Do the Apple TV models support 1080p?

The original Apple TV and black 2nd Gen Apple TV only support 720p video playback. However, the 3rd Gen Apple TV, also black, does support 1080p.

Interestingly, as first discovered by Engadget, the second generation model actually is hardware-capable of playing 1080p video content streamed from iTunes, but it downscales it to 720p when displayed. Although some have expressed displeasure with this decision, it seems highly likely that Apple imposed this restriction to increase the likelihood of smooth video playback even over the often limited bandwidth in homes at the time it was released.

Also see: What is the difference between 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p?

What ports are provided by the black Apple TV models?

As EveryMac.com does for all Apple systems, the site offers specs for the 2nd Gen Apple TV and 3rd Gen Apple TV including details on ports and connectivity. Details on ports and connectors also are provided below.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc.

As the above picture shows, the black 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Apple TV models have a power connector, an HDMI port, an optical audio out port, and a 10/100Base-T Ethernet port. Both also have an unlabeled Micro-USB port that formally is for diagnostic use only as well as support for 802.11a/b/g/n wireless. The front of each has a status light and an IR receiver for the remote.

Also see: What is HDMI?

What audio and video formats do the black Apple TV models support? Do they support video streaming directly from the Internet?

Apple reports that the black 2nd Gen Apple TV supports the following video, audio and photo formats.

Video

• H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
• Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Audio

• HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through

Photo

• JPEG, GIF, TIFF

The 3rd Gen Apple TV offers the same audio and photo support, but improves video support (differences in italics):

• H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High or Main Profile level 4.0 or lower, Baseline profile level 3.0 or lower with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

All other video support between the two models is identical.

The 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Apple TV models both support video streaming and rental of movies and television shows directly from the Internet in addition to audio and video streamed from a Mac, PC, iPod touch, iPhone or iPad via AirPlay.