How to set screen resolution on Apple TV Gen2

There's no option for doing this, when plugged into the TV's HDMI port it should just display fine like any DVD/Blu-Ray would.

Message was edited by: Martin_UK

You are not understanding. There is NO resolution setting. ATV2 ONLY does 720p, nothing lower and not 1080. There is no option or menu to change this. Even the Apple ATV2 Product description on their web page says you must have a 720p compatible tv. Your receiver is somehow re-configuring the video signal and mucking it up. The only two options are to go directly to tv (which you want to avoid) or try turning the devices on in a different order.

I had the same issue when I went TV on, receiver on, then apple on. So now I turn Apple on, then tv (and let it boot up fully, THEN my receiver. Then the whole screen appears properly. HDMI handshaking can be a pain, so try any combination and order for powering up your electronics.

Message was edited by: bhoier

Whether you find ,y answer helpfulmor otherwise, it's factual - you are tying yourself in knots trying to get the device to do something it's not designed or advertised for.

The box is meant to work with a TV and, as you confirmed, it works exactly as it should when used with one. It's a mass consumer product designed for ease and simplicity, accept it for what it is and stop trying to find a hidden screen resolution setting which doesn't exist.

Did turning things on in various orders help? It worked for me. Glad to be of service.

You are wrong that it only displays 720. I plugged mine in through my sony receiver which feeds my Sony tv and when I looked under setting/about, it had the resolution listed at 480p.

I'm not following that you want the ability to play music without turning the TV on, and yet you're saying the TV is displaying on the wrong resolution. Anyway, another option--which I often use--is to 'push' music to the Apple TV from iTunes. Apple TV then passes to amp and no need to fire up TV.

i also have this problem. i had a long discussion with apple support and the result was that apple tv 2 is not build for connecting it to a receiver but only to a up-to-date flat TV. i don´t know how i managed it to use the 720p resolution but as i had it i set the auto power to off and let it switched on all the time.
after the update to 4.2.1 it had no chance to get it to 720p. it is locked to 1024x768 which is not the resolution i want to watch HD movies.
but my setup is not a normal one. i have a onkyo AV receiver which is sending the HDMI signal over a HDMI splitter to an LCD screen and a HD beamer. the LCD screen is an old one which has no HDMI input, i use a HDMI to analog-component converter for this. the HDMI output of the onkyo is connected to a wireless HDMI system from marmitek.
so its not so the ideal setting for apple tv. i hope that everything works fine if i have a new flat TV with a normal HDMI input.

I've had a similar problem with the ATV display not fitting on the TV screen. I assume it's some kind of screen resolution problem. I'm connecting directly from the ATV2 to a 720 flat screen. It started after the last firmware update. I turned it off and on, reset it, etc and nothing's worked. Anyone else have this or know how to fix it?

if I plug directly into the receiver (Sony STR-DG820).

My Apple TV works fine plugged into the receiver (Sony STR-DG710).
With the television turned off, the Apple TV will not play.