NEWS: Strato K Movie Player with 8K capability and new "4K Cinematic" full-chroma & higher bitrate support

[todo]

Ok, good! I am powering my Strato S with a FARAD Super10, which made a huge difference, and finally brought the video quality up to ATV-X standards, perhaps a bit better.
I am curious to hear how the K compares to the Strato you had before, powered by a FARAD.

I am using FARAD for all my players except the Apple TV which is a Cinemike Apple TV.
The best sounding audio is from my el cheapo UOOGOS AMB 6Plus Chinese movie player.
The Strato V also sounded much better with the FARAD and I expect the K to sound as good also.
The video - I am told and have observed is unaffected if your projector is Digital such as a DLP - it makes a impact on analog projectors such as LCOS.

 

[Imakeller]

You guys spurred me to look into the FARAD Super 10. While intrigued, I think I am better off putting those funds toward another Terra since I sense a Strato K motivated storage crunch coming on!

 

[lujan]

For the Marantz AV 10, I believe it’s Video mode will need to be set to Bypass in order to pass 4:4:4. Otherwise, if not set to Bypass, it will convert the signal to 4:2:2 for 4K or 4:2:0 for 8K.

I still have a MadVR Envy mk1 which has an HDMI 2.0 input board (and HDMI 2.1 output). I expect it should work just fine with 4K 24Hz movies with 4:4:4, but probably not 60Hz movies (there are only 2 60Hz movies AFAIK so not worried about 60Hz movies).

I set my JVC DLA-RS3100 (NZ8) to use EDID B (HDMI 2.0). For some reason, I have trouble using its EDID A (HDMI 2.1). I suspect it’s due to the madVR’s HDMI 2.0 input board. I hope it’s not due to my HDMI cable (I haven’t had much reason to test its HDMI 2.1 function it in the past).

So; I think my equipment might be good for 4K 24Hz movies from Strato K, but whether or not I can actually tell the difference between a Strato C (what I have now) and a potential Strato K, I don’t know.

If you're referring to "Gemini Man" and "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk", I don't think K even offers those 2 in 60Hz.

 

[todo]

You guys spurred me to look into the FARAD Super 10. While intrigued, I think I am better off putting those funds toward another Terra since I sense a Strato K motivated storage crunch coming on!

I am using a FARAD Super 3 which has sufficient power for the V and the K - a better price point.
I encourage folks to get SSD based Terra s especially if they have 2 GBPS internet service - thats the way to go with a smaller Terra and leave the movies on the the cloud instead of trying to rat pack movies on hard drives.
There is never enough storage space if you go that route.

 

[Neighbor]

Seems like everybody's player is arriving late...

 

[LoveCinema]

If you're referring to "Gemini Man" and "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk", I don't think K even offers those 2 in 60Hz.

Gemini Man is 24fps on K. Billy Lynn in HDR is 60fps, the only title of its kind on K.

 

[Darthbishop79]

Mine arrives Monday…..hopefully

 

[Techthusiasm]

How ridiculous is this. Delivery today (which is already delayed from the original estimate) but last scan is still from way earlier this morning some 3 hours away from my home. It is already 12:30... I don't think it is happening unless somehow my delivery vehicle was dispatched to Michigan from Indiana directly. Ugh. I need this ASAP or my ability to do anything with it goes to zero for like the next 3 days.

We need a dedicated thread for bashing Fedex.

 

[lujan]

Gemini Man is 24fps on K. Billy Lynn in HDR is 60fps, the only title of its kind on K.

When checking the 4K disc size for Billy Lunn as compared to K, the disc size is significantly larger at 76Gb while on K, it's only at 58Gb. Don't know if this is due to extras or not.

 

[Trevor]

Some of my impressions from another board:

My Strato K got here yesterday. I had a concert last night (Primus!) so I've only bounced around a couple titles between disc, legacy Kaleidescape, and the new Cinematic encodes on the new Strato K. Admittedly, I started with compromised low-bandwidth disc titles (Bohemian Rhapsody, Avengers: Endgame, & Casino Royale's intro chase). Even Kaleidescape's legacy encodes murderize said discs. Beyond that, there is an obvious overall improvement from the legacy KScape encodes to the Cinematic versions. It's surely incremental and not unlikely to be revelatory to most people off the street. That said, if you're a videophile it's not subtle and I would bet in an A-B test between legacy KScape and "cinematic" you would likely be able to pick which is which. I'm going to stick to my guns on this one too. The deal is (IMO) it's going from "that looks great!" to "that looks incredible!" If I were to postulate, I really don't attribute much of the "incredible" to the chroma changes. It really just looks like a higher bitrate encode where the compression is having (near) zero issues. The image just seems to be super stable, and motion appears to be better resolved.

I hate writing all this subjective drivel because it's difficult to explain in an objective way. Kind of feels like hanging my butt out in the breeze and I usually like to be able to easily defend my position. You really need to see it to understand. If you haven't seen it...well...you probably should refrain from outright dismissal of it's technical merits as I've seen some attempt in some "enthusiast" circles.

