Strato V black screen and audio cutout issues

[steelman1991]

Yeah, but pressing "play" (or also "ok") should let the movie continue.

I hadn’t finished the post, hit the post reply button, got sidetracked and forgot to go back and edit. Thanks.

 

[bytebuster]

In my case I had to force a hdmi handshake for the menu to re appear or the screen stayed black

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Ok, not managed to watch as many films as I would have liked in the last two weeks as I was building a new custom media unit in the living room which ended up absorbing all my free time.

I’ve now swapped out both of the UGreen 3m HDMI 2.1 cables I had running from the Strato V to the Lumagen and then the Lumagen audio out to the Lyngdorf to RuiPro 8K HDMI 2.1 Gen/3C fibre cables. I also swapped the UGreen 5m HDMI 2.1 cable that was going from the Lumagen to the projector for video to my older 10m HDMI 1.3a Neet cable. Embarrassingly for current manufacturing standards the cable is about double the thickness and perfectly capable of pushing through 4K/60 despite never being designed for it because companies used to actually build good quality kit and use decent gauge wiring!

Anyway that aside I’ve only watched two films so far and had no dropouts yet but far too early to claim victory just yet but I hold out hope.

I’ve still got the 10m full fibre RuiPro cable with detachable ends waiting in the wings which at some point I’ll get in but I was quoted £500 to get the stretch ceiling fabric down and back up in two rooms so I can actually run a new cable which is 5x the cost of the cable to begin with!

There’s a few other bits I need to do like get an IR cable extension working with the Logitech Harmony so I’m not needing to use an RF IR emitter and maybe once that is all good to go, I’ll suck it up and pay the money for the ceiling. Also asked for a quote to put in some extra access hatches so I don’t have to pay again.

And before anyone asks yes I did try and remove it myself very unsuccessfully .

 

[joey_corleone]

I have a Strato E going into a Yamaha A4A and have seen complete audio drops while video continues 3 times now.

1) Twice on different plays of the same content. It was the Dolby TrueHD track from Led Zeppelin “The Song Remains The Same”

2) Another movie I don’t remember now that was the Atmos over TrueHD track

In both cases, a quick rewind fixes it and it’s an isolated incident that can not be repeated on command.

K support is all but useless so far.

Whats really frustrating is that we have all provided MORE than enough data to show this is clearly a K problem and they refuse to acknowledge it and give generic tshoot answers. I am going to stop stressing about it, but it’s very frustrating that a $3000 or $4000 player has these problems when a $100 Apple TV doesn’t. I guess this may never be fixed based on the lack of decent response from K to anybody I know of. Sucks.

Has anyone here experienced this and actually fixed it on your own. If so, how? The community wants to hear from you because we’re all on our own here it seems.

 

[cinelife]

I have a Strato E going into a Yamaha A4A and have seen complete audio drops while video continues 3 times now.

1) Twice on different plays of the same content. It was the Dolby TrueHD track from Led Zeppelin “The Song Remains The Same”

2) Another movie I don’t remember now that was the Atmos over TrueHD track

In both cases, a quick rewind fixes it and it’s an isolated incident that can not be repeated on command.

K support is all but useless so far.

Whats really frustrating is that we have all provided MORE than enough data to show this is clearly a K problem and they refuse to acknowledge it and give generic tshoot answers. I am going to stop stressing about it, but it’s very frustrating that a $3000 or $4000 player has these problems when a $100 Apple TV doesn’t. I guess this may never be fixed based on the lack of decent response from K to anybody I know of. Sucks.

Has anyone here experienced this and actually fixed it on your own. If so, how? The community wants to hear from you because we’re all on our own here it seems.

Did K Support ask you to bypass the Yamaha and go straight into a display? (Obviously can't test an audio drop with a projector setup, but it would be good to test that on a TV if you have one.)

Jim

 

[joey_corleone]

Did K Support ask you to bypass the Yamaha and go straight into a display? (Obviously can't test an audio drop with a projector setup, but it would be good to test that on a TV if you have one.)

Jim

Yeah, makes no sense. Sure I could do that and use eARC but naw…This is clearly isolated by me and other users to being the Strato player.

