Green Background on Apple TV 4K (2021)

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Green Background on Apple TV 4K (2021)

System background of Apple TV 4K (2021) turned green and will not go back to dark gray (dark mode setting). Setting the mode to light results in a light green background. I referenced this article: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252797012. Followed the steps but they not resolve the issue. (Excepting that I am already on latest OS.) I even went through the color balance process.

The one setting that did seem to affect the background color was Reduce Transparency. Turning that on makes the system background plain gray. (Applying color filters will obviously affect the background as well.) But Reduce Transparency shouldn't affect color. Turning it on is not the solution.

Please note that this is only the system background. All other colors look great (app icons, top shelf, video streams). This is the second time it has happened to me. I don't know what caused it to revert back the first time. (I thought it might be related to the charge level on the remote since that correlated the first time, but it is at 100% as I write.) Others are experiencing this issue as well. Thanks so much for your help.

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 15

Posted on Jan 15, 2022 4:45 PM

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Answer 1

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scot1234 Author

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Jan 16, 2022 4:47 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Thanks. Things were (seemed) back to normal when I woke up this morning, and now I know why. You got me thinking and doing some experimenting. I had not noticed before the ways transparency affects the display. The reason the dark green background happened is a combination of Reduce Transparency being off and a screen saver with a lot of green. It was on "Passing over the Longji rice terraces in Guangxi Province, China." Very bright, green, and beautiful indeed. Similar results happen with other screen savers. It just depends on which one is in use.

The reason the issue did not clear up when navigating the menu is because the screen saver pauses in place and continues to show through. My display was "back to normal" this morning because the screen saver kicked in while I was in bed and happened to be on a different one when I woke up.

I believe the Apple TV is working as designed. I would ask Apple to change the behavior, at least as it pertains to screen savers. I think of screen savers as either on or off. I don't want their presence known when I am actively using the device. But maybe others feel differently. I at least have two different workarounds: turn Reduce Transparency on or manually switch to a different screen saver. I guess I could also create a totally black image, save it to an album in photos, and set the screen saver to that. But I really like Apple's aerial screen savers and want to use them.

I should mention that I did everything you recommended yesterday (which I chalk up as great minds think alike), plus turning the device off and on, unplugging and reattaching all cables, and checking the receiver. I believe my TV and receiver are working fine. I have no issues with my other devices.

Thanks again for your help.

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Answer 2

Jan 15, 2022 6:34 PM in response to scot1234

The transparency of the gray background (of Settings) shows through a little of the current screen saver image, but much more vague. It might look a little greenish if the source happens to have a lot of green, just to add a little color to it, but I haven’t seen it as extreme as in the linked other post.

Verify your HDR settings. I think the color depth might be misinterpreted, causing some highly saturated tints.

Verify your TV firmware version for updates.
Try setting Apple TV to SDR, and also Match Dynamic Range, to only display HDR content in HDR – but not Settings.

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Green Background on Apple TV 4K (2021)

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