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apple television screen ? Retina ?

C

Che Castro

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 21, 2009
6,009
794
A retina 42" or 50" screen


I have a few questions

First is that even possible to do? Im no resolution expert , cause from what i read they had trouble making the new ipad retina screen,

Second, would a retina 50" screen look better than a 50" LED screen , Are they the same?


This apple television needs to have an amazing screen in order for me to get rid of my current tv, siri and some apps inside a regular LED LCD TV ain't gonna cut it
 
what apple tv? THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

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Che Castro said:
A retina 42" or 50" screen


I have a few questions

First is that even possible to do? Im no resolution expert , cause from what i read they had trouble making the new ipad retina screen,

Second, would a retina 50" screen look better than a 50" LED screen , Are they the same?


This apple television needs to have an amazing screen in order for me to get rid of my current tv, siri and some apps inside a regular LED LCD TV ain't gonna cut it
Click to expand...

and of course a 50" retina screen would be better then a normal res 50" screen. The content isn't available for something that high yet though so they would look the same. From viewing distance of a tv it wouldn't make a big difference anyway unless you sat closer.
Also plasma still beats led screens for picture quality. led is just the lighting of the tv...
 
x-evil-x said:
what apple tv? THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

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and of course a 50" retina screen would be better then a normal res 50" screen. The content isn't available for something that high yet though so they would look the same. From viewing distance of a tv it wouldn't make a big difference anyway unless you sat closer.
Also plasma still beats led screens for picture quality. led is just the lighting of the tv...
Click to expand...


I would venture to say that the current content would indeed NOT look the same. Take the iPad 3 for instance. A lot of content looks bad on it because of the resolution. Also take 720p content and upscale it to 1080 there is noticeable artifacts in dark scenes. Therefore I would say that content would look degraded on a "retina" 50" screen
 
well depending on the screen yea. plasmas take well to making sd content look good. much better then lcd's I've seen. But when the content is available it will demolish normal hd tv's nowadays.
 
It is possible, Sharp have just announced they are mass producing IGZO screens, including a 32" at 4K resolution.

Even though there will be more pixels on a Retina TV, they would not need to be anywhere the density seen on the iPad, making things easier.

A high pixel density TV would also be great for doubling up as a monitor.
 
x-evil-x said:
what apple tv? THERE IS NO SUCH THING!

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and of course a 50" retina screen would be better then a normal res 50" screen. The content isn't available for something that high yet though so they would look the same. From viewing distance of a tv it wouldn't make a big difference anyway unless you sat closer.
Also plasma still beats led screens for picture quality. led is just the lighting of the tv...
Click to expand...
The LED screens that you refer to are just LCD screens with LED back lighting. However, hopefully OLED screens come out soon, which should have come out sooner, had the manufacturers not all fallen in love with the dead-end detour of 3D.
 
For typical television size (40-50"), viewing distance (10'), and visual acuity (20/20), resolution over 1080p is not likely to be noticed by most people.

For desktop monitors and mobile devices, which have a much shorter viewing distance, retina can be a big improvement.

I found value in this article when planning my living room.
http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter
 
I'd say TV's are about as retina as you need. Retina doesn't mean HiDPI, it means that from the assumed viewing distance you can't make out individual pixels. From my couch my 720p tv is as retina as anything advertised as such. Put that magnifying glass down and enjoy the show!:)

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x-evil-x said:
what apple tv? THERE IS NO SUCH THING!
Click to expand...


Apparently feature speculation can only be done once a product is officially announced. And he said apple television... the Apple TV definitely exists. If you're gonna nitpick, cover your own bases.
 
I wanna know whether it's going to have 3D support, I know this is very unlikely but everything is getting released in 3D now. My guess is Apple doesn't want to bother with 3D till glasses-free 3D comes out (Anyone know when this might be?)
 
Jamie0003 said:
I wanna know whether it's going to have 3D support, I know this is very unlikely but everything is getting released in 3D now. My guess is Apple doesn't want to bother with 3D till glasses-free 3D comes out (Anyone know when this might be?)
Click to expand...

