Blu-ray Discs not playing back properly

[Basset Hound]

I’m hoping someone might be able to help me with a problem I‘m having with Blu-ray Discs playback. I have a strato and alto with a disc vault server and when watching physical Blu-ray Discs in 2.35.1 format the picture does not fill my screen, there is a border all around the projected picture. Films downloaded from the store play correctly and physical DVD discs from the disc vault play correctly and fill the entire screen, the issue is only with physical Blu-ray discs. The issue is the same whether the playback is from the disc vault or from the Alto player.

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated. I’ve been trying to get a solution from my authorised dealer since January but I’m afraid I’m getting the “COVID” excuse.

 

[SJHT]

This was for a Strato, but could check your Alto….

Ten Commandments video aspect

 

[Basset Hound]

Thanks for the reply. I’ve checked the settings and they are the same for the Alto and the Strato. It’s an odd issue as downloaded films play correctly and so do DVDs it’s only a problem with Blu-ray discs. There doesn’t seem to be a setting that would just alter the way Blu-ray Discs are played.

 

[baltz]

Can you give some more info about your setup? Are you using a co-star switch? What devices are in the HDMI chain?

It sounds like you’re maybe using an anamorphic lens. Is that true?

In a co-star setup, DVDs in the vault and all store downloads play through the Strato’s HDMI output. Only Blu-ray Discs go through the Alto’s HDMI. We need a bit more info, but I would guess that your Cinemascape settings on the Alto are wrong.

 

[Basset Hound]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am using a co-star switch but not sure what devices are in the HDMI chain.

I’ve checked the Cinemascape settings and both the Alto and the Strato are set to cinemascape 2:35 letterbox.

 

[baltz]

That is interesting. If the Alto and Strato are using the same Cinemascape setting and are going through a co-star switch, all 2.35 content should be displayed in the same way.

I can make some wild guesses, since I don’t know your whole setup…

Are you sure that it’s an actual co-star switch? If you have a Lumagen instead, it’s possible that the scaling is different in the Alto input, but I have no experience with a Lumagen.

How are you verifying the Cinemascape settings for the Alto? At one point, you had to make those settings through the OSD before the players were paired. That’s still true of the 2nd gen Cinema one, but I’m not sure about the Alto.

Either way, a competent dealer should be able to get it sorted out pretty quickly. Maybe @MikeKobb or @J.Green can chime in with some other ideas.

Just curious, which movies are you using to test? There are a few movies (e.g. The Dark Knight) that will be window boxed for large parts of the movie.

 

[baltz]

Another thought that I had.. your scaling on your projector could be wrong. Blu-ray Discs will be output from the Alto at 1080p. Everything else will be output at 4k through the Strato. It’s possible that the projector is scaling 4k and 1080p differently.
If you had a list of components, we could probably make an educated guess about how it’s hooked up.
I’m hesitant to recommend changing much, though. We could end up making it worse, depending on how complicated your setup is.
I also question why it’s set to 2.35 letterbox. That’s not usually the desired setting, since you lose quite a bit of resolution from 2.35 Blu-rays.
It’s unfortunate that your dealer is unresponsive. This is something that they should be able to sort out pretty easily.

 

[SJHT]

Does a Strato output DVDs played from the Vault at 4K? Just curious. The Alto settings are done via the web interface. When you have costar, I don't even think you can get to the Alto's "menu" type settings as everything goes through the Strato. Maybe he should unpair the 2 and just work on the Alto directly. Try a bunch of different video settings. Also, just send an email to support. They probably can sort it out if his dealer is not responsive. SJ

 

[baltz]

The Strato will upscale DVDs to 4k unless the default settings are changed.

I just found this:
"Typically you will be matching the Strato’s settings to those of an existing Alto player, but if you do need to make changes that require access to the Alto player’s onscreen settings, you must do this before pairing the player, since the interface will not be accessible after pairing."

located here: https://support.kaleidescape.com/article/Kaleidescape-Co-Star-Installation-Guide

He might need to unpair the players, then change the Cinemascape settings on the Alto to match the Strato, then re-pair them.

 

[Basset Hound]

Thanks for your help and suggestions. My set up is Strato/Alto/DV700/Costar. I don’t have an anamorphic lens. I’ve tried loads of Blu Discs and the problem is always the same.

My dealer has been in touch and they are contacting K/scape.

 

[MikeKobb]

Any chance you could snap a couple of quick photos to show what Blu-ray playback looks like? It would be extra helpful if you could also include a couple where you've pressed the Info button on your remote to show the playback options overlay. Doesn't matter which tab of the overlay; I'd just like to see where it draws.

The other thing that would be interesting to try is to eject a DVD that looks correct when played from the vault, and stick it into the slot on the Alto, then play it via the disc in tray feature, to see what happens.

 

[Basset Hound]

Thank you very much for your help. I attach some photo. The first one on the left is the downloadEd version of Wolf of Wall Street. It plays correctly. The next photo is the same scene from the same film from the Blu-ray version and I hope it shows that the projected picture doesn’t fill the screen. Next three are after I pressed the info button on the remote (watching the Blu-ray).

I‘m afraid I couldn’t get the dvd to play from the Alto. The system knew it was in the Alto but indicated “insert disc to play”. Couldn’t find the disc in tray feature I’m afraid. The DVD plays correctly from the disc server.

Thanks again.

 

[Basset Hound]

Hello guys,
Thanks for everyon’s help and input on this. i thought you might like to know the problem is fixed and what the issue was.
I have Control4 home automation and it turns out that when it was being set up to integrate with my Kaleidescape some code had been put in that altered the projector settings when playing a Blu-ray. The rogue code changed the settings on the projector from 2:35:1 zoom to 2:35:1 normal which caused the issue.
Thanks again for everyone’s help.