Wobbly picture with ATV2 - anyone else?

I'm also seeing the wavy line syndrome with a Panasonic CT-34WX54. The set doesn't do 720p natively, but I've never had any issues with other HD devices. I figured the ATV would output 1080i when necessary. No such luck, I guess. I was really looking forward to it, but it'll be going back to the store if they don't fix this in an update. I'm not buying a new TV for the sake of a $99 box.

Same wobbly/wavy-line problem with ATV2 on my Panasonic Viera TH-42PX25. But it works fine on my other Panasonic 26" LCD HDTV, so I guess I will keep the Atv2

Same problem appears with Sony KDL32XBR950 from 2003. This TV has a DVI input so I use an HDMI to DVI cable and the picture from the ATV2 is a little wavy. Not so bad as to be unwatchable but not solid either. The TV supports both 720p and 1080i and does not have a way to select one or the other.

I hope Apple offers us a way to solve this, otherwise it's time to try Roku.

Mine is going back as well. Wobbly on both of my older HD TV's. PS3, Blu Ray players have no issues. Just this little black box. Bummer.

Having the same issue, but it's really only noticeable on text. Someone mentioned a newish receiver - I'm using the Yamaha RX-V667. The TV's an old Toshiba DLP that does have HDMI, but it's HDMI 1.0/1.1 (video only).

I had the exact same problem. have had my 1st gen apple tv connected to my 5 yr old hdtv and no problem. new apple tv gives a lower resolution and wavy picture. called apple support they told me the tv is the problem. the new apple tv only works if connection is hdmi to hdmi. (no longer supports hdmi to dvi connections)

i have the wavy lines problem. it's not terrible but it is definitely noticeable.

appleTV2 -- (hdmi) -- pioneer elite 94TXH -- (hdmi) -- Sharp LC-45GX6U

the tuner can actually rescale the image, but i have it set for straight-thru. not sure if the tuner is passing the hdmi signal straight thru, or is retiming it. anyway this is a full 720p setup and still i've got problems. glad to hear it's not the cable - this thread saved me from running out to buy a new one.

I have the problem as well, with a direct HDMI connection into a Panasonic TH-42PX20. It's not the most modern plasma (6-7 years old; 1080i no 720p) but has worked fine with XBox, Vudu, and every other HDMI gadget I've thrown at it.

But I should also add that the TV is 720p, so that's not the issue.

That's been my point all along. Most all of the TV's mentioned here (including mine) is capable of 720p (as is proved by the fact that my Tivo sends a 720p signal which is displayed perfectly over the exact same DVI-HDMI cable).

This is what is so crazy about this not working. If I had to guess, I'd say there is a bug in the ATV which is causing it to not handshake properly so the TV's think it is a 480i/p signal. Or the improper handshake is causing the TV to just default to lowest resolution. The wavy/shimmering is due to the mismatch in what is being sent and what the TV thinks is being sent...

Is it a fair summary to this thread that everyone having wobbly picture problems EITHER:

1) Has a TV that doesn't support 720p, AND/OR
2) Is using an HDMI to DVI bridge device?

Anyone having wobbly picture that doesn't fall into these?

I beg to differ on your naming of the HDMI-DVI a "bridge". In fact, it is identical to an HDMI cable except that it does not have the Audio leads. Since there is NO conversion or other filtering of the signal it really isn't bridging anything.

To answer your question: no. From this and other threads, I've seen evidence that even some "true" HDMI setups are having this issue (or similar).

Having said that, I believe the majority of the setups with this issue (and other issues) do fit into the two categories.

I've never used one so I have no idea what the nature of it is... It connects two things so I called it a bridge...

LOL. Well, this is true. However, by that definition all cables are bridges! 😉

Here's what still bothers me. My TV doesn't support 720p at all. When I set my Tivo S3 to force 720p, the screen goes crazy and is completely unreadable.

Meanwhile, the ATV2 supposedly outputting 720p is merely wobbly and though it is no fun to watch, it is entirely readable.

So I don't understand what signal is coming out of the ATV2 that is "sort of" readable. There's something else going on other than "Your TV doesn't support 720p".