iPhone XS Max Choppy video playback on iPhone XS and XS Max.

[arjun_assi]

Just surprised and curious about one thing - People who are in countries/states that have Apple stores - Aren't you guys going to the store and asking apple about it? Some of us are in countries where we can only just talk to apple customer care and follow the long process but for people who have apple stores in their countries/states - shouldn't you not go to them and show them the stutter??

 

[blesio]

I read that some actually go there and get the phones exchanged and that it doesn’t help obviously so they don’t bother going again.

 

[MacLappy]

I just logged myself in to Netflix on my colleagues iPhone XR. Played something for a couple of seconds... and boom same frame drop issue as on the XS. So this problem ist NOT OLED or resolution related.
Breathtaking Apple !!!!!

I am wondering if maybe this only happens on some shows. I have been using my XR to watch netflix and youtube, almost everyday and I can’t say that I’ve encounter this problem.

I have both auto brightness and true tone enabled, display zoom is on standard.

I watched the above linked 4K HDR video of the beach, which I assume was suppose to help express this problem clearly, I was unable to notice any choppy scene. Also tried S1 of “Lost in space” on netflix 36min to 38min, I could not detect any choppiness in that scene either. Maybe it’s not obvious on the XR because HDR is not supported?

Anyway I hope this gets fixed for you guys soon.

 

[bigjnyc]

Just surprised and curious about one thing - People who are in countries/states that have Apple stores - Aren't you guys going to the store and asking apple about it? Some of us are in countries where we can only just talk to apple customer care and follow the long process but for people who have apple stores in their countries/states - shouldn't you not go to them and show them the stutter??

A few people have tried only to get a replacement phone with the same problem. If its a software issue there is nothing they can do for you in the Apple store.

 

[arjun_assi]

A few people have tried only to get a replacement phone with the same problem. If its a software issue there is nothing they can do for you in the Apple store.

Lol. Fair enough. But my point is that engaging with the engineers directly on the store, the chance of the user proving that it is a software issue is way higher than going through the endless loops of "senior advisors" of apple telephonic support ?

 

[blesio]

There are no engineers at the store. And I doubt that the personnel has any influence. I think the problem might be a hardware bug and it’s impossible to fix. Let’s hope not, but wouldn’t it already get fixed if otherwise?

 

[Hung556]

Hello, I am having the same problem on the XS Max. I have found this in the Apple group and can confirm it is the same for me:


„I have the same issue on the XS max. For me it only happens with HDR content and when the auto brightness is turned on.

An interesting finding I have made: even if auto brightness is turned off, the phone still does adjust the brightness automatically during playback of HDR content and dependent on the surrounding light. Try the following:

• turn auto brightness off
• go to a dark room
• lower brightness manually close to minimum
• start playback of a Dolby Vision show on Netflix (I tried lost in space episode 1)
• during playback, turn on the lights in the room
• you will realize that the display brightness increases instantly
• turn the lights off
• display brightness goes down instantly

So my guess is that turning auto brightness on might cause the two independent auto brightness controls to interfere and thus to cause issues. Just a guess, but there seems to be a dedicated HDR-driven automatic brightness control that you cannot actually disable.“

Source: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8600577?answerId=250310225022#250310225022

In fact there is another auto brightness control for HDR content that is independent of the setting in the accessibility options. Indeed the two different controls seem to cause the troubles.

 

[Hung556]

I believe I found a solution that works for me. It seems there are two issues causing the stuttering.

1. Changes to the screen brightness caused by the automatic brightness control: it stutters when the brightness is being modified due to changing lights conditions in the room you are watching.
2. When the brightness is generally set to a very low value.

When 1 and 2 come together (brightness control is adjusting brightness in low light environments) the issue gets worst.

So what I did is the following: I ensured that the brightness never gets below approx. 25% by adjusting it manually in an entirely dark room. The auto brightness control will remember this minimal level and never go below it anymore. Note that disabling and re-enabling auto brightness resets the setting to default so you have to manually adjust again.

See the attached screenshot: this is the minimum level I have to set in order to avoid the stuttering. Note that it would still stutter a bit when the brightness changes automatically, but even then it is much better now than it was before.

Of course you can also adjust as required whenever you want. Just make sure you set the brightness above the level depicted in the screenshot while watching 24p content.

This is definitely a bug that Apple could fix. If they want...

 

[Zaft]

I believe I found a solution that works for me. It seems there are two issues causing the stuttering.

1. Changes to the screen brightness caused by the automatic brightness control: it stutters when the brightness is being modified due to changing lights conditions in the room you are watching.
2. When the brightness is generally set to a very low value.

When 1 and 2 come together (brightness control is adjusting brightness in low light environments) the issue gets worst.

So what I did is the following: I ensured that the brightness never gets below approx. 25% by adjusting it manually in an entirely dark room. The auto brightness control will remember this minimal level and never go below it anymore. Note that disabling and re-enabling auto brightness resets the setting to default so you have to manually adjust again.

