Apple Inc. is weighing an expansion of its AirPlay audio service to include streaming video from an iPhone or iPad to television sets, according to two people familiar with the project. Under the plan, Apple would license its AirPlay software to consumer-electronics makers that could use it in devices for streaming movies, TV shows and other video content, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans haven’t been made public. Apple now only licenses AirPlay for streaming audio. Devices that could be used for video may be available this year, one of the people said.
An expanded AirPlay would let users stream programming wirelessly from an Apple mobile device to a TV that carries the technology. That may spur wider use of Apple’s services and devices in consumers’ living rooms. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs has had limited success selling Apple TV, a set-top box introduced in 2007, and as recently as September still called the product a “hobby.”
“Because of the market size they have with their portable devices, they have a naturally large share of the audio market,” said Jasper Vervoort, a director of marketing at Royal Philips Electronics NV. “I don’t know how successful they will be with video. We would definitely have an interest in supporting it.”
