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

[Broncowrangler]

I had yet to see any 4:4:4 content (and I've been looking) but all the 4K_C content I've watched so far has been DV outside of Bohemian Rhapsody (HDR10). Not surprising that DV has all been 4:2:2 (which is still a great combo) but in the interest of looking into how my Sony Bravia 9 II might react when fed 4:4:4 content I downloaded Sinners in SDR. I figured maybe SDR would the land of 4:4:4 but no...Sinners 4K_C in SDR is still 4:2:2. Has anyone found any 4:4:4 content in the store?

BTW...I'm expecting my Sony to present an awesome picture when fed 4:4:4 content...just like 4:2:2...just like 4:2:0. I would think those of us with a Strato K directly feeding a modern flat panel should have the least worries of all Strato K owners.

Some more Cinematic HDR10 titles I found (there might be more): Sicario, Shelter, The Greatest Showman, The Gentlemen.

 

[Sixtus Beckmesser]

Given that Tayloe Stansbury has admitted that 2001 is his favourite film, where is the 4K Cinematic version. I will accept straight to 8K as an acceptable apology.

 

[NCCatLady]

This is just what I want to read. I too have a Sony 7000. And, what you're saying means I will have to contact my financial advisor, who will undoubtedly suck a lot of air in through his teeth. I will have to explain that unless I have one of these, my brain will explode, and that will be the end of his fees.

LMAO! I totally understand and can relate. After you've integrated the K into your environment, determine which movie you believe shows off your system the best, then invite your financial advisor over to watch!

 

[JWort93]

I had yet to see any 4:4:4 content (and I've been looking) but all the 4K_C content I've watched so far has been DV outside of Bohemian Rhapsody (HDR10). Not surprising that DV has all been 4:2:2 (which is still a great combo) but in the interest of looking into how my Sony Bravia 9 II might react when fed 4:4:4 content I downloaded Sinners in SDR. I figured maybe SDR would the land of 4:4:4 but no...Sinners 4K_C in SDR is still 4:2:2. Has anyone found any 4:4:4 content in the store?

BTW...I'm expecting my Sony to present an awesome picture when fed 4:4:4 content...just like 4:2:2...just like 4:2:0. I would think those of us with a Strato K directly feeding a modern flat panel should have the least worries of all Strato K owners.

Argo in SDR 4K Cinematic is 4:4:4. I only noticed because I think there’s a UI bug at the moment, where in the movie page, on the onscreen UI, instead of “Play Movie” it says something like “Play in 4KCin SDR 4:4:4/8k full bandwidth” lol. I then confirmed with the web ui output details page that it was in fact native 4:4:4.

 

[Patricio]

Some more Cinematic HDR10 titles I found (there might be more): Sicario, Shelter, The Greatest Showman, The Gentlemen.

I thought I read that 4k cinematic DV would work as 4k cinematic hdr10 on projectors that don’t have DV? Is that not the case?

 

[richmondthefish]

DCI-compliant Digital Cinema Packages do not use chroma subsampling and the content is 4:4:4. Some of you may remember when Kaleidescape announced in 2024 that they were expanding into cinema: Kaleidescape Announces Alternative Content Delivery Platform for Cinema.

One of my local theaters uses a Kaleidescape system. I wonder if some of the impetus behind the Strato K and Cinematic content is based on Kaleidescape's relationship with the studios and theaters.

Speaking of DCP I'd be curious as to where the new Strato K Cinematic files stack up against DCP JPEG 2000 in real world. The way people describe the Cinematic files with motion improvement, details its almost like it retains a lot of the DCP attributes. Not saying to the same level of fidelity of that but something much closer than what we had before with Disc or legacy Kaleidescape media.

 

[Broncowrangler]

I thought I read that 4k cinematic DV would work as 4k cinematic hdr10 on projectors that don’t have DV? Is that not the case?

That’s correct. However these particular titles were exclusively graded in Cinematic HDR10. There is no Cinematic DoVi encoding available for them…on the K that is.

 

[Trevor]

Argo in SDR 4K Cinematic is 4:4:4. I only noticed because I think there’s a UI bug at the moment, where in the movie page, on the onscreen UI, instead of “Play Movie” it says something like “Play in 4KCin SDR 4:4:4/8k full bandwidth” lol. I then confirmed with the web ui output details page that it was in fact native 4:4:4.

Boom!

Spoiler

As expected, it looks like a killer SDR grade. No issues with playback.

