Apple to consider licensing AirPlay video streaming to other companies?

By Andy Clough
published

There's speculation that Apple may make its AirPlay video streaming technology available to TV manufacturers

Apple may be considering licensing its AirPlay streaming technology to other consumer electronics manufacturers, according to Bloomberg.

If it goes ahead, it would mean iPhone/iPad owners could stream video content from their portables to other makes of TV, without having to use an Apple TV.

TV manufacturers who paid for a license could incorporate AirPlay technology into their sets. At the moment, Apple only licenses AirPlay for audio streaming to third parties such as Denon, Marantz, Philips and B&W.

“Because of the market size they have with their portable devices, they have a naturally large share of the audio market,” Jasper Vervoort, a director of marketing at Philips, told Bloomberg.

“I don’t know how successful they will be with video. We would definitely have an interest in supporting it."

Apple has declined to comment on the speculation.

We'll publish an in-depth feature on Apple AirPlay in our May 2011 issue, on sale April 11th.

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Andy Clough
Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.