Apple this week introduced the sixth-generation Apple TV, which comes with the A12 chip, a new Siri Remote, and an HDMI 2.1 port with support for higher refresh rates with HDR content. During the presentation, the company demonstrated a new feature to balance the colors of the Apple TV, but it turns out that this feature is also available for older Apple TV models.
Read on as we explain how to balance the colors of your Apple TV.
This feature is part of tvOS 14.5, which Apple says will be available for Apple TV HD (2015) and later “early next week.” The company describes this new option as a way to compensate for some TVs’ poor native color calibration, which isn’t always accurate. tvOS uses the iPhone’s sensors to adjust the colors displayed in the operating system, so you don’t have to manually adjust the colors on your TV.
Through an innovative color balance process, Apple TV works with the iPhone and its advanced sensors to improve the picture quality of a television. Apple TV uses the light sensor in the iPhone to compare color balance to the industry standard specifications used by cinematographers worldwide. Using this data, Apple TV automatically adjusts video output to deliver much more accurate colors and improved contrast – without customers ever having to adjust their television settings.
To get started, you must have an iPhone with Face ID and an Apple TV with the latest OS version: iOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5. It’s worth noting that color balancing is not available for TVs with Dolby Vision enabled, as the technology already offers its own color calibration profile.
Here’s the step-by-step guide:
- With your iPhone unlocked and nearby, open the Settings app on your Apple TV
- Go to the Video and Audio menu
- Click the Color Balance option
- Follow the instructions and place your iPhone in the center of your TV
Once the balancing process begins, Apple TV will display multiple colors detected by the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera sensors. tvOS reads the acquired color data and finds the best color setting for your television. At the end of the process, you can compare your TV’s original colors to the colors defined by tvOS Color Balance.
In my personal experience, I noticed that the colors became warmer and more natural after the calibration process with Apple TV and tvOS 14.5. However, keep in mind that these adjustments only apply to your Apple TV and not other media content on the television.
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