I experience picture quality problems in Netflix app on the Apple TV 4K (5th gen) player.

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vmantas Author

Level 1

12 points

I experience picture quality problems in Netflix app on the Apple TV 4K (5th gen) player.

The setup is as follows,

Netflix Ultra HD subscription

Apple TV 4K (5th gen) player linked to a Marantz SR7011 AVR and then to a JVC HD Projector.

Thus although there is a 4K subscription for Netflix on the specific setup I use it as HD only.

For the last month or so I experience picture quality problems. The background of dark scenes appear pixelated, a vague shadow profile appears around figures silhouettes. This is most obvious on the film 'The harder they fall". There is no stable behaviour. I can see it on other films/series as well it is just more visible in dark scenes.

This appears only in Netflix viewing. The Apple TV+ picture is excellent. I have no other subscriptions, I can only tell that I see no problems on Youtube also.

Also, on the same network/switch if I use the Netflix app from other players like a Vodafone top box or an old HD Oppo player the picture is excellent. So it can't be a network issue. Not to mention that this is a relative recent behaviour. Unfortunately I am not sure if this started after an update to the latest firmware or not.

Do other people with similar setup (subscription UHD, player UHD, projector HD) experience similar problems?

Just to mention that I have tried all ideas I have found on internet to no success.

Reboot/power cycle router, switches

Reboot/power cycle/update player

Delete/reinstall Netflix

Check Netflix account settings

Switch off find nearby AirPods :)

Video Settings > 1080p SDR, matching frame rate (checked on and off as well)

Any help is appreciated, even a confirmation that it is a TVOS issue for 15.2 and I only have to wait for the next version.

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 15

Posted on Jan 15, 2022 1:05 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

vmantas Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 17, 2022 8:12 AM in response to judysings

Hello there judysings,

thank you very much for your reply.

I have done some further tests to verify even better the situation as it is very weird to notify Netflix for an issue that happens only on Apple TV player! 2 TVs, 4 iPhones, 3 iPads, 2 other media players and a MacBook Air do not show this picture quality problems.

I have a TV that is 4K-Dolby Vision. When I run the native Netflix app on that TV the picture is just perfect!

So I connected on that TV the Apple TV player to check its behaviour.

I started with a full reset and set it ip from scratch. Straight on it switched to 4K SDR video settings as it connected to a capable TV.

I switched on the option to match dynamic range and frame rate in video settings.

And then played "The harder they fall" from Netflix apple on Apple TV player. It recognised and sent to the TV the picture as 4k_Dolby Vision 24fps the picture was more than perfect!

Next test was to set the video settings to 1080p SDR while staying connected on that TV. In other words force the ATV to downscale the video signal to HD resolution. I also switched off the dynamic range matching so it stays on SDR settings. And then it came up that I had the exact same picture quality problems as experienced when connected to my 1080p projector.

This is a proof that Apple TV 4K cannot handle properly the downscaling and export a proper video signal. And this started to happen only lately, I have the device for almost 3 years and never had that problem. So I guess it is either the latest TVOS or some other new bug on the ATV.

Obviously I cannot contact Netflix to request support for a problem that is 100% on the Apple TV.

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Answer 2

judysings

Community Specialist

Jan 17, 2022 10:17 AM in response to vmantas

Hi vmantas,

It might be helpful for you to speak with an AppleCare technical advisor about this issue. Click the link below, choose the phone number for your region from the list, and call when it is convenient.

Contact Apple for support and service

Take care.

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