According to a thread on Apple Discussions that dates back to almost two months ago (October 2nd) which has received hundreds of replies, new Apple TV owners are reporting serious color issues when using the device with Sony and Philips televisions. The problems vary from “inverted color” issues to “green colors” and “black screen”.

Users reporting the issues suggest this is a problem with the Apple TV, the HDMI cable and certain models of Sony and Philips TVs. Models mentioned in the thread include the Bravia KDL-37S500, Philips 32PFL7404H/12, Philips 56PFL9954H. The same models worked fine with the first generation Apple TV.

Apparently Apple has acknowledged the issue and engineers have contacted the users reporting about the problems asking for more details. Other forum posters confirm AppleCare support acknowledged the issues as well and assured a fix is “on the way”, although no specific timeframe was provided. Some replies from the discussion:

Same problem here, using a 9-month-old Philips LCD TV. I have updated the TV’s software, everything’s connected right, and still it happens - greeny-blue screen after about 30 minutes use. Sometimes it reverts to normal in a few seconds, sometimes not.

Green/magenta screen with two apple tv 2nd gen units. No problem with apple tv 1st gen on my phillips.

Same ‘Magenta World’ problem and complete color washout. Purchased the ATV2 last week connected to Philips 32PF9966 via HDMI cable. Changed cables without change.

I just had a couple of phone calls with Apple Care Support staff. Apple acknowledges the problem exists in combination with popular Sony and Philips TVs and engineers have started an investigation to this problem 2 weeks ago. Status is that they do not have a resolution to the problem yet, but believe it is caused by Apple TV software.

Here’s a screenshot of what seems to be the typical problem with most Philips televisions:

We have also embedded two videos showing the green / magenta color issues below. We speculate that Apple may include a software fix for this problem in the next Apple TV OS update, which is also expected to enable AirPlay for video functionality. Users in the Apple Discussions thread have suggested a variety of “fixes” to prevent the Apple TV from displaying inverted colors on various TVs, but no official solution has been provided so far.