Apple TV 4K 2021 shows only HD video from all apps instead of 4K or UHD

Except for the fact, that when you bring up the developer menu that shows the bit rate and the natural size they are both 4K, meaning that it is not being upscaled to 4K but is streaming 4K, aka it is just the label that is wrong. Here is some screenshots for the proof. They are even from the Netflix app.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-apple-tv-4k-is-showing-4k-content-just-mislabeling-it-as-hd-in-some-apps-swipe-down-menu.2298143/

I can confirm that the problem has been solved after updating Apple TV 4K 2022 with tvos 14.7 beta 2 (18m5533c) public.

The new 2021 apple TV 4K displays video in 4K with correct labelling on info page in both Netflix, amazon prime and itunes movie.

Amazon Prime

Netflix

Itunes movie

Oy, with these responses ...

(1) Very glad this seems to be fixed in TVOS 14.7 beta 2 per all teh users' reports. This is the most important thing.

(2) Not all users have this issue.

(3) The users that do have this issue know that this is NOT a Netflix issue. We know this because the new ATV4K (v2) is not showing a 4K label on ANY app at all while playing the video - except for the ATV+ app, and when playing a Youtube 4K video. Every other app exhibits the same behavior. Netflix shows "HD" while playing a 4K show. Hulu does, HBOMAX does, etc, etc, etc. It's illogical to think it's anything other than some software issue in the ATV4K v2, which now appears to be fixed with the latest beta OS release.

What I realized I was doing wrong after having the same problem was, I was putting the HDMI coming from the Apple TV, into my av receiver, then an hdmi to the tv instead of Apple TV directly to my tv. Then from my tv I have an optical cable into the av system to play the sound. Shows 4K option under FORMAT along with Dolby vision and HDR

I also just installed tvOS 14.7 and the problem is completely fixed. Across all apps it’s showing 4K and Dolby vision on the swipe down menu. So happy 😁

as you can see in the pic below, it just seems to be labeling in certain apps. i've tested movies & tv shows in apple tv, netflix, disney+ & prime. all are streaming 4k content (hdr10, dolby vision & sdr) as shown under "natural-size: 3840 x 2160" via activated "playback HUD".

hi all,

i was having trouble playing 4k content from tv+ and netflix too. but once i switched my hdmi port to another ( the only one i assume, that supports hdcp - my tv is from 2014) it works perfectly. crisp pictures now, but netflix still shows hd badge. haven’t been able to check with the developer menu though.

Agreed! Even 9to5mac confirmed the issue and it’s resolution.

https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/04/some-4k-content-incorrectly-showing-as-hd-on-new-apple-tv-box/

Not sure what your deal/agenda is and why your being a tool/hater @sundeepch… If you returned the AppleTv as you suggest others do, I’m not sure why you care any more…

I have a LG CX Oled and I just got the new Apple TV 4k (2021) and it wasnt giving me dolby vision output . Looked on the web and got nowhere. Changed HDMI cables I have two 2.1 cables and tried both and no go still. Tried different HDMI ports still no go . Went to the LG CX settings and went threw the video settings and found out you can't have Freesync setting on on the HDMI port that the apple tv is connected to. Turned off the Freesync and it started outputting Dolby Vision normally.

After installing 14.7 I can confirm that video labels are now being applied correctly on both Netflix and Prime video. I have tried normal 4K, 4K in HDR10, and Dolby video. All formats show the 4k label and the accompanying dynamic range indicator if applicable. Disney+ and YouTube don’t show this video quality labeling in a pull down menu, and AppleTV+ content never exhibited this inconsistent labeling issue for me.

I can also report that (circular) scrubbing with the 2nd gen Siri remote now works with both Netflix and Prime video. I didn’t check Disney+ or YouTube.

I have not experienced any audio issues after the update. Atmos and other Dolby audio formats are passed through my LG OLED C7D to my LG sound bar as expected. Display from the sound bar reports the correct Dolby profile as well. Game audio (PCM) is passed through as well.

9to5 confirms this bug was fixed in beta https://9to5mac.com/2021/06/04/some-4k-content-incorrectly-showing-as-hd-on-new-apple-tv-box/

I’ve had my apple tv 4k about a week. I had the same issue with labelling and output then saw this thread. Installing 15 has fixed the issue for me.

Just installed today’s release of 14.7. This issue has been resolved on my device.

I also installed tvOS 14.7 and see the issue addressed. 😃👍🏼

Hi, my new 4k 2021 has the same problem, whereas my old 4k does not. However when I check out the playback info on my Denon AVR it indicates that the streams labelled as HD are in fact playing back with Dolby Vision (on Netflix) or HDR (on Amazon) as advertised. I’m pretty sure you can’t play HDR or Dolby vision on HD, so they are probably 4k, just not labelled correctly. Had the same issue on sound , labelled 5.1 (Netflix indicating that’s all my system can play), but in fact playing Dolby atmos.