Strato V black screen and audio cutout issues

[cinelife]

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.

Hopefully they are aware of K's Service and License Agreement (SLA) regarding modifying or back-engineering any K product. K is very protective of its IP, and efforts to circumvent functional requirements built into their products because of contract and licensing agreements with various entities. If they detect, or are made aware of, any changes to a product, they may exercise their rights as noted in the SLA.

Jim

 

[RedFire]

Good point. I'll let them know.

 

[rafaelsmith]

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.

Except when they know your display device is a projector (WITH NO AUDIO capability) and they still ask you to connect the V straight to the projector to somehow test audio dropout.......then you know its a canned response.

 

[thrillcat]

Except when they know your display device is a projector (WITH NO AUDIO capability) and they still ask you to connect the V straight to the projector to somehow test audio dropout.......then you know its a canned response.

No, it’s still eliminating all other HDMI devices from the equation.

 

[dinom]

No, it’s still eliminating all other HDMI devices from the equation.

Without audio how would one know that the audio drop issue exists or not when connecting directly to the projector? I agree this doesn’t make sense.

 

[thrillcat]

Without audio how would one know that the audio drop issue exists or not when connecting directly to the projector? I agree this doesn’t make sense.

This is exactly why they are asking to connect the device directly to a TV instead of another projector.

 

[rafaelsmith]

While attempting to debug this, even thou I was 99.9% sure the issue is with the V... I went as far as disconnecting all the other devices...Apple TV, ZIdoo...so its just the V, AVR and projector. Nothing else connected that might add any HDMI issues.

And in my case the guy never said to connect to another TV...or even asked if I had another TV....Just said to connect directly to the existing display device..at which point I just kinda gave up. Pretty sure he was convinced it was the Marantz causing the issue....after being convinced it was my cables, ... ...

 

[thrillcat]

I'm not suggesting these devices aren't causing the issues. But there is a massive number of HDMI devices on the "Doesn't Play Nicely With..." list and the first step should be identifying what other device is conflicting with this one. That happens by disconnecting everything else from the system and testing, adding one thing back at a time, using different cables, etc.

Very rarely does a device just cause problems. It's almost always due to an interaction with another device in the system or a cable.

 

[cinelife]

Except when they know your display device is a projector (WITH NO AUDIO capability) and they still ask you to connect the V straight to the projector to somehow test audio dropout.......then you know its a canned response.

Not a canned response, and not what they would ask someone to do unless they were also testing video drops. If someone at K support told you to connect directly to a projector to test audio, please DM me their name.

Jim

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I did have someone suggest trying to connect directly to the projector to check the signal was stable, not specifically the audio but how you would know when there is no audio and the picture has always be fine I don’t know!

I don’t want to throw anyone under the bus but I think the point is probably more that people don’t feel like the support is particularly helpful with the issue which I’d probably agree with as I’m doing all the troubleshooting myself. However I don’t know how much more useful they can be if they aren’t seeing any drops from any of the Strato V logs. Although I will say when I’ve asked about specific times nobody has actually said they’d checked and not seen it.

Given all the HDMI issues I’ve had/seen before with other things I’m not putting it past another Android based device being the issue given the platform itself didn’t have proper CEC implementation until recently and I also wouldn’t be surprised if Apple haven’t got it perfect given they don’t really care about non-Apple devices.

A lot of these devices even in standby still have some signal on the HDMI chain, coupled with a bad CEC implementation can cause havoc so they are between a rock and a hard place. Maybe a better workflow is needed rather than suggesting using a direct connection to a display, especially when for most that would mean the audio isn’t being bitstreamed in its original format anymore. I don’t think anyone is suggesting the units are faulty to need to do that step, all we can say with certainty is the Strato is having audio drops when multiple others are fine, so clearly it’s doing something different.

 

[joey_corleone]

I think it’s reasonable to assume that the vast majority of K installs are in fairly high end home theater systems that have AVRs, audio and video processors, projectors, other sources, etc. If the thing is unreliable unless it’s the only thing plugged into an OLED in a vacuum that’s going to be a problem for people. R&D and engineering should be testing in the environments most customers have

I love my Kaleidescape system, absolutely love it. But look, when this is a $20,000 investment I guess I expect more. Rock solid reliability, and if I do have a rare blip I expect better support and tshoot than plug it into a TV and there is nothing we can do.

Rant over. I hope at some point it stops happening. But, alas, it appears it is solely on ME to find out why it happens, troubleshoot, and process of elimination, and I guess that’s what is disappointing.

They talk about all these big shots having K like Martin Scorsese. What does he do when audio blips lol

 

[SJHT]

I would think there are many people (like myself) with complex theater setups that also have simpler zones with pretty basic K setups…

 

[Broncowrangler]

While attempting to debug this, even thou I was 99.9% sure the issue is with the V... I went as far as disconnecting all the other devices...Apple TV, ZIdoo...so its just the V, AVR and projector. Nothing else connected that might add any HDMI issues.

And in my case the guy never said to connect to another TV...or even asked if I had another TV....Just said to connect directly to the existing display device..at which point I just kinda gave up. Pretty sure he was convinced it was the Marantz causing the issue....after being convinced it was my cables, ... ...

