Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

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nickk
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Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by nickk »

Apple TV 4K supports HDR when connected to a TV with HDR support. The option to enable is under Settings, Video and Audio, Format.

In theory you should be able to set the format to SDR or HDR and everything should look exactly the same (normal SDR content). The Apple TV menu colors should look the same, the HDHomeRun app colors should look the same, and playing normal TV content should look the same. HDR mode becomes relevant when playing HDR content.

This is true for some TVs we tested - we could set SDR or HDR and the colors were the same (normal SDR content).
It was not true for all TVs we tested - on some TVs the colors were washed out in HDR mode.

Our current thinking is that the Apple TV 4K is converting the colorspace but that not all TVs are handling HDR well. This may be fixable by calibrating the TV.

If you want to experiment with HDR: Try switching back and forth between SDR and HDR modes. If the colors look the same in the menus and playing normal content then your TV is working and you are good. If the colors are different (for example bright in SDR mode and washed out in HDR mode) then we recommend using SDR mode or getting your TV calibrated.

HDHomeRun app - we confirmed a minor color reproduction issue that was fixed in the 20201216 release. We recommend installing the latest version to get this fix regardless of the SDR/HDR output mode you end up going with.

Nick - Silicondust

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nickk
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Re: Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by nickk »

Small oops... the 20201216 app for Apple TV includes the work-in-progress Discover tab.

The Discover tab is not fully functional right now.

Lets call the Discover tab a technology preview :ugeek:

Nick

Deihmos
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:25 pm

Re: Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by Deihmos »

Will the apple tv support copy once channels?

wags1
Posts: 22
Joined: Tue Apr 18, 2017 6:27 am

Re: Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by wags1 »

Why would you not simply set video settings to 4k SDR with match content and frame rate enabled. That way it only switches to HDR/DV mode when the content is HDR/DV. SDR content is displayed in its correct color space and HDR/DV content is displayed in its correct color space. That is the recommended way for the ATV 4K to be configured.

hancox
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Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2017 5:53 am

Re: Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by hancox »

nickk wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 4:46 pm Apple TV 4K supports HDR when connected to a TV with HDR support. The option to enable is under Settings, Video and Audio, Format.

In theory you should be able to set the format to SDR or HDR and everything should look exactly the same (normal SDR content). The Apple TV menu colors should look the same, the HDHomeRun app colors should look the same, and playing normal TV content should look the same. HDR mode becomes relevant when playing HDR content.

This is true for some TVs we tested - we could set SDR or HDR and the colors were the same (normal SDR content).
It was not true for all TVs we tested - on some TVs the colors were washed out in HDR mode.

Our current thinking is that the Apple TV 4K is converting the colorspace but that not all TVs are handling HDR well. This may be fixable by calibrating the TV.

If you want to experiment with HDR: Try switching back and forth between SDR and HDR modes. If the colors look the same in the menus and playing normal content then your TV is working and you are good. If the colors are different (for example bright in SDR mode and washed out in HDR mode) then we recommend using SDR mode or getting your TV calibrated.

HDHomeRun app - we confirmed a minor color reproduction issue that was fixed in the 20201216 release. We recommend installing the latest version to get this fix regardless of the SDR/HDR output mode you end up going with.

Nick - Silicondust
The ATV4K is maddening for HDR. "washed out colors" is indicative of color space, or lack of HLG support. Drives me bonkers.

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nickk
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Re: Apple TV 4K - SDR vs HDR

Post by nickk »

It looks like some TVs have different modes for HDR content and default to HDR Eco Mode which results in washed out colors. Changing the HDR mode on the TV to standard with eco off will improve the colors significantly.

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