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RamGuy

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,358
1,919
Norway
I have to admit I'm rather disapointed. I love the Apple TV, I have had Gen.2, Gen.3, Gen.4 and now Gen.5 (4K). It's not like the new one is any worse compared to the previous one but I was really stoked for having 4K and HDR and especially Dolby Vision support.

But the new Apple TV 4K gets entirely crippled by the fact that Apple for some inexplicable reason wants to enforce whatever setting you set as your output to be applied to all kinds of sources. Why is there no automatic switching based on the content being played?

First of, I can't utilise Dolby Vision as that would force me to choose 4K Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz due to my LG OLED not supporting 4K Dolby Vision at 60Hz. As there is no automatic switching selecting either 30Hz or 24Hz forces everything, including the UI to run at lower frame rats which looks horrible compared to running it at 50Hz or 60Hz. It also enforces HDR / Dolby Vision "upscaling/rendering" on the UI which looks horrible as everything becomes eye piercingly bright. The Apple TV UI itself works out okay, but the UI within apps gets way too bright, its hurting my eyes and causing strain on my brain giving me headaches and migraines if I look at it for too long.... Like come on?

Opting for 4K HDR 60Hz works out much better, but a lot of content is just not looking all that great with enforced HDR upscaling/rendering so things end up looking worse when compared to watching the same content on my Apple TV 4.Gen.. And locking output to Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz also makes it so we wont get 60Hz on YouTube (most videos are 60 on YouTube these days) or Twitch and playing games when locked to 30 or 24Hz is not all that great.


So we have ended up with just setting it to 4K SDR 60Hz and manually switching when we are going to watch some actually HDR or Dolby Vision content. It just feels backwards and stupid. How is it even possible that Apple have tested with Apple TV 4K themselves and concluded that enforcing HDR to every source was a good idea?
 

Patrick Turner

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2017
23
8
I have to admit I'm rather disapointed. I love the Apple TV, I have had Gen.2, Gen.3, Gen.4 and now Gen.5 (4K). It's not like the new one is any worse compared to the previous one but I was really stoked for having 4K and HDR and especially Dolby Vision support.

But the new Apple TV 4K gets entirely crippled by the fact that Apple for some inexplicable reason wants to enforce whatever setting you set as your output to be applied to all kinds of sources. Why is there no automatic switching based on the content being played?

First of, I can't utilise Dolby Vision as that would force me to choose 4K Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz due to my LG OLED not supporting 4K Dolby Vision at 60Hz. As there is no automatic switching selecting either 30Hz or 24Hz forces everything, including the UI to run at lower frame rats which looks horrible compared to running it at 50Hz or 60Hz. It also enforces HDR / Dolby Vision "upscaling/rendering" on the UI which looks horrible as everything becomes eye piercingly bright. The Apple TV UI itself works out okay, but the UI within apps gets way too bright, its hurting my eyes and causing strain on my brain giving me headaches and migraines if I look at it for too long.... Like come on?

Opting for 4K HDR 60Hz works out much better, but a lot of content is just not looking all that great with enforced HDR upscaling/rendering so things end up looking worse when compared to watching the same content on my Apple TV 4.Gen.. And locking output to Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz also makes it so we wont get 60Hz on YouTube (most videos are 60 on YouTube these days) or Twitch and playing games when locked to 30 or 24Hz is not all that great.


So we have ended up with just setting it to 4K SDR 60Hz and manually switching when we are going to watch some actually HDR or Dolby Vision content. It just feels backwards and stupid. How is it even possible that Apple have tested with Apple TV 4K themselves and concluded that enforcing HDR to every source was a good idea?

I feel sorry for those with 2016 LG OLEDs, as those are obviously incompatible with the experience the ATV 4K is selling. Your pain is understandable. [LG limiting Dolby Vision to 30Hz sucks given that the ATV experience is optimized for 60Hz)

With my 2017 LG OLED C7, the experience is perfect.
 

