Match Content yes or no?

[jabingla2810]

With Match Content enabled the only difference I can see is that switching from videos to the menu takes longer.

I just have a black screen for a second, sometimes a green flash, I assume this is the video changing dynamic range.

But honestly, in terms of video, both HDR and non HDR I can’t see any difference.

Does anybody understand this setting? What am I missing? Why would somebody enable it?

 

[Hoosier317]

What brand and model of TV do you have? For me, it's an absolute yes. You should want it to automatically switch between SDR and HDR, but you should also want it to automatically switch between 24Hz and 60Hz.

 

[priitv8]

I would definitely enable HDR mode autoswitching. Because I do not wiew it on elevated brightness levels all day long. Also, most of the content around me is still in SDR.
So I keep it in SDR mode (the aTV, UHD bluray player does it by default) and only when I start a HDR video, I let the screen to switch into HDR mode. The framerate autoswitch is not that important to me. But I turned them both on, just because I can.
If you do not see difference between SDR and HDR video, something must be wrong. Or the screen is barely HDR-capable.
First thing I notice in HDR mode is that all white elements on the UI (that includes menu texts, subtitles etc) turn to much brighter white.

 

[patseguin]

I find that the always on HDR makes everything look incredible, not just 4K HDR content. watching Star Trek Discovery in 1080 but in HDR on the Apple TV 4K is incredible. I tried enabling both settings but it caused a long delay which I don't like. Plus it just made non HDR content look regular again. I use a Samsung KS8000 and a Denon receiver.

 

[jabingla2810]

Mystery over.

My TV has a setting that automatically detects HDR and SDR signals and alters the picture to suite.

The Apple TV setting was just just causing too much delay and confusing things. Definitely leaving this off, probably a good choice to by Apple to have this off as default.

 

[priitv8]

Mystery over.

My TV has a setting that automatically detects HDR and SDR signals and alters the picture to suite.

This feature has no effect if you leave the HDR autoswitch off on aTV. It will then be always in either of the modes, depending on your setting.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

And this is exactly why Apple did in their way in the beginning. The screen changing is inelegant and personally, I don't like it. Most ATV users will leaves it on the default setting. BUT it gives the AV guys who on other forums moan at absolutely everything what they wanted. Now they'll just moan about Atmos, DTS, things what their discs can do, if the sun is shining too much 🙂. In reality, the ATV is designed to play iTunes content. That's how Apple makes an income. I think that it's very decent of them to make a beautiful box with top quality components AND allow it to be used by these AV guys for playing their non-iTunes non-purchased files. They didn't have to do that in all fairness and that's what ally of AV moaners forget! For me, ATV is truly perfect in every way. I can 100% rely on it!

 

[Spankey]

Mystery over.

My TV has a setting that automatically detects HDR and SDR signals and alters the picture to suite.

The Apple TV setting was just just causing too much delay and confusing things. Definitely leaving this off, probably a good choice to by Apple to have this off as default.

That is true but if you leave it off your Apple TV will send everything either in SDR and HDR. Your TV won't detect if it is not getting the correct signal.

Right now it should be left on with your TV's color space set to SDR if you regularly use apps that are not in HDR. Given the shortage of HDR content it makes no sense to leave this off.

 

[ZEEN0j]

It’s not only about SDR and HDR. It’s also about matching the tv hz with the movies fps. This eliminates judder.

 

[starkmj]

Okay, I have a Sony 850D 55 inch television i got around a year ago.

It has HDR, but not Dolby Vision.

When i turn on both of the settings, I seem to get a 1 second black flash almost every time i go from an iTunes movie's menu, to playing the 4K movie, then if i hit menu i get another 1 second flash before it goes back.

It does this on a lot of the different apps.

Is there a setting on my Sony TV I should also hit?

If I get this almost every time, I'd rather just leave these settings off and change the apple tv into HDR only when watching HDR content, as it's only about 10% of what i watch on apple tv.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Okay, I have a Sony 850D 55 inch television i got around a year ago.

It has HDR, but not Dolby Vision.

When i turn on both of the settings, I seem to get a 1 second black flash almost every time i go from an iTunes movie's menu, to playing the 4K movie, then if i hit menu i get another 1 second flash before it goes back.

It does this on a lot of the different apps.

Is there a setting on my Sony TV I should also hit?

If I get this almost every time, I'd rather just leave these settings off and change the apple tv into HDR only when watching HDR content, as it's only about 10% of what i watch on apple tv.

This is why Apple was against the idea. And I agree with you. The switching & black screen looks horrible! Have you tried leaving it on Match BUT select SDR instead of HDR and you can leave the UI in SDR too (using the top setting). This way it'll only change for 4K HDR iTunes / Netflix. Don't forget though, I bet you that this time next year, half of iTunes catalogue will be 4K DV HDR. Just look at the speed that they are being added - several every day!!!
It's messy isn't it but certainly not Apple's fault. Also frame rate changing is important BUT some TVs can cope really well with it being left at 60fps. Again, try and go for what you like!

