tvOS 11.2 will let Apple TV 4K owners choose between matching frame rate or HDR

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in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV
When it reaches the public, tvOS 11.2 -- now in beta -- will let Apple TV 4K users optionally force the set-top to match the HDR settings of content, and not just default to the fastest available frame rate.




In the current tvOS release, Apple prefers frame rate whenever possible to avoid the interface juddering displayed when tvOS runs at 30 hertz, The Verge noted on Tuesday. The policy can create issues with some TV sets -- on a TV capable of 60 hertz HDR10 but 30 hertz Dolby Vision, for example, tvOS will default to the former regardless of how it looks.

The change in tvOS 11.2 was discovered in a developer video on Apple's website. People will be able to go into the Video and Audio menu within the Settings app, select "Match Content," then toggle "Match Dynamic Range" and/or "Match Frame Rate" on and off.

The first developer beta of tvOS 11.2 was released on Monday. Included are APIs for automatic frame rate and dynamic range switching for apps that don't use AVKit for video playback.

It's not certain when the finished update will become available, but Apple typically takes several weeks for bigger point releases.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Wow this was the biggest complaint about Apple TV. Glad it’s being fixed. 

    iHaters were “threatening” to go with Roku/others because of this. I wonder what the next excuse will be?
    Soliboltsfan17SoundJudgmentwilliamlondonStrangeDaysjony0
  • Reply 2 of 10
    This will hopefully fix my issue with Samsung's KS8000. Currently if I turn HDR on, everything on the Apple TV is displayed in a muted colorless way. Except for the rare HDR content I play. If I turn HDR off, obviously I get no HDR when I need it. A very poor implementation.

    Now we just need the Apple TV to run at 120Hz! Maybe 2020?
    SoundJudgment
  • Reply 3 of 10
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    cali said:
    iHaters were “threatening” to go with Roku/others because of this. I wonder what the next excuse will be?
    LOL There will be something. They can always call back on costs too much and doesn't support the right codecs.
    cali
  • Reply 4 of 10
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    cali said:
    Wow this was the biggest complaint about Apple TV. Glad it’s being fixed. 

    iHaters were “threatening” to go with Roku/others because of this. I wonder what the next excuse will be?
    This is great news. HDR always on was my biggest complaint. What's funny is in another forum I use people were returning their Apple TV's because of it. Now people are posting they shouldn't have returned their Apple TV.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 5 of 10
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    They listened! That was a fairly rapid response to a design choice rather than bug from them. Nice. 
    SoundJudgmentwilliamlondon
  • Reply 6 of 10
    This will hopefully fix my issue with Samsung's KS8000. Currently if I turn HDR on, everything on the Apple TV is displayed in a muted colorless way. Except for the rare HDR content I play. If I turn HDR off, obviously I get no HDR when I need it. A very poor implementation.

    Now we just need the Apple TV to run at 120Hz! Maybe 2020?
    I had the dull menu issue. I tried the beta software that reported a fix, and it worked. That’s just been released out of beta - hope it sorts your issue if you haven’t already tried it. 
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 10
    mac_128mac_128 Posts: 3,454member
    cali said:
    Wow this was the biggest complaint about Apple TV. Glad it’s being fixed. 

    iHaters were “threatening” to go with Roku/others because of this. I wonder what the next excuse will be?
    This is great news. HDR always on was my biggest complaint. What's funny is in another forum I use people were returning their Apple TV's because of it. Now people are posting they shouldn't have returned their Apple TV.
    I'm actually stunned they did this. Frankly it's something that should have been there from day one, which is why it seemed like they wouldn't change it -- with various theories about how Apple would refine their HDR software to properly reflect SDR content, as well as upscaling and frame-rate -- all of which was is unacceptable to take away from the consumer when dealing with a hardware base as varied as flat panel TVs. 

    Glad I held onto mine, though I'm still planning to return it if they don't release the Amazon app by December 31, on principal alone.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    mac_128 said:
    cali said:
    Wow this was the biggest complaint about Apple TV. Glad it’s being fixed. 

    iHaters were “threatening” to go with Roku/others because of this. I wonder what the next excuse will be?
    This is great news. HDR always on was my biggest complaint. What's funny is in another forum I use people were returning their Apple TV's because of it. Now people are posting they shouldn't have returned their Apple TV.
    Glad I held onto mine, though I'm still planning to return it if they don't release the Amazon app by December 31, on principal alone.
    That doesn’t make any sense. What principle is being served by returning the hardware device to Apple when an app vendor hasn’t released their announced app yet? You’re barking up the wrong tree. 
    Soli
  • Reply 9 of 10
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,007member
    There is still the issue of incorrect HDR10 base layer conversions of Dolby Vision titles by the ATV4K...this essentially results in clipped highlights. Apple engineers are aware of this so hoping their will be a fix soon
  • Reply 10 of 10
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    thrang said:
    There is still the issue of incorrect HDR10 base layer conversions of Dolby Vision titles by the ATV4K...this essentially results in clipped highlights. Apple engineers are aware of this so hoping their will be a fix soon
    Would this have anything to do with how Netflix via my TV's app and my Apple TV 4K app show different HDR types? My TV supports HDR10 and its app when displaying Stranger Things showed HDR in the details, but on the Apple TV 4K the details showed Dolby Vision.
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