RamGuy

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,358
1,919
Norway
I highly doubt its perfect. You still get every SDR aka non-HDR content upscaled/rendered in HDR which doesn't look all that great and all menus keep being eye piercingly bright.
 

Patrick Turner

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2017
23
8
I highly doubt its perfect. You still get every SDR aka non-HDR content upscaled/rendered in HDR which doesn't look all that great and all menus keep being eye piercingly bright.


Make sure your TV picture setting is not "HDR Bright". "HDR standard" should be fine.
 
Last edited:

vince22

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2013
649
628
I feel sorry for those with 2016 LG OLEDs, as those are obviously incompatible with the experience the ATV 4K is selling. Your pain is understandable. [LG limiting Dolby Vision to 30Hz sucks given that the ATV experience is optimized for 60Hz)

With my 2017 LG OLED C7, the experience is perfect.

I have 65C7, did you setup your Tv as Dolby Vision 60hz? I was watching yesterday with planet of the apes 4k HDR10 setup as 4K HDR 60hz with chroma 4:2:2 and it looks way much better with dolby vision 60hz, colors are more vibrant and sharper image.
 

Patrick Turner

macrumors newbie
Sep 30, 2017
23
8
I have 65C7, did you setup your Tv as Dolby Vision 60hz? I was watching yesterday with planet of the apes 4k HDR10 setup as 4K HDR 60hz with chroma 4:2:2 and it looks way much better with dolby vision 60hz, colors are more vibrant and sharper image.


I have mine always set to Dolby Vision 60Hz.

Tried HDR10 422 but preferred the former.

No turning back once you watch a Dolby Vision movie in Dolby Vision mode.
[doublepost=1506862021][/doublepost]
I have mine always set to Dolby Vision 60Hz.

Tried HDR10 422 but preferred the former.

No turning back once you watch a Dolby Vision movie in Dolby Vision mode.


Dolby Vision also has a technology called "VS10" that allows you to play SDR and HDR10 content even if your device is outputting Dolby Vision signaling. This is also meant to prevent mode switches.


http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1472208035
 
Last edited:

littlepooch21

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2010
148
8
So if I just have an HDR tv with out Dolby vision how will the Apple TV work? Do the Dolby vision movies just automatically switch to HDR or what?
 

vince22

macrumors 6502a
Oct 12, 2013
649
628
I have mine always set to Dolby Vision 60Hz.

Tried HDR10 422 but preferred the former.

No turning back once you watch a Dolby Vision movie in Dolby Vision mode.
[doublepost=1506862021][/doublepost]


Dolby Vision also has a technology called "VS10" that allows you to play SDR and HDR10 content even if your device is outputting Dolby Vision signaling. This is also meant to prevent mode switches.


http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1472208035

ok, thats explain why VS10 looks better with HDR10 content.
 

BigAppleNYC123

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2017
211
158
4 year old iPhone design.

Slight size changes to iPads

And.....same watch design 3 years....

His done nothing other than go Steve balmer on the product range
iPhone X will allow Apple to profit massively.

iPad sales are up on new iPad strategy

Lte on Apple Watch has reinvigorated interest.
 

Matthew Essex

macrumors member
Apr 11, 2014
60
31
London
I feel sorry for those with 2016 LG OLEDs, as those are obviously incompatible with the experience the ATV 4K is selling. Your pain is understandable. [LG limiting Dolby Vision to 30Hz sucks given that the ATV experience is optimized for 60Hz)

With my 2017 LG OLED C7, the experience is perfect.

I also have the C7 and apart from a faulty cable producing artefacts on the first day of use the output of the Apple TV in Dolby 60Hz has actually been better than I was expecting.

the problem is this technology just was not ready last year and all the HDR cracks are starting to show on older TV's that claimed to be ready and people are rightly annoyed.
 
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BigAppleNYC123

macrumors regular
Jun 6, 2017
211
158
I have mine always set to Dolby Vision 60Hz.

Tried HDR10 422 but preferred the former.