The LONG TERM answer is HDMI 2.1 BUT you'll need a 2018 TV for that and a 2019 Apple TV box 😉 as 2.1 has variable frame rate - like iPad Pro's ProMotion I believe. Scary for people who have spent 3K on a TV as this could truly be a game changer but only for next generation TVs.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Or just get a better tv that doesn't take so long to match to the content. Either way I rather have my content displayed correctly opposed to it being changed...

 

[starkmj]

Or just get a better tv that doesn't take so long to match to the content. Either way I rather have my content displayed correctly opposed to it being changed...

Well, not everyone can afford a new TV every year.
I'm not complaining, just was trying to ask if there was something I was doing wrong, or could be doing something different with my TV's internal settings.

But I'll just try a few different settings and find one that works best for me.

Thanks.

 

[starkmj]

Question for anyone: Why when I switch into 4K HDR 60Hz on my apple tv, does everything look washed out? And when I switch back to 4K SDR, the colors are deeper, and not washed out at all?

You can tell just by looking at the apps on my main menu page.

It actually looks BETTER in 4k SDR, not in 4k HDR.

I've checked the cables. HDMI High Speed Cables. I've checked the inputs on my sony TV. They are set to "Enhanced Mode" for 4k viewing, in input #2.

I guess I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do. I have a decent 4k HDR Tv (Sony 550D 55 inch) yet when I set Apple TV mode to 4k HDR, it looks washed out and crappy.

I've also tried a few different HDMI cables to make sure it's not the cable.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

 

[vince22]

Question for anyone: Why when I switch into 4K HDR 60Hz on my apple tv, does everything look washed out? And when I switch back to 4K SDR, the colors are deeper, and not washed out at all?

You can tell just by looking at the apps on my main menu page.

It actually looks BETTER in 4k SDR, not in 4k HDR.

I've checked the cables. HDMI High Speed Cables. I've checked the inputs on my sony TV. They are set to "Enhanced Mode" for 4k viewing, in input #2.

I guess I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do. I have a decent 4k HDR Tv (Sony 550D 55 inch) yet when I set Apple TV mode to 4k HDR, it looks washed out and crappy.

I've also tried a few different HDMI cables to make sure it's not the cable.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

just leave @ 4k SDR as default and switch on match frame and dynamic range.

 

[Hoosier317]

Okay, I have a Sony 850D 55 inch television i got around a year ago.

It has HDR, but not Dolby Vision.

When i turn on both of the settings, I seem to get a 1 second black flash almost every time i go from an iTunes movie's menu, to playing the 4K movie, then if i hit menu i get another 1 second flash before it goes back.

It does this on a lot of the different apps.

Is there a setting on my Sony TV I should also hit?

If I get this almost every time, I'd rather just leave these settings off and change the apple tv into HDR only when watching HDR content, as it's only about 10% of what i watch on apple tv.

Your TV is behaving exactly as it should. Leave both settings on. It's matching both format and refresh rate...which is exactly what you should want it to do.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

Well, not everyone can afford a new TV every year.
I'm not complaining, just was trying to ask if there was something I was doing wrong, or could be doing something different with my TV's internal settings.

But I'll just try a few different settings and find one that works best for me.

Thanks.

I was responding to bodybuilderpaul who seemingly just doesn’t get it. I’m glad Apple did.

My point about the speed of changing is that it is totally dependent on the screen. It’s not something Apple can control. And some panels do this much quicker than others. Either way I would prefer this a millions time over artificial hdr being added or wrong refresh rate introducing judder.

Just leave it to auto and it will be fine.

What you are reporting regarding it (it being the Apple Menu and apps?) looking washed out is a bit odd. I would suspect that you need to check your settings in hdr mode on your tv. They often have different settings.

But personally I do find that a trait/feature of LCD TVs. Too often they look washed out to me. Hence I prefer plasma or OLED.

 

[priitv8]

What you are reporting regarding it (it being the Apple Menu and apps?) looking washed out is a bit odd. I would suspect that you need to check your settings in hdr mode on your tv. They often have different settings.

2016 Sony Bravia definitely does have separate Picture settings for HDR and SDR modes.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I was responding to bodybuilderpaul who seemingly just doesn’t get it. I’m glad Apple did.

My point about the speed of changing is that it is totally dependent on the screen. It’s not something Apple can control. And some panels do this much quicker than others. Either way I would prefer this a millions time over artificial hdr being added or wrong refresh rate introducing judder.

Just leave it to auto and it will be fine.

What you are reporting regarding it (it being the Apple Menu and apps?) looking washed out is a bit odd. I would suspect that you need to check your settings in hdr mode on your tv. They often have different settings.

But personally I do find that a trait/feature of LCD TVs. Too often they look washed out to me. Hence I prefer plasma or OLED.

