Apple Lightning AV adapter may be 'Airplay' decoder?

Apple Inc.'s new $50 Lightning Digital AV Adapter may be more than just a video adapter, after researchers found a system-on-a-chip inside it.

 

Researchers at Panic Software said they discovered the surprise after investigating issues such as limited resolution, performance lag and MPEG artifacts.

 

"There’s a lot more going on in this adapter than we expected: indeed, we think the Lightning Digital AV Adapter outputs video by using AirPlay (or similar MPEG streaming)," they said in a blog post.

 

In the blog post, the researchers said they found tiny electronic components - and an ARM system on a chip, as well as a part number that indicates the device has 2 GB RAM.

 

With such a SoC CPU, it said "AirPlay (or AirPlay-like MPEG streaming) makes a lot more sense now."

 

Yet, it said that by streaming internally, "the quality is poor, and it’s not 1080p." — TJD, GMA News