Same deal here with the weird play message though.

 

[cardsdoc]

I thought I read that 4k cinematic DV would work as 4k cinematic hdr10 on projectors that don’t have DV? Is that not the case?

The Strato K can convert DV to HDR10 just like the V/E/M although there have been some issues with that conversion that they are trying to iron out. So if you have a non-DV display the HDR version is better. Initially K-scape said if there was a Cinematic DV version there would not be a separate HDR version like they do for standard 4K. However see quote below from MikeKobb. There now will be for some titles.

"In addition to this, I have some other news to share. We've been evaluating the availability of mezzanine files with 4:4:4 chroma information, and happily that evaluation shows that they're very broadly available. This has driven a decision to offer 4K Cinematic HDR10 in addition to 4K Cinematic SDR and 4K Cinematic Dolby Vision for movies that have 4:4:4 mezzanine files. Strato K is able to play 4K Dolby Vision with 4:2:2 color, so adding 4K Cinematic HDR10 as well will allow us to deliver 4:4:4 color with HDR for displays that can support it. We won't do HDR10 versions of 4K Cinematic if the mezzanine files are 4:2:2, because then there's no material benefit compared to converting the Dolby Vision file during playback.

So to summarize: 4K Cinematic SDR and 4K Cinematic HDR10 will support up to 4:4:4, and 4K Cinematic Dolby Vision will support 4:2:2. You'll see those HDR10 additions begin to become available soon."

 

[Broncowrangler]

10-4

 

[lujan]

According to the "My Movies" section of the store and doing the filter for Cinematic, I already have 85 4K Cinematic movies.

 

[artur9]

... I'm planning on buying the Co-Star...I'm not sure how that would play with another device to strip out the audio to send to the Krell.

There's also the HDMI Switcher that Krell makes (made?):

https://www.audio-reference.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Krell_HDMI_Switcher_Owners_Ref_Foundation.pdf

 

[Broncowrangler]

According to the "My Movies" section of the store and doing the filter for Cinematic, I already have 85 4K Cinematic movies.

I was at 122 before the K, currently at 131 (mini binge after the K arrived) and counting…

 

[Broncowrangler]

I didn’t realize Sandlot was available in C-DV on the movie store. I probably must have glossed over that iconic title while scrolling through the available cinematic content. Luckily I had purchased this earlier on the V, so i ported it over instantly on the K. Had a blast revisiting one of my all time favorites in 4k cinematic. It looked pristine with a nice healthy layer of film grain. The atmos track showed its presence, when called upon.

 

[raz77]

Will the stores around the world get upgraded. I noticed the Batman is in cinematic format on US store but not UK. This is also the same for Interstellar. I am sure there are many more titles.

 

[Patricio]

The Strato K can convert DV to HDR10 just like the V/E/M although there have been some issues with that conversion that they are trying to iron out. So if you have a non-DV display the HDR version is better. Initially K-scape said if there was a Cinematic DV version there would not be a separate HDR version like they do for standard 4K. However see quote below from MikeKobb. There now will be for some titles.

"In addition to this, I have some other news to share. We've been evaluating the availability of mezzanine files with 4:4:4 chroma information, and happily that evaluation shows that they're very broadly available. This has driven a decision to offer 4K Cinematic HDR10 in addition to 4K Cinematic SDR and 4K Cinematic Dolby Vision for movies that have 4:4:4 mezzanine files. Strato K is able to play 4K Dolby Vision with 4:2:2 color, so adding 4K Cinematic HDR10 as well will allow us to deliver 4:4:4 color with HDR for displays that can support it. We won't do HDR10 versions of 4K Cinematic if the mezzanine files are 4:2:2, because then there's no material benefit compared to converting the Dolby Vision file during playback.

So to summarize: 4K Cinematic SDR and 4K Cinematic HDR10 will support up to 4:4:4, and 4K Cinematic Dolby Vision will support 4:2:2. You'll see those HDR10 additions begin to become available soon."

As an owner of a JVC NZ 900 and a V player. I really want to make sure upgrading to the K makes sense. I realize the improvements will be small but if there are issues with DV conversion to HDR 10 on some titles and they are not making HDR 10 cinematic versions of a film unless the file is in 4:4:4 I am worried about films that are not in that format not getting the HDR 10 treatment even though the DV to HDR 10 conversion has issues. Any idea how many films are having the DV to HDR 10 conversion issues?

