Q: HDMI Handshake problems every 20 - 30 minutes - Color Inversion Issue

Just for the record. Fully aware -by reading this topic- of the problems with a Philips TV I own, still I bought the Apple TV some days ago and crossed my hands connecting it to my TV. But I am glad to tell you that everything is working perfect. My television is a Philips 40PFL8605, a 2010 model. So perhaps my TV has something what the other defected TV's don't have or on the contrary has something not what the other TV's have. I don't know. Anyway, it is clear that not every Philips TV is affected.

That good news, but be careful, the record for my apple TV is 4 hours. It really is very random.

I think that, if Apple are struggling to find the cause of this then Sony's will be a good one to work with, due to the fact that there are some model that seem to work whilst other very similar ones don't.

For example, I've just added my TV's to the spreadsheet. It does raise the question, why does my KDL22EX302 have the problem but not my KDL-40EX403? I'd have thought that if Apple can determine what the difference is between these TV's HDMI handling then it should help lead them to the solution.

I also filed a bug report and received the same answer today.
Let's hope for the best.

Hallo there,

same Problem for me.
Ordered aTV2 specially for my little daughter to watch the Heidi Series through iTunes. Downloaded already all parts from the Store. Now this painful Bug!

We have a Philips 46PFL9704 with latest firmware on it.
After 10 to 20 minutes the Screen flashes to blue/green. And then back to normal after another 20 Minutes or so (didn't measure the times exactly).

Once even the sound has gone away. After rebooting aTV2 and changing to SAT Receiver and back to aTV it works until the Green Flash comes back..

Hope that APPLE provides a Firmware Solution for aTV2 soon (before XMas :-)) as many Customers seem to have these kind of problems.

Thanks in Advance

I also have the same problem with changing colors after 20 minutes or so on my Philips LCD (32PFL5404H). The colors are changed back to normal after removing the HDMI cable and plugging it in again, or after turning the TV off.

However, as we all know - This is rather irritating

Really hope Apple soon comes with a software update.

Thanks in advance

As a work-around when this problem occurs, you can just switch the TV's input to something else and back again. Much more convenient than switching the TV off-then-on, plug-unplug the HDMI port, etc.

Message was edited by: Coldfire

My experience is different. No action whatsoever on the TV will 'reset' the reverse image. Only turning off or hibernating the ATV works for me. Sony Bravia KDL40EX6000 (spain). The ATV2 works flawlessly with our Panasonic 42" and B&O 32" BV7.
Given the (long) discussion above, my guess is that this is a chip (HDMI i/f) issue, but no excuse for Apple not fixing it long time ago. Hey Apple, it works most of the time, how complicated can it be? 1 line of code?10? 100? Whatever, FIX it.

As anybody who has done much debugging will tell you, nothing is harder, more frustrating, or more time-consuming to fix than something that "works most of the time." Indeed, the first step in diagnosing and fixing such a problem is usually figuring out a way to get it to reliably fail all of the time.

Wish I'd done my research before buying the Apple TV, mine arrived today and I have already experienced the picture randomly turning pink on a Sony KDL32EX401. Yes switching the input, turning it on and off etc. fixes it but I don't think I'm prepared to put up with a defective product.

tgibbs,

Thanks for the post.

I am not sure what you mean by, "it is common to encounter problems when using a product in a way that is not recommended or supported by the manufacturer".

This product worked just fine for me and many other people before the major software update. They are all over this and other forums. The video coming from an HDMI and DVI cable is the same. That fact is all over the Internet. Audio only is routed by either the Toslink or RCA cables. The fact that several newer and new TV's have the same problem after the update, on the surface, it looks like Apple changed some coding that took away 720P. There are also other people who have had no problem at all with the HDMI to DVI connections. In addition, many people have weird color issues and HDCP issues.

We just want Apple to give us back what they took away. Either way, I have fixed my problem and I wanted to let people know that information. If "fooling" the Apple TV is all that needs to be done, then so be it. I will keep my old Sony CRT as the picture is great and viewing 16:9 on the screen gives me about 34" to view.

As of now, I am happy with what I have. I have several other Apple products and more than happy with all of them. I (and several other people) are more than a bit disappointed with Apple with the recent major software update that took away 720P.