Don't bother asking questions

We can't talk about an apple product until it is announced
 
Che Castro said:
There's also rumors of a new iPhone this year

But it's just a RUMOR
Click to expand...

there is a new iPhone every year. The APPLE branded tv is just a rumor. show me more proof that is not....

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theSeb said:
The LED screens that you refer to are just LCD screens with LED back lighting. However, hopefully OLED screens come out soon, which should have come out sooner, had the manufacturers not all fallen in love with the dead-end detour of 3D.
Click to expand...

i did say led is the backlighting of the tv. i know the tv's are lcd...sorry to not be 100% specific i don't think i needed to be.

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thuchu1 said:
I'd say TV's are about as retina as you need. Retina doesn't mean HiDPI, it means that from the assumed viewing distance you can't make out individual pixels. From my couch my 720p tv is as retina as anything advertised as such. Put that magnifying glass down and enjoy the show!:)

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Apparently feature speculation can only be done once a product is officially announced. And he said apple television... the Apple TV definitely exists. If you're gonna nitpick, cover your own bases.
Click to expand...

obviously the post is talking about a TV not the appletv. I should be more specific i guess for people that misunderstand things that shouldn't be taken for the same thing. To me its common sense but people that actually think a TV is going to happen don't know what they are talking about...
To the OP go buy an appletv and pretend its a real tv. It will be just as good to you I'm sure.
 
x-evil-x said:
there is a new iPhone every year. The APPLE branded tv is just a rumor. show me more proof that is not....

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i did say led is the backlighting of the tv. i know the tv's are lcd...sorry to not be 100% specific i don't think i needed to be.

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obviously the post is talking about a TV not the appletv. I should be more specific i guess for people that misunderstand things that shouldn't be taken for the same thing. To me its common sense but people that actually think a TV is going to happen don't know what they are talking about...
To the OP go buy an appletv and pretend its a real tv. It will be just as good to you I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Stop trolling
 
I think the OP is confused. Even if Apple does make a tv this year, it isn't going to be a "retina" tv. They could introduce a 4k tv, but there is no available content and at 42-50" would literally be pointless unless used as a computer monitor (i.e. not a tv). 4k doesn't even begin to be useful until 70+", and mass market 4k is still a few years away. The only 4k content is in the movie theater and a few demo youtube videos.

If you are looking for a nice large tv right now your best bang for the buck is a Panasonic plasma. You can get a 65" for less than 2k.
 
StinDaWg said:
I think the OP is confused. Even if Apple does make a tv this year, it isn't going to be a "retina" tv.
Click to expand...

I have a retina TV, it's a 47" 1080 panel, and i sit 8-10 feet away, so it qualifies.
the retina ipad has a lower PPI than the retina iphone, since it's designed to be held further away. You don't need the as much density as you get further away.
a good read on "retina" math

StinDaWg said:
If you are looking for a nice large tv right now your best bang for the buck is a Panasonic plasma. You can get a 65" for less than 2k.
Click to expand...

and this is why it's very unlikely that apple will come out with their own TV, i could see apple partnering with a manufacturer, so you can get an imbedded appleTV in your LG or panasonic or whoever makes them the right deal, much like they way they've licensed airplay to speaker companies.

But an actual apple branded TV isn't very likely. That's almost the same as saying since they make kits to put your iphone in your car, Apple is going to start making cars.
 
Che Castro said:
A retina 42" or 50" screen


I have a few questions

First is that even possible to do? Im no resolution expert , cause from what i read they had trouble making the new ipad retina screen,

Second, would a retina 50" screen look better than a 50" LED screen , Are they the same?


This apple television needs to have an amazing screen in order for me to get rid of my current tv, siri and some apps inside a regular LED LCD TV ain't gonna cut it
Click to expand...

Sorry, about all the hostility. For a rumor site, people here get extremely offended when rumors are presented as fact. It's strange, because although this is a site dedicated to watching rumors, everybody here feels they are Apple experts and will dismiss any rumors that doesn't adhere to "their" view of Apple (no matter how perpetual the rumors may be).

