14.5 for iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS rumored to be released today

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Life in Colour is originally in 4K/HLG and when streamed form BBC iPlayer, it does look very good.

It is stunning in Netflix. Not all DV shows look good IMO, but this one does. Season 4 of “The Crown” looks way too dark in DV, but I suspect that was the fault of the production team and not a DV issue. I hope they correct their process before they release season 5.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by OtinG

It is stunning in Netflix. Not all DV shows look good IMO, but this one does. Season 4 of “The Crown” looks way too dark in DV, but I suspect that was the fault of the production team and not a DV issue. I hope they correct their process before they release season 5.

I don't recall The Crown being too dark. If you can point out where it's too dark, I can take a look here.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I don't recall The Crown being too dark. If you can point out where it's too dark, I can take a look here.

Pretty much for the entire season 4. Any indoor scene is really dark. Its like they are sitting in a dark room. There is a lot of complaints on the internet about it. However, it might be a Netflix issue if you are watching from a different streaming source and don’t see an issue.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Pretty much for the entire season 4. Any indoor scene is really dark. Its like they are sitting in a dark room. There is a lot of complaints on the internet about it. However, it might be a Netflix issue if you are watching from a different streaming source and don’t see an issue.

I'll have a look at season 4 and see if it looks too dark on indoor scenes.

Have a look at the new series Shadow and Bone. I've only seen the first episode but it is really dark. Too dark (IMHO).

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

That was my thought too. They would have had to included the image in the update. Instead they chose the worst screensaver they had for such a task. The fly-over cityscapes with lots of buildings and green grass and blue sky would have made more sense if they wanted to use a screensaver. One like that attached would have been better. Best would have been just to use a static image of a test pattern that was exactly the same on both sides so we could see all of the differences.

I didn’t find lack of side by side much of a deficit. Besides, how could that actually be done? A color setting applies to the entire screen, not half of it.

It’s easy enough to toggle between the 2 and decide which looks better. And yes, maybe some test pattern would be better, or a combo of some image with lot of dynamics and a test image.

[tomsem]

Also my HomePods are updating. Not sure what is new (new Siri voices?).

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I didn’t find lack of side by side much of a deficit. Besides, how could that actually be done? A color setting applies to the entire screen, not half of it.

It’s easy enough to toggle between the 2 and decide which looks better. And yes, maybe some test pattern would be better, or a combo of some image with lot of dynamics and a test image.

I just went back in a looked at the two results of Original and Calibrated. The differences are so subtle that I barely see a bit more warm on the left side showing mostly beach sand and no difference on the right side showing mostly green water. The fact that the screensaver is scrolling doesn’t help. I eliminated the earlier calibration and tried to run another, but it kept failing. After about the 7th attempt it finally calibrated, but it was just like the earlier one. I still haven’t heard of anyone who has said they saw a major improvement or even a moderate one. The calibration is likely more for cheap TVs than higher quality ones.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'll have a look at season 4 and see if it looks too dark on indoor scenes.

Have a look at the new series Shadow and Bone. I've only seen the first episode but it is really dark. Too dark (IMHO).

That was definitely too dark. I think The Crown is close to that in a few scenes.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

I just went back in a looked at the two results of Original and Calibrated. The differences are so subtle that I barely see a bit more warm on the left side showing mostly beach sand and no difference on the right side showing mostly green water. The fact that the screensaver is scrolling doesn’t help. I eliminated the earlier calibration and tried to run another, but it kept failing. After about the 7th attempt it finally calibrated, but it was just like the earlier one. I still haven’t heard of anyone who has said they saw a major improvement or even a moderate one. The calibration is likely more for cheap TVs than higher quality ones.

I saw a difference, but will have to go in and look at it in more detail and see what happens with other images (if what you are saying is that that the images change).

I have one ATV hooked to a plasma screen and another to a computer monitor. On both, the adjustment I noticed was to make the lighter colors brighter but I need to look at it more critically. I think it is a minor improvement, and given the malleability of human vision, one will quickly cease to notice any change.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I saw a difference, but will have to go in and look at it in more detail and see what happens with other images (if what you are saying is that that the images change).

I have one ATV hooked to a plasma screen and another to a computer monitor. On both, the adjustment I noticed was to make the lighter colors brighter but I need to look at it more critically. I think it is a minor improvement, and given the malleability of human vision, one will quickly cease to notice any change.

What I meant was I went back into the calibration function, then compared the screen that displays when I select the Use Original button to the screen that displays when I select the Use Balanced button. You can toggle between those two screens to compare the uncalibrated result to the calibrated result. Hopefully that makes more sense and is worded better.

My calibration result is slightly more warm in color and slightly better. But the difference is very subtle. I think my Sony Bravia is fairly color accurate right out of the box. Nevertheless I chose to use the calibration because slightly better is still better.