If it was the AVR we would see these dropouts from other sources. Also, what, multiple AVR’s from all these reputable brands all have the same problem? I don’t think so. It’s common sense. Since K claims to have the same audio tracks provided by the studio, the fact that bitstreaming the same Dolby TrueHD track to the same AVR never results in a dropout when done from a different source, I call BS.

Support these days for tech stuff is not what it used to be, It’s not just K to be fair, but it’s tiring when they all play the same generic support or blame games.

A lot of us are experienced technology enthusiasts or professionals that know what’s going on. It’s not my HDMI cables and I really doubt it’s my AVR either. Anything past that in my chain, like for instance a MadVR Envy or projector makes no difference at all, as the audio is terminated at the AVR.

We can all sit here and complain all day, and theorize, but the fact is from where I’m sitting this is a known K issue that they won’t acknowledge. People can theorize and tinker around with these non solutions but it’s not going to fix it. K needs to own it. I don’t expect they will, so at the end of the day we need to decide if it’s a deal breaker or not, because if it ever does get fixed it will be behind the scenes in some update.

Sorry if I sound negative but I’m sick of doing regression testing and having K take no ownership for these problems and constantly blaming everything except themselves. We’re on page 34 of this now, since August, 2024 and there are no actual answers or acknowledgment from K, just the same crap.

 

[SJHT]

I would maybe try what he suggests if easy. It at least gives you additional information. Also, most other devices (eg ATV) are not feeding the full 4K video and high res audio signals that comes from a Strato player.

 

[joey_corleone]

I would maybe try what he suggests if easy. It at least gives you additional information. Also, most other devices (eg ATV) are not feeding the full 4K video and high res audio signals that comes from a Strato player.

My Zidoo Z2000 Pro does. It plays all my full uncompressed 4k UHD rips with lossless audio bitstreamed without these dropouts. Same resolutions, same color space. Also The Song Remains The Same is just HD, so it’s not like I’m stressing the link here

 

[DieZwei]

I’ve still got the 10m full fibre RuiPro cable with detachable ends waiting in the wings which at some point I’ll get in but I was quoted £500 to get the stretch ceiling fabric down and back up in two rooms so I can actually run a new cable which is 5x the cost of the cable to begin with!

That´s why we always use Keder-based fabric frames: easy to put up and can be easily removed by anybody.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

The problem is, not everyone has the issue, the previous Strato C also had the issue but had the ability to strip the audio directly from the unit with a second HDMI which fixed it.

Certain combinations of hardware, including HDMI cables for whatever reason mess it all up.

Loads people use Kodi based system and up until fairly recently the code had a fatal flaw which caused repeatedly audio dropouts with high bitrate TrueHD/Atmos audio so these things happen.

The Trinnov still has issues with audio lock where it drops but my Lyngdorf works perfectly fine. There is so much fuckery which can happen now with HDMI and things not even directly in the chain which can impact others.

I can understand their thinking in saying try it connected directly to a display because they are trying to mitigate there being a specific hardware issue where it drops no matter what. However I also agree it doesn’t really resolve the issue of it dropping on a number of different systems which is surely something to do with the HDMI code/implementation.

JVC also had issues with the NZ range HDMI initially which they fixed (but also broke systems which had been working) so clearly it’s something which can be changed.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

That´s why we always use Keder-based fabric frames: easy to put up and can be easily removed by anybody.

Presumably that is a lot more work/cost though if you’ve got to sew it to the fabric?

Unfortunately I was working when they installed the fabric otherwise I would have watched how they got it in/out as I’m sure it’s not difficult once you know the technique and have the right tool but the palette knife was good for opening the track but not getting under the fabric to pull it out.

It’s Barrisol fabric which has no instructions because it’s installer only otherwise I’d have pulled it down and put the cable through already and going direct to Barrisol the quote was 2x the installer! Given the cost of the ceiling itself, it’s not worth risking ruining it for the sake of £500 unless someone has a foolproof way of getting it out of the plastic track .

 

[DieZwei]

Presumably that is a lot more work/cost though if you’ve got to sew it to the fabric?

Yes, but that would be less than the £500 you now pay to get it down and up again. Plus, the initial installation is much quicker. Plus, you don´t run the risk of damaging the fabric pulling it out.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Yes, but that would be less than the £500 you now pay to get it down and up again. Plus, the initial installation is much quicker. Plus, you don´t run the risk of damaging the fabric pulling it out.

