Apple TV 4K - brightness dims or flickers in DolbyVision

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Level 1

30 points

Apple TV 4K - brightness dims or flickers in DolbyVision

I have a new Apple TV 4K and TCL (75S535) TV, and I’m having a strange issue.

When I watch in DolbyVision (see it with Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ and Empire Strikes Back on Disney+), I see the screen brightness “flicker” or quickly go dim (not black or off) and then revert in a split second. It’s not random - seems to happen only when the camera changes, but not every time the camera changes.

Im using a HDMI 2.0 4K cable, and I tried swapping the cable - not the issue. I tried switching the input - same issue.

I tried it with a Roku, and with the Roku there’s no flicker. I changed the picture setting on Apple TV to HDR rather than Dolby, and I don’t see the flicker - although the screen brightness is much more muted to begin with when I switch from DolbyVision to HDR.

is this a known issue? Any advice?

Thanks!

Posted on Nov 16, 2021 6:12 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

JJRASC

Community Specialist

Nov 17, 2021 7:59 AM in response to Dstromes8

Hello, Dstromes8. Thank you for posting your question to the Apple Support Communities. We understand your concern and how you are noticing that the image from your Apple TV will change brightness of flicker when playing certain content. We know that seeing the best picture quality possible must be important to you and we can certainly help take a look.

Depending on your current Apple TV configuration, this type of behavior may be expected with some content. The Match Content feature of your Apple TV switches dynamic range and frame rate based automatically depending on what you are watching at the time. When this happens, you may notice a flickering image.

You may want to disable this feature to see if your picture quality improves. You can find these settings in the Apple TV by opening: Settings > Video and Audio > Match Content. You can also find more information about this feature in the following Apple Support article:

About frame rate and dynamic range matching on Apple TV - Apple Support

We hope that this information helps you get the best picture quality possible. Please reply back here if you have any other questions.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

.dm

Level 1

8 points

Dec 25, 2021 1:52 PM in response to Dstromes8

Something similar happens with my setup as well. I have the new Apple TV 4K and a TCL Roku TV 55P607.

When watching DolbyVision content, the screen will dim to where dark scenes are unwatchable. If I remove and then reinsert the HDMI cable the picture is fixed for a few moments before it dims again. It doesn’t flicker, though—once it dims it stays that way.

I’ve tried a variety of HDMI 2.1 cables with the same result. The “Match content” setting is set to “off” and if I set the Apple TV to “SDR 4K” the picture is clear.

DolbyVision works fine when using the built-in Roku interface.

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Apple TV 4K - brightness dims or flickers in DolbyVision

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