iPhone OS 4 unlocks 720p video capture, further solidifying iPhone HD?
By Sean Hollister 
posted May 5th 2010 10:52PM
posted May 5th 2010 10:52PM
Last time on let's-speculate-about-Apple-products, the New iPhone rumor mill dug up dirt on video chat and a 5 megapixel camera. Now, it appears there might be one more reason to call it the iPhone HD. MacRumors reports that the iPhone SDK 4 beta includes the value "AVCaptureSessionPreset1280x720," leading some to believe Cupertino's next phone will record video in 720p. Mind you, the iPhone 3GS was technically already capable of that feat, so this might not have anything to do with a new handset, but honestly, at this point the iPhone's camera wouldn't be competitive recording in a smaller format anyhow.
So 720p online video will become mainstream.
@Damaga it already is.. it will just become less cumbersome.
@Damaga
Now, if only it could play those 720p videos on the internet...
@kapanak We can! And you only have to wait twice the length of the video if youtube is busy that day! That's amazing! /sarcasm
@GadgetTamer
Or ten times, if you are on AT&T...given you have 3G...HTML5 can't do HD in Youtube yet, right?
@kapanak
I'm guessing, the iPhone pricing would now come with an added premium for storage. If it can shoot 720p video, people will always go for the biggest storage, considering there is no way to use sd cards. And that's where Apple will make money.
Something tells me, all this guessing/knowing won't help me. I might still reach for my wallet.
@kapanak Watching them in a flash player isn't bad, but have fun waiting ten minutes for it to download as an h264. It'll be like 1999 all over again. Plenty of time to get a snack before the show starts.
@jakeZ
Now if only iPhone has a flash player...
@kapanak
Had*
Grr...I demand engadget to add an edit button... NOW!
@kapanak Could be great, but I must say it would take more than that for it to become a killer feature. Perhaps, 720p HD recording capability would be the start. Opinions. http://j.mp/verizon-iphone-4g
@Damaga Why is the name still being debated on? Hasn't the HD moniker been a no brainer ever since the iPad apps became "HD" and it was proven that the iPhone 4 has similiar (high) resolution screen. Thus making it no-brainer for consumers to get apps just for that high resolution screen. Duh?
@jakeZ isn't h264 streaming? I think that's the whole point of replacing flash with it...
@crappish Yeah, and everyone thought iPad was the name Apple was going to chose /s
HD, the new "megapixel" race.
@pika2000 wake me up when the camera sensor race starts, megapixels and HD are just meh when the sensor is that small
@pika2000 Errr.. right.. except it actually makes a difference.
HD is important to a large group of people for making video blogs on sites like YouTube. 8 megapixel versus 5 megapixel makes no difference for those same people because they are only uploading their pictures to facebook anyway.
The megapixel race is pointless because the size of the sensors is what limits the quality, but HD video can be done well with small sensors as exhibited by things like the Flip.
@jellotime91 But that doesn't change the bandwidth requirement. For an HD video to look good, you need a large bitrate. I've seen plenty of cheap digicams have crappy 720p video (tons of artifacts) due to not having enough bitrate allowed for the compression. Instead of 720p, I rather see the iPhone do at least iFrame, which is only 960x540, but at a whooping 24Mbps bitrate.
@pika2000
Well, iPhone 3GS is easily the best VGA video recording on any phone with the best frame rates and colour accuracy around... I don't think Apple will do anything in HD if it doesn't match up to the Flip, and the Flips do quite well. Have you looked at YouTube lately? It's loaded with great looking Flip HD video from millions of creative users, and it looks pretty damn good to me.
@MattsZ It's not the size of the sensor, it's how you use it.
Your penis, I mean. It's how you use your penis.
@jellotime91 or the Nokia N8. Trust me, it isn't just throwing the number 12 on the back and calling it a day. It has one of the best sensors around for a camera, comparable to that of a 10.1 point-and-shoot. I can't say if this is what everyone needs, but the quality of what it does is pretty neat.
