Apple TV 4K and YouTube TV

[Roller]

No matter what settings I try on my ATV 4K and 2018 Sony Bravia LCD, the picture displayed by the YouTube TV app looks washed out. I installed the app on the Sony (Android TV) and got much better results. I'd prefer to use the ATV, though, because all my other content is there.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[jkozlow3]

What picture settings are you using on the ATV? Do you have the issue with any other apps?

I would recommend resetting the ATV picture settings and then setting the ATV to output 4k SDR. Then, if you enjoy HDR and DV, set both of the "match content" settings in the ATV to "on". HDR/DV will then be output when appropriate (when the source content is HDR/DV), but the ATV will output SDR when the source content is SDR (i.e. YTTV, etc.). Personally, I don't like HDR/DV on my Sony OLED (too dark for my liking when comparing the same content in SDR), so I have the "match content" settings set to "off" so that the ATV only outputs SDR.

I installed the YTTV app and signed up for a free trial and compared the picture quality side by side with Hulu Live TV and AT&T TV Now and none of them were washed out when streaming to my 2018 Sony A8F OLED. They all looked similar, although YTTV's picture was just a tad softer/more compressed/less sharp vs. the others when watching identical content (I like CNN newsroom content purely for comparing PQ). ATT TV Now had the best PQ but all 3 were pretty good overall and better than my Cox cable PQ.

 

[DFWHD]

Jkozlow3 is right - change the ATV to output 4K SDR. It's made a world of difference for out ATV 4K boxes.

 

[mallbritton]

@Roller also don’t forget to look at the scene settings on your TV. For example, most TVs come with the “standard” or ”dynamic” scene selected which can make the picture looked “washed out,” as you put it. I prefer the ”Cinema” or “Movie” scenes on most TVs.

 

[realeric]

I would recommend resetting the ATV picture settings and then setting the ATV to output 4k SDR. Then, if you enjoy HDR and DV, set both of the "match content" settings in the ATV to "on".

Great find. It works on Samsung UHD smart TV with Apple TV 4K. I compared 4k HDR on with 4k SDR, 4K SDR with match content on gives better images.

I think Apple should set this default or improve the source code to play non-HDR source on non-HDR(i.e, SDR) mode automatically.

 

[Roller]

Jkozlow3 is right - change the ATV to output 4K SDR. It's made a world of difference for out ATV 4K boxes.

Thanks to all who replied. I have the ATV set to 4K SDR with content matching on. Lately, though, I didn't see much difference between streaming content from the ATV vs. the TV's app.

In any case, I decided to cancel my YouTube TV service, but for a different reason. The picture resolution dropped occasionally even though I was getting 300 Mbps consistently over Wi-Fi, so I went back to my previous provider.

 

[cynics]

If the AppleTV and the TV's native app look the same you are likely looking at the best your TV can do. The native TV app doesn't have limitations outside your TV's specs nor does it need to guess them. Its actually a good point of reference when you are questioning an external input.

Like mentioned, use SDR with matching content dynamic range - on is the preferable setting. The TV's native app will always be a better source for more accurate colors and luminance level across more content.

SDR and HDR use different color spaces and everything that goes a long with that with broadcasting standards. Generically converting without a known display for calibration can result in vastly different images. SDR typically appears washed out, faded, dull, dark etc if output as HDR onto an HDR display.