Hi there, is there any update regarding this issue? Btw, is mode 1 on the HDMI setting the ‘tv-led DV’ option instead of mode 2? But there is no actual difference between the 2 modes?
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Poor Dolby Vision from Apple TV 4K - Why?
- Thread starter SnippetySnip
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I’ve got no further. Panasonic only offered the usual ‘reset to factory settings’ option then blamed the ATV box.
The difference between Mode 1 & Mode 2, from the manual is:
(Mode1 / Mode2)
Reproduces the image more precisely with the expanded colour gamut when connecting the 4K compatible equipment. Select the mode depending on the equipment.
Mode1:
For better compatibility. Set to Mode1 when the image or sound in
HDMI input is not played properly.
Mode2:
For the 4K compatible equipment that has the function to output the image precisely with the expanded colour gamut
● The setting can be stored for each HDMI input.
● Valid format (4K)
– Mode1: 4:4:4 / 4:2:2 (30p, 25p, 24p), 4:2:0 (60p, 50p)
– Mode2: 4:4:4 / 4:2:2 (30p, 25p, 24p), 4:4:4 / 4:2:2 / 4:2:0 (60p, 50p)
thanks for the update. seems the problem will be unsolved.. just wonder, setting mode 1/2 doesn't change the picture quality at all?
Same for me - switching between mode 1/2 doesn't seem to change anything about the picture quality.
I have an Hisense U8G, Vizio soundbar 5.1.4 (Atoms) and a ATV 2021 and Dolby Vision works fine on my system. Soundbar ARC to eARC on TV. ATV to HDMI on TV (and a few tweaks on the TV).
It may sound weird but have you unplugged all the devices from the power for a few minutes after you made the changes you wanted? Believe it or not, it can help.
It may sound weird but have you unplugged all the devices from the power for a few minutes after you made the changes you wanted? Believe it or not, it can help.
Here's another example of how bad the output from the Apple TV 4K box is, when compared with the same sequence played from the native TV app. In this case it's the last sequence at the end of season 3, ep5 of After Life on Netflix, at about the 25'12" mark:
I've deliberately framed the bottom corner of the image and used a brighter exposure than normal to highlight the difference. Both are using identical Dolby Vision Dark picture settings, but the noise on the ATV version is shocking, particularly on the transition as it pans left from behind the sofa.
No amount of switching off/settings reset/HDMI checks etc make any difference.
I've deliberately framed the bottom corner of the image and used a brighter exposure than normal to highlight the difference. Both are using identical Dolby Vision Dark picture settings, but the noise on the ATV version is shocking, particularly on the transition as it pans left from behind the sofa.
No amount of switching off/settings reset/HDMI checks etc make any difference.
That's good to know, thanks.
It's definitely something specific to the Panasonic GX800 TV. I've since tried my ATV 4K box on a different model of TV and the output is fine, similar to what you have shown.
I've gone back to Panasonic and they're allegedly now looking into it and will hopefully get back to me.
Yup. That's why it's so weird. Both are playing full bitrate 2160P. Hard-wired into the router with a solid 74Mbps download speed according to the Netflix network check tool.
The extreme pixellation only occurs on dark parts of the frame, mainly on Netflix and Disney+ content. Brighter content looks OK. It's actually not as bad on higher bit-rate content such as iTunes movies, they play OK in Dolby Vision.
It's some kind of incompatibility with the codec Netflix uses and my model of TV I reckon.
I guess the problem will remain unsolved forever? I also have a Panasonic 4K LED with the latest Apple TV 4K. Dolby Vision just looks very bad. The colors are pale and the content is dark, you often don't see much of the movie if it's a dark scene. But the black bars at the top and bottom are gray and this haze stretches across the whole picture. I don't have the problem via the TV app, but even there the picture is not good enough. I have also tried a few things but nothing has helped. Tested among other things with the series "See".
I have found some other threads in German forums from years ago without a solution.
communities.apple.com
In this topic, you will probably find no useful help from any support in the world. I still have a small Full HD TV and there was 2 years ago the support of 24p or 24Hz canceled and all play dumb and just think the other would be to blame and I should just reset. Or the best answer was: „Your TV supports 60p, that’s much newer than 24p“
I have found some other threads in German forums from years ago without a solution.
AppleTV Probleme bei Dolby Vision - Apple Community
In this topic, you will probably find no useful help from any support in the world. I still have a small Full HD TV and there was 2 years ago the support of 24p or 24Hz canceled and all play dumb and just think the other would be to blame and I should just reset. Or the best answer was: „Your TV supports 60p, that’s much newer than 24p“
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I have the same problem on Panasonic HX800 (2020 model) and Amazon Firestick 4K Max. Washed out blacks on Dolby Vision on Netflix and HBO Max, native tv Netflix app works fine, firestick apps don't play proper DV. Nothing helps. i tried every settings on tv and on firestick.
Strange. The Dolby Vision I get out of my standard Firestick 4K (not the Max version) actually looks OK on my GX800, it's only the Apple TV 4K box that gives the poor picture.
Panasonic are convinced it's something to do with the ATV.
Maybe it's some specific Dolby Vision profile that just doesn't play well with Panasonics.
Don't know, maybe it's problem with firestick, there was several updates, but none of them fixed the problem. New updated from Panasonic also didn't changed anything. Settings on firestick and Panasonic seems to be good - adaptive hdr on in firestick and dynamic hdr on in Panasonic menu. Maybe someday i buy new Xiamo stick to check if there will be some problems. I hope that Panasonic soon give HBO Max app to My Home.
I’m afraid not. I ended up getting rid of the GX800 & bought a Panasonic JZ1000 OLED instead which plays all Dolby Vision content perfectly from the Apple TV 4K box.
