LCD it is tough to tell the difference between my Panasonic Blu-ray at 24 FPS 1080p and my Mac Mini running a downloaded 720p movie.
And don't even ask the wife. She claims there is no difference between the 55", the 720p 32" vizio upstairs and the old 32" tube JVC we used to have.
And it will make no difference to 90%+ of users, and increase usability by increasing streaming speeds.
When the pipes are up to it, 1080p will make a marginally better experience. Until then responsiveness is more important.
Apple knows that.
You fail to understand how modern streaming can work. Microsoft will stream up to 1080p through the Xbox 360. If you lack the bandwidth you get 720p, or 480p, or lower. It scales smoothly and without user interaction.
Im sorry but I disagree that recent experience suggests Apple will be able to use the name iTV. The issue is that whilst the others are names which were no longer used, ITV is one of the 5 main TV stations in the UK and as it is a product effectively forming your own TV station I highly doubt they will allow usage of the name. There would be too much confusion for everyone in the UK who knows ITV as a TV station that has been around for decades, its like if they released a product called NBC. Its just a bit ridiculous.
Apple could just buy the UK and solve that issue.
The A4 video encoder is based on the VXD 370 and Apple will not need to worry about power consumption so if they limit to 720p it is to reduce file size of the stream.
Don't forget that online streaming will be from iTunes only, which does not offer 1080p anyways.
the start. But I think it would be a great Home phone, just to stay in
touch with the most important people in our life.
It would also be great if Apple could offer it up as a WiFi Hotspot
upgrade.
The same gripes come up every time Apple uses the 'i*' convention, and every time, it becomes a non-issue.
Branding is REALLY important, whether people like it or not. And Apple has made good use of iBrands.
iPod
iPod Shuffle
iPod nano
iPod classic
iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iMac
iOS
iTunes
iCal
iSync
iPad
iWork
iLife
Off the top of my head- see, it must work!
The difference between 720p and 1080p is just HUGE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Didn't you read the article? all the experts agree that under a 55 inch TV, nobody can even tell the difference. The number of people with 55 inch tvs is tiny. 720p is better for the vast majority of people.
I didn't say that I couldn't tell the difference. I said most consumers.
The problems with 1080p is:
-The cost of streaming 1080p is too high
-Most don't have 1080p sets
-It may cost more
-Many people in the US have lousy bandwidth. A household full of iTV all streaming 1080p content is probably not even possible
-It won't be true 1080p because they will lower the bitrate which makes it essentially pointless
I totally agree with you on your 4th point. The VAST majority of US households are living on slow, crappy DSL or worse (shudder at my parents), DIAL UP. I've got 20 mbps max via Midcontinent, and there are times my netflix 1080 streaming gets choppy. Meanwhile, the rest of the modern world has access to 40 mbps speed at prices less then we pay!
Most consumers could very well love this product (like they love the iPad) and purchase it in droves as the dumping sat. and cable trend continues.
Didn't you read the article? all the experts agree that under a 55 inch TV, nobody can even tell the difference. The number of people with 55 inch tvs is tiny. 720p is better for the vast majority of people.
So if I can tell at 30", that makes me nobody does it?
the problems with 1080p is:
-the cost of streaming 1080p is too high
-most don't have 1080p sets
-it may cost more
-many people in the us have lousy bandwidth. A household full of itv all streaming 1080p content is probably not even possible
-it won't be true 1080p because they will lower the bitrate which makes it essentially pointless
+1 .
I paid extra for my gigantic 60" 1080p HDTV flat panel and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend money on a device - and subsequent download rentals - that can't feed the beast the resolution it deserves.
You are among a tiny, tiny minority who might benefit a slight amount form 1080p. But the normal consumer, of which there are millions, cannot see any difference and does not really care about crazy numbers.
dropping 1080p goes against Apple's philosophy of providing newer, better technologies.
plus, the people that would want an iTV are people with extra money and those people have larger screens and would appreciate the higher quality.
Apple again, driving towards the low end.
Maybe they'll instead increase the bitrate on the 720p videos they sell.
Unless they've given it an ok, there is almost no way this passes copyright muster. Even if there weren't source confusion, iTV is a "famous mark."
This report is hard to credit.
ITV is not copyrighted in the United States. sorry.
And I strongly disagree that most people cannot tell the difference between 720p, and 1080. Anyone with a 40+" TV can tell the difference.
All the best experts agree that under 55 inches, nobody can tell the difference.
Im sorry but I disagree that recent experience suggests Apple will be able to use the name iTV. The issue is that whilst the others are names which were no longer used, ITV is one of the 5 main TV stations in the UK and as it is a product effectively forming your own TV station I highly doubt they will allow usage of the name. There would be too much confusion for everyone in the UK who knows ITV as a TV station that has been around for decades, its like if they released a product called NBC. Its just a bit ridiculous.
So they can call it iTV everywhere but the UK. and call it something else in UK only. not a big deal in the global scheme of things.
You fail to understand how modern streaming can work. Microsoft will stream up to 1080p through the Xbox 360. If you lack the bandwidth you get 720p, or 480p, or lower. It scales smoothly and without user interaction.
It really doesn't matter what iTunes quality is at anyway. The big deal about this is third party apps like Netflix & Hulu which can stream at the bitrate of their choosing.
The average US home bandwidth is about 4MB/s download 1MB/s upload. It would be hard for me to believe that all of Europe is drastically better in this regard.
With a Slingbox HD you need anywhere from 2-3MB/sec just to stream 720p. One can only imagine how much 1080p uses. Some of the movie can be cached but I don't feel like waiting a half hour for my movie to start.
So if I can tell at 30", that makes me nobody does it?
No, it means that you sit too close to the TV. We're talking about normal viewing distances.
http://www.i.tv/
For the vast majority of HDTV owners, 720p is just great. (most HD on cable is 720 anyways) and since streaming is an important part of the Apple TV, 720p makes good bandwidth sense too. ...
Agreed.
People are forgetting also that most HD content is highly compressed. Most HD channels on TV are not even 720p or they are double letter-boxed 720p which is even worse than regular broadcast quality. The only time the average viewer will even come across 1080p or 1080i material is if they buy a BluRay disc of a recent movie and have a very good player and the latest TV.
True 720p, uncompressed looks fantastic and most people will be happy with that if it turns out to be the case.