 

[HighImpactAV]

This is very helpful, but, it contradicts MadVR’s own table here (pdf link) where it very clearly states that for the Core range, only the Core Mk II with premium pack can accept a 4:4:4 input.

It is showing the "Max resolutions and frame rates" in that chart. It then specifically shows 12-bit 4:2:2 4K60 which has a bandwidth of 17.82 Gbps. This is the maximum bandwidth that works with an HDMI 2.0 input.

You could use the following:
12-bit 4:4:4 4K24 with a bandwidth of 13.37 Gbps
8-bit 4:4:4 4K60 with a bandwidth of 17.82 Gbps

All the madVR products support 4:4:4 on their input. It is just that you can't exceed either a certain bitdepth or framerate so that the overall bandwidth stays under 18 Gbps on HDMI 2.0 products.

 

[JWort93]

When checking the 4K disc size for Billy Lunn as compared to K, the disc size is significantly larger at 76Gb while on K, it's only at 58Gb. Don't know if this is due to extras or not.

Movie on disc without the extras is ~72GB, so the K download is still quite a bit smaller. They both have the same number and type of audio tracks too, so that wouldn't account for the discrepancy either.

 

[Nonametofame]

How ridiculous is this. Delivery today (which is already delayed from the original estimate) but last scan is still from way earlier this morning some 3 hours away from my home. It is already 12:30... I don't think it is happening unless somehow my delivery vehicle was dispatched to Michigan from Indiana directly. Ugh. I need this ASAP or my ability to do anything with it goes to zero for like the next 3 days.

We need a dedicated thread for bashing Fedex.

View attachment 10535

Don't go by the delivery date estimate. Just check the tracking history. It will typically be delivered within a day or two when it's at your local hub.

 

[JohnA]

How ridiculous is this. Delivery today (which is already delayed from the original estimate) but last scan is still from way earlier this morning some 3 hours away from my home. It is already 12:30... I don't think it is happening unless somehow my delivery vehicle was dispatched to Michigan from Indiana directly. Ugh. I need this ASAP or my ability to do anything with it goes to zero for like the next 3 days.

We need a dedicated thread for bashing Fedex.

View attachment 10535

Thread creep. Don't get me started. First, FedEx's time in transit software is not very good. Secondly, it's based on what "should" happen with a package in their system, but unfortunately is not what often "actually" happens with a package in their system.

 

[Broncowrangler]

You really need to see it to understand. If you haven't seen it...well...you probably should refrain from outright dismissal of it's technical merits as I've seen some attempt in some "enthusiast" circles.

They (self proclaimed enthusiasts: some out here but many on another popular forum) complain about complacency regarding pushing the envelope on the home cinema front. But then quickly want to rain on the parade of any new developments. Happens everywhere. Much worse on automobile forums. These outbursts (interspersed with a generous dose of skepticism), only ends when they land the same product in their hands. Then you notice a massive 360 flip.

 

[txfeinbergs]

How ridiculous is this. Delivery today (which is already delayed from the original estimate) but last scan is still from way earlier this morning some 3 hours away from my home. It is already 12:30... I don't think it is happening unless somehow my delivery vehicle was dispatched to Michigan from Indiana directly. Ugh. I need this ASAP or my ability to do anything with it goes to zero for like the next 3 days.

We need a dedicated thread for bashing Fedex.

View attachment 10535

This is what happens when your deliveries align with the behemoths Prime Day event. They are using FedEx, USP, and their own trucks to delivery all the Chinese crap people are ordering.

 

[Juanramos1210]

I received mine and ran some scenes through it. The system I had before was the E and just got to the 60 day return window through best buy. They allowed me to return and I got the K. I am not A/B testing it because I no longer have the E but from what I remember it does appear sharper I have not had a full chance to try a lot. One interesting thing I did notice was chroma stays at 4:2:2 on the source but output will display 4:4:4 if I don’t run Dolby 4k cinematic it will on hdr.

 

[Imakeller]

This is what happens when your deliveries align with the behemoths Prime Day event. They are using FedEx, USP, and their own trucks to delivery all the Chinese crap people are ordering.

Ooooo, I forgot about Prime Day. That could be a factor. I think our Made in USA, in a solar powered factory, Strato K’s should get priority over everything except human organs heading for transplant!

 

[Sasquatch]

For those with OLEDs, confirmed with my Samsung S95D that 4:4:4 just works as longs as the HDMI Input is set to signal plus without bypassing the professional calibration. Note, that calibration on a Samsung works different than LG’s and isn’t stored as a default on the system board.

I plan to play around with my LG G4 and LG G5 after the kids go to bed tonight, but I’d assume it works the same as long as 4:4:4 pass through is enabled. Will report back after trying. I at least got all 3 K’s installed before it’s time to get the kids.

 

[Gui0312]

I received mine and ran some scenes through it. The system I had before was the E and just got to the 60 day return window through best buy. They allowed me to return and I got the K. I am not A/B testing it because I no longer have the E but from what I remember it does appear sharper I have not had a full chance to try a lot. One interesting thing I did notice was chroma stays at 4:2:2 on the source but output will display 4:4:4 if I don’t run Dolby 4k cinematic it will on hdr.

What display/PJ are using?