1080p support coming to the Apple TV

The crew over at XBMC have made the Apple TV a little more useful in our eyes. Up until now the Apple TV has failed to playback any 1080p content because its internal chips weren't up to the challenge -- a limitation that not even the most efficient codecs could fix. With a little help from the Broadcom Crystal HD BCM970012 PCIe Mini Card, XBMC can now play back 1080p videos with ease. The bad news is the little card sells for $69 and requires the same space as the built in 802.11N WiFi adapter, but as long as you don't mind dropping the cash and Wifi, this seems like a pretty solid solution. We can only assume that thanks to close ties between XBMC and Boxee, that Boxee will be next, but in the meantime give this a try and let us know how it works out.

[NodNarb012 Posted Dec 30th 2009 6:16PM]

I picked up an ATV 40GB model on clearance (I wouldn't have bought one at regular price) a while back and this is going to make it the media streamer that it should have been.

[KevinQ Posted Dec 30th 2009 6:36PM]

Misleading title. Sounded like an official Apple solution.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 30th 2009 8:03PM]

I picked one up on eBay for just over $20 shipped, so if you shop around you can probably find one for much less than the $70 list.

It's important to note that this is only in the SVN builds right now but it will eventually make it into the mainstream XBMC.

I'll be testing it on my AppleTV and Win 7 based XBMC on a Dell Studio Hybrid.

[brianbobcat Posted Dec 30th 2009 11:30PM]

Kevin, that's a valid point. My question is how much of a difference can you tell from videos on an ATV that are 1080i and 1080p? I just hook up my laptop to my TV via HDMI whenever I want to play something on my TV. That little card does look cool though.

-Brian

[Mitchell Posted Dec 30th 2009 11:52PM]

Cant wait till this is ported to MythTV!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 31st 2009 4:27AM]

Talk about polishing a turd. Apple TV has to be one of the worst thought out devices Apple have ever produced. Underpowered and overpriced. You can buy media players for $150 these days that do 1080p and support virtually every media format you'd ever wish.

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 31st 2009 6:21AM]

I am defenitely waiting for the YuiXX! http://www.yuixx.com/site/desktopdefault.aspx?tabindex=1&tabid=2

Intel wil demo it on the Intel booth during CES, I will check it out for sure.

[SgtR Posted Jan 2nd 2010 10:22AM]

@(Unverified)

Thanks for the link.

The yuixx thing seems like the perfect device. It supports everything!

[Trevor Posted Dec 31st 2009 9:36AM]

There seems to be some confusion in all of these different posts about this story. Is the "Broadcom Crystal HD" a BCM70012 or a BCM970012? The link to the vendor on these posts is for the 970012. Sellers on ebay are using the two interchangabley. What's the accurate part number here?

[tranzparentl Posted Dec 31st 2009 11:47AM]

Seems like a pretty shitty solution if you ask me.

Can Apple TV play MKVs with help from XBMC?

Popcorn Hour FTW!

[rchapoteau Posted Dec 31st 2009 1:30PM]

I have a popcorn hour. Its interface compared to XBMC's skins options are crap. I'm running xbmc on a revo now, but I might pick up a cheap appletv for this solution in another room that needs component inputs.

[furion77 Posted Dec 31st 2009 11:13PM]

I installed boxee with XBMC on my ATV long time ago and honestly did not like it at all. Maybe now it's different but with so many choices now like NMTs and the WDTVs, it's just not that interesting anymore. Also I thought this was referring to new firmware update from apple for the ATV.