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.