I get it 100% so please don't question my intelligence. I simply agree with Apple in that switching looks 'inelegant' and can see why they went for their original approach and I can see why this AV approach is buried in the settings menu. I get it 100%, I simply do not like the switching. Depending on the brand of TV, some people like watching SDR in HDR. Certainly, Apple is keen on that approach and will further improve it. It's simply a question of taste and how the TV reacts to it!

 

[ZEEN0j]

I get it 100% so please don't question my intelligence. I simply agree with Apple in that switching looks 'inelegant' and can see why they went for their original approach and I can see why this AV approach is buried in the settings menu. I get it 100%, I simply do not like the switching. Depending on the brand of TV, some people like watching SDR in HDR. Certainly, Apple is keen on that approach and will further improve it. It's simply a question of taste and how the TV reacts to it!

Well I’m certainly glad they added the option. I like seeing the movie the way it’s supposed to look like instead of looking through a Instagram filter.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I get it 100% so please don't question my intelligence. I simply agree with Apple in that switching looks 'inelegant' and can see why they went for their original approach and I can see why this AV approach is buried in the settings menu. I get it 100%, I simply do not like the switching. Depending on the brand of TV, some people like watching SDR in HDR. Certainly, Apple is keen on that approach and will further improve it. It's simply a question of taste and how the TV reacts to it!

Well its good that we have options, and I'm glad Apple listened very quickly to those who provided feedback to Apple. In fact they acted so quickly that I actually think they had it already in the planning. Apple themselves never ever actually stated that it looks inelegant, that was merely people trying to justify why it wasn't doing the most basic of things...

 

[vipergts2207]

And this is exactly why Apple did in their way in the beginning. The screen changing is inelegant and personally, I don't like it. Most ATV users will leaves it on the default setting. BUT it gives the AV guys who on other forums moan at absolutely everything what they wanted. Now they'll just moan about Atmos, DTS, things what their discs can do, if the sun is shining too much 🙂. In reality, the ATV is designed to play iTunes content. That's how Apple makes an income. I think that it's very decent of them to make a beautiful box with top quality components AND allow it to be used by these AV guys for playing their non-iTunes non-purchased files. They didn't have to do that in all fairness and that's what ally of AV moaners forget! For me, ATV is truly perfect in every way. I can 100% rely on it!

Sure, maybe several years ago when there was no ATV 4 or ATV app store. Now it's quite obvious that Apple intends the ATV to be your all-in-one go to device for consuming content from a wide-range of sources. I bet far more Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and now Amazon Prime, is consumed on ATVs than iTunes content.

 

[-Gonzo-]

Sure, maybe several years ago when there was no ATV 4 or ATV app store. Now it's quite obvious that Apple intends the ATV to be your all-in-one go to device for consuming content from a wide-range of sources. I bet far more Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and now Amazon Prime, is consumed on ATVs than iTunes content.

Apple have a long way to go before that’s ever going to be the case outside of the US.
Things might change for the better now the TV App has been released further afield but in the UK at least many broadcasters just don’t see AppleTV as having enough of a user base to support it.

 

[Lukewarmwinner]

I've switched it off because of the time it takes my TV to regonize the source every time I play something. And the HDR only looks good in things where it was intended. So I'm back to 4K SDR.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Apple have a long way to go before that’s ever going to be the case outside of the US.
Things might change for the better now the TV App has been released further afield but in the UK at least many broadcasters just don’t see AppleTV as having enough of a user base to support it.

I'm incredibly surprised that Apple ever wanted to compete with the TV channels. I know the USA has the world's highest TV consumption - which is incredibly bad!!! (8 hours a day which sadly is making the country ill - obesity, 1 in 2 cancer rates, diabetes, GMO food) - but I honestly thought that TV was dead. Certainly, the millennials and future generations are not consuming it (myself included) throughout Europe.
In the UK, the average age of the BBC1 viewer is 61! From a marketing perspective, it's the older generation that are still paying £40-£100 a month for Sky TV which is a 1990s way to do it BUT even that company has had to drop their prices (for the first time in its history).
Young, educated people that I know travel and use MacBooks, iPads and iPhones. They are not the television channel generation. They are the Internet generation. For them, ATV is used to compliment their iPhone/MacBook content usually for film.
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Well its good that we have options, and I'm glad Apple listened very quickly to those who provided feedback to Apple. In fact they acted so quickly that I actually think they had it already in the planning. Apple themselves never ever actually stated that it looks inelegant, that was merely people trying to justify why it wasn't doing the most basic of things...

The first ever review from The Verge did state that 'Apple thought the switching was inelegant'. But the switching is outside of Apple's control. I totally agree that it's awesome to have the options. 24p for playing film is great 🙂 I feel the ATV 4K is for tomorrow - this time next year, iTunes will be 4K HDR flooded 🙂 There'll come a time in maybe 1 or 2 years when you won't think about HDR - SDR switching as the majority will be HDR. Coming from a media background, I know how fast this industry is!!!