Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after seeding the second tvOS 11.2 update and two weeks after the launch of the tvOS 11.1.
Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models, the tvOS 11.2 developer beta can be downloaded onto the Apple TV via a profile that's installed using Xcode.
According to Apple's release notes, the tvOS 11.2 update enables a new AVDisplayManager feature for developers, designed to allow the device to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content.
The update includes support for switching the Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR and it re-introduces the Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos.
Apple says tvOS 11.2 also adds new features, bug fixes, and security improvements to the tvOS operating system.
Update: Today's tvOS 11.2 beta has also been provided to public beta testers.
Top Rated Comments
If you have an SDR display, this wouldn’t affect you. The AppleTV will always display SDR since it knows your display isn’t HDR capable.
[doublepost=1510617146][/doublepost]In this case, the AppleTV wouldn’t attempt to display HDR since it will know the display is SDR (not HDR capable). It determines this during the HDMI “handshake”.
The problem is the opposite direction - trying to remap SDR content as HDR. I think the AppleTV does a poor job of this. My Sony TV has a built-in setting called “Live Color”, which does a slightly more respectable job of simulating an expanded dynamic range.
Glad that Apple is now giving us the option. I prefer to watch content in the native format, with a minimum of processing.