@N900
I can tell by your name and your love for a camera phone that has no real world testing that you are a troll... Please go elsewhere you are not welcome here
@jellotime91
i'd actually give the slight edge to n86. but it is quite close
just my opinion
@jellotime91
there is a difference between sharp, clear, precise 720p video, and grainy webcam/phone shit that comes from a cmos sensor.
just because a phone can shoot video in 720p does not mean it is at all comparable to a real video camera.
@Mentat
Actually it has had real world testing. Check your facts before you accuse people.
@Mentat
Kid, you're an idiot. Despite his name he's hardly a troll or a 'fanboy'
You should start listening to sense else you'll stay stupid
@Mentat
Huh? What trollish did he say?
@Mentat
well, Apple has never made a decent camera, and Nokia always has. The N8 will be best in class, and this iPhone probably middling to worst.
@Pdexter
He seems to think if you disagree with him or use facts against opinion, you are a troll.
sweeet!!
"the iPhone's camera wouldn't be competitive recording in a smaller format anyhow."
None of the new at the time iPhone's had a particularly competitive camera, but that didn't stop them. Everyone just ignored that a smart phone released in 2007 didn't have a feature that most $50 phones had in 2006. Video.
@Nolano
Oh, and 3g.
@Nolano Uh yeah, but their UI blew everyone out of the water at the time. There was absolutely ZERO innovation on cell phones until the iPhone first gen came out. Everyone just seemed to add "features" like new colors, more memory, etc etc etc. After the iPhone, everyone seemed to rush to copy Apple.
@digitalgopher
Where did I say anything about the UI? If anything, you help prove my point. It was implied that the new iphone would require a high end camera to compete, whereas that has not shown to be the case so far.
Each iPhone has had a camera that doesn't stack up with the rest of the hardware.
@digitalgopher -- "There was absolutely ZERO innovation on cell phones until the iPhone first gen came out. Everyone just seemed to add "features" like new colors, more memory, etc etc etc. After the iPhone, everyone seemed to rush to copy Apple."
Exactly. Look at Palm... they went from this:
http://www.computerworld.com/common/images/site/features/img_Treo-755.jpg
to this:
http://collech.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/palm-pre1.jpg
Do people think Palm would have made that big of a jump if it wasn't for the iPhone?
(it was sad for Palm though... I knew tons of businesses that were married to their old Treos. I never heard of them jumping on the Palm Pre bandwagon...)
@Michael Scrip
the pre looks like the treo except with a slide keyboard, and the UI is large enough to use your fingers instead of a stylus
you consider that a huge jump? seems like a single step in the natural direction to me.
@digitalgopher
Yes but for some reason they had the nerve to charge double the price.
@Nolano yeah and no MMS either.... And don't forget about a MicroSD slot. Or Bluetooth file transfer, all pretty standard at the time for a smartphones. But yeah it had a really killer UI, and pinch zooming!!
In other news, Engadget will be live-blogging MacRumors next post.
You heard it there, first.
@Wiizer
AWW jealous are we Apple Hater?
read and weep.
Apple news is what brings in traffic. And thats what I and the majority of readers want to read about.
@Wiizer
Actually 9 to 5 Mac had the article first.
Good try though
@Wiizer
You guys failed reading comprehension... Is English your first language?
@Wiizer Don't feed the trolls. They are on a 'special' diet that 'comes' from steve jobs on a tablespoon
@Wiizer
guys, guys.... Shut up.
Nobody cares.
@Wiizer Doesn't matter if anyone speaks English or not... A 'minus sign' is easily recognized in any language.
Dont need to be a stickler but Apple had no choice. Especially with all the competition coming out this summer.
I'd believe that. Still buying the EVO anyway
So I wonder what the Droid Incredible can do with its 8 megapixel camera, does anyone know?
@misterhearn
Shitty 800x480 with sub 30fps and 3GP format
@misterhearn
Actually the Incredible's camera is just high pixels...in fact, it fails in comparison to N1 and other "lower megapixel" phones...Why can't everyone put Carl Zeiss lens on their phones like S/E and Nokia...I mean, if you make good phones, why not make the camera on par with other companies...
Because putting a Zeiss lens in front of a tiny, dogshit sensor yields good images?