My tv isn’t 4K, is there a setting on AppleTV 4K to downgrade signal to lower quality? New content on HBOMax errors

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My tv isn’t 4K, is there a setting on AppleTV 4K to downgrade signal to lower quality? New content on HBOMax errors

My tv isn’t 4K, is there a setting on AppleTV 4K to downgrade signal from Dolby Vision to a lower quality that will work on my older tv? All new content on HBOMax won’t stream. I have the highest grade HDMI Cable recommended, but I keep getting errors. I can view the content using an older Roku or older AppleTV. I plan to upgrade to a 4K tv later this year, which is why I paid extra for the AppleTV 4K unit, but am frustrated that I can’t use it for a lot of content.

Apple TV 4K, tvOS 15

Posted on Jun 2, 2022 10:20 AM

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Answer 1

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Urquhart1244

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Jun 2, 2022 11:00 AM in response to DaleLive

Your Apple TV 4K unit would automatically be set to lower resolution, if an HDTV (1080p/720p) was connected during setup. 4K is the maximum, not the minimum.

Verify: Settings﹥Video and Audio﹥Format﹥[resolution/dynamic range/refresh rate combination]

Try: Settings﹥Video and Audio﹥Reset Video Settings if unsure, to have the Apple TV make a best guess based on what it detects.

And that should be fine with HBO Max. The app would request the best matching stream resolution according to your settings.

What is the exact error message?

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Answer 2

DaleLive Author

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Jun 2, 2022 4:16 PM in response to DaleLive

Thank you, this appears to have resolved my issue. Under Video and Audio>Match Content, I had “Match Dynamic Range” switched On. Hitting Reset changed this back to Off, and now content with Dolby Vision on HBOMax will play on my TV (TV max is 1080p). The error I had been getting wasn’t always apparent (I think it would give me an HDCP error? And/or tell me I needed a better HDMI cable, even though I had the upgraded one); but for Dolby Vision content, I would see a buffering wheel and maybe would hear audio. Sometimes a trailer would play, or about 30 seconds of the movie would play before freezing and buffering. Non-Dolby Vision would play fine.

my guess is that with having Match Dynamic Range set to On, the AppleTV was forcing the 4K content through to the TV, which couldn’t display it.

thanks again!

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My tv isn’t 4K, is there a setting on AppleTV 4K to downgrade signal to lower quality? New content on HBOMax errors

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