Troubleshooting an AppleTV 4K with Murideo

I recently took a call from an integrator who has been having a hard time keeping a stable image on the display. His customer was understanding, but of course wanted the system to work without any hiccups.
 
The system is Apple TV 4k > Marantz AVR > Samsung QLED. The system is wired with an unknown brand of HDMI cables and has had stability issues over the last couple of weeks.
 
The integrator was on his way to the job site to troubleshoot the system and luckily brought his Murideo SIX-G/SIX-A combo to help out.

Before he started troubleshooting, I gave him a checklist of things to check (in order):

• Test each HDMI cable (check out our video on how to test cables with Murideo test equipment.) 

​A few things to note on the AppleTV 4K:

• Set the main output to 4k SDR, then turn on Dynamic Range and Frame Rate matching

Check for firmware updates on EVERYTHING. Is the image stable? If not, check out the steps below:

• Connect the SIX-A to the input of the TV (same input as if the system were up and running). Be sure that you have Deep Color (or UHD Color…whatever Samsung decided to call it that year) turned on for the input that you are using. Read the Samsung EDID to see what it is asking for. Take note of the EDID.
  
  
• Connect the SIX-A to the input of the Marantz (same input as if the system were up and running). Make sure it is in “Enhanced” format (this setting is usually the same from model to model https://manuals.marantz.com/nr1608/na/en/DRDZSYzvebvotm.php) Read the EDID of the Marantz. Take note of the EDID
  
  
• Plug the SIX-A into the TV (same input as if the system were up and running), then copy the EDID.
  
  
• Plug the output of the Marantz into the SIX-A (as if the SIX-A was the TV) Take a look at the SIX-A LCD screen…is the image stable?
  
  
• Reconnect the TV. Is the image stable?
  
  
• Plug the SIX-A into the Marantz (same input as if the system were up and running) and copy the EDID.
  
  
• Plug the output of the AppleTV into the SIX-A (as if it were the Marantz). Take a look at the SIX-A LCD screen…is the image stable?

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​The first thing I suggested was to test all the HDMI cables, and low and behold the HDMI cable that connected the AVR to the display failed the cable test. To fix the problem he replaced that cable and all the other cables in the system with Bullet Train HDMI cables. He stayed with the system for about 30 minutes and no longer experienced video dropouts. He told his customer to contact him with any other issues and he has not heard from his customer in over a month. The entire troubleshooting call was barely an hour long.

This situation is a perfect example of why integrators should have test equipment and why they should use reputable, known HDMI cables. Between the integrator, Murideo, and Bullet Train, the end user is happy AND the integrator didn’t have to spend hours troubleshooting the system. At the end of the day the job is to make sure the end user is happy with a system that not only works correctly, but also functions without issue. The final comment by the integrator was “Going forward we’re using Bullet Train cables exclusively”.

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For more information on Murideo test equipment visit www.Murideo.com

For more information on Bullet Train HDMI cables visit www.BulletTrainCables.com