 

[cardsdoc]

As an owner of a JVC NZ 900 and a V player. I really want to make sure upgrading to the K makes sense. I realize the improvements will be small but if there are issues with DV conversion to HDR 10 on some titles and they are not making HDR 10 cinematic versions of a film unless the file is in 4:4:4 I am worried about films that are not in that format not getting the HDR 10 treatment even though the DV to HDR 10 conversion has issues. Any idea how many films are having the DV to HDR 10 conversion issues?

You can follow this thread for some of the ongoing discussion. Below are 2 recent posts from MikeKobb regarding the issue.

"First of all, let me apologize, because I did not understand all of the details of this when I posted about the fix to the black level issue. I would have added more detail had I known.

Anyway, as previously noted, in kOS 26.1.0, we corrected the issue with black levels in the converted playback.

We were also aware that sometimes converted Dolby Vision content was appearing a bit muted, with lower dynamic range than would be expected. We were able to make a change to partially address this issue and improve the dynamic range rendering in converted content. This change was included in 26.1 because it produced a net improvement in how the content looks subjectively when played (it's no longer muted), but it's not the fully correct solution as it can cause over-brightening.

We have a follow-on release coming shortly (26.1.1) that will fix several issues that couldn't be resolved in time for 26.1.0, and that release will include an additional change recommended by Dolby that will more closely match the HDR10 dynamics. That change is already in testing."


"We definitely noticed it, although not on all titles. I'm sorry I don't have a list of affected titles (I was not directly involved in the evaluation).

In our testing with the fix that's slated for 26.1.1, we're seeing an extremely close match to the native HDR10 files -- no over brightening but also no muted dynamics, and also of course the proper black level. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to get that fully implemented and tested in time to make it into 26.1.0, but as with most hardware launches, we were anticipating that there would be a patch release so it wouldn't be a long wait."

 

[Imakeller]

Kudos to K-scape for their transparency about these issues and what they’re doing to address them. I have complete confidence.

 

[Patricio]

You can follow this thread for some of the ongoing discussion. Below are 2 recent posts from MikeKobb regarding the issue.

"First of all, let me apologize, because I did not understand all of the details of this when I posted about the fix to the black level issue. I would have added more detail had I known.

Anyway, as previously noted, in kOS 26.1.0, we corrected the issue with black levels in the converted playback.

We were also aware that sometimes converted Dolby Vision content was appearing a bit muted, with lower dynamic range than would be expected. We were able to make a change to partially address this issue and improve the dynamic range rendering in converted content. This change was included in 26.1 because it produced a net improvement in how the content looks subjectively when played (it's no longer muted), but it's not the fully correct solution as it can cause over-brightening.

We have a follow-on release coming shortly (26.1.1) that will fix several issues that couldn't be resolved in time for 26.1.0, and that release will include an additional change recommended by Dolby that will more closely match the HDR10 dynamics. That change is already in testing."


"We definitely noticed it, although not on all titles. I'm sorry I don't have a list of affected titles (I was not directly involved in the evaluation).

In our testing with the fix that's slated for 26.1.1, we're seeing an extremely close match to the native HDR10 files -- no over brightening but also no muted dynamics, and also of course the proper black level. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to get that fully implemented and tested in time to make it into 26.1.0, but as with most hardware launches, we were anticipating that there would be a patch release so it wouldn't be a long wait."

Thanks for sharing. Following that thread now.

 

[111-JEDI]

Just purchased the Strato K and have a question…
I have a Sony A95L, it’s capable of the 4:4:4 chroma, but I believe it’s only capable in pc or game mode, in those modes the tv turns off its picture processing,
Anyone with this tv know what will be the best way to run the K Strato… and if I can’t run it in 4:4:4, will I be able to see a difference between the Strato K “cinematic” and my current Strato V ? Thank ya!!!

Me too - running Strato K on Sony A95L - My understanding, and I defer to Rmarci or Mike Kobb here, Dolby Vision runs 4:2:2 and SDR can do 4:4:4. So, you'll see Cinematic 4K Dolby Vision (HDR) as a separate version as Cinematic 4K SDR - one example of this is Blade Runner 2049. You'll see both versions listed. You can download both and do A/B to determine which you like best. And, on the A95L, you can set Picture settings separately for each SDR and Dolby Vision. Just need to be playing a Dolby Vision movie and with the Sony A95L remote, navigate to the Picture settings - in order to affect changes to the Dolby Vision playback.