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Apple today released tvOS 14.7, the seventh update to the tvOS 14 operating system that initially debuted in September 2020. tvOS 14.7 comes two months after the launch of the tvOS 14.6 update.

apple-tv-4k-design-green.jpg

tvOS 14.7, which is a free update, can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the Apple TV by going to System > Software Update. ‌‌Apple TV‌‌ owners who have automatic software updates enabled will be upgraded to tvOS 14.7 automatically.

Apple's tvOS updates are usually minor in scale, focusing on under-the-hood bug fixes, performance updates, and small tweaks rather than major outward-facing changes. No new features were discovered during the tvOS 14.7 beta testing process.

Apple does not provide detailed release notes for its tvOS updates, but it does offer some tvOS details through its tvOS support document.

tvOS 14.7 may be one of the final updates to the tvOS 14 operating system as Apple shifts its attention to tvOS 15, which is set to come out this fall.

Article Link: Apple Releases tvOS 14.7 for Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K
 

JSL1

macrumors member
Apr 8, 2020
85
148
Was hoping they added fall back option to be able to program Siri remote power button with IR codes.
 

Mr. Donahue

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2014
505
696
Updates or data extraction? I’ve always wondered if these little updates really update much of anything or if they focus more on user activity more than anything else.
 

BWhaler

macrumors 68040
Jan 8, 2003
3,788
6,244
Library fixed on Apple’s own hardware, or still a dumpster fire?
 

poematik13

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2014
1,211
1,350
They need to fix the HDR implementation. It overrides my TV's (LG OLED CX) calibrated picture settings and reverts it back to Standard mode every time HDR content is played. My other devices (PS5, xbox series s) don't do this with HDR content. Seems to be a tvOS problem.

My current workaround is not having HDR on at all. Set to 4K SDR and match dynamic range is off. Which sucks, but at least my picture is accurate.
 
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chris4565

macrumors 65816
Sep 22, 2018
1,003
478
Omg, the 4K resolution option is completely missing since updating. I’m stuck with 1080p. Anyone else also having this trouble?
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,039
7,282
They need to fix the HDR implementation. It overrides my TV's (LG OLED CX) calibrated picture settings and reverts it back to Standard mode every time HDR content is played. My other devices (PS5, xbox series s) don't do this with HDR content. Seems to be a tvOS problem.

My current workaround is not having HDR on at all. Set to 4K SDR and match dynamic range is off. Which sucks, but at least my picture is accurate.
While I am glad tvOS offers Match Frame Rate and Match Dynamic Range settings, they are full of compromises.

Match Dynamic Range
This feature suggests Apple TV will switch between Dolby Vision, HDR10, and SDR mode.

In reality, this setting relies on the Format setting from Settings | Video and Audio. When you first setup, tvOS guides you to setting the Format with the best mode your TV and HDMI cable support, which would be Dolby Vision, then HDR10, then SDR.

This means that by default, tvOS UI, games, and streaming apps will render everything in this setting, even if those apps only support SDR (which is the majority of the apps). Apps that respect Match Dynamic Range setting indeed switch to SDR as needed, but they are very few in number (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix).

Most videophiles and enthusiasts therefore recommend setting the Format to SDR, but this would mean any apps capable of outputting HDR but does not support Match Dynamic Range setting (e.g., Apple's AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers, YouTube) will render everything in SDR.

Match Frame Rate
This feature is far less complicated. When you enable it, Apple TV will instruct your TV to switch frame to match the contents, eliminating motion artifacts (e.g., tearing) associated with motion interpolation.

But it is annoying is that while 2021 Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) has HDMI 2.1 port, Apple crippled it without support for HDMI 2.1 features, such as ALLM, QMS, and VRR.

QMS (Quick Media Switching) reduces few seconds of blank screen or no signal screen as the TV switches frame rate. (QMS does not eliminate shorter but observable delay when TV switches the dynamic range.)
 

poematik13

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2014
1,211
1,350
Most videophiles and enthusiasts therefore recommend setting the Format to SDR, but this would mean any apps capable of outputting HDR but does not support Match Dynamic Range setting (e.g., Apple's AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers, YouTube) will render everything in SDR.

Yup, that's what I did as per HDTVtest's guidance. I have it set to 4K SDR and then match content on.