[OtinG]

I routinely watch local TV stations OTA since I don't have cable, satellite, or a streaming service subscription that includes them. Therefore I watch those directly through my Sony Bravia's system which happens to be Android TV version 9. I also watch programming via my Fire TV Cube, and of course my ATV 4K. The ATV 4K calibration only works with programming viewed via my ATV 4K. Therefore watching via the TV's system or Fire TV Cube won’t show the calibrated (balanced) colors. So that makes it easy to do a comparison.

I watched a lot of local OTA TV last night as well as ATV 4K streaming. I really couldn't tell much difference between the two. That is, the uncalibrated colors displayed for OTA TV programming looked pretty much like the calibrated (balanced) colors displayed for ATV 4K programming. I really had to strain to see that the ATV 4K colors were slightly warmer and as a result slightly better, at least for my eyes.

I’m really not sure whether the ATV 4K calibration feature is doing a good job or not. Quite frankly I think my Sony Bravia came with very accurate colors out of the box. So I didn't really expect much improvement. I do a lot of photography as a hobby, and I know quite a bit about accurate color, so I knew my TV was already pretty accurate. Looking at comments in various forums a lot of others are saying they don't see much improvement either, but they could also have fairly accurate TVs. A few are amazed at the improvements they see. Perhaps they have inaccurate TVs. No way of telling without doing a lot of research. But the fact that the calibration didn't mess up the colors is a good sign. Very few people thought the calibration failed or made their colors worse. I suspect it also matters on whether one calibrates a color option that is close to the factory settings or one that they have manipulated quite a bit. Sometime garbage in equals garbage out. In other words, a person who prefers to see very red faces or ghastly blue tints on everything will likely be unhappy with the corrections the calibration makes.

Color accuracy is a scientific thing, but more accurate colors might not appeal to everyone. If someone prefers really vivid colors, even if they are not accurate, then more power to them. They should watch whatever makes then feel warm and fuzzy. Even the worst TVs today are way better than the first color TV my family had back in 1970. Good grief the colors were horrible and faded, and they drifted around the screen too! But by gosh it was color so we thought we were in tall cotton. (Sorry for the local colloquialism!)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by OtinG

That was definitely too dark. I think The Crown is close to that in a few scenes.

I took a look at The Crown and it is darkish but not too dark. Shadow and Bone is too dark.

I think anyone that thinks The Crown is too dark has the TV not set correctly.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by OtinG

What I meant was I went back into the calibration function, then compared the screen that displays when I select the Use Original button to the screen that displays when I select the Use Balanced button. You can toggle between those two screens to compare the uncalibrated result to the calibrated result. Hopefully that makes more sense and is worded better.

My calibration result is slightly more warm in color and slightly better. But the difference is very subtle. I think my Sony Bravia is fairly color accurate right out of the box. Nevertheless I chose to use the calibration because slightly better is still better.

I would be interested in what happens if you set the color of your TV to be very much off and then calibrate Apple TV.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would be interested in what happens if you set the color of your TV to be very much off and then calibrate Apple TV.

You should try it out. I have mine exactly where I want it so I don’t want to screw it up. Just remember to write down all of your color settings before you modify them and make them terrible for the test.

ETA: I’m starting to see a few people with older TVs and/or poorly calibrated TVs saying the ATV calibration substantially improved the color balance. I bet most people trying the ATV calibration have newer TVs that are already calibrated fairly well.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I took a look at The Crown and it is darkish but not too dark. Shadow and Bone is too dark.

I think anyone that thinks The Crown is too dark has the TV not set correctly.

No, my settings are really good. I think the problem I have with “The Crown” is that in season 4 there are many scenes inside dark rooms with the actors placed between the camera and brightly lit windows. With the camera facing the bright windows everything else tends to fade away into the dark. So it is likely more of a directorial issue than a Netflix issue. It makes me want to roll up a newspaper and smack the director on the nose like a puppy that just piddled on the floor.

[OtinG]

Having followed a few forum threads elsewhere on the ATV 4K calibration feature, it is painfully obvious that there is a huge amount of confusion over setting up TVs in general and over setting up an ATV 4K, at least as far as getting accurate color goes. Apple's menu system doesn't help either, and finding accurate information on how to set it up is not always easy. Add to that the huge amount of misinformation and incorrect assumptions, and many people are basically just confusing each other. As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does." It is both amusing and sad to read their confusion and frustration. It is like listening to a group of lemmings frantically trying to decide the best way to jump over the edge of a cliff en masse!

If you need or want some supplemental income, I bet you could make a lot of money hiring yourself out as a TV and device set up person. I used to laugh at companies charging for this, or rather customers paying for the set up service, but now I see why they do--they have a lot of confused customers who simply cannot set one up on their own.