Apple TV Gets Jailbroken, Can Kind Of Do 1080p

most 1080 video is interlaced anyways.
it takes less effort to display 1080i video than 1080p video.

After using a 30" 2560 x 1600 panel the last week 1080p panels seem just meh to me. Most people dont care or cant tell a difference between a 1080i broadcast and a blu ray movie in 1080p. I can but I think most cant or dont care enough anyway.

If Plex can get ported to this and the transcoding in the Plex software can be improved up to the same level as Air Video then I'll probably replace one of my mac minis with an Apple TV. If it can be hacked to do 1080p with Plex streamed stuff then there's a good chance I'd replace both of my Mac Minis with these.

undercutting customers is what apple is great at

they cud have really had something special if they went all out... but they just like to finish half way, and the second half will be doled out after 3-4 more generations

I have to hand one thing to Apple, they did right by not making iTV more than it costs.

I can see why they left out 1080p. You don't get 1080p in anything other than bluray, not even regular cable. The bandwidth would be monumental in streaming 1080p.

I wish that scumbags would stop spamming the comment section while trying to sell something entirely unrelated to Hardware and THG in general.

I'm confused... why should I pay all my money to the company that has gone out of its way to BLOCK OFF the functionality that I want, when it is some other guys who have actually given me that functionality, for nothing...

could I at least give half my money to Apple, and the other half to the jailbreakers?

or... maybe... Apple, could you stop being LAME!?

I guess for the time being I'll just take the easy option and not buy their stuff.

I think I'd rather shell out the extra $100 and go for a Nettop. Just too much of a hassle and limited functionality.

I'm not a huge fan of apple, but at the same time I don't like seeing anti-apple zealots bash a company for doing something right.

That means the processor/gpu/hardware can't handle 1080p satisfactorily. Just because there's compatibility does not mean the feature is being "blocked off" for the sake of holding something back. It's blocked because the device really can't handle it. Just because one piece of hardware in it can support it doesn't mean the device as a whole can.

My old Pentium 4 computer had the ability to play 1080p. It stuttered horribly and the A/V went out of sync, but it could technically play 1080p. Now would I - or rather, should I - go on ebay and sell it claiming it can play 1080p? Hell no. I technically didn't lie, but it's still BS.

Apple's doing the right thing here. They could have gone around claiming it can handle 1080p when it really couldn't. Instead the chose the high ground and didn't try to trick their customers.

Keep in mind now that it's been stated that 1080p can be viewed, but it's stuttery, so really doing anything to bring that feature around is pretty fruitless as you'd get better playback either hooking up a PC to a TV or just shelling out the same cash you wasted on AppleTV for an internet app enabled Blu Ray player, since that's all the AppleTV is, minus the Blu Ray (or any physical medium) playback.

Anti-Apple troll really struggling to come up with reasons to hate this device. At $99 it isn't overpriced in the slightest and when you consider the potential after a jailbreak it is definitely one of the top streaming devices out there. I'd wait for the hardware upgrade in generation two before I bought one but this looks like a pretty nice offering from Apple... provided you jailbreak it...

You think iTV is a hassle compared to a nettop? Seriously?

gah, thats what I'm saying! why should you have to jailbreak it!!! it might be ok if Apple were cool with you doing it. BUT THEY'RE NOT! they have tried to make it illegal!! why in God's name would I support behaviour like that by giving them money? thats what I was trying to say with my last comment:

anyone who tries to justify Apple, or an Apple product, based on the fact that you can do stuff with the product they specifically say you can't, IS DOING IT WRONG!

its like saying "I really like soccer because you can kick people with studded shoes" yes, technically it does present the opportunity, but it is completely against the rules!

now yes, from a purely practical standpoint, you can definitely argue that with jail breaking, some of apple's products, like this, are a good buy (as long as you take into account complications with warranty that may arise ect). but know in doing so, you are pledging your support to a company that is actively seeking to TAKE AWAY many of the features that make it so.

...
sorry for the rant...

That's an interesting excuse for Apple undercutting their customers, but Microsoft has been offering 1080p content for quite some time already. Albeit most of it is not streamed, but that has more to do with people's internet connection, and with fiber connections popping up more frequently 1080p streaming really isn't a pipe dream at all.

Of course it won't be as good as Blu-ray because it has to be compressed, but even a heavily compressed 1080p video steam is going to look much better than a 720p video blown up on a 1080p monitor. I don't understand why some people are such apple fans they'll even defend the company when they are so obviously selling them an under performing piece of equipment that they will most likely replace within 6 months with a version that can do 1080p content, (without hacking it).

I'm not an Apple fan, certainly not a Microsoft fan, I'm just a fan of technology and I'm disgusted anytime a corporation purposely limits their product from performing as it could simply because they intend to replace it shortly in the future with a model that can do what the people wanted all along. Apple has become a master at getting their loyal audience to buy their products over and over. I don't get it, I like my electronics to last at least a year before being completely outdated lol

I'm wondering if, perhaps, the reason why 1080p is so stuttery (and possibly why Apple locked it off in the Apple TV) is because the CPU might be too weak to handle 1080p consistently? We must remember that as much as Apple likes it being branded as the "A4 processor," the CPU is not their design at all; the "A4" is just a four-chip package: 1 CPU, 1 GPU, and 2 RAM chips. Currently, while they designed the package, the chips themselves are very, very standard.