I was able to fix my issue- it still changes the picture profile on my TV, but once it changed, I went into the TV menu and switched BACK to the calibrated mode I had and now everytime it "changes" it just stays in the correct mode.

So now I am able to have "match dynamic range" and HDR content displays properly in most apps the way my PS5 does it, etc.

But it is annoying is that while 2021 Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) has HDMI 2.1 port, Apple crippled it without support for HDMI 2.1 features, such as ALLM, QMS, and VRR.

Yeah, I read that tvOS 15 will introduce 120hz output, at least. Doubt we'll ever get VRR or freesync, they probably don't want to pay license fees to AMD. 120 will go a long way in making the UI smoother. It's pretty janky and laggy right now. The smoothest ATV unit I've ever used was the original 4K model on a 1080 TV. Right now there's noticeable lag when pressing down to enter the audio/subtitles menu during playback. and holding down menu to enter the user switching / airplay screen.

Apple's software just gets worse and worse every year. They are hellbent on piling on new features and major releases and don't really care about refinement and bug fixes and obvious design holes like this
 

name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,176
1,983
While I am glad tvOS offers Match Frame Rate and Match Dynamic Range settings, they are full of compromises.

Match Dynamic Range
This feature suggests Apple TV will switch between Dolby Vision, HDR10, and SDR mode.

In reality, this setting relies on the Format setting from Settings | Video and Audio. When you first setup, tvOS guides you to setting the Format with the best mode your TV and HDMI cable support, which would be Dolby Vision, then HDR10, then SDR.

This means that by default, tvOS UI, games, and streaming apps will render everything in this setting, even if those apps only support SDR (which is the majority of the apps). Apps that respect Match Dynamic Range setting indeed switch to SDR as needed, but they are very few in number (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix).

Most videophiles and enthusiasts therefore recommend setting the Format to SDR, but this would mean any apps capable of outputting HDR but does not support Match Dynamic Range setting (e.g., Apple's AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers, YouTube) will render everything in SDR.

Match Frame Rate
This feature is far less complicated. When you enable it, Apple TV will instruct your TV to switch frame to match the contents, eliminating motion artifacts (e.g., tearing) associated with motion interpolation.

But it is annoying is that while 2021 Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) has HDMI 2.1 port, Apple crippled it without support for HDMI 2.1 features, such as ALLM, QMS, and VRR.

QMS (Quick Media Switching) reduces few seconds of blank screen or no signal screen as the TV switches frame rate. (QMS does not eliminate shorter but observable delay when TV switches the dynamic range.)

If you're going to get people to support your crusade, you need to give examples...

I have an LG C1; aTV 2021; and Format set to 60Hz Dolby Vision, and Match Dynamic Range/Match Frame Rate set to false. It almost completely matches what I want. Here's what I see.

- Services that offer Dolby Vision for some content (eg Prime) clearly display Dolby Vision for some content, and look great otherwise

- Services that I strongly suspect never (or very rarely) use HDR or Dolby Vision still also look damn good (think eg Tubi)

What APPEARS to be happening is that (almost) all content is translated by aTV from its original to Dolby Vision, and transported as such to the TV. Does this theoretically modify the color for SDR? No idea, all I can say is it looks great.
On the C1 side, I have the TV set to displaying Dolby Vision content in LG's standard mode and it looks gorgeous, and far better than any of the other modes, so I have no reason to be upset there either.

- The ONLY complaint I have is that Spectrum TV (*sigh* don't ask, yes it's an awful service and no sane person should be paying for it if they didn't have family that demanded it...) somehow manages to override aTV's "upconvert EVERYTHING to Dolby Digital", so it forces the stream to SDR. Visually this makes no difference as far as I can see; but it is irritating as f*&# because it forces that stupid few seconds of black while your TV has a stroke switching modes. The WHOLE DAMN REASON I set Match Dynamic Range/Match Frame Rate to false is to avoid that switching.

So, honestly, if you want to claim that Apple is "doing it wrong" with the Dynamic Range switching, you need to give an example of exactly what you're trying to do (reproducible steps) and why Apple is unacceptable; otherwise, to me at least, this looks like just the latest version of the hifi'ers lament, the complaint that the rest of us will never have senses and taste refined enough to pick up the delicately imbalanced vibrations emanating from our equipment.


