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The New Apple TV Will Not Have Support for 4K Video

Posted April 6, 2015 at 2:02am by iClarified · 12274 views
The next generation Apple TV will not support 4K video, according to a new report from John Paczkowski.

Sources in position to know tell BuzzFeed News that the 4th generation Apple TV will not initially support 4K video — a newer high-definition video resolution that delivers a more detailed, immersive picture. “4K is great, but it’s still in its infancy,” said one source familiar with Apple’s thinking.

While those on the forefront of technology will be disappointed by the news, it's believed that there just isn't enough 4K content available for Apple to include the feature on its new device.

Few households have 4K televisions. Additionally, there is also the issue of delivering 4K streaming video. With four times the number of pixels, 4K video requires much more bandwidth and more powerful compression technologies. Also, users would need fast enough Internet connections to download the stream at a sufficient speed. The last Akamai report estimated that just 19% of U.S. connections were at the 15 Mbps or higher speeds needed for 4K video streaming.

“The additional cost to shoot, store, encode and deliver video in 4K, when compared to HD, is huge,” Frost & Sullivan principal analyst Dan Rayburn told BuzzFeed. “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.”

Apple is expected to unveil its new device at WWDC 2015. It's said to feature Siri, an App Store, and live television streaming.

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