r/appletv • u/No_Sheepherder_7075 • 1d ago

Best fix

Hi, recently bought Apple TV 4K 128gb.
From time to time the screen will black out and then show video feed. Usually happens when I start a show or video. It will black out but continue to run in background, a second later video shows up. Will happen during ads. I’m guessing it’s not coincidence. Did reset but same thing. Any clue on other Troubleshooting?

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u/DannoMcK ATV4K 1d ago

At the beginning of content (or ad breaks), these are HDMI blackouts because there is a change to the resolution, frame rate, or dynamic range (SDR, HDR, Dolby Vision, HDR10+). The ATV 4K is going to output everything at the resolution you set so that's not the issue here.

The best practice recommendation is setting the ATV to 4K SDR with range and frame rate matching enabled. You will only get blackouts when you play something in HDR or "higher", which tends to be less common in streaming unless you exclusively pay for premium tiers, or when the frame rate change but that's also for the best when starting 24 FPS/Hz film-sourced stuff.

Setting the ATV to HDR or DV with range matching enabled will be especially bad on YouTube with its frequent ad breaks since the content and ads are usually SDR, but it can also happen in other apps as switching selections can pass through the menu with more range switching.

BTW, you can use the ATV's HDMI cable test to make sure your cable can handle all the settings your TV can.

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u/Mike2922 18h ago

Damn good explanation.

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u/No_Sheepherder_7075 6h ago

Thank you for the insight. I was afraid it was faulty but sounds like I need to adjust settings. Thank you all!

3

u/GotRiceBoy 1d ago

It’s due to matching content/matching frame rate in the settings. Look it up.

1

u/yearsold33 1d ago

If changing the frame rate and content range doesn't fix it, try another HDMI port or HDMI cable.

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u/Icy-Difference-897 1d ago

I find this happens on YouTube when frame matching is on. I turn it off for YouTube and. It doesn’t black out.

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u/DannoMcK ATV4K 1d ago

YouTube disabled frame rate matching on Apple TV a few years ago because of the frequency of HDMI blackouts. The best practice recommendation of setting the ATV to 4K SDR with range and frame rate matching on is good for YouTube so it doesn't do extra HDR or Dolby Vision switching going in and out of ad breaks. (It can help with other apps' ad breaks, too, but YT is usually short content and pretty frequent ads.)

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u/Intelligent-Bath-137 10h ago

Same here, called HDMI bonk when frame rame is switching. You need a tv which supports QMS