[Buyer’s Guide] Kaleidescape Quality Compared to Blu-ray & other Digital Sources

[lujan]

Star Trek Beyond 2016

- Green push

kscape vs uhd-bd | Slowpoke Pics

Slowpoke Pics image comparison service

slow.pics

####################################################################################

Oblivion 2013

- Incorrect 10 000 MDL
Glad to see it's the same 4000nits master as iTunes though... Bluray disc is 1000nits only..
Compression could be improved; it looks a bit soft compared to the already soft BD...

Oblivion.2013 Kscape vs UHD-BD | Slowpoke Pics

Slowpoke Pics image comparison service

slow.pics

View attachment 9064

I think I saw someone post in one of these threads about Oblivion saying that the HD version was better than the UHD version.

 

[Rmarci]

I think I saw someone post in one of these threads about Oblivion saying that the HD version was better than the UHD version.

For sharpness and fine detail, yes, the 1080p BD is much better (and likely the KS 1080p) and it's quite obvious in my YouTube comparison, but this movie’s HDR grade is pretty good. I’ll take a slightly softer image with strong HDR over a sharper SDR 1080p encode any day, especially on my 2500-nit G5.

On a projector, though, the SDR 1080p version is definitely the better choice.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

For sharpness and fine detail, yes, the 1080p BD is much better (and likely the KS 1080p) and it's quite obvious in my YouTube comparison, but this movie’s HDR grade is pretty good. I’ll take a slightly softer image with strong HDR over a sharper SDR 1080p encode any day, especially on my 2500-nit G5.

On a projector, though, the SDR 1080p version is definitely the better choice.

KScape doesn’t have Atmos though like a lot of the earlier Universal stuff. I’ve sent a request to see if they can get it but given it’s been updated to DV, I suspect it’s not available to digital.

 

[Nathan28]

It looks like a new mini terra prime launched… meanwhile we have defective players..

 

[DrNeal]

Want to make it clear...I love my Strato....K is still my preferred when watching movies. The convenience factor alone is worth it, and all in all these issues are rather minor. I realized early on after getting the V to get over the assumption that everything on K would automatically be the best and perfect. I think considering the cost of K...its a tough pill for many to swallow that the content from K is just as prone to errors than from any other source.

Since joining K my biggest disappointments are:
1) Several titles...at least in my setup still look "better" on disc than the K version.
2) The lack of many of my favorite titles...or available at lower resolution/quality.

As for audio, with the exception of some recent titles like Superman, F1 and Twisters I have no complaints...the quality of sound from K for every title I have compared equals disc and simply blows away streaming. It baffles me that there are YT reviewers using iTunes to "review/judge" the audio of a movie.

All that said, I am glad @Rmarci has been doing this...hopefully will lead to K improving their process and tools which will only be good for them and us. I do not mind his candor...often tough love is exactly what is needed to bring things to light and cause improvement.

I agree with most of what you stated in your post. Having K for a couple years now, experiencing hundred movies, I can

 

[KDeering]

It looks like a new mini terra prime launched… meanwhile we have defective players..

The Terra shuffle over the last few years has just been insane when you step back and look at it. Models come out and then are gone within a year. I feel like every year we see 3-4 new Terra models that are some kind of slight adjustment on the model before. Meanwhile I haven't been happy at all with the evolution of their player lineup. Outside of Dolby Vision, which honestly I feel is more marketing hype than anything, the player performance has gone down, not up IMHO. Sure, pricing is a bit more appealing, but I feel like it is just the gateway drug effect to get them in the door and then buying Terras, which would still favor the C player more than the other IMHO.

 

[tinboski]

The Terra shuffle over the last few years has just been insane when you step back and look at it. Models come out and then are gone within a year. I feel like every year we see 3-4 new Terra models that are some kind of slight adjustment on the model before. Meanwhile I haven't been happy at all with the evolution of their player lineup. Outside of Dolby Vision, which honestly I feel is more marketing hype than anything, the player performance has gone down, not up IMHO. Sure, pricing is a bit more appealing, but I feel like it is just the gateway drug effect to get them in the door and then buying Terras, which would still favor the C player more than the other IMHO.

I agree 99% I like my Strato V for the DV but everywhere else has been a head scratcher... I feel like K is of the mindset to dumb this platform down to the streamers (which care more about watching tik taks on their phones). The bread and butter are those of us in the hobby chasing the high and endless pursuit of perfection.. missing catalog titles, SD versions of titles available in HD everywhere else, and the oversights in quality can be IMHO directly blamed on resources taken away from the meat and pissed away on the side dishes nobody came for.

 

[HiFiHippie]

KScape doesn’t have Atmos though like a lot of the earlier Universal stuff. I’ve sent a request to see if they can get it but given it’s been updated to DV, I suspect it’s not available to digital.

I noticed that on Movies Anywhere it offers Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, Oblivion is one of my go to Demo movies. I sure hope it will see a Dolby Atmos upgrade on Kscape in the near future.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I noticed that on Movies Anywhere it offers Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, Oblivion is one of my go to Demo movies. I sure hope it will see a Dolby Atmos upgrade on Kscape in the near future.