See the attached screenshot: this is the minimum level I have to set in order to avoid the stuttering. Note that it would still stutter a bit when the brightness changes automatically, but even then it is much better now than it was before.

Of course you can also adjust as required whenever you want. Just make sure you set the brightness above the level depicted in the screenshot while watching 24p content.

This is definitely a bug that Apple could fix. If they want...

At this point I think Apple will address this in IOS 13.

 

[CPx]

An interesting finding I have made: even if auto brightness is turned off, the phone still does adjust the brightness automatically during playback of HDR content and dependent on the surrounding light.

I've also noticed that brightness will self-adjust even with auto-brightness turned off in settings.

 

[arjun_assi]

I really do not think apple will address this. I really have started feeling that this is a hardware issue and that people (including me) who got a replacement device are just unlucky that the replacement device is also plagued by the same issue.

 

[I7guy]

I've also noticed that brightness will self-adjust even with auto-brightness turned off in settings.

Sure that isn’t true Tone? Did you try turning that off?

 

[Hung556]

Sure that isn’t true Tone? Did you try turning that off?

No, it is not the True Tone feature. The brightness is still adjusted automatically even when turned off, but only when you are watching HDR content in supported apps. In this case, the brightness adoption gets applied instantly, and not slowly and smoothly like the general auto brightness adjustment would work. I assume this is something specific to Dolby Vision.

I also checked my wife's Samsung Galaxy S8+. Weird thing is: in Netflix, it has exactly the same problem although it does not support HDR. For example, the scene around 38 min in lost in space episode 1 (where the boy walks through the forest), the stuttering on the S8+ is terrible. However, it does playback smoothly in Amazon Prime. In Amazon Prime, the XS max has serious troubles when playing the 4K/HDR version of Jack Ryan season 1 episode 1 starting at 03:20. The Galaxy plays smoothly there.

In general I am sure this is NOT a hardware issue. When auto brightness is disabled and the brightness is manually set to anything higher than 25%, the playback quality is perfect and there is no stuttering at all.

 

[Hung556]

I have made some further research now.

1. It seems the problem is not related to HDR content. It happens with every kind of footage
2. The 24fps format looks the worst, but you can also see the judder effect with other frame rates.
3. When the backlight is set to a value lower than 25%, the frame sync is broken and especially the 24fps=>120Hz conversion is neither smooth nor consistent.
4. When the backlight is being adjusted, the frame sync is broken, too, and in addition, frames are obviously dropped, leading to heavy stuttering in any scenes with slight movements

That is: you'll get stutter-free video playback when you disable auto-brightness AND set the brightness manually to something higher than 25%.

Certainly something you won't expect when you buy the most expensive smart phone in the world...

 

[Guiser]

Everyone should start reporting this issue to the app makers. If they aren't able to work around the problem on their end they are in a much better position to pressure Apple for a solution.

 

[CPx]

Sure that isn’t true Tone? Did you try turning that off?

I always have true tone off.

 

[Jweir2022]

I always have true tone off.

Thread has gone quiet. I take it the issue remains in the iOS 12.2 beta 3?

 

[blesio]

Yes

 

[igroeg]

I'm amazed that this hasn't been stickied. It was the sole reason for returning my XS. It will be interesting to see if the 2019 iPhones have the same issue.

 

[WilliamG]

I'm amazed that this hasn't been stickied. It was the sole reason for returning my XS. It will be interesting to see if the 2019 iPhones have the same issue.

Amazing, right?

Just as amazing as the latest iPhone being essentially hopeless for watching Netflix, Plex etc.

 

[Zaft]

It’s weird that this issue is not even being reported by tech blogs.
They usually jump on these issues which put pressure on Apple.

I think at this point Apple will implement a fix via iOS 13. I hope...

 

[sparksd]

Just saw this thread. I've had the XS Max for about 2 weeks now and have streamed lots of video from Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and my NAS and not seen this. Bluetooth always on (for my headphones), auto brightness & True Tone off.

 

[Zaft]

Just saw this thread. I've had the XS Max for about 2 weeks now and have streamed lots of video from Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and my NAS and not seen this. Bluetooth always on (for my headphones), auto brightness & True Tone off.

The issue seems to occur when auto brightness is enabled.

 

[arjun_assi]

This thread is dead and so is this stupid piece of junk (iPhone XS max)
Started to live with it now.

 

[Hung556]

Siri allows you to jump directly to the settings where you can disable / enable auto brightness. It does not change the setting for you though, so you have to switch manually. This makes it easier to apply the setting if you’re intending to watch videos. The display brightness needs to be increased manually anyway in most cases, especially for HDR / Dolby Vision content, as iOS does not do this automatically. Dolby Vision looks best in a dark environment with fairly high brightness setting. Then, the video experience on the XS Max is great.