Something’s wonky with Apple TV+ and HDR on its own shows
- dec
- 06
Why aren't Apple's own shows being streamed in Dolby Vision HDR on its own hardware?
What you need to know
- Some Apple TV+ shows say they're only in standard-def when they should be in UHD with Dolby Vision.
- And there are conflicting icons on screen if you're using an Apple TV 4K box, apparently.
- Apple just works, until it doesn't.
Something's up with Apple TV+ exclusive shows when viewed on an Apple TV 4K box, apparently. Multiple folks have reported for weeks now that shows we expect to see in 4K resolution with Dolby Vision HDR (that's the better standard of HDR) are in fact, doing neither.
And, indeed, we're seeing the problem as well, with an Apple TV 4K box connected to a Vizio 4K television that until recently showed these Apple TV+ exclusives in Dolby Vision just fine. Only, there are conflicting icons being shown. The show page — from where you can choose which episode to watch — is showing SD options for us. But start an episode of See, for example, and hit the Info button, and we'll get a 4K icon.
So, yeah. Something's weird.
This was first reported by MacRumors which cites forum posts and more as evidence something is amiss. The Verge's Nilay Patel mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, for example.
Seems like Apple TV+ has stopped delivering shows in Dolby Vision? Both Morning Show and See in regular HDR now, other DV stuff works fine.
— nilay patel (@reckless) November 23, 2019
The Connected podcast team also discussed the issue on a recent episode, too.
Oddly, this issue doesn't appear to impact all users although the reports do seem to be increasing in number. Apple is yet to comment on what's happening, or why, but those watching on fancy Dolby Vision TVs will no doubt be keen to get their money's worth when watching Apple's shows.
Dolby Vision is an improvement over standard HDR in one key way. As images are displayed on-screen, additional information is provided to the TV that allows it to adjust its output accordingly. That can result in a higher dynamic range than would normally be available via standard HDR, which doesn't adjust on the fly.
Are you suffering from this problem? I'd love to know what hardware you're watching on if so. Shout out in the comments below!