Sony A1 (OLED) and Apple TV 4K issues

[Pavel_Pr]

Hello!

I am the owner of a "65 A1 TV and an Apple TV 4K and am experiencing some issues. I hoped that someone would have a tip for me, or let me know that I am not alone in this.

When woken after being on standby for a certain period  (could be one hour or more), the TV will not detect any signal over the HDMI port (HDMI 2) to which the Apple TV 4K is connected. The screen would flash slightly, in what appears to be an attempt at establishing a handshake, but that attempt will ultimately fail. 

When the above occurs, the HDMI input in question becomes unstable even when connected with other devices (for instance, connecting a PS4 Pro will result in unstable image). Subsequently, the only way to regain proper connectivity on that particular HDMI port is to power cycle the TV itself (not the Apple TV). After the TV is power cycled, everything works properly again. By power cycling, I mean soft-restart ("About" -> "Restart") as well.

Playing with CEC-related settings on the Apple TV appears to significantly affect the incidence of this issue, but will not eliminate it outright. Moreover, disabling Enhanced HDMI on the TV eliminates this issue, but at the cost of HDR support – which is significant.

Both devices are updated to their latest respective software releases. There appears to be some state corruption that is occurring during standby (applicable to Enhanced HDMI mode), which clears after the TV is power cycled.

Did anyone experience anything similar?

Thanks!

P.S. Could anyone explain what exactly happens with the HDMI ports or controllers during a power cycle or a soft-restart?

[Osprey-One]

HI there, Im having probs too - I cant seem to get Dolby vision support - have you managed this wiht the apple 4k, i bought a new suitable HDMI cable, allowed the enhanced option for the external input on the HDMI but getting flickering intermittently on the tv, also the colours looked slightly washed out - not what i expetced at all . Any ideas?

[dutchice]

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@Pavel_Prwrote: 

Moreover, disabling Enhanced HDMI on the TV eliminates this issue, but at the cost of HDR support – which is significant.

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Let me try to help you both. Based on what you explain, I expect that you do not have the issue occuring when using HDMI 1 & 4, can you confirm this? Could it be possible for you to purchase a CERTIFIED HDMI (https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15429) cable since the bandwidth that the ATV 4K produces (4K + DolbyVision HDR + DolbyAtmos) is fairly close to the limit of what HDMI 2.0 can process. It is very unlikely that either your A1 or the ATV 4K are at fault here. So let's start ruling out the problem by the weakest link.

Edit: This other HDMI cable (http://www.belkin.com/uk/p/P-AV10175/) despite not being a CERTIFIED cable has been reported by many ATV 4K users to be 100% bullet proof. It is also what Apple is pushing on their store. Its only downside is the considerable higher price and the lack of certification of course.

[Osprey-One]

HI, thanks for help, im using HDMI 2 and the Belkin HDMI cable, apple tv in dolby vision and the tv struggles, switch back to SDR and its great - picture fab. on dolby vision and it keeps resettig wiht the TV flicking up the resolution in top left  every few seconds.  Though had to use HDMI and turn on the enhanced HDMI setting? tried but no improvement. 

No problems wiht any other settings or HDMI settings, its only trying to use dolby vision thats a problem.

Appreciate any help!

[dutchice]

A couple of things to verify:

Have you done any cable management to the HDMI cable? Binding it around with all other type of cables? If yes, undo that and let the cable run as free and away as possible from all other cables specially mains.

Enhanced HDMI should be on as you mentioned. But for the sake of testing, could you disconnect also all other devices from all HDMI inputs on the TV? Then use HDMI 3 instead of HDMI 2.

Lastly power cycle the TV by pressing and holding the remote control power button for 6 secs.

Could you also post what are the video signal settings you have at the moment on your ATV 4K? Maybe others can chip in and advice on what they should be on. As I am not very familiar with Apple products.

Mention also how are you testing the Dolby Vision signal? By playing back a DV Netflix/Apple iTunes title?

[dutchice]

Also make sure you follow tips 1, 12 & 13 from this video: https://youtu.be/ZaFhC1UOtNE

[Pavel_Pr]

Hi!

Thanks for writing back. I tried multiple cables, one of them even being a premium Audioquest one. You are right about the Apple TV being connected to HDMI 2.

Thing is that in my case, I can watch the Apple TV for hours and hours, with the picuture being perfect thoughout. This issue would only manifest after a protracted period of standby, and after power-cycling the TV (not the Apple TV), it would temporarily resolve (until the next protracted standby, that is). I am therefore confident that a cable-related root cause can be safely ruled out.

Thanks!

[dutchice]

Hi Pavel,

There is no correlation between the brand of a cable and it's certification. As long as you are not using a certified HDMI cable it will make troubleshooting very hard or else a waist of time. That is the reason why the suggestion is to use either a certified cable or one that is widely known by users of the exact same devices as yours, to be working fine. I believe the HDMI cable that came inside the box of your PS4 is one that is certified. May I ask you to first follow the steps below carefully, then answer a few questions?

1. Verify the Enhaced HDMI setting to be ON and the Bravia Sync function to be OFF.
2. Configure the ATV 4K as instructed by tip 1, 12 & 13 from the previous post video.
3. Disconnect the TV from the mains then disconnect all cables (optical, network, aerials, SAT, HDMI, audio, USB, cable provider CAM, everything) except the certified HDMI cable connnecting the ATV 4K and the TV on HDMI input 2.
4. Power-cycle the ATV 4K then plug-in your TV to the mains.
5. Test some 4K HDR playback. Then put the TV in standby mode.

Now please answer the following questions:

1. Does the problem exhibit itself if you turn the TV back on in less than 1 minute?
2. Does the problem exhibit itself if you turn the TV back on in 1 - 60 minutes?
3. Does the problem exhibit itself if you turn the TV back on in over 1 hour?

If the problem does occur at any of the 3 questions above, keep everything the same, except this time swap the HDMI cable from HDMI input 2 to HDMI input 3. Then power cycle BOTH devices, test playback and answer the 3 questions once again for this case.

If the problem does occur also for HDMI input 3 at any of the 3 questions above, then there is one last option remaining. You must do a Factory Data Reset on the TV and the equivalent on the ATV 4K (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202118) then test for the issue again on both HDMI input 2 & 3.

If at any of the steps you notice the issue is resoved, then start plugging your devices back one at a time after retesting for the issue. Let's hope that you can find the culprit here. Otherwise if after all the steps including the reset of both devices you keep having the issue. Then please contact SONY Customer Support, provide them a link to all the steps you have taken on this post. And request a repair service under warranty. You most probably will need a logic board replacement. But a technician can easily test that on-site for you.

Post back your results, we look forward to hear from you.

[ianwhitehouse]

Hi Pavel,

did you manage to get to get to the bottom of this issue?

i think I’m experiencing the same thing. I get sporadic issues with the signalling when running in 4K Dolby Vision mode with Apple TV. 

It cannot be the cable as I am able to run in this mode for extended periods of time, even days but then at some point static and or flashing starts to occur following a period on standby. Sometimes this can be cured by a power cycle but other times it cannot. 

[Cinja1099]

Same issue here. Thought I was insane. Has anyone figured this out yet?