Apple unveiled the 4th-generation Apple TV 4K at its ‘Spring Loaded’ event last month. The new streaming device from Apple is now available to purchase, however, some reviewers have noted that Apple still hasn’t unlocked ‘the full potential’ of the device yet.
According to Sigmund Judge from Screentimes, the new Apple TV 4K comes with HDMI 2.1. HDMI 2.1 is the latest connectivity standard in the television world. Even though it sounds like a minor ‘0.1’ update, in reality, it is much more. HDMI 2.1 unlocks a whole new world of content streaming support — it supports data transfer rates up to 48gbps.
This fast transfer data rate allows HDMI 2.1 to supports 4K HDR 120 fps for sport and gaming content, however, Apple has decided not to enable the functionality yet. Maybe the company is waiting for WWDC 2021 where it can boast the device’s features to the full extent in front of the press.
As Judge notes, Apple is still using an older signaling method called TMDS (Transition-Minimised Differential Signalling), rather than FRL (Fixed Rate Link) in the new Apple TV. The new TMDS technique divides data into four lanes of 12gbps, supporting playback across a spectrum of SD up to 10K. This means that not only the new Apple TV 4K supports 4K HDR 120 fps, it also supports 8K and 10K, theoretically.
Judge adds:
“During my early tests running tvOS 14.6 I noticed that when running at 4K HDR 60 the newly released Apple TV 4K was using the TMDS signalling method instead of FRL and thus it dropped the chroma subsample from 4:4:4 to 4:2:2.
It is unknown if and when the full capabilities of the HDMI 2.1 FRL specification will be unlocked or if the system on chip is capable of driving those high numbers.”
It remains to be seen what Apple has in store for us at WWDC 2021. The company is deemed to announce major updates to its operating systems, including iOS 15, macOS 12, tvOS 15, and watchOS 8. Whether or not Apple enables 4K 120Hz support for Apple TV 4K at WWDC, it remains to be seen.
What are your WWDC 2021 predictions? Let us know in the comments section below!
[Via Screentimes]