Apple recommends and supports Apple TV2 only for TVs with a HDMI input. Basically, you lucked out initially. Many people were unable to get it to work with DVI to HDMI adapters. When you are using equipment that is not recommended, you need to be aware that the manufacturer will not be testing on your type of device.
While one might hope that updates will expand compatibility, it is quite possible that an update will cause function to deteriorate or cause it not to work at all. It's a good idea to delay updates until you hear how they are working for others with similar hardware

In all reality, several people are unable to make the ATV2 work with HDMI as well. Some of them who had it working prior to the major update lost the 720P resolution. What about the people who are getting the HDCP errors and the weird colors. Apple has issues with the ATV2 and they should know it by now. The video part of HDMI is the same as DVI. That information is confirmed all over the Internet. I think that Apple put the ATV2 out before it was done testing. They have now sold about 1M units and are seeing the problems. I know they wanted to get it to market, but they do not need any more problems like the iPhone 4. As far as updates, I will not be doing any of them unless they have something major. My ATV2 works fine at 720P with the HDMI Switch and I am happy. I do not have to buy a new TV. My nine year old Sony KV36XBR800 CRT 4:3 TV displays 720P better than several TV's on the market today. You can buy these TV's used for about $150-$200 and I may be on the look-out for another one. This tv is by far, one of the best CRT's ever built!

sboychuck wrote:
In all reality, several people are unable to make the ATV2 work with HDMI as well. Some of them who had it working prior to the major update lost the 720P resolution. What about the people who are getting the HDCP errors and the weird colors. Apple has issues with the ATV2 and they should know it by now. The video part of HDMI is the same as DVI. That information is confirmed all over the Internet.\

It is unlikely that the problem is with the video signal. But AppleTV is designed to work with copy-protected content, and utilizes the notoriously paranoid and complicated HDCP protocol, which is designed to detect when a device is "eavesdropping" on protected content.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-bandwidthDigital_ContentProtection
Many devices will "drop back" to lower resolution if HDCP authentication fails. HDCP can sometimes be a problem even with HDMI devices. Here's what Monoprice says about their HDMI switchers:

"The problem with HDMI switchers is there is no one switch that is compatible with every device out there. In fact, even with the same brands, one model of DVD player may work with a particular switch but a different model will not. Also, compatibility is not specific to a single device. Instead it's a 3 way relationship between the source, the switch and the display. So, a particular dvd may work through a particular switch to a certain TV, but not to another TV, but that TV may work through the switch with another DVD player. Given that, you end up with infinite number of possible combinations so it's impossible to know based on brands what devices with work with a particular switch and what won't."

HMDI/HDCP is notorious for device incompatibilities, and there are clearly some TVs with HDMI ports that have problems with the Apple TV. Apple is doubtless working to resolve these problems. Unfortunately, since they aren't likely to be testing their fixes against unsupported hardware such as DVI displays and DVI-HDMI converters, the changes that Apple makes to improve compatibility with supported hardware could easily have the unintended side effect of reducing compatibility with unsupported hardware. So I'd advise you to be very wary of installing future updates until it is clear that they aren't creating problems for DVI displays.

Message was edited by: tgibbs

Thanks for the post.

As I said, Apple is creating this problem. Whatever type of code they put in or took out of the last updates has caused the problem. My ATV2 with the original software, before any upgrades, worked fine on my TV at 720P and many other peoples. After the updates, they now have downgraded to 480P. That tells us that Apple has done something. I have never had an HDCP error or any problems until the updates.

By putting the switch in-between the ATV2 and my TV, it works. I have no idea why or how. Other people have used these type of switches to also fix the problems. I am just providing other people with an option if they want to try and fix the problem. I took a shot in the dark and it worked. The switch also had RCA component out and I used that for my audio. So, everything is running through the switch.

I do not think Apple is going to even consider trying my TV to check compatibility, but what if they did? Maybe by taking a look at my TV spec's and the switch specs, maybe that could lead them down the right path. There are a lot of people who have a problem with the resolution that they cannot fix. I am one of the lucky ones who has fixed it. That type of "fix" might provide a long-term fix for the overall problem. I know I am only dreaming, but I refuse to just stand on the sideline and just watch. I took a chance and fixed a problem that they have yet to do.