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Scrap by flake, we've seen companies moving towards 4K and HDR technologies. Progress has been irksome and fitful on the PC side of things, owing to farthermost DRM requirements and a protected 'path' across the entire OS ecosystem. Apple, to engagement, hasn't shared much information on how it might approach this space, just iTunes and Apple TV apparently now prove that sure movies are 4K and HDR-capable when you view your own history.

As reported first by MacRumors, Apple is retroactively stating that certain films are bachelor with modernistic features like 4K and HDR.

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Image past MacRumors

Now, with that said, actually buying movies that are listed as 4K doesn't appear to get y'all a 4K option. MacRumors did some testing of their ain and discovered that while a pic might await 4K, when you test it, it'southward still actually in 720p. This motion wouldn't be without precedent; earlier this year Bloomberg reported that Apple tree was working on a fifth generation Apple Television set, and that it would have higher color reproduction and 4K capabilities.

The Apple TV, even now, has been piddling more a hobby for Apple — think a set-tiptop box you tin run iPhone apps on, but cypher much more than that. Looking dorsum at the original Bloomberg article on the topic, it reports that Apple's market share was slipping yr-over-year, on stiff contest from Roku and other companies that make boxes that do more than and cost much less.

A new Apple TV with features like 4K and HDR, plus a proven backend hook to the iTunes Store, would be a formidable way for Apple to hit reset on its own ambitions in this space. The Television set market remains an essential component of how many people experience movies and various "Smart Telly" online services. That may explain why Apple'due south kept its hand in the market, and who knows — perchance information technology'south finally interested in bringing those features to the Apple tree TV itself.

The current-generation Apple Telly doesn't support HDR or 4K output, merely Apple's CPUs and custom GPUs are likely power enough to bulldoze both capabilities. If the Cupertino visitor can lock down distribution agreements that give its own platform early access to films before other companies' can deploy it — and Apple has ofttimes loved these sorts of arrangements — it could help them increase the perceived value of the hardware without having to spend more on the devices themselves.