Apple Possibly Testing 1080p iTunes Movies in September
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According to information released by AppleInsider on Friday, Apple is planning on introducing 1080p movies for sale via iTunes, and the new HD+ movies could be coming as early as September.
As of right now, HD movies on iTunes are only available in a measly 720p (1280×720), but when temperatures start cooling and the leaves start turning, you may be able to get your hands on a few movies that have been submitted to the iTunes Store with an 1920×1080 resolution.
One movie from 20th Century Fox is rumored to have been submitted to the iTunes Store with encoding options for the standard 480p and 720p, but also with a new option, 1080p, which has been termed HD+. Several other upcoming releases from other studios were also submitted with the new optional resolution.
In addition to this new HD+ format, there are rumors that Apple is working on a new upgraded version of Apple TV that will output at 1080p. The current model can accept 1080p, but downscales to 720p because of a lack of processing power. An upgraded processor will solve that problem, and allow Apple TV to support the new HD+ format that’s been sneaking into the iTunes Store.
This upgrade to 1080p comes hot on the heels of Apple’s iOS 5 announcement and beta, where users found that iOS 5 contains a video player that can play and sync 1080p content on the iPad 2. It’s likely that the rumored Apple TV upgrade will use the same A5 processor that allows the iPad 2 to play 1080p content.
Apple apparently has the capabilities to begin distributing 1080p video files to consumers, but the challenge for consumers will be maintaining a downlink of 10 megabits per second, which is what the huge HD+ files will require to stream in real time. A lot of residential connections don’t reach that speed, with the average connection speed being just 5.1 megabits. As a result, Apple may offer the movies as direct downloads, or restrict them to users whose connections can support them.
Several phones and other media hubs allow 1080p, so it’s nice to see Apple catching up with some of the competition. Expect to see movies on iTunes in this new HD+ format in either September or October.