There’s actually loads of Universal ones like that, from memory, movies released up to about 2019/20 on UHD don’t have a matching loseless Atmos/DTS-X mix on KScape but do have lossy DD+ Atmos on digital and we are talking big films like the Bourne Trilogy and Apollo 13 and some of them also have Atmos on the HD track so it’s literally just Universal BS.

 

[HiFiHippie]

There’s actually loads of Universal ones like that, from memory, movies released up to about 2019/20 on UHD don’t have a matching loseless Atmos/DTS-X mix on KScape but do have lossy DD+ Atmos on digital and we are talking big films like the Bourne Trilogy and Apollo 13 and some of them also have Atmos on the HD track so it’s literally just Universal BS.

I would love to get an Apollo 13 dts X upgrade. Also I wish they would upgrade the 4k HDR version of the Mummy with Tom Cruise to a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the HD version on Kscape offers it in the movie store.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

I would love to get an Apollo 13 dts X upgrade. Also I wish they would upgrade the 4k HDR version of the Mummy with Tom Cruise to a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, the HD version on Kscape offers it in the movie store.

Don’t worry, I mentioned both the new mummy and the original trilogy which are also missing DTS-X but feel free to email them to request them and bump the interest up just in case Universal Digital do have access to them now or have a pathway to get them.

Frustrating for the earlier releases but at least the positive is Universal have stopped doing it and gives us all the Atmos tracks.

I don’t think there are any DTS-X 4K releases from them though that I’ve seen so it may be Apollo 13, The Mummy 1-3, Prince of Egypt, Lone Survivor etc. will never happen unless like Jurassic World there is a new Atmos home release.

 

[thrawn997]

Honey Don't got updates with audio and video improvements, apparently.

 

[MartR]

I doubt more and more about K… i love how it works and the audio is insane and better then disc without a doubt.
Buttttttttt, the picture quality lacks often in compare with the 4k uhd blu ray disc.
I have the strato V but i also have a Zappiti Reference CineMike and when i rip 1:1 4k uhd discs of the same movies i have on Kscape the K is always i tiny bit darker… a tiny bit less sharp… and it has almost always have more grain overlay. And like Rmarcie said many times the ratio is a bit cropped.
Every movie looks better on my Zappiti and i dont like that at all. I am a bit in doubt what to do next because i really really love the audio side of Kaleidescape.
Really hope K reads this stuff.

 

[Rmarci]

While this is true for their older stuff, I think their new encoding parameters are good now. How consistent their encoding will be still needs to be verified, though.

PS: I finally succumbed, comparison with MA and iTunes later (and UHD-BD in January).

 

[thrawn997]

While this is true for their older stuff, I think their new encoding parameters are good now. How consistent their encoding will be still needs to be verified, though.

PS: I finally succumbed, comparison with MA and iTunes later (and UHD-BD in January).

View attachment 9087

I have been holding off, interested to see what you find

 

[MartR]

While this is true for their older stuff, I think their new encoding parameters are good now. How consistent their encoding will be still needs to be verified, though.

PS: I finally succumbed, comparison with MA and iTunes later (and UHD-BD in January).

View attachment 9087

I really hope so… although i cant see it to be just as sharp to be honest but lets wait and see.

 

[Nathan28]

I really hope so… although i cant see it to be just as sharp to be honest but lets wait and see.

We are going to be waiting a long time…

 

[Rmarci]

One Battle After Another 2025

kscape vs itunes vs Movies Anywhere | Slowpoke Pics

Slowpoke Pics image comparison service

slow.pics

- Good compression, but the real test will be against the UHD-BD in January. Pretty good example of how MA struggles with grainy content and how iTunes denoises everything. MA and iTunes both have the same 24mbps bitrate.

* Another SDR in HDR container grade but this has nothing to do with KScape encoding...

One Battle After Another

An ex-revolutionary and his daughter go on the run when a deranged colonel finds out where they went into hiding. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Regina Hall. Purchase and download today in 4K Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

 

[KDeering]

One Battle After Another 2025

kscape vs itunes vs Movies Anywhere | Slowpoke Pics

Slowpoke Pics image comparison service

slow.pics

- Good compression, but the real test will be against the UHD-BD in January. Pretty good example of how MA struggles with grainy content and how iTunes denoises everything. MA and iTunes both have the same 24mbps bitrate.

* Another SDR in HDR container grade but this has nothing to do with KScape encoding...

View attachment 9088

View attachment 9089
View attachment 9090
View attachment 9091
View attachment 9092

One Battle After Another

An ex-revolutionary and his daughter go on the run when a deranged colonel finds out where they went into hiding. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, and Regina Hall. Purchase and download today in 4K Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos audio.

www.kaleidescape.com

Since you've said in the past that the 4K SDR versions are typically better than the HDR versions in some respects, would be curious if you compared the 4K SDR to the HDR version to see what you thought.

 

[Rmarci]

Right, but those were all older HDR10 KScape encodes. Their latest HDR10 encodes seem far better compressed, so I assume the gap between DV, HDR10, and SDR is probably much smaller now. I’d love to always check SDR and DV as well, but I’m trying to spare my KS internal HDD, sorry.

Anyway, once they finally sort out the player’s block artifacts and completely stop messing with the colors, KS might finally live up to their so-called “reference quality” claims.