Both the iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6 secretly support 4K video, but don’t expect the same from the next-generation Apple TV, according to one new report.
Citing “sources in position to know,” BuzzFeed News claims that the much-speculated-upon 4th generation Apple TV isn’t going to go out of its way to support a video resolution “still in its infancy” — despite the fact that rivals Netflix and Amazon already offer this service, albeit in limited supply.
It seems that Apple’s reasoning for doing so is partly about showing typically Apple-like reticence about leaping onto the latest tech bandwagon before it’s ready. 4K video requires speedy broadband connections to support its delivery — with a small minority of U.S. Internet connections capable of handling the 15 Mbps or above needed to cope with 4K streaming. Added to that is the fact that offering 4K is expensive, and simply not worth it right now when looking at things from a cost-benefit perspective.
“The additional cost to shoot, store, encode and deliver video in 4K, when compared to HD, is huge,” Frost & Sullivan principal analyst Dan Rayburn tells BuzzFeed in its article. “No one wants to talk about it, but going from Netflix’s average 3Mbps stream to their 4K stream at 16Mbps is very expensive. That’s why it’s said it will offer ‘limited’ content in 4K for a long time. 4K is many, many years away from being adopted at critical mass.”
Still, even without 4K there’s plenty to be excited about concerning Apple’s forthcoming TV revamp.
Would 4K streaming (or the lack thereof) sway you one way or the other? Leave your comments in the box below.
Source: BuzzFeed News
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
6 responses to “Don’t get too excited about streaming 4K on next-gen Apple TV”
4K isn’t that widely used yet. Most people don’t have 4k tv’s. It wasn’t until this year that vizio started selling 4k tv’s. So next year will be the year of 4k. Plus, most people can’t tell the difference as of yet. I love 4k but I don’t really want it right now. No need, especially since most bluray movies won’t be 4k.
I bought a 4K Sony last year only because Sony has a outstanding upscaling engine and believe me it works great, not everything is scaled upward but enough to make it worth what i spent $1500.00
I plan to get the upcoming Apple TV, but I’m not looking to replace my TV anytime soon. When I do, the Apple TV will be another couple of iterations down the road and I’ll replace it then.
who want 4K? 4K is like a HD ready 720p 5 years ago. Future is 8K
“the future is 8K”, and 16K, 32K, 64K. oh wait why does this sound familiar?
HD is fine for me at the moment. My inexpensive 1080p screen is in great shape, and I don’t plan on upgrading anytime in the next couple of years. Would ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ look that much better at 4K? I have 60mb Charter broadband, so streaming 4K wouldn’t be an issue. I just can’t tell a discernible difference between 1080p and 4K on a 40-50″ screen, which is the largest TV I could imagine ever buying.