Apple TV 4K Loses Connection With TV 4K Dolby Vision

Question

Apple TV 4K Loses Connection With TV 4K Dolby Vision

I am running a new Apple TV 4K via HDMI to a LG 2017 TV.

I have turned on 4K and Dolby Vision.

I have used 'Check HDMI Connection' and it comes back OK.

I am using high quality high speed HDMI cables.

When first turning it on, it seems to work OK. Then I might get a flicker in the video and sound. It gets progressively worse until I lose both picture and sound.

Sometimes this happens when first watching a program. Sometimes it seems to happen when a program ends, and I go back to the menu and it appears that DolbyVision turns on?

I reboot the AppleTV and everything works for the rest of the evening.

Any suggestions? I got the AppleTV in December 2021.

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 15

Posted on Jan 4, 2022 9:30 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 5, 2022 7:50 AM in response to Lawrence Hammer

https://youtu.be/roBaK4cxp-c

Here is the video of what happened last night. After I rebooted the AppleTV 4K, the problem went away and did not occur for the rest of the evening.

This is happening every night.

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Answer 2

bgmeek

Level 4

1,201 points

Jan 15, 2022 8:12 AM in response to Lawrence Hammer

I gather you’ve fiddled with all the ATV4K video settings (Format, Chroma, Match Content, etc). Have you verified all the formats under Match Content?

Is your ATV4K connected directly to the TV or does the HDMI signal pass through an AV receiver or sound bar?

Lastly, I assume your 5 or 6 year old TV is one of the earlier models to support Dolby Vision… Have you verified that it’s running LG’s latest & greatest firmware?

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Answer 3

Jan 15, 2022 10:09 AM in response to bgmeek

Thanks. The TV is 4 years old and is updated.

The TV works with DolbyVision, 4K and the formats selected.

I connect the ATV4K directly to HDMI1, then use ARC HDMI to send the sound to my receiver.

The problem seems to come and go, which concerns me. I have a 10ft Monoprice 4K 18Gbps pulled through the wall, then a 4ft extension 4K 18Gbps connected to that to get to the set. ATV4K tests that and says it is OK. I can use that a night or two, then the flakiness kicks in.

If I install any of two different wall plate HDMI to HDMI connectors, 4K does not work and ATV4K says the connection fails.

I have tried three different HDMI cables and combinations. All test OK.

https://youtu.be/roBaK4cxp-c

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Answer 4

bgmeek

Level 4

1,201 points

Jan 16, 2022 1:17 PM in response to Lawrence Hammer

Oh well… I recently read a post here wherein folks dealing with HDR and/or high-res audio (Dolby ATMOS) issues claimed that although their 18G cables passed the ATV’s sniff-test, things worked after switching to the 48G cable(s).

I’m afraid it’s more likely an issue with the TV (possibly hardware/heat related). FWIW, when I described your 4-year old TV as 5-6 years old, I was referring to the design timeframe :-).

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Answer 5

Jan 16, 2022 2:20 PM in response to bgmeek

I would believe it was the TV, except that rebooting the ATV4K fixes the problem that evening.

I was wondering about the cables. Strange thing is, when the setup I am using 'fails', and I switch to a new set of cable, then go back to the original ones, it is OK.

Everything new is designed two or more years ago. It depends on your perspective or reference point, I guess.

The TV indicates DolbyVision and 4k reception when I do the equivalent of 'Get Info'.

If the setup keeps being unreliable, I will use a shorter 4k 18 Gbps cable and keep the ATV4K right next to the set and see if it settles down. If it does, I will likely buy an even shorter HDMI 48 Gbps cable and see if that fixes it. But I want to keep this in my cabinet which is 6 ft away. I will entertain buying a longer 48 Gbps cable and see. I just don't want to keep throwing money at this.

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Answer 6

Jan 9, 2022 8:22 AM in response to Lawrence Hammer

I believe the problem has been taken care of.

The always excellent Apple Tech support had me do a factory reset. I have gone three days now without a problem, so I consider this problem solved.

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Answer 7

Jan 14, 2022 11:43 AM in response to Lawrence Hammer

And now it is back, acting up again.

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Apple TV 4K Loses Connection With TV 4K Dolby Vision

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