Apple TV 4K Random HDMI Signal Loss

SO, I think I have a solution. And everyone is NOT going to like it. Turn off Dolby Vision 60Hz in your Apple TV menu.

I did this and set it to 4K HDR 60Hz and haven't had a drop out once. You can also set it to 4K SDR.

Also, it doesn't appear to be the "HDMI HD Deep Color" setting on out LG OLED sets, as you still need to have that setting turned on to get 4K HDR at 60Hz OR Dolby Vision. Seems to be the Apple TV 4K "Dolby Vision" setting. (unsurprisingly).

I know this kind of almost negates even have a ATV4K, but at least we can still; get 4K resolution even if its not dolby vision. I'll leave it on HDR in the mean Tim until Apple maybe LG (?) ( I dont think it is an LG issue though) figures this out. Give it a try and report back.

That is frustrating. Have you ever tried the Dolby vision setting on your ATV4K?. While my cable is not the new HDMI 2.1 "Diolby Vision" cable I can watch Dolby Vision even though I do get drop outs every once and a while.

Have you shut OFF the "HDMI HD Deep Color" setting on the HDMI port your using to connect your ATV4K TO your TV? That has to be enabled for you to get Dolby Vision OR 4K HDR resolution from the ATV 4K..... but NOT for 4K SDR. So I would recommend switching off of Dolby Vision and switching off HDMI DEEP COLOR on your TV and seeing if you get the single loss while using 4K SDR. And if you dont, try re-enabling HDMI HD DEEP COLOR, and then switch back to 4K HDR 60hz and see if the issue persists. The cable being the issue is not out of the realm of possibility, but nowhere does it say that the new HDMI 2.1 cable is REQUIRED to use Dolby Vision. But it is possible I suppose.

For my setup, I am using 4K HDR 60Hz with HDMI HD Deep color enabled and have not experienced any single loss or drop outs since I switched from Dolby Vision to HDR 60hz. So I'm not convinced that this is an LG OLED issue and more of a Dolby Vision issue on the ATV4K's end. Of course I could still see some single loss or drop outs. And I will update if and when it happens. But for now.

I can confirm that using the Echogear HDMI cable fixed the issue for me. I have the ATV4K set to Dolby Vision, LG OLED OLED65B7P with the latest update 4.70.36 WebOS. It hasn't dropped a single time for me since I started using the cable. The only thing I wonder now is, was it the cable or maybe cable length that could be causing the issue.

Originally I was using AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable, 10 Feet, 18gbps.

Currently Unavailable, but I got the Echogear HDMI cable from Amazon

Amazon.com: ECHOGEAR 4 ft Braided HDMI 2.1 Cable - 4k Compatible With Gold Plated Connections For the Best Picture - Sup…

Thanks for sharing your experience with that cable. I know one other person in this thread also said using this cable fixed their issue. This cable looks like its in stock oil January 11th at Amazon. So I'll give it a try and report back. I'm really hoping this is actually a cable issue and not some other underlying issue with either the TV or the ATV4K.

That is frustrating, I too am using the echo gear cable set to dolbyvision 60hz, and have not had an issue for the past 2 days. I know it’s only been a few days but I was getting multiple singles losses a day before with the older 2.0 cables.

I am though skeptical that it is the cable. I would not be surprised to continue to get some singles losses in the future with the echogear cable, I have a feeling the issue lies within the Apple tv software or the hardware. As I and other people have no issues playing 4K dolbyvision content through other devices such as Blu-ray players ect with regular old cables.

Both my TV’s are LG’s running WebOS 4.7

One thing I forgot to mention is to make sure you are not running your Apple TV through an audio receiver/surround system. Even if you are using the “pass-through” setting on the receiver, it will still not work. Your receiver still has to be Dolby Vision compatiable. When I first got my Apple TV I did this, the connected it directly to the LG 8500 and still had issues.

Also check and make sure all your HDMI ports on your TV are 2.0+. I know some TV’s Do HDMI 1 & 2 as 2.0 and ports 3 & 4 as 1.4 or something else.

I agree it could be the Apple TV, but for me the Echogear solved my problems.

