AppleTV connection to Samsung TV issues

New AppleTV box and 2023 Samsung QLED. I run a Denon receiver where the AppleTV is connected. HDMI out to Samsung. Apple remote turns on and off the Denon but it will not turn on the Samsung. It will turn off the Samsung screen for a few seconds but the the Samsung seems to restart complaining it has lost its connection and asking what connection I want now. It just won’t power down unless I use the Samsung remote. I did use the “check your hdmi connection to your tv” feature in the AppleTV settings and it says the connection is good. I tried calling Samsung support but all I got was some lame excuse that 3rd party remote devices “ can be unreliable” and I should stick to using their remote. Much muttering under my breath about Samsung support. I have looked at lots of earlier posts about Samsung TV connection problems but none seem to cover this situation.