No turning back once you watch a Dolby Vision movie in Dolby Vision mode.
[doublepost=1506862021][/doublepost]


Dolby Vision also has a technology called "VS10" that allows you to play SDR and HDR10 content even if your device is outputting Dolby Vision signaling. This is also meant to prevent mode switches.


http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1472208035
I have a 2016 B6.. can you explain again what the difference is? Basically, your 4K hdr setting works perfectly? That does suck for us B6 people who were false sold on future proofing that evidently is non existent. Is this fixable in a software update? I think I saw there is a petition for an update or something. I got a b6 for my bedroom, might move it into the living room and get a C7 for the bedroom.
 

Matthew Essex

macrumors member
Apr 11, 2014
60
31
London
I have a 2016 B6.. can you explain again what the difference is? Basically, your 4K hdr setting works perfectly? That does suck for us B6 people who were false sold on future proofing that evidently is non existent. Is this fixable in a software update? I think I saw there is a petition for an update or something. I got a b6 for my bedroom, might move it into the living room and get a C7 for the bedroom.
The B6 can only handle DV at 30Hz which would not be a problem if the Apple TV auto changed the output settings based on content.
 
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AustinJerry

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2013
82
39
Austin, Texas
I am glad I ran across this thread, because it prompted me to run a few test on my own.

I am running the ATV signal through a Marantz 8802A to a Sony X940D. The Marantz has a web interface, and when I bring up the “Info” screen, I can see the resolution and color space being sent by the AppleTV 4K.

I launched the Netflix app and started a movie that I know is 1080p. I configured the video on the ATV to be 1080p SDR, which matches the movie’s resolution. As expected, the Marantz showed 1080p input, YCbCr, rec709. So far, so good.

I then switched the video setting on the ATV to 4K SDR and started the movie over. The Marantz now shows a 2160p signal, still rec709 color space. So the ATV is now up-scaling the 1080p signal.

Finally, I switched the ATV to 4K HDR and restarted the movie a final time. Now the Marantz is showing 2160p, with bt2020 color space (HDR). I checked the Sony, and sure enough, it had switched to HDR mode. So now I have a 1080p movie playing in “fake” HDR mode. Not exactly what I would want.

So, if I understand the issue correctly, in order to be successful with this new AppleTV 4K, I need to know ahead of time the resolution of the content I am about to play, and then manually configure the video output so that the content displays correctly. This is not very desirable. Now the question is—will Apple acknowledge that there is an issue and fix it, or should I return the device and wait on the sidelines? This has certainly put a damper on the excitement of a shiny new Apple product.
 

MH01

Suspended
Feb 11, 2008
12,107
9,297
iPhone X will allow Apple to profit massively.

iPad sales are up on new iPad strategy

Lte on Apple Watch has reinvigorated interest.

X - of course the current generation spends most of thier money on mobile phones , this is the phone to be seen with

iPad sales up..... from thier all time low, still down

lTE - has it? Another $120 each year
 

RamGuy

macrumors 65816
Jun 7, 2011
1,358
1,919
Norway
Now the question is—will Apple acknowledge that there is an issue and fix it, or should I return the device and wait on the sidelines? This has certainly put a damper on the excitement of a shiny new Apple product.

This is the big question. Luckily Apple seems somewhat committed towards tvOS and Apple TV. The previous generation of Apple TV (Gen.2 and Gen.3) felt more like something they tossed together and didn't really care about. They were great devices, but the software barely got any attention and it was completely locked-down without any kind of direct software updates from third-party developers.

With this new generation of Apple TV (Gen.4 and now Gen.5/4K) and tvOS Apple has continuously provided us with software updates and with the availability of a App Store in tvOS third-parties are fully capable of updating and maintaining their own applications themselves. We don't need to wait for Apple to update the entire firmware in order to get a update to the Netflix-app or whatever like we had to with the previous generation.