So in the future, you'll get a much better response if you add disclaimers like "Assuming Apple does release a television set later this year..." or something of the like. That would make all these appease all the tightly wound individuals.

People have already answered your question adequately, but I'll give it my go. There are two issues with the thought of a "retina display" tv screen.

a) unless the content is able to produce the high-res, you won't notice any difference. So 1080p is 1080p no matter how many pixels you pack into it.

b) for all intents and purposes 1080p is already retina, because the term retina is relative to how close you are to the display. You would probably have to be within 4 feet before you could notice any pixels. And that is far to close to sit to a large screen tv.
 
waw74 said:
I have a retina TV, it's a 47" 1080 panel, and i sit 8-10 feet away, so it qualifies.
the retina ipad has a lower PPI than the retina iphone, since it's designed to be held further away. You don't need the as much density as you get further away.
a good read on "retina" math



and this is why it's very unlikely that apple will come out with their own TV, i could see apple partnering with a manufacturer, so you can get an imbedded appleTV in your LG or panasonic or whoever makes them the right deal, much like they way they've licensed airplay to speaker companies.

But an actual apple branded TV isn't very likely. That's almost the same as saying since they make kits to put your iphone in your car, Apple is going to start making cars.
Click to expand...

I doubt we will see Apple partnering with a manufacturer to see an Apple TV embedded in non-Apple branded TVs. Apple tried that in phones with a Motorola embedded with iTunes. Didn't turn out well, and later on Apple made their own phones with much more success...
 
Moonjumper said:
I doubt we will see Apple partnering with a manufacturer to see an Apple TV embedded in non-Apple branded TVs. Apple tried that in phones with a Motorola embedded with iTunes. Didn't turn out well, and later on Apple made their own phones with much more success...
Click to expand...

it's worked out well for airplay (or airtunes if you go back further), look at the number of speakers and A/V receivers that have airplay built into them now. apple gets cash for every item sold, and they don't have to do much as far as R&D and manufacturing. and don't have to deal with updating products with every new trend that comes out in speaker or display design.
look at how long cinema displays can go between updates, check out the forums here, you'll find lots of threads about "when's the next update" "why haven't they updated" but TV manufacturers will dump at least a couple dozen models a year with all the size and different levels of features available.

the real reason apple makes the aTV is so that it's easier for you to access items purchased in the iTunes store. and get you to purchase more. and for apple to get it's cut of that purchase. The more devices you can purchase from, the better for apple.

and now apple has the OS and the interface worked out. the Motorola phone was a poor implementation of an iPod, in a poorly designed phone. it had 512MB of memory, when the iPods of the time came in 30,60 and 80 GB models.
it wouldn't be a re-invention of the aTV, just "aTV built in" so same functionality as the current system, just fewer cables and no box sitting on the side.

Not saying that's going to happen, but in my opinion more likely than a fully branded option.
 
waw74 said:
I have a retina TV, it's a 47" 1080 panel, and i sit 8-10 feet away, so it qualifies.
the retina ipad has a lower PPI than the retina iphone, since it's designed to be held further away. You don't need the as much density as you get further away.
a good read on "retina" math
Click to expand...

I think the question the OP was asking is if Apple was going to release a super high res tv, even higher than 1080p. If they released a 1080p tv and marketed it as "retina" everyone would have a big laugh because 1080p tvs have been around for a decade.
 
StinDaWg said:
I think the question the OP was asking is if Apple was going to release a super high res tv, even higher than 1080p. If they released a 1080p tv and marketed it as "retina" everyone would have a big laugh because 1080p tvs have been around for a decade.
Click to expand...

correct, I was pointing out there was no need to jump on a "buzz word" bandwagon" and that a lot of people already have a "retina TV" or pretty close to it at their house.

for a normal home TV viewing situation, 1080 is a decent sweet spot. pretty close to the "retina threshold," as screens get bigger, people sit further back, so they stay close to the retina range, or if people are sitting closer, they don't have room for a bigger TV. If i went much bigger than my 47", it would overtake the room.
 
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