How to Use an iPhone to Calibrate Apple TV Colors
Apple TV 4K offers a cool feature where you can use your iPhone to calibrate the colors on your TV. With this feature promising to keep your TV looking as good as possible, you may be wondering how to use it.
This article will walk you through how to use your iPhone to calibrate the colors of your Apple TV.
How to Calibrate Your Apple TV With Your iPhone
Before getting started, there are some requirements you’ll need to meet. Your iPhone needs to be running iOS 14.5 or later, and your Apple TV needs tvOS 14.5 or later.
The iPhone you use needs to support Face ID (any iPhone X or later without a home button).
Also, Apple recommends that you put your TV in standard picture mode before attempting calibration. If Dolby Vision is on for the Apple TV, you’ll need to change the format to 4K HDR in Settings, although Dolby Vision is likely to provide better picture quality, so there’s really no need to calibrate.
If your gear meets the requirements and want to try calibrating your Apple TV with your iPhone, follow the steps below to do so.
Using the remote, go to the Settings app on your Apple TV. Click Video & Audio to open these special settings. Scroll down and click on Color Balance. You will then see a prompt to adjust the color balance on the screen.
It’s time to move on to your iPhone.
Unlock your iPhone (or lock and unlock again if you can’t see the prompt) to see the matching prompt on the screen. Tap Continue, then turn your iPhone’s screen so that it’s facing the TV screen.
When the frame appears on your TV screen, make sure you place your iPhone inside it. Color balance calibration will happen automatically, but hold your iPhone on the screen until it’s done.
Aim to place your iPhone within an inch of the TV screen.
Once you’re done, you can take your iPhone away.
Click View Result to see what the new image looks like. Apple TV will show you a sample image with and without calibration, so you can choose the version you prefer.
Click on Use Balanced to save the new settings or Use Original for the old ones.
What is color calibration?
Color calibration is the process of measuring the colors a screen produces and slightly adjusting them to meet predetermined standards. This ensures that the colors produced by the screen are as accurate as possible.
For example, your screen may appear white with a blue tint, but color calibration will fix this problem.
Typically, you’ll need to use traditional methods to calibrate a display. These include displaying color bars on the display and using your own eye to ensure that the screen is properly calibrated. or a small device you hold up to the screen that detects colors and automatically adjusts display settings.
The process of color calibration can be fairly straightforward with simple methods like color bars, but is often not as accurate as if done professionally. For this reason, many people may not have heard of calibrating their display before.
Does Apple TV Color Calibration Work?
After going through the process of color calibration, there is a noticeable difference between the original and the calibrated images. Of course, when deciding on picture settings for a display, it always comes down to personal preference.
However, when comparing the calibrated image to the picture when Dolby Vision is enabled, you’ll probably struggle to notice much of a difference. The calibrated image looks great if your TV doesn’t support Dolby Vision, but otherwise makes no difference.
Apple aims for perfect viewing every time
Packing in the calibration feature in the Apple TV helps ensure that users get a better image every time. With better-looking content coming from the Apple TV, those who have picked up the device will surely be happy.