I think it has to do with hardware required to do video decoding at the base-station and real-time transcoding in iTunes. Also, at this point, for passive video watching its almost better to use a Front Row interface on the TV rather than using your Mac to stream to the TV like you would with AirTunes.
Bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a mini. Once prices come down and Blu-Ray is an option I'll bite.
Bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a mini. Once prices come down and Blu-Ray is an option I'll bite.
That's not even it. 802.11b has a real world, reliable throughput of about 1Mbps. 802.11g is slightly better, maybe 3Mbps. 802.11a is better yet, and 802.11n improves on the ability to send parallel streams, so it's realistic throughput is probably high enough to deliver MP2-compressed DVD material.
These days, MP2 DVD decoders and VCD decoders are about as commodity as it gets, but it's not going to work great until 802.11n is out, and we all know that Apple doesn't release premature products just to appease techno-junkies. Now, I'm not saying being a techno-junkie is bad, since I'm one myself, but don't even begin to wonder about Airport Video until Apple released an 802.11n Airport first.
I think an 802.11n Airport Express with a component video output would be super cool. But, then again, my apartment isn't so big and I might as well just drill a hole in the wall and run cables through.
I think the issue preventing AirTunes-Video is more of an IP issue rather than a technical one.
But yes, I'd probably buy one too. I love my AirPort Express and I'd love to stream my video to my TV that way.
But if the hardware costs almost as much as a mini, I'd rather have the mini at that point. I guess FrontRow needs some sort of received plugin, so that you could transmit from one machine and it would just blindly decode and display what it receives. If Apple doesn't provide it, it sounds like a nice 3rd part opportunity to me.
Comments
Originally posted by ipodandimac
the rumor mill beat this to death about a year ago. w00t.
Perhaps when 802.11n is available?
Bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a mini. Once prices come down and Blu-Ray is an option I'll bite.
Originally posted by Xool
Bottom line: Apple wants you to buy a mini. Once prices come down and Blu-Ray is an option I'll bite.
That's not even it. 802.11b has a real world, reliable throughput of about 1Mbps. 802.11g is slightly better, maybe 3Mbps. 802.11a is better yet, and 802.11n improves on the ability to send parallel streams, so it's realistic throughput is probably high enough to deliver MP2-compressed DVD material.
These days, MP2 DVD decoders and VCD decoders are about as commodity as it gets, but it's not going to work great until 802.11n is out, and we all know that Apple doesn't release premature products just to appease techno-junkies. Now, I'm not saying being a techno-junkie is bad, since I'm one myself, but don't even begin to wonder about Airport Video until Apple released an 802.11n Airport first.
I think an 802.11n Airport Express with a component video output would be super cool. But, then again, my apartment isn't so big and I might as well just drill a hole in the wall and run cables through.
But yes, I'd probably buy one too. I love my AirPort Express and I'd love to stream my video to my TV that way.
But if the hardware costs almost as much as a mini, I'd rather have the mini at that point. I guess FrontRow needs some sort of received plugin, so that you could transmit from one machine and it would just blindly decode and display what it receives. If Apple doesn't provide it, it sounds like a nice 3rd part opportunity to me.