Apple recently announced that the Apple TV is getting a new iPhone-based color balance feature to improve the TV's picture quality. Below we'll show you how it all works.
Apple launched the sixth generation of Apple TV this week presented, which is equipped with the A12 chip, a new Siri Remote and an HDMI 2.1 port with support for higher refresh rates for HDR content. During the presentation, the company demonstrated a new function to balance the colors of the Apple TV. It later turned out that the feature is also available for older Apple TV models.
Color balance function under tvOS 14.5: Older devices are also taken into account
This feature is part of tvOS 14.5, which will be released soon for Apple TV HD (2015) and later. The company describes this new option as a way to compensate for the poor native color calibration of some TVs, which are not always accurate. tvOS uses the iPhone's sensors to adjust the colors displayed in the operating system so that users do not have to manually adjust the colors on their TV.
Through an innovative color balancing process, Apple TV works with iPhone and its advanced sensors to improve a TV's picture quality. Apple TV uses the light sensor in iPhone to compare color balance to industry-standard specifications used by filmmakers around the world. Using this data, Apple TV automatically adjusts its video output to deliver much more accurate color and contrast—without the customer ever having to adjust their TV settings.
The requirements for this are an iPhone with Face ID and an Apple TV with the latest version of the operating system - i.e. iOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5 or newer. But - there is an exception. Color matching is not available for TVs with Dolby Vision activated, as the technology already provides its own color calibration profile.
How to adjust the color balance on Apple TV
Now let's get to the promised step-by-step instructions. If your iPhone is unlocked and nearby, open the Settings app on your Apple TV. Now navigate to the Video and Audio menu. Then select Color Balance and follow the instructions on the TV. Once the process begins, the Apple TV will display several colors that are detected by the iPhone's TrueDepth camera sensors. tvOS reads the color data received and determines the best color setting for your TV. At the end of the process, you can compare the original colors of your TV with the colors defined by tvOS color matching. Initial reports have already shown that the colors actually appear warmer and more natural after the calibration process. (Photo by Unsplash / Li Lin)
