Wobbly picture with ATV2 - anyone else?

I returned my Apple TV. I was told by tech support that HDMI-DVI is unsupported because of the small form factor and because it's a streaming device.

Oh well ... maybe I'll try Google TV next.

kinda wrote:
I returned my Apple TV. I was told by tech support that HDMI-DVI is unsupported because of the small form factor and because it's a streaming device.

Oh well ... maybe I'll try Google TV next.

The tech support doesn't know what he is talking about.

HDMI = DVI. They both use the same digital signaling protocol and the pin-outs are the same. The only difference is that HDMI includes audio but thats beside the point. I have many DVI displays that use HDMI2DVI and they all work fine. PS3 works fine, MacMini '10 with HDMI to DVI works fine, HD Cable Box works fine.

The problem with AppleTV compared to these other devices is that its having trouble peeking at the TV's EDID values (table of supported resolutions) which is clearly a bug in the firmware.

i returned mine too. same situation: older, HDCP-compliant plasma with DVI, but tv2 would only send lousy 480p. much as i like Apple, i'm not upgrading my receiver or tv just to buy content via Apple's "hobby"

kinda wrote:
I returned my Apple TV. I was told by tech support that HDMI-DVI is unsupported because of the small form factor and because it's a streaming device.

Oh well ... maybe I'll try Google TV next.

I've been looking at the Boxee Box. It seems to do most everything ATV2 does and more yet has component outputs in addition to HDMI. It also has USB and SD card inputs. It's supposed to launch today. I'm waiting for hands on reviews. Too bad Apple didn't put a little more effort in getting the ATV2 to work with more TV's.

I had the same thinking. I wanted an inexpensive way to stream content. I wasn't going to upgrade any more of my hardware just to support this device. I had already purchased a $15 smart switcher that I can't really use now.

soulsoles wrote:
i returned mine too. same situation: older, HDCP-compliant plasma with DVI, but tv2 would only send lousy 480p. much as i like Apple, i'm not upgrading my receiver or tv just to buy content via Apple's "hobby"

Can someone help me out. I just bought the ATV2 and the person at the store said I could connect it to my DVR which acts as my digital receiver as I do not have cable tv. I have a Sony KV-32HV600 TV which has HD capability 480p, 720p and 1080i. When I connect ATV2 to the DVR with the HDMI cable nothing happens. I've tried every input device on the DVR and I cannot get the ATV2 menus. I see that I might have the option to use a HDMI-DVI cable that goes directly to the TV but not sure this will even work given some of the other posts I've seen. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If only I had read all these posts before replacing my ATV Gen1 (which produced a beautiful picture) with the newly arrived ATV Gen2. I have a 42" Panasonic HD (1080i) TV that is experiencing the wavy/wobbly screen phenomena that everybody on this topic is experiencing.

Read the posts - there is no fix. This is an Apple ATVGen2 bug that will not be addressed by Apple.

Too bad Apple didn't take the little extra time and money to make their product universally usable.

Just applied the update (4.2 is out today, Monday, 11/22) and the waves DISAPPEARED!! Everything looks perfect now! Hopefully this fixes it for everyone. Hooray for a software solution (and thank you Steve).

Seth

Anyone who has an HDTV that will NOT play 720p (thus ending up with wobbly picture) whose problem is likewise SOLVED by the new upgrade, please report!

Are you using an HDMI to HDMI cable or DVD to HDMI? I just updated the Apple TV but it was always working fine on my smaller HDMI input TV. Now I will have to try to reconnect it to the other TV to see if a picture is visible.

Today's update fixed the wobbly picture issue for me...haven't had a chance yet to actually watch anything on it yet to see how the picture quality is, though. In the settings it's detecting my set as 480p.

Good news: The new update stops the wobbly effect under HDMI-DVI cable.
Bad news: Still 480p resolution.

For those who got the Monoprice HDMI switcher:

Bad news: Although the screen is at 720p, the entire screen is bleached with pink, permanently.
Prior to the update, whenever the screen goes pink, you can manual press the selector to refresh the screen to make it go away. Now it cannot go away regardless what button combination you press.

Bad news 2: Using Airplay and using the switcher will complain about not having HDCP. No video will play.

Two possible things I can do.
1. Ditch the HDMI switcher and hook the cable directly. You will get no pink screen, you can run Airplay fully, but your stuck with 480p

2. Downgrade the AppleTV to factory settings (Firmware 4.0), if possible.

I'm with #2.

Does this new firmware fix the issue for people that use HDMI -> DVI cables? I returned Apple TV figuring this would not be fixed via a firmware update.

sberrier wrote:
Just applied the update (4.2 is out today, Monday, 11/22) and the waves DISAPPEARED!! Everything looks perfect now! Hopefully this fixes it for everyone. Hooray for a software solution (and thank you Steve).

Seth

SUCCESS!!

For the people _who bought Monoprices HDMI switcher:_

Ok first things first. I tried resetting to factory settings, it does not downgrade to 4.0. So lets forget about that part.

The main problem is that I said earlier, *Monoprice HDMI enables 720p resolution over HDMI-DVI cable*. With the new update, you get a pink screen and it won't go away regardless how you refresh it by switching cables, etc. with the new update.

*I found out a way to retain the 720p resolution without the pink screen effect:*

-Have both units off (ATV2, HDMI switcher)
-Turn on ATV2 and wait a few seconds
-Then turn on the HDMI switcher.

Since ATV2 doesn't detect any resolution, turning on the HDMI switcher causes a "refresh" therefore getting the proper sync and removing the pink screen effect.

I think I have success. My TV has a DVI port and so I connected the Apple TV via DVI to HDMI when it first came out. Unlike many of you, mine worked fine until this past weekend when my TV (which automatically selects resolution) wouldn't go to anything but 640 X 480 and I couldn't see anything on the TV except a flicker. So, I connected to my small TV in the kitchen using HDMI to HDMI and all worked. I have since ordered an HDMI to component video per a suggestion from someone on Twitter. Today I upgraded and then moved the unit back to my DVI input TV. At first it didn't work and then I recycled the unit and recycled the TV and it worked! Now the TV is showing 1280 X 720 and I have a perfect picture. I hope this is a result of the update but time will tell. Since mine worked originally and then stopped working, I'm a big apprehensive about its success!