Well it’s too late for that now unless you want to come and retrofit . Who actually does the sewing/cutting then?

I know for mine they just came onsite with a roll and fit and cut at the same time so it seemed like the quickest thing for them. They are always installing so I think they’d rather be using their time for new projects than just getting paid day rate to come and sit around at mine while I run new wires.

Really I should have run some conduit through and along the top of the walls and not packed the holes so tight but I was obsessed with making the room airtight and insulating the walls properly which is going to cost me dearly.

 

[DieZwei]

Well it’s too late for that now unless you want to come and retrofit . Who actually does the sewing/cutting then?

Happy to help. The frames incl. sewing/cutting is done by a 3rd party. We provide the plans.
Sure, it´s a bit work upfront, but as mentioned, reduces installation time on-site and they can be easily removed and attached by the client.
We even have clients who have different sets of fabric/motif/ornaments for different occasions (events, seasons, etc.).
If you know, you´re never ever gonna touch the fabric again, then the other method is a cost-effecient choice for sure.

 

[joey_corleone]

In case anyone else is trying to get any actual help from K on this, don’t bother. Here is their generic script

- Nothing could possibly be our problem. It’s your AVR, or your processor, or your projector, or your literally anything else they can blame. Strato goes directly to an AVR which extracts the audio. Anything else upstream is irrelevant for audio only problems. It’s either the Strato or the AVR, it’s commons sense

- Must be HDCP - Again, just lazy poor tshoot. If it was HDCP the video would go black.

- “work with your dealer”

Great, so unless you want to hook your strato directly to a TV, which defeats the entire purpose of having it in a dedicated theater room, there is nothing they will even look at, and they will not acknowledge the problem. I get trying to isolate it but come on man.

Oh well, maybe when I replace my Yamaha with an Anthem it will go away. If you all are expecting any actual tshoot from support or anyone being actually helpful, you are going to be sorely disappointed

 

[thrillcat]

One thing to keep in mind with HDMI is that it's a multi-directional system and if a device is connected it can cause problems even if it's not selected in the current setup, even if it's not powered on. I solved my dropout issues with K by changing a setting in my AppleTV.

So when they ask to connect directly to a TV, it's literally a troubleshooting step, not a long-term solution. You have to figure out which devices don't like each other before you can really troubleshoot.

 

[joey_corleone]

One thing to keep in mind with HDMI is that it's a multi-directional system and if a device is connected it can cause problems even if it's not selected in the current setup, even if it's not powered on. I solved my dropout issues with K by changing a setting in my AppleTV.

So when they ask to connect directly to a TV, it's literally a troubleshooting step, not a long-term solution. You have to figure out which devices don't like each other before you can really troubleshoot.

Hey - I have an Apple TV as well. Please share what problem you had and what you changed to address it?

I do have CEC 100% disabled everywhere. My Apple TV is always on per the control4 installer. It is setup for 4k/59.94 SDR with match dynamic range and match frame rate and 4:4:4.

 

[thrillcat]

Hey - I have an Apple TV as well. Please share what problem you had and what you changed to address it?

I do have CEC 100% disabled everywhere. My Apple TV is always on per the control4 installer. It is setup for 4k/59.94 SDR with match dynamic range and match frame rate and 4:4:4.

I don't exactly remember, it was something to do with network activity waking up the AppleTV, which would then blip the HDMI and blow up the whole system. Perhaps checking for updates...

 

[RedFire]

If the Strato V has an issue by design, we might find out in a couple of months. There's a company in Germany that is specialized in modifying / optimizing electronic equipment ("CineMike") and they told me recently that they will soon have the Strato V on their workbench... I'll keep you guys posted on this if this is of any interest.

 

[DieZwei]

- Nothing could possibly be our problem. It’s your AVR, or your processor, or your projector, or your literally anything else they can blame. Strato goes directly to an AVR which extracts the audio. Anything else upstream is irrelevant for audio only problems. It’s either the Strato or the AVR, it’s commons sense

With HDMI, it´s always the whole chain. You can´t say "oh, this is audio only and audio transmission stops at the AVR". If there are any issues in the chain, regardlesss where, it can have an impact on the whole chain.
It´s a PITA, but it is what it is...