Well (being an early adopter of the V - Jul 2024), I’ve virtually given up trying to fix the audio/video cutouts. I was out of the country for an extended period of time (work related) and have been trying to catch up with some new titles on K. Unfortunately the occasional cutouts/drops still persist. My system has the latest Update installed.

The anomalies on the V were attributed to my display, my processor, various Hdmi cables at my disposal, power conditioner, power supply and eventually the neighbor’s cat.

Like I mentioned on another thread, over time I got immune to the idiosyncratic nature of this system.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I’ve not had any dropouts since switching the main hdmi cable to the older and longer HDMI 1.3a cable (does 4k/60 fine) from Lumagen to projector and all the HDMI cables between Strato V and Lyngdorf to RuiPro fibre cables. I’ve only managed to watch 3 films since swapping around though so far too early to say it’s fixed but no dropouts yet.

Essentially I’ve removed all the UGreen HDMI 2.1 cables and at some point I’ll get the RuiPro full fibre cable through the wall if the current change doesn’t work. Probably just run it under the door initially so I don’t have to pay the £500 to get the fabric ceiling down in both rooms.

 

[SJHT]

I know this is all probably crazy, but I’ve had occasional audio dropouts with my setup for years with my Strato C. Also have a Trinnov Alt32, Lumagen 5348 and a JVC RS4100. I’ve replaced all cables with 3M bullet train. Completely cleaned up and changed my equipment rack to separate audio/video from power cables. Making sure to not coil HDMI cables but doing long sweeps. For some reason with my latest changes, audio dropouts are completely gone. Not sure what did it and ridiculous that things are this complicated! Latest changes included replacing Strato C with V. V has a newer updated HDMI board. Lumagen is my major source switcher. First changed the Lumagen to use the latest HDMI output chipset code (they allow to keep the original or use the latest). Changed the audio from the Lumagen to output the same exact video that it was sending to my projector. Normally the audio only output does 720p. I also put a dummy HDMI plug as the output from my Trinnov so it thinks it is connecting to a display. Who knows what did it. Every thing is working so good at this point and I’m now going to swap out my Lumagen 5348 for the new Artisan when it is released. I’m hoping I’m not cursing myself!

 

[Broncowrangler]

I’ve not had any dropouts since switching the main hdmi cable to the older and longer HDMI 1.3a cable (does 4k/60 fine) from Lumagen to projector and all the HDMI cables between Strato V and Lyngdorf to RuiPro fibre cables. I’ve only managed to watch 3 films since swapping around though so far too early to say it’s fixed but no dropouts yet.

Essentially I’ve removed all the UGreen HDMI 2.1 cables and at some point I’ll get the RuiPro full fibre cable through the wall if the current change doesn’t work. Probably just run it under the door initially so I don’t have to pay the £500 to get the fabric ceiling down in both rooms.

Can you please let me know the details of the Ruipro fibre cables which you have. I was checking Amazon and there are so many different options out there. Appreciate it.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Can you please let me know the details of the Ruipro fibre cables which you have. I was checking Amazon and there are so many different options out there. Appreciate it.

The two I’ve put in are the bright green/turquoise ones 8K HDMI 2.1 Gen3/C, there’s also the black version which is CL2 rated (in-wall fire rated) but it’s double the price and mine aren’t in a wall. Those ones are hybrid fibre and copper whereas the longer one I got to go through the wall is the full fibre, thin black cable with detachable ends and for the length isn’t a lot more but the shorter lengths are a lot.

Negative of the full fibre is it needs 5V USB power on the display end but I haven’t crossed that road yet.

I did watch Inception on the Zidoo over the weekend and it dropped audio early on in the film and then was fine which is the first time I can remember that happening but I was playing demo clips before which may have factored but will keep monitoring all devices!

 

[rafaelsmith]

While the audio dropouts have gotten less frequent...I am now getting some that are not just 1-2 seconds but full on loss of audio...only way to fix is to exit and resume. Happened when I was playing one of my demo scenes (race from Ready Player One)...a scene I have played god knows how many times without issue. Tried replaying that scene probably 10 times and could not reproduce. AVR did not indicate anything...it still thought it was receiving a ATMOS signal. Nothing in terms of device chain/cables has changed. Strato V->AVR(using cable included with Strato) -> JVC (using Infinite Cables AOC 2.1).

 

[joey_corleone]

While the audio dropouts have gotten less frequent...I am now getting some that are not just 1-2 seconds but full on loss of audio...only way to fix is to exit and resume. Happened when I was playing one of my demo scenes (race from Ready Player One)...a scene I have played god knows how many times without issue. Tried replaying that scene probably 10 times and could not reproduce. AVR did not indicate anything...it still thought it was receiving a ATMOS signal. Nothing in terms of device chain/cables has changed. Strato V->AVR(using cable included with Strato) -> JVC (using Infinite Cables AOC 2.1).

Good luck. They are never going to acknowledge a problem on their end, let alone fix it.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Ok a few more movies and no audio dropouts yet. Along with the HDMI cable changes, I’ve also updated my Lumagen, the Lyngdorf processor which supposedly had some HDMI changes and the Kaleidescape has been updated so if it is fixed working out what did it would be nigh on impossible.

I did have one movie have some kind of read issue though and have issues playing until I quit out which was far worse so hopefully not a new issue!