Blocky and Pixelated Dark Scenes when watching videos (Netflix/Youtube/Movies) on my MacBook?

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Level 1

8 points

Blocky and Pixelated Dark Scenes when watching videos (Netflix/Youtube/Movies) on my MacBook?

I now have an M3 Max running Sonoma 14.1, but honestly, this happened on my 2011 MPB, my 2016, and 2018. Why I keep buying these things is starting to puzzle me.

Some of the things said to resolve this weren't even options in 2011, so are clearly not the root cause of the issue people are having with color banding in dark areas of streaming media.

So I have the newest, fastest MBP and it's still trash for watching movies. When is Apple going to weigh in? At the very least they can give us a "best practices" guide, that would be helpful. If they want me to use Safari, I'll use it exclusively for streaming. Just tell us what will give us the optimal experience with the main streaming services.

[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 13.2

Posted on May 17, 2024 2:30 PM

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Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 9

69,470 points

May 23, 2024 6:23 PM in response to NewLeafJason

My real question, is with such a prevalent problem across various platforms and affecting, my guess is most MBP users, why hasn't Apple chimed in or done anything at all to resolve the problem? Do they not know? Do they not care? Or are they just denying it because fixing it would be admitting to an ongoing flaw in one of their flagship products?

Jason,

Welcome!

First, is this happening only on your home network, or any internet connection you try? The only time I've encountered something similar on my elderly Macbook Pro was in some AirBnBs/VRBOs in little Oregon coast towns that only have satellite internet service. Latency with many of those systems is brutal!

Second, please correct me if I'm wrong, but your post comes across as a demand that we an answer a question to which only Apple can respond. We are not Apple but rather a community of end users like you. We cannot know Apple's plans, so "why does/doesn't Apple..." questions become rhetorical here. It is unlikely Apple will see your question here among thousands of new daily posts.

Placing this vaild concern before Apple electronically means using a feedback link, for which you usually get no reply. Otherwise, it's penning a business letter and snail-mailing it to to Apple HQ.

If I have misread you posts and intentions, I apologize.

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

83,445 points

May 18, 2024 11:33 AM in response to NewLeafJason

Netflix has basically come out and said they will not work with Firefox. I've found it works best with Safari.

Blocky video can frequently be also due to network interference by too many devices sharing the same network connection. Or trying to multitask many different apps while running video.

You can adjust the graphics acceleration usage through the System Preferences/Settings to affect some of the blocky video issues.

WiFi is going to be slower than direct ethernet on the same internet connection regardless. Be sure you are using a secure WPA2 channel on your WiFi if you use WIFi, and that your WiFi router has public WiFi turned off.

If on a different floor than the WiFi router, or going through walls, WiFi works best on 2.4 Ghz over 5 Ghz.

If your signal drops, it is best to find a WiFi router to act as a signal extender from one floor to another and use WDS - Wireless Distribution System to spread the WiFi signal.

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Answer 3

NewLeafJason Author

Level 1

8 points

May 20, 2024 6:16 PM in response to a brody

I'm sorry, A Brody. I should elaborate. This issue isn't overall blocky video or color banding. It is only dark areas of the video. This issue has been occurring over countless iterations of the MacBook Pro. Users are experiencing this with all of the popular browsers and all of the popular streaming services, to include Apple's native Safari and AppleTV/iTunes, regardless of internet speed.

That being said, it stands to reason that it's the answer is not a matter of which browser, streaming service, or internet connection you have. As I stated in the original post, I am running an M3 Max with fiber to my home. The wifi signal is 5ghz 289 down and 156 up, but we have even seen issues reported with ethernet connections.

Worse still, some users have done A/B testing with downloaded HD and 4K content from iTunes and various streaming services, and the issue has improved some, but persists in showing blacks at far below HD video quality.

A suggested fix has been to turn off Auto Brightness, True Tone, and Night Shift. Why these features would affect pixelation in the dark areas of video, is beyond my expertise, but it's been tried with mixed success.

There have also been suggestions for adjusting the display settings from Apple's XDR Display to one of the other available presets. BUT, if this simple fix was the solution, why wouldn't Apple just tell us, or add a feature to toggle between normal work and streaming video settings? It's a very cumbersome and un-Apple kind of issue (more like a post-Steve Jobs kind of issue).

My real question, is with such a prevalent problem across various platforms and affecting, my guess is most MBP users, why hasn't Apple chimed in or done anything at all to resolve the problem? Do they not know? Do they not care? Or are they just denying it because fixing it would be admitting to an ongoing flaw in one of their flagship products?

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Answer 4

a brody

Level 10

83,445 points

May 20, 2024 7:32 PM in response to NewLeafJason

It is anyone's guess why Apple hasn't. But these are typically not its own video format. Apple does have a TV App and video store which if you are experiencing these issues, you could ask them to look into it.

Most video streaming is highly compressed. In addition HDCP is a copy-protection protocol used for most streaming videos that has to handshake its signal. The handshaking is much worse over wireless than wired, and sometimes doesn't work at all over AirPlay.

Blame the copyright artists for adding layers of protection that cause blockiness in the video.

You'll see less issues when not multitrasking as much on the computer.

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Answer 5

NewLeafJason Author

Level 1

8 points

May 23, 2024 3:20 PM in response to a brody

Thank you for your thoughts and attention. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I can see how the compression and HDCP protocols could affect streaming quality, but if that were the case, it stands to reason that it would also affect iPhone, iPad, and television displays, which it doesn't as far as I know.

People have even been doing side-by-side comparisons with their Macbook Pros and iPads. The quality is perfect on the iPad and poor on their flagship laptop. I want to remain open-minded, but my troubleshooting process would rule out the HDCP and Compression issues because the other Apple products are unaffected by them.

Perhaps for a lesser machine multitasking could be the cause, but my M3 should be able to render 1080p video while I stream Lord of the Rings without issue. I don't do this, but it should be able to handle it.

It is my understanding that the same issue exists when people are watching AppleTV and even downloading content from Apple.

I do appreciate your time, and I don't need a response from you. My response was only for the benefit of others seeking a solution for this problem.

Thanks again.

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Answer 6

a brody

Level 10

83,445 points

May 23, 2024 3:46 PM in response to NewLeafJason

I know you said you don't need a response from me, but it is important to recognize the iPad is very much a different machine from the MacBook Pro. The iPad and iPhone for that matter operate on a "sandboxed" operating system environment where only specific apps can run at a specific time. The MacBook Pro is quite different and if you ever looked at a chart of Mac OS and its layered approach to many different protocols shows that it is designed to operate more as an environment where you can multitask many different operations. It also is designed as a multi-user interface, where neither the iPhone nor iPad operate as one. The iPad also has more pixels per square inch on the screen than the Mac. Meaning that approximation of high def video content is much more likely to happen on the Mac and leaving you with blocky content.

Lastly, graphics acceleration is given with two different graphics controllers on the Mac, and can even be turned off at will in the System Settings. Some of this blockiness could be a part of the settings of graphics acceleration.

You are talking the difference between a computer that operates limited tasks, and one that juggles many. And in doing so, encounters a technically more challenging environment to give a perfect picture when video decompression is happening on the fly all the time.

I am not saying this is why you notice the differences and others do. I'm saying there are certain aspects of design which makes the iPad and iPhone able to show a sharper picture which are evident from reading Apple's developer documentation and product documentation. If they contribute only someone inside Apple could tell you exactly what does. I recommend trying to isolate and see how much each aspect is contributing.

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