Last Saturday we talked about the microcomputer that Apple put inside the Lightning Adapter for Digital AV and the possible reasons for it to do so. The most adequate theory, at the time, was that the new Lightning connector does not support video output (which in fact is true) and that the 256MB ARM processor inside the adapter would serve to send the video signal from the iGadget to the TV via AirPlay or something like that.

Today, however, a very technical, explanatory and supposedly written post by an Apple engineer appeared on Slashdot, stating that * there is * no AirPlay or any other streaming in the move. Instead, SoC (system-on-a-chip or, in Portuguese, system-on-a-chip) from the adapter decodes the H.264 video received from the iGadget and sends it to the television via HDMI.
Regarding the issue of Full HD (1080p) resolution not being supported by the adapter, the anonymous who posted about it said that, as the adapter’s firmware is stored in RAM (random access memory, or random access memory), Apple can update it at any time – most likely it has not yet done so because it has not found a safe way to guarantee 1080p broadcast quality.
He also explains that the Apple system (microcomputer inside the adapter) allows video delivery regardless of the output connector (HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt or any other that appears in the future), just making an adapter with the connector in question. In other words, the “heart” of the adapter can always be the same, just “change” the tip of the connector (HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, etc.). In doing so, we will not need a new iPad, iPhone or iPod touch for it to be compatible with a future adapter.
If Apple can even implement Full HD on this adapter, it was undoubtedly a good move for it – and not “a little way”, as we think.
[via 9to5Mac]