Disable Match Content for DVR recordings?

Is there a way to disable the Apple TV’s Match Content feature for DVR recordings like you can with live TV?

With Match Content enabled on the Apple TV the video output is forced to 8 bit YCbCr 4:4:4 for DVR playback regardless of the video configuration on the device.

It isn’t a huge deal, but it introduces an unnecessary SDR to SDR format change and the associated delay.

I know that YCbCr 4:4:4 is the “best” format, but it’s not too unusual for it to be problematic for downstream components (AVRs, TVs, HDMI cables).

Thanks!

Ahhh that's why the format change happens for me all the time and I have to set it to 4:4:4 to prevent it. @tmm1 isn't this a channels bug? Plex only changes formats when the content is HDR. I can play the same show in Plex that Channels recorded and the mode does not change.

I experience this bug too. If the Apple TV is set to 4:2:0 as default, Channels always attempts a format switch regardless of the default frame rate or whether the content is HDR/SDR. I have to set the Apple TV to 4:4:4 to avoid this. But 4:4:4 is a bit flaky on the Apple TV and I'd rather have it set to 4:2:0 as default.

I have my Apple TV set to 4:2:0 and I don’t get content switching with my tv with regular live tv or recordings. Am I missing something?

If it helps, here is a quick video showing what I'm seeing here:

When Chroma is set to 4:2:2 there is a delay (black screen) after starting a DVR recording and when exiting the recording. When set to 4:4:4 the delay is gone. The improvement is pretty significant, especially when exiting a recording and going back to the menu.

This assumes the ATV is setup using 4K SDR as the default format with "Match Content" turned on. Transcoding on the DVR has to be disabled as this doesn't happen if the DVR recording is being transcoded.

My AVR confirms that the video output is changing from YCbCr 4:2:0 to YCbCr 4:4:4 when starting video playback.

Thanks!

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So I just got a new appletv 4k and it does not behave the same way. I thought it did but I didn't realize that I had it in 4k HDR mode. So the switching was warranted I believe becuase the content was not HDR obviously. I put it in SDR mode and the issue went away. This is only on my new ATV that I just got. My old appletv 4k behaved the same way @turtletank describes.

The crazy thing is that while it was in hdr mode (on new ATV 4K) with mode matching, I was getting frame drops while using the expiramental video driver. Especially with ATSC 3.0 content. When I put it in SDR mode where the mode doesn't switch it works perfect.

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Interesting.
Unfortunately for me I recorded the example video I posted earlier on the new version of the AppleTV 4K. So at least in my setup the new hardware doesn't fix the issue.

I dug into this a bit further and it seems to only be an issue with 1080i (interlaced) content. There is no video mode switch when playing back a 720p broadcast TV file. I don't have a comparable 1080p mpeg 2 file with the same frame rate (is 1080p mpeg 2 even a thing?) so I can't easily isolate if the issue is related to video resolution or interlaced vs progressive video.

If I set "Match Content for Live TV" to "On" in the Channels app the video mode switch happens on 1080i broadcast channels and doesn't happen on 720p broadcast channels.

Here is a 15 second test file taken from a recording that I'm seeing the video switch on (1080i ATSC OTA broadcast TV):

Test File

Thanks!

My setup:

  • Apple TV 4K (1st gen)
  • Format: 4K SDR 50Hz
  • Chroma: 4:4:4
  • Match Content: Frame rate and range
  • In Channels: Match Content for Live TV is enabled

With these settings, in Channels I don't get any mode switches when trying to watch a 50Hz channel. If I switch Chroma to 4:2:0, I do get mode switches on 50Hz channels, even though there shouldn't be a need. All my channels are 1080i or 576i, so I can't test the theory that 720p channels aren't affected.

Why not just leave Chroma set to 4:4:4? I do, but it causes occasional sync failures during mode switches (and the failures increase slightly if using the experimental video driver in Channels). I think the sync failures are primarily caused by my very nice-sounding but very flaky Samsung Dolby Atmos sound bar, which the Apple TV must be routed through because my TV doesn't support eARC. Sync failures are extremely rare when setting Chroma to 4:2:0.

No other app I use except for Channels causes unnecessary mode switches when Chroma is set to 4:2:0.

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