TV screen cycling when attempting to use 4K Apple TV

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Level 1

4 points

TV screen cycling when attempting to use 4K Apple TV

All,

I received an Apple 4K TV for Christmas, which I have I used, connected to my LG B6 TV, without incident for the past 3 months.

Today, I turned on my TV and the screen began cycling between HDR and non-HDR screen settings, meaning the screen would be normal for a half-second, and then either turn into the noise screen or just completely black. I visually saw my TV swapping states in my TV’s settings. Again, it was cycling between HDR and non-HDR mode.

I swapped HDMI cables to the same result. I unplugged my electronics and plugged them back in with the same result.

Everything was fine the night before.

The problem went went away when I swapped my Apple TV for an Amazon Fire TV. I do not believe this Amazon TV is HDR capable.

Has anyone has a similar issue with their 4K Apple TV? If so, how can it be fixed?

Can I perform a hard reset on my Apple TV (I’m asking because I do not see the typical push button recessed into the enclosure)?

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 12

Posted on Apr 17, 2019 6:15 AM

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Answer 1

Urquhart1244

Level 10

146,250 points

Apr 17, 2019 6:46 AM in response to SeanD28

the screen would be normal for a half-second, and then either turn into the noise screen or just completely black. I visually saw my TV swapping states in my TV’s settings.

How weird! Does it help if you set Apple TV temporarily to output as SDR?

“Try switching to another display mode. If you see a black screen or briefly see the Apple logo before returning to a black screen, try using the remote to change video resolutions: On Apple TV 4K or Apple TV (4th generation), hold Menu and Volume Down for 5 seconds, then release. Your Apple TV will switch to a new resolution every 20 seconds. Select OK to choose a resolution or Cancel to quit.” [1]

I swapped HDMI cables to the same result. I unplugged my electronics and plugged them back in with the same result.

Are these 18 Gbps HDMI cables? (Wrong cable would would have other behavior though.)

Just make sure the plugs are fitted well into the ports. Check for dust, lint, or other that could cause a bad connection.

The problem went went away when I swapped my Apple TV for an Amazon Fire TV. I do not believe this Amazon TV is HDR capable.

Which Fire TV device do I have? - Amazon Help& Customer Service

Can I perform a hard reset on my Apple TV?

Reset or restore your Apple TV to its factory settings - Apple Support

I also swapped the HDMI port

All four HDMI ports on the LT B6 are HDMI 2.0 ports, so they should be equal (apart from ARC) if electronically undamaged.

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Answer 2

SeanD28 Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 17, 2019 7:47 AM in response to SeanD28

I was able to fix the issue by trying an HDMI port directly behind my TV. The two ports I originally tried were on the side of the TV. There must be some shared pathway between the side HDMI ports that has faulted.

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Answer 3

SeanD28 Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 17, 2019 6:18 AM in response to SeanD28

I forgot to mention, but I also swapped the HDMI port, i.e I was using HDMI Port 1 on my LG TV and swapped to HDMI port 2. This didn’t effect the problem positively or negatively.

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Answer 4

SeanD28 Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 17, 2019 7:17 AM in response to Urquhart1244

I tried the Menu+ Volume Down combination, but this has not turned off HDR. When a new resolution is first identified, the screen does appear normally. After a second, The “Auto-HDR” feature kicks me out of the process entirely and returns me to the main menu. The screen then begins cycling again.

All of the cables I have used are labeled “High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet.” I have used three different HDMI cables, all with that labeling.

I have the Fire TV 2nd Generation. The link explicitly says 4K, but doesn’t mention HDR.

Is there a button combination to reset my Apple TV? I cannot effectively interface with it using my TV screen.

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TV screen cycling when attempting to use 4K Apple TV

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