How to Enable 720P HD Recording on iPhone 3GS

Looks like savvy iPhone user, Mike Pan, has figured out a way to hack his iPhone 3GS to record videos in 720P! Video recording on the iPhone 3GS is limited to non-HD video, but according to the specs of the ARM Cortex processor within the 3GS explains otherwise, as it is capable of encoding videos in 720P.

Here are some short excerpts from Mike’s blog:

Here is a way to get the phone to record video (and playback on the iPhone) at 1080×800 @ 30fps at up to 20Mbps.  (up from the original 640×480 @ 3Mbps)  (I am using the non-standard 1080×800 in order to keep the video at the right aspect ratio)

For the truly impatient:  download the pre-edited file HDVideo3GS.zip.
Jailbreak your device and install SSH
Copy N88AP.plist to /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/
Copy the 3 other plist files to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Celestial.framework/N88/
Reboot your iPhone 3GS

One quick look at the ARM Cortex processor that the 3GS uses [PDF Spec], it’s apparent that the chip is capable of handling 720p video encoding.  So all we need to do is by-pass the artificial limitation Apple has imposed on the hardware.

Wow. Well done Mike for figuring this one out. Consider this one heck of a trick or treat surprise for iPhone 3GS users. For full instructions, visit Mike’s blog here. As always, proceed at your own risk when tinkering with the insides of your iPhone. Here’s a 720p video sample from an iPhone 3GS:

If you’re going to try this out, let us know how it works for you in the comments!

[Mike Pan]

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