Considering the amount of press this lack of automatic mode switching seems to be getting from the press (like The Verge) and how bad lots of early-adaptors (consumers) seems to feel about it I do hope and believe we will see an update down the line that will at least allow us to enable something in the settings that will either disable unnecessary upscaling of content, or let us enable some "auto" setting that will bypass the problem for those of us who care.

They have already stated they will add support for Dolby Atmos down the line after massive complaints from The Verge and Nilay Patel so there is still hope!
 

gregpod9

macrumors 6502
Apr 27, 2007
307
91
So is it normal HDR or is the Apple TV converting it to HDR from Dolby vision
I really think what the ATV4K is doing is converting 4K Dolby Vision movies to 4K SDR and applying its own fake HDR10 processing. I even think that its applying its own HDR processing on top of native HDR10 movies. If there was a native video source mode in the ATV4K, we’ll know for sure if Dolby Vision movies have a native HDR10 layer. I returned my ATV4K due to its fake hdr10 processing, no automatic native video source mode, and it made 4K DV/HDR movies overall picture quality a mixed bag on my Sony HDR10 tv. Otherwords the ATV4K is a mess right now for me. I might purchase it again when Apple fixes most of the issues it has. For the time being I’ll use my ATV4 for iTunes streaming and my Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Bluray player that I ordered for watching 4K HDR movies.
 
Last edited:

M.PaulCezanne

macrumors 6502a
Mar 5, 2014
884
1,629
I have to admit I'm rather disapointed. I love the Apple TV, I have had Gen.2, Gen.3, Gen.4 and now Gen.5 (4K). It's not like the new one is any worse compared to the previous one but I was really stoked for having 4K and HDR and especially Dolby Vision support.

But the new Apple TV 4K gets entirely crippled by the fact that Apple for some inexplicable reason wants to enforce whatever setting you set as your output to be applied to all kinds of sources. Why is there no automatic switching based on the content being played?

First of, I can't utilise Dolby Vision as that would force me to choose 4K Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz due to my LG OLED not supporting 4K Dolby Vision at 60Hz. As there is no automatic switching selecting either 30Hz or 24Hz forces everything, including the UI to run at lower frame rats which looks horrible compared to running it at 50Hz or 60Hz. It also enforces HDR / Dolby Vision "upscaling/rendering" on the UI which looks horrible as everything becomes eye piercingly bright. The Apple TV UI itself works out okay, but the UI within apps gets way too bright, its hurting my eyes and causing strain on my brain giving me headaches and migraines if I look at it for too long.... Like come on?

Opting for 4K HDR 60Hz works out much better, but a lot of content is just not looking all that great with enforced HDR upscaling/rendering so things end up looking worse when compared to watching the same content on my Apple TV 4.Gen.. And locking output to Dolby Vision 30Hz or 24Hz also makes it so we wont get 60Hz on YouTube (most videos are 60 on YouTube these days) or Twitch and playing games when locked to 30 or 24Hz is not all that great.


So we have ended up with just setting it to 4K SDR 60Hz and manually switching when we are going to watch some actually HDR or Dolby Vision content. It just feels backwards and stupid. How is it even possible that Apple have tested with Apple TV 4K themselves and concluded that enforcing HDR to every source was a good idea?
Yep. It's really not a polished release.
 

D.T.

macrumors G4
Sep 15, 2011
11,050
12,467
Vilano Beach, FL
Yes... exactly.

I really think what the ATV4K is doing is converting 4K Dolby Vision movies to 4K SDR and applying its own fake HDR10 processing.

Thanks ... I think. :D

That was a question I had with regards to iTunes content, HDR, and the new ATV4K. If the movie indicates 4K and DV, there's no [implied] HDR10 encoding from the source, it's just 4K resolution + on-the-fly ATV4K HDR-like output (if your TV is HDR10 but not DV compatible)[?]
 

PTVMan

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2012
1,072
591
I have a 2016 LG OLED C6. Which resolution setting should I use for Dolby Vision movie titles? What about HD movies?
 
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