New ATV HD confusion

[JimmyDreams]

Ok...I've read what i can find about the upcoming TV2. I know it supports 5.1 audio (good enough for me) and 720P video.

I've seen people asking for 1080p. Does TV2 do 1080i or is it stuck at 720p.

I'm trying to decide if that's enough of a drawback for me to NOT buy it. MOST of my movie watching is on a 36inch flatcreen, and for HD content off my DirecTV, I've got everything set at 1080i. I don't know that I'd notice any difference at 720p....

Am I being a numbers junkie who wouldn't know the difference if it walked up and DOINKED me in the eyeballs? ('doinked' is official Three Stooges-speak)

Thanks for the info!!

 

[NightStorm]

It's the same hardware as the original AppleTV. I believe it can output a 1080i signal, but only accepts 720p24 as its maximum video input.

If 720p is a drawback for you, then you might want to consider 720p is what a lot of broadcasters use. There is nothing wrong with 720p, it is an official part of the HD broadcast spec, and it has been just fine for everyone all these years already.

 

[rogersmj]

Am I being a numbers junkie who wouldn't know the difference if it walked up and DOINKED me in the eyeballs? ('doinked' is official Three Stooges-speak)

Yes, you are

You can't notice a dang bit of difference between 720p and 1080p until the set gets above 42" (unless you're looking at the screen from less than 3 feet away). All HD television is 720p. If you have a 36" TV, then it's 720p -- there aren't any (widely available) that size that can do 1080 lines. So why would you are that the ATV can't do 1080?

 

[HDproducer]

What is the native resolution of your TV? Most TVs that size are only 720p anyway. (1024x768) Anything under 50" and its real hard to tell the difference between 720p and 1080i. A lot of Broadcast HD is 720p.

My main concern is the compression ratio. HD footage compressed all the way down to 5Mbps. That's a tad low for an SD DVD and your dealing with more pixels to compress. I'll have to see it on a large screen TV before I get one. But it is a step in the right direction.

My guess is it will be roughly the same quality as DirecTV HD (I hope), but a ways off from Blu-ray.

I figure if it looks good, its a better option than pay-per-view from DirecTV.

 

[billabong]

720P is great, and I'm very excited about this new format being available. I do however wish we had the option to buy these HD movies if we would like to. But I can deal with the rentals...

 

[technocoy]

I agree with everyone else that 720p looks good. and will definitely look fine on a 36" Tv, and yes you are most likely running at 720p anyway on that size.

However. After owning a 1080p and a 720p television, those who say you can't see a difference on smaller TV's are either not very picky or don't have good eyesight. My 42" looks absolutely amazing at 1080p and looks significantly less so at 720p although it is still very much a nice picture.

Make no mistake though 1080p makes a huge difference on most TV sets.

I'm beginning to think that some people are watching downloaded 1080p videos or something that are fairly compressed. The 1080p Quicktimes from Apple are not exactly good for seeing the effect of 1080p... You really need to see something like a Bluray or HD DVD with a low rate of compression to appreciate it.

Cheers

 

[JimmyDreams]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

My biggest concern is jumping too early on TV (even though this is the 'new' version). I have an AEBS and was about to get an external HD....but Apple kind of muddied those waters with Time Capsule. I don't want to waste my $$ if Mr. Jobs is gonna come out 1080 support next month. But I guess TV2 is new enough that it'll be worth the $$ for the time being.