In all likelihood , Apple’smedia event on March 7will introduce a new iPad . We ’ve even speculated what we might expect from next week ’s event .
I ’ve been think of the forking of the iPad gain ground a Retina - style showing . ( That ’s what Apple foretell the CRT screen it debut on the iPhone 4 , with a pixel denseness so high-pitched that thehuman eye ca n’t distinguish the individual pixels . ) When you put it all together , it suggests that March 7 could be the twenty-four hour period that Apple rage up its keep of high - definition video recording — if it suppose it ’s worth it .
1080p for the win
The iPad 2 ’s ( ) sieve resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels ( at 132 picture element per in ) . So allow ’s imagine that Apple doubles the iPad ’s 1024 - by-768 pixel dimension to 2048 - by-1536 pixels result , an bit that produce a equipment with four times as many pixels . Such a screen would be drop - dead gorgeous for look at picture and say crisp text , sure . But it would also let the iPad to exhibit every pixel of the highest - resolve home television formatting : 1080p ( 1920 by 1080 ) movies . 1080p is the resolution that you ’ll find on Blu - irradiation discs and some video - on - demand service — and it ’s what the video recording mode on the the iPhone 4S shoots in , to boot .
Right now the HD video depicted object on iTunes is 720p ( 1280 by 720 ) resolution . Although both the iPad and iPhone can technically recreate H.264 1080p TV , the display on those devices are n’t big enough to display the full resolving power in the proper aspect ratio . And theApple TV ( ) , which is designed for connect to HDTV , ca n’t bet back videos with high settlement than 720p .
So if Apple ’s going to release an iPad with so many pixels that it can accommodate the intact contents of a 1080p picture on screen with way to save , perhaps it ’s the right time to add 1080p video to the iTunes Store . Alongside all the swirling iPad rumor have been suggestions that there ’s also a new Apple TV in the offing . Add in the fact that the iPad can teem content to an Apple TV using AirPlay , and you have a nice short ecosystem for Apple to volunteer gamey quality video ( and lure people to upgrade several machine at once ) .
A 1080p movie would fit on a retina iPad screen with room to spare.
Still some issues
A 1080p movie would conform to on a retina iPad screen with room to spare . There are some linger issues , however . Take bandwidth . An as example , Martin Scorsese ’s Academy Award - get ahead movieHugois now available to buy from the iTunes Store . The Coyote State translation is 1.74 GB , while the 720p HD version weighs in at 3.99 GB . 1080p is 2.25 times as many pixels as 720p , so all things being adequate ( understanding that things like audio rails might not surmount up in the same way ) the same movie in 1080p would tip the scales at nearly 9 GB . That ’s alotof data to download ( specially in these days of bandwidth caps from most major ISPs ) . It would also take a long time to download , and eat up a lot of storage outer space .
To combat this , Apple could go the path of cable and satellite providers , which extremely contract HD video ( and often cut solution of HD message from 1920 by 1080 to lower resolutions to save bandwidth ) . That does n’t feel veryAppleto me .
And if Apple offer SD , HD , and Super HD , will that mean you ’ll be impel to download all three the agency iTunes makes you seize both the SD and HD adaptation now ? And if Apple added a third quality grade , would it add an extra price tier too?Hugocosts $ 15 to buy in SD and $ 20 to purchase in HD . What would a Super HD variation cost , $ 30 ? Is anyone willing to pay off that ?
Which conduct me to the substantial question : Can the average iTunes client even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p , either on an iPad or on an Apple telecasting ?
Apple has become the crowing euphony retail merchant in the United States selling 256 - kbps compress audio , due in part to convenience but also to the fact non - audiophiles — listening to music on headphones or middle - of - the - road speakers — can’t really tell the divergence . We ’re not talking about the difference between standard - definition video and high - definition — this is the difference between twohigh - definitionvideo formats . With the exception of a few gamy - remnant home - dramatics fan , will anyone notice ?
March 7 might indeed see Apple embracing 1080p TV everywhere in its ecosystem . But even if it happens , I ’m not sure the difference in time , bandwidth , cost , and storage space will be worth a slight rising slope in quality .
[ Jonathan Seff is Macworld ’s executive editor in chief . ]
[ Updated at 12:56PM pacific on 3/2 to compensate a math error . ]
