2022 Apple TV 4k picture extremely dark.

This fixed it for me. Go into Accessibility/ Display and turn off 'Reduce White Point'. Now my Apple TV 4K HDR10 with Apple TV content is as bright as using the Apple TV app on the Samsung TV (2022 Frame). Not even sure why this option was turned on by default. No content/frame matching, with HDR10 enabled using 4:2:2.

Hello craigfromeast london,

Thanks for choosing the Apple Support Communities. We see you are seeing a dark picture using your Apple TV.

You might try adjusting the settings open your TV to see if that helps. Also make sure you're using the recommended cable type for your Apple TV 4K. Here is a link to that.

About 4K, HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision on your Apple TV

"Get the best picture

Apple TV 4K is designed to provide the best viewing experience based on the capabilities of your 4K TV. In some situations, you may experience issues or need to manually check your configuration. This could include:

• TV image is tinted, color is too bright, or has intermittent or no video.
• Intermittent static, snow, or sparkles on the screen.
• Unable to use HDR, or Dolby Vision on a supported TV.
• Audio issues, like audio drops, noise, or audio/video out of sync.

If you have any of these issues, make sure that your Apple TV has the latest version of tvOS. Then follow the steps below.

Make sure that your TV supports HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision

In order for Apple TV 4K to automatically set your display format to HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision, your TV must be able to display HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision at 60Hz (50Hz in Europe). Apple TV 4K can display these formats at 30Hz (25Hz in Europe), but you’ll need to enable Match Dynamic Range in Settings > Video and Audio > Match Content. If you aren’t sure which formats your TV supports, check the user manual for your TV.

Use the correct HDMI input and settings

Depending on your TV, you may need to use a different HDMI input on your TV for high quality 4K or HDR video. For example, some TVs only support HDR on HDMI input 2 or HDMI input 3. Check your TV user guide to identify which inputs support 4K and HDR.

In addition to using the correct HDMI input, you may need to enable HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision in the video or HDMI settings on your TV. In some cases, the setting may not refer directly to HDR10, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision. Examples include Ultra, Deep, or Enhanced video or color.

Check your HDMI cable 

If there's an issue with your HDMI cable, you might see a message on your TV that says that your HDMI cable might be having trouble maintaining a stable connection. If your Apple TV 4K is connected to a 4K compatible TV, you can run a 2 minute test to check your HDMI cable connection. Go to Settings > Video and Audio and select Check HDMI Connection.

4K video, especially HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision, requires an HDMI cable compatible with these formats. Apple recommends HDMI cables that have the Compatible Dolby Vision mark as they have been tested with Apple TV 4K and a wide range of TVs. An example is the Belkin Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable.

If you still experience issues with your HDMI cable connection, check all of your connections and make sure that your HDMI cable has the label “Compatible Dolby Vision.”

It might also be good to check Settings > Accessibility > Display Accommodations to check what you have set for the Light Sensitivity setting: Use Display Accommodations on your Apple TV

We hope this helps.

Cheers!

I also own a Apple TV 4K. My TV is a Sony XBR65A8F. The movies I play from my Apple TV 4K are also very very dark. I made sure the software was up to date, I made sure my TV software is up to date. Checked all the HDMI cables and double checked all of the brightness settings on my TV and the Apple TV 4K. Still my movies and programming plays very very dark. I then downloaded the Apple TV app and installed it on my TV. Logged in to my Apple TV account and started streaming my movies and TV shows. It was like night and day. Playing my Apple TV content streaming through the app on my TV was bright and had vivid colors great contrast. Hey Apple Techs. there is a brightness problem with the Apple TV 4K Box...

The quick resolve for me was to

1. reset video settings to default
2. disable Dolby Vision
3. change format to 4k SDR

This was found under: Settings > Video & Audio

I do not consider this a fix, as I was always able to use Dolby Vision and 4k HDR+ without issue for the last couple of years.

This solved it for me:

Settings > Video and Audio > Match Content > Match Dynamic Range (Off)

Source: Why is content / Video via AppleTV app on… - Apple Community

Completely agree that this is a problem and completely agree that this response is very annoying. @jps911 - have you tried switching the Chroma to 4:2:2? I was poking around the settings after the above response didn't work and I think switching the Chroma to 4:2:2 fixed it... for instance now Youtube TV looks the same on Samsung TV and on Apple TV now whereas it seemed much darker before.

I also upgraded to this and have the issue but for me it’s only when hdr is turned on in Apple TV settings. Turning off hdr gives me a similar brightness to my old firetv. With hdr turned on in films like The Killer on Netflix, can’t tell what’s happening on screen.

Had same issues, swapping from 4K HDR to 4K SDR worked, however was annoying considering my tv supports HDR. So what made it finally work for me after numerous of tweaks (Samsung TV) was to turn the contrast enhancer on. Everything now looks as it should. Problem is though having that on when using my PS4 Pro, colours get saturated, meaning will have to switch that on and off depending on when gaming or watching movies on my ATV.

I was able to solve the problem by going to the TV video settings and adjusting the picture settings to Default mode instead of Dynamic

Hi Guys, I was able to find a work around the problem. I disabled the Dynamic Movie mode (or something similar) on the TV. After doing that the problem disappeared.

I hope this works for you also.

Had the same problem with movies being too dark on the Apple TV app. I switched to watching in a web browser on my iPhone and MacBook, worked fine there. But yeah, still dark on the Apple TV box. Spent a bit of time on this site with different tips and found out that HDR on the Apple TV was the issue. They've got like 10 different things to try, which might help you too: https://pointerclicker.com/why-are-apple-tv-movies-so-dark/

Make sure your viewing device is set to/capable of HDR. If it isn’t capable of HDR and the AppleTV is set to output HDR the screen will be very dark.

Actually, noticed it swaps automatically when changing between ps4 pro and ATV. So on a Samsung, contrast enhancer On when on ATV solved it for me.

Yeh I’ve noticed that working as well, although for me it was swapping from standard to dynamic on the TV (Samsung). Unfortunately colours don’t seem be 100% accurate when doing this. Yet again, issues only on HDR and yes my TV supports it. Also annoying how Apple support makes you go through their non working tickbox exercise rather than trying to actually solve the issue.

Apple TV 4K, 2022 model has a HDMI 2.1 interface which means an 8k HDMI cable is needed right from Apple TV to the Display monitor. If connected directly you’ll need one cable. If connected through AVR, you’ll need to change both cables (TV to AVR & AVR to Monitor). It made a difference to me after struggling for 11 months.