I think the GX800 only accepts player-led DV whereas the JZ1000 can be switched to TV-led DV (the default) so does a much better job of interpreting the DV metadata.
The difference in picture quality is pretty mind-blowing. All HDR content looks so much better on an OLED.
So did they ever sort out the issue with Apple TV (box not the app) Dolby Vision content being slightly darker than using the native apps built into the TV?
I'm an Apple TV user and I constantly find Dolby Vision content to look a bit... off, so I guess I should use the built in app on the TV, but find the interface and overall polish kind of clunky (plus I don't really like having the TV connected to the internet). What's the current advice?
I'm an Apple TV user and I constantly find Dolby Vision content to look a bit... off, so I guess I should use the built in app on the TV, but find the interface and overall polish kind of clunky (plus I don't really like having the TV connected to the internet). What's the current advice?
Over on AVS Forums, many speculate the issues may be with the provider of the material not properly encoding DV. Now I have no idea, but I know that on Ms. Marvel, DV was hit and miss. One episode looked great on my Sony A80J OLED and other episodes looked pretty washed out. I've seen some great looking shows on the Apple TV, such as Halo and may Netflix shows. Some of the posters at AVS think that when viewed over the history of broadcast/streaming, DV encoding is still pretty young. The argument being that producers have had years and years to develop HD content and now they need more time to properly encode (if that is the correct word) DV and even HDR10 material. Who knows. I tend to agree with the coding argument. As I have said I have seen some great looking shows in DV and some that don't look so great. But I have also seen some shows that look really exceptional in HD 1080, like Peacemaker and many of the animated shows on Netflix like Arcane and The Sea Beast.
I fixed this issue by updating the firmware on my Sony X900H. It was the TV not able to "receive" the full dolby vision spectrum it seems. Now it looks identical or better than internal apps.
For me, this issue was due to my LG OLED only accepting up to 30Hz 4K (UHD) Dolby Vision content (lower resolutions such as 1080p60 DV were fine). Since the vast majority of streaming DV content available is only 24Hz, this isn’t a huge issue however.
In order to get things playing well with the 2021 4K Apple TV and my TV setup, I first had to set the Apple TV to output 1080p60. Then I enabled/verified DV. Next was to apply the Dynamic Range and Frame Rate matching options. And finally, I changed the output resolution to 4K SDR 60Hz output.
With this setup, the Apple TV normally outputs 4K SDR at 60Hz, but when watching content in DV, it automatically switches to 4K DV at 24Hz. 4K HDR10 content also switches automatically, but this mode can be supported at up to 60Hz, so live sports aren’t effected.
The only major downsides that I’ve found with this setup is with the YouTube app and my Hue Sync box. Since ads and content on YT can often contain various frame rates between content, there’s a notable delay in receiving images due to the frame rate switching (this does have the somewhat positive side effect however of having to watch less of the ad). On the Hue Sync box, DV content appears to be incompatible in this particular setup (SDR and HDR10 are fine). I’ve tried all combinations of settings to no avail. I know the Sync box can work with DV (as I have a similar setup with a Sony OLED which has zero issues), so this appears to be a specific limitation.
In order to get things playing well with the 2021 4K Apple TV and my TV setup, I first had to set the Apple TV to output 1080p60. Then I enabled/verified DV. Next was to apply the Dynamic Range and Frame Rate matching options. And finally, I changed the output resolution to 4K SDR 60Hz output.
With this setup, the Apple TV normally outputs 4K SDR at 60Hz, but when watching content in DV, it automatically switches to 4K DV at 24Hz. 4K HDR10 content also switches automatically, but this mode can be supported at up to 60Hz, so live sports aren’t effected.
The only major downsides that I’ve found with this setup is with the YouTube app and my Hue Sync box. Since ads and content on YT can often contain various frame rates between content, there’s a notable delay in receiving images due to the frame rate switching (this does have the somewhat positive side effect however of having to watch less of the ad). On the Hue Sync box, DV content appears to be incompatible in this particular setup (SDR and HDR10 are fine). I’ve tried all combinations of settings to no avail. I know the Sync box can work with DV (as I have a similar setup with a Sony OLED which has zero issues), so this appears to be a specific limitation.
Didn’t read all the responses so might be repeating someone, The TV you mentioned has different settings for different inputs. This means the “Standard” or “Cinema” setting for HDMI1 is different then HDMI2. You’ve likely fixed the picture settings for the main TV or other HDMI inputs but the one for the Apple TV is set to factory originals. Playback one where the blacks aren’t crushed, go into the picture settings and click “Apply to all inputs” then go back to the Apple TV and switch to that picture mode. Should fix the problem.
I have this issue when I calibrate my TV, I sometimes forget after 10 hours to hit “apply to all inputs” and the internal media player looks better then my PC input zzz
I have this issue when I calibrate my TV, I sometimes forget after 10 hours to hit “apply to all inputs” and the internal media player looks better then my PC input zzz
Thanks for the input but it doesn't work. Dolby Vision presets come across the same on all inputs, regardless of whether they're applied to all inputs or tweaked individually. I tried all options but couldn't get it to improve so I've since sold the TV and bought an OLED instead. Problem solved. Dolby Vision works perfectly from the Apple TV 4K box now.
Reposted from my Reddit post in the hopes it helps someone: In the aTV settings there is a “Check HDMI Connection” in Settings/Video and Audio that I ran and so far so good. It takes about 2 minutes to run. I got 4K Dolby vision@60. Thought I had that initially even before 16.3. Had to turn off Match Frame Rate (wait, that’s not one word?) under Match Content to avoid initial YouTube video blip after first 2-3 seconds. All settings done on aTV.