What *I* would like to see is
- proper handling of 120Hz (looks like this is coming in tvOS15).

- all these conspiracy theories about VRR are just nonsense. VRR is part of the set of Apple technologies coming this year. It was covered in WWDC. This doesn't prove it will make it to aTV, but they couldn't have shipped it earlier before the SW stack was ready!

- high quality upsampling of low resolution original content (think eg DVD content). If the app passes on such content to the aTV at say SD resolution, aTV does upsample but does a substantially lousier job than is possible given the compute firepower it has available.
 

sjsharksfan12

macrumors 68000
Jun 29, 2020
1,843
2,316
San Jose, CA
Why does it feel like TVOS is an after thought when it comes to the various OSs that Apple has. Everything from the software updates to just plain app updates are pretty insignificant in the long run. I think the Apple TV is my favorite streaming device, but it can be so boring sometimes.
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,039
7,282
So, honestly, if you want to claim that Apple is "doing it wrong" with the Dynamic Range switching, you need to give an example of exactly what you're trying to do (reproducible steps) and why Apple is unacceptable; otherwise, to me at least, this looks like just the latest version of the hifi'ers lament, the complaint that the rest of us will never have senses and taste refined enough to pick up the delicately imbalanced vibrations emanating from our equipment.
I am just offering a purist perspective, that getting the most accurate mode without artificial processing (e.g., motion interpolation, tone mapping SDR into Dolby Vision) requires some compromise.

Just as some people zoom in (crop) 2.35:1 movies into 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio of their TV, you are obviously free to do whatever you prefer. So by all means set your TV to Dolby Vision and turn off Match Dynamic Range and Match Frame Rate.

But understand the consequences. tvOS will then map SDR and HDR10 contents into Dolby Vision, which to your eyes maybe fine. To my eyes, they look noticeably different, with SDR contents looking more saturated with unnatural skin tone, etc. Even HDR10 contents (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, YouTube) look different enough when rendered in Dolby Vision mode to be bothersome to purists.

I spent money and time calibrating my TVs (LG C8, LG B9, and Sony X950G) and I care about getting an accurate picture, enough to put up with few seconds of no signal/black screen.
 

name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,176
1,983
I am just offering a purist perspective, that getting the most accurate mode without artificial processing (e.g., motion interpolation, tone mapping SDR into Dolby Vision) requires some compromise.

Just as some people zoom in (crop) 2.35:1 movies into 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio of their TV, you are obviously free to do whatever you prefer. So by all means set your TV to Dolby Vision and turn off Match Dynamic Range and Match Frame Rate.

But understand the consequences. tvOS will then map SDR and HDR10 contents into Dolby Vision, which to your eyes maybe fine. To my eyes, they look noticeably different, with SDR contents looking more saturated with unnatural skin tone, etc. Even HDR10 contents (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, YouTube) look different enough when rendered in Dolby Vision mode to be bothersome to purists.

I spent money and time calibrating my TVs (LG C8, LG B9, and Sony X950G) and I care about getting an accurate picture, enough to put up with few seconds of no signal/black screen.
Now we are getting somewhere!

It seems to me your complaint is NOT exactly with the settings (which was the way you phrased it) it was with crappy apps that don't handle settings properly.
This is a real problem, but it's not solved by complaints that "the setting doesn't work properly".

Now honestly I don't know what to do about this. There are multiple settings on tvOS that are ignored by apps.
- very common is just ignoring the global "closed caption setting". Hoopla does this ALL the time. Many apps forget it frequently.

- too common is some idiotic app-generated player UI that (of course!) works far worse than the standard UI. Sometimes this is OK-ish, sometimes (like Kanopy) the result is a fscking disaster that makes you hate the app.

- I already described Spectrum TV's overriding tvOS' Dolby Video setting. Spectrum TV also can't get captions right, or player UI, and it's riddled with bugs.


How do we solve this? Reject every app that doesn't handle UI properly? Honestly I am all for this, but apparently the app store enforcing even much less controversial rules is the worst thing ever according to various lawsuits and national governments, so I doubt Apple feel they could get away with this.