The CPU contained within the A4 package is an ordinary ARM Cortex-A8, the same as used in countless other smartphones. The clock speed for it can vary, up to 1 GHz, as is used in the iPod Touch and iPad. The A8 DOES have SIMD capability, giving it much better media-playing capabilities than older designs, (like the ARM-9) I question if 1 GHz, given the relatively low performance-per-clock ARM has compared to desktop architectures, (such as x86 CPUs from AMD and Intel) would be capable of handling 1080p decoding at full framerate.

Hence, if that's the case, then I wouldn't blame Apple for disabling support for 1080p; it's a consequence of them using a too-weak CPU. Instead, Apple should be blamed for cramming their A4 design into everything they can find, (next up: A4-powered iMac!) rather than using a more properly powerful CPU. Really, hardware-wise, the A4 is a DOWNGRADE from the previous one, a 1 GHz Pentium M. Ditto goes for the RAM (which goes from 400->333 MHz) and the GPU (switching out a GeForce Go 7300 for the SGX535, which Intel also uses for one of their GMA chipsets...) and the internal storage. (from a 160GB HDD to 8GB of Flash) That's right, a downgrade across the board.

I love bashing apple, probably more than any other person, but here I have to bash more than just apple.

I really dislike the fact that the standard is 1080p these days for screens that people have, but that these Apple TV things, many, many PS3 games, and XBOX360 as a whole just don't have proper 1080p support.

I really believe we are missing out on a lot of nice content like this....

At least sound is somewhat in order, although still a pain in the *** to properly set up a nice DDL system

if it can ply 1080p why in the hell would apple cap it?

No thanks, ill wait for Google TV.

More Apple haters posting again. Jealous much, lol? I'm sorry your Windows peecee is such a pile of junk, but really, if you actually take time out of your day to criticize the competition, I'm willing to bet you live in your parents basement and don't have a girlfriend.

I'm not struggling at all, as it has been stated multiple times this equipment is nothing more than a downgraded refresh. The only thing this device had over other streaming content players was that you used to be able to purchase content to keep and playback forever, now they don't even allow that. Yes, they lowered the price, but not by much. Other than iTunes compatability everything else that is offered is available on either a web enabled TV or web enabled BD player, each with apps available like Netflix, Youtube, FB, Twitter, etc. All the stuff that Apple touts their device does aside from iTunes.

There is no reason to like this device, when you can just spend 50-60 more dollars for a device with the same functionality (minus iTunes, and iPod/iPhone interactivity of course) and with the ability to playback a library of media you already have, and save another bit of shelf space for other devices you may want.

And when I said they didn't lower the price by much I was stating in reference to the general media player market in current gen tech (not talking about $30 DVD players).

Anyone care to see how the internet and their browses would perform if there were no GIF, PNG JPEG formats? Most of you buy data-reduced music exclusively now and don't complain about the data loss. The ear is harder to fool than the eye.

Apple has chosen the size that fits.

If the playback stutters at 1080p then I don't see the point in enabling it.

Meh

just a comment about something that's annoying me. There is no device made by apple called "iTV". There never will be either. For further information as to why, please see www.itv.com and read up on their view of selling their brand to apple. It's called Apple TV. And it's an utterly worthless device as my xbox 360 will offer all it does, plus more with the release of the updated zune market place.

I fail to see the point in Hacking the device. Why not go and buy a Roku or WD media device or a Popcorn Media Hour. Apple Tv was made for people who don't really care about geewhiz features. All this complaining over Apple being closed....thats why we have competition made buy those listed above. Go buy that! Stop with this incessant whining about limitations when you probably wouldn't buy a Apple Tv anyway.

Plenty of 1080p capable media output devices under $100 in the market.

iTV if competitively priced should only cost at most $60. But who's kidding here? Apple customer base are loaded with people who have zero clue about technology.

Do what Steve Jobs wants you to do - Motto of the Church of Steve Jobs.

You aren't free till Steve Jobs sets the definition of freedom to make you "free."

Apple TV = TheyFail

So rather than create the best Apple TV product they can right now, and "innovate" something new later, they're intentionally capping the device at 720P so that a year or two from now, when fans are clamoring for a new Apple TV, Apple can just re-release the exact same hardware with 1080P uncapped, and list 1080P support as an "improvement"? Way to go Apple.

Kinda like how they can enable backgrounds and multitasking on the new iOS and call it an improvement when A) competitors (but not Microsoft) already allow this and B) all iPhone owners were saying they didn't need multitasking anyway, so its fine that it didn't support it.

Apple's convincing people they don't need 1080P, that is, until Apple can sell them the same device a second time with 1080P support.

Here's a question: what is Roku using in their boxes that are able to do 1080p?

Not necessarily. While it may be the hardware, it may also be the software. proper software can really impact performance, and the opposite is true.