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

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Posted April 6, 2015 at 2:02am by iClarified

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

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iamdeveloper - April 8, 2015 at 12:11pm

4k look good, sure it's expensive. Smart decision by apple.

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Tech Jedi - April 6, 2015 at 3:41pm

Apple cashing in on a 4K update a year later. Yet new iMac will have 8K display. I am just disappointed in the slow transition into 4K. There are no Blu-Rays in 4K. The Blu-ray players only upscale to 4K. This is sad having been out for over a year.

55f10b3 - April 6, 2015 at 12:29pm

This does not surprise me. ATV has been behind since it was released. Lack of channels, Drm and tieing it to itunes has caused millions to abandon it and move on to better pastures. This all from a company that treated a possible tool for the future like a hobby. Roku has been better than ATV since it hit the market.

gamerscul9870 - April 6, 2015 at 2:09pm

This doesn't surprise me either, but Apple TV has done decent job in their game. Average rate of adding channels, iTunes sync does good as it should. For games, I just airplay it to the app store, but I'd like to see how gaming on it changes the game. Roku does some things Apple tv does, but using some apps and finding things needs work.

areilly111 - April 6, 2015 at 11:56am

The average home doesn't even have a 4k tv's. There still too expensive.

Phuc King - April 6, 2015 at 4:26am

we won't support 4K because it's at its infancy. But yeah we support standards such as Thunderbolt and USB-C at a time when you can hardly find peripherals for them.

gamerscul9870 - April 6, 2015 at 2:15am

Forget 4k anyway. I can't find one that has no blur when looking a bit close at it.

dk2013 - April 6, 2015 at 8:43am

Yeah, but you don't count because you're god knows where and accessing through a VPN.

gamerscul9870 - April 6, 2015 at 8:46am

Who cares about where I am looking for, it's a TV that's as clear like they expect but not from what I experienced. I can even notice from a decent distance let alone whatever van has to do with it.

ic0dex - April 6, 2015 at 2:10am

The US has the slowest internet connection with an average house that has about 50Mbs. When it comes to 4k and streaming you need 200Mbs, if you take other devices that are connected to that same network in the home then it's a no go.

ic0dex - April 6, 2015 at 2:11am

I have 300Mbs a sec and have over 5 devices connected with a 4K Sony tv. Stearin inch 4k sucks really bad and this is with a CAT6 line running to my TV.

Accordtr - April 6, 2015 at 2:21am

What!?!? I stream 4k MGO and 4k Netflix all the time on my Samsung f9000 using a hard lined 30 Mbps connection. I have zero issues what so ever. In fact Netflix recommends a 25 Mbps connection,...... 200 Mbps, where did you get that number from.

zib - April 6, 2015 at 10:15am

Umm. The average household in the US has 10Mbit/s. 50 would put you at the fastest in the world. 4k bitrate is usually from 20-45Mbit/s depending on codec. Youtube 4k for example is 35-45Mbit/s

gamerscul9870 - April 6, 2015 at 2:10am

Then AirPlay the content to it. Problem solved.

Simon says - April 6, 2015 at 10:26am

That wouldn't work, if you had a atv 2 you couldn't airplay 1080p through it as it only supports 720p output, if you can't select the output of 4k in the settings it won't output it.

gamerscul9870 - April 6, 2015 at 10:59am

I have the third generation.