But if a problem is with lousy apps, I think you need to point the finger at THOSE app developers. Apple can't fix that problem. If AMZ can do it right, but not some other app, complaint about that app.
Call out names. Give one star reviews.
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,039
7,282
Now we are getting somewhere!

It seems to me your complaint is NOT exactly with the settings (which was the way you phrased it) it was with crappy apps that don't handle settings properly.
This is a real problem, but it's not solved by complaints that "the setting doesn't work properly".
...
How do we solve this? Reject every app that doesn't handle UI properly? Honestly I am all for this, but apparently the app store enforcing even much less controversial rules is the worst thing ever according to various lawsuits and national governments, so I doubt Apple feel they could get away with this.

But if a problem is with lousy apps, I think you need to point the finger at THOSE app developers. Apple can't fix that problem. If AMZ can do it right, but not some other app, complaint about that app.
Call out names. Give one star reviews.
I am all for Apple rejecting misbehaved apps as per App Store policy. But Apple would have to start rejecting their own apps and features. AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers do not respect Match Dynamic Range setting.

I've filed Feedback Assistant ticket and emailed various developers, including MLB, NBC Sports, Peacock and YouTube.

My usage overwhelmingly favors using the SDR mode with Match Dynamic Range setting turned on. I rarely encounter HDR10 contents on YouTube and on occasions we use Apple Photos app on Apple TV, I grudgingly enable Dolby Vision. Most streaming apps installed on my Apple TV respect Match Dynamic Range setting.

However, what you are recommending is turn off Match Dynamic Range. This will render all SDR and HDR10 video contents rendered in Dolby Vision mode, which to me, visible alters color saturation, most notably the skin tone.
 

johntdavis

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2014
17
2
Texas, United States, Earth
Just installed it.

I've got my default video setting at 4K SDR, with Match Dynamic Rate and Match Frame Rate turned on. I do see the screen go black when watching HDR content in Netflix/Amazon Prime/Apple's TV app, so I know it's switching.

I've left it in SDR mode by default, though, as I spend most of my time in YouTube, which does not support matching the dynamic range (or the new controls, or anything else). I assume this is the best way to go to get the best color accuracy out of YouTube--at least until Google updates the app.

One thing I'm still aggravated by: I don't know how to tell what quality/whether HDR is enabled for a specific video. When I start HDR content, the screen goes black and sometimes I get the little Dolby Vision icon at the top right, which makes me think the AppleTV is sending a Dolby Vision signal. But if I don't know how to tell what the actual video stream is. There's no "Video" section when you swipe down.

If I hit the back button while the video is playing, I get a popup that includes information like "4K" and "Dolby Vision," but I'm not sure if that's an indication of the actual mode being used, or an advertisement of the best mode available.
 

name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,176
1,983
I am all for Apple rejecting misbehaved apps as per App Store policy. But Apple would have to start rejecting their own apps and features. AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers do not respect Match Dynamic Range setting.

I've filed Feedback Assistant ticket and emailed various developers, including MLB, NBC Sports, Peacock and YouTube.

My usage overwhelmingly favors using the SDR mode with Match Dynamic Range setting turned on. I rarely encounter HDR10 contents on YouTube and on occasions we use Apple Photos app on Apple TV, I grudgingly enable Dolby Vision. Most streaming apps installed on my Apple TV respect Match Dynamic Range setting.

However, what you are recommending is turn off Match Dynamic Range. This will render all SDR and HDR10 video contents rendered in Dolby Vision mode, which to me, visible alters color saturation, most notably the skin tone.
I did not recommend anything. I said that setting Match Dynamic Range to False does what I want. I make no assertions as to what other people want.

It seems to me that your REAL complaint is "certain Apple apps/features like AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Savers do not respect Match Dynamic Range setting". And that's perfectly valid.
I'm not justifying Apple here; I'm trying to point out that your initial complaint made no sense, at least to me.
You've now managed to clean it up enough that I understand the complaint. I think that's as far as we can go.

Certainly Apple should fix what they can on their side, but at least some cases are close to impossible to fix.
Photos in particular -- do you want the TV switching between SDR and HDR on every photo change? There's no great solution here.
AirPlay2 maybe a protocol issue that's only fixed when AirPlay3 is released who knows when?
Screensavers I am surprised by. That seems like just a silly coding oversight.