Do you think running it through a sound bar woild still give me problems even if both cables I’m using are the echo gear? Or should I just hook the sound bar up directly to the TV and no bother with hdmi pass through?

I think it will still give problems. The pass-through still reads and processes the signal. If the signal is Dolby Vision and the sound bar is not compatible, it’s not going to understand how to read or handle the data. Does your TV have ARC for one of the HDMI’s?

Because most things are currently not Dolby Vision compatible the best solution is to plug Apple TV directly into your TV, then connect your sound bar or audio receiver to the ARC HDMI connection in your TV to send the audio out. This is how I have to do my surround system until I decide to buy a DV capable system.

No, connect your AppleTV directly to your TV (non-ARC port). Then connect your sound bar to the ARC port. Then adjust your audio settings in your TV to allow the sound to go through the ARC port (sound port). Your setup should look something like this:

Apple TV —-> HDMI 1 (nonARC)

Sound bar—-> HDMI 2? (ARC port)

So what will happen is the audio will go into the TV from your Apple TV and the TV will take the audio signal and send it out through the ARC port.

Apple TV (audio & video out) —> HDMI 1 (audio & video in)

[[ Sound and Video processes in TV ]]

HDMI 2? (ARC port, audio out) —-> sound bar (ARC port, audio in)

The goal is to have your TV process the video portion (Dolby Vision) of the HDMI signal because nothing else can. To do this you have to have the Apple TV connected directly to your TV.

I've been seeing this for a while with my non-4k ATV gen4 back to an older LG (LG 42LS5700). Started about 6months after I got the ATVgen4 last Christmas. I've applied all the updates to the TV and I even got a replacement from Apple but didn't help. The odd part is when I run the ATVgen4 through my Denon AVR to a different, older LG TV, I don't have the problem. It's only when I run directly to the LG-42LS5700 TV. The other odd part is when I run my ATVgen3 directly to the 42LS5700 I don't have the problem. Going to try the Echogear and see if that helps.

Sorry your having problems, what are you using for video settings on your ATV 4K? If your TV is non 4K than you cant use dolby vision, so are you using HDR or something else? Strange your having issues, it is concerning since everyone here mainly thinks that the problem lies within the 4K dolby vision and the old HDMI cables not being able to handle the bandwidths of that.

I switched to the EchoGear Cable and have had no issues since. Been about a week or so. Try that cable, but if your not pushpin 4K to your TV, I am not sure what could be the issue for you.

Had the same problem with my new LG Oled C7 and the Apple Tv 4k, read all of this and my only solution was to buy the new Belkin hdmi 4k dolby vision wire (30$ apple store) and since then, no signal loss at all.

Was having the same issues as you with the old HDMI 2.0 cables. Was getting singles losses all day every day. Switched to the Echogear HDMI 2.1 a few weeks ago and have had NO signal loss since switching. People are also saying they have had the same experience with the Belkin 2.1 cable that apple is hawking, but the echoer is cheaper and does the same thing. My setup up is LG 55 inch B7 OLED running DolbyVision 60 Hrz.

Apple I think does have some issues to work out here with the ATV4K though.

OK, so after a few weeks with the Echo Gear 2.1 HDMI cable, I am still getting the random single loss. It was fine for a few weeks with NO single loss at all. Than all of a sudden, today, multiple signal losses and have to reboot the ATV4K. This has to be an Apple TV 4K issue. I cant see how its the TV's issue here when the set is a brand new LG OLED 4K that is dolby vision capable. Not sure if it has something to do with the new Apple TVOS software that apple pushed out yesterday. But the cable was working fine until today. Its just so strange honestly. I have it set to Dolby Vision 4K 60Hz.

I called Apple, and they said its got to be the cable. But I'm dubious that this is a cable issue at this point. There is no other fix for this. I have had no other issues connecting anything else to the TV such as cable boxes Blue ray players ect. This only ever. happens when I'm using the ATV4K. So even WITH the new 2.1 HDMI cable I'm still; getting the signal loss. So who knows at this point. Apple sure does not seem to think its the ATV though. If anyone has any suggestions. I'm all ears.