3rd party apps, of course, good luck. Peacock, for example, sucks in a dozen different ways, and they don't seem in any hurry to fix those either...
 

name99

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2004
2,176
1,983
Just installed it.

I've got my default video setting at 4K SDR, with Match Dynamic Rate and Match Frame Rate turned on. I do see the screen go black when watching HDR content in Netflix/Amazon Prime/Apple's TV app, so I know it's switching.

I've left it in SDR mode by default, though, as I spend most of my time in YouTube, which does not support matching the dynamic range (or the new controls, or anything else). I assume this is the best way to go to get the best color accuracy out of YouTube--at least until Google updates the app.

One thing I'm still aggravated by: I don't know how to tell what quality/whether HDR is enabled for a specific video. When I start HDR content, the screen goes black and sometimes I get the little Dolby Vision icon at the top right, which makes me think the AppleTV is sending a Dolby Vision signal. But if I don't know how to tell what the actual video stream is. There's no "Video" section when you swipe down.

If I hit the back button while the video is playing, I get a popup that includes information like "4K" and "Dolby Vision," but I'm not sure if that's an indication of the actual mode being used, or an advertisement of the best mode available.
Some TV's have an "info" button on the remote, or in a TV app, that tells you the tech details of the stream currently being displayed. You might get what you want from that. Older LG TVs for example have a fairly useful on-remote info button; for newer LG you have to go to the iOS app, and what's displayed as info is true, but pretty minimal.
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,039
7,282
Certainly Apple should fix what they can on their side, but at least some cases are close to impossible to fix.
Photos in particular -- do you want the TV switching between SDR and HDR on every photo change? There's no great solution here.
AirPlay2 maybe a protocol issue that's only fixed when AirPlay3 is released who knows when?
Screensavers I am surprised by. That seems like just a silly coding oversight.
I more or less wrote what I want Apple to do, which is the simplify the process of setting up TV that works across a wider range of users.
  1. Future tvOS should add support for QMS. If Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) is connected to TV via HDMI 2.1 port and cable, tvOS should default to turning on Match Frame Rate.
  2. Apple TV should have two presets, Recommended and Cinema. Recommended is the current tvOS, defaulting to the highest mode your TV supports (e.g., 4K Dolby Vision 60 fps). Cinema is the most accurate setting, defaulting to SDR with Match Frame Rate and Match Dynamic Range turned on. Since many apps do not respect Match Dynamic Range, advanced users should be able to override different preset for particular apps. Apple's AirPlay 2, Photos, and Screen Saver should also let advanced users specify which preset to use.
It is unfortunate that HDMI 2.1 does not have a feature similar to QMS for switching dynamic range. That would solve 99% of the problems.
 

johntdavis

macrumors newbie
Dec 1, 2014
17
2
Texas, United States, Earth
Some TV's have an "info" button on the remote, or in a TV app, that tells you the tech details of the stream currently being displayed. You might get what you want from that. Older LG TVs for example have a fairly useful on-remote info button; for newer LG you have to go to the iOS app, and what's displayed as info is true, but pretty minimal.
I cannot figure out how to make my TV do this. I've been trying for months. :p Either I'm an idiot, or it's not possible. Sadly, in 2021, either could be possible.

I got a pretty thorough answer to this over on Reddit. See the comment from modestginger.
https://www.reddit.com/r/appletv/comments/ootw05 tl;dr (1) if the overlay shows HDR/DV, AppleTV is trying to play HDR/DV, and if it's not working it's your TV's fault; but (2) without doing deep magic, the "4K" indicator just means that's the "maximum available."
Knowing the dynamic range is easy. If it shows HDR or Dolby Vision in the metadata overlay (Back button in TV app; swipe down in other apps that use native player), and your TV is in HDR mode as your describe, then it's playing HDR. It will never switch down to SDR, even if your connection is bad. However, the resolution (e.g. 4K, HD) that appears here is the *maximum available* resolution and not the currently playing one.

Knowing the actual video resolution is possible, but you're not going to like it. Enable the Developer settings menu on your Apple TV by setting up a Mac running Xcode paired to the Apple TV for development...
 
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