Agreed, there's a reason they're being quiet
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[Buyer’s Guide] Kaleidescape Quality Compared to Blu-ray & other Digital Sources
- Thread starter Rmarci
- Start date
Agreed, there's a reason they're being quiet
Interesting. Would love to see DSLR photos taken with identical manual exposure and processing, preferably on a tripod, to demonstrate the differences you're seeing.
Honestly at this point we should be asking K to produce images directly from their devices to demonstrate they are fixing these issues, instead of relying on folks like @Rmarci or users to do QA for their products.
Interstellar, my favorite movie, is on sale right now, and I couldn't resist checking out the quality...
slow.pics
- Clear signs of DNR + fake grain overlay. Look at the window on the right side of this image and here
- Green push and paler colors... Probably the result of their stupid DNR + fake grain.
- Wierd MDL HDR10 metadata. This movie has pixels that hit 3000nits
Looks like some poor experimental encoding... I wish KS would stop altering their mezzanine file.
Why are they even allowed to do that in the first place? Disrespectful to the intended look of this masterpiece movie.
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Tenet
- 50/50: some shots are better, some are worse.
I think the player is doing more than just introducing block artifacts in the white areas of the image; it also seems to be applying some denoising. In many of the examples here, the darker areas retain better grain on KS, while the white areas of the same image look worse/denoised. You would think that, given the price they’re charging for the KS players, they would have performed proper testing to ensure the player is bit-accurate. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. The lack of quality control at KS is quite obvious.
Block artifacts:
Interstellar (2014) kscape vs uhd-bd | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
slow.pics
- Clear signs of DNR + fake grain overlay. Look at the window on the right side of this image and here
- Green push and paler colors... Probably the result of their stupid DNR + fake grain.
- Wierd MDL HDR10 metadata. This movie has pixels that hit 3000nits
Looks like some poor experimental encoding... I wish KS would stop altering their mezzanine file.
Why are they even allowed to do that in the first place? Disrespectful to the intended look of this masterpiece movie.
###############################################
###############################################
Tenet
- 50/50: some shots are better, some are worse.
I think the player is doing more than just introducing block artifacts in the white areas of the image; it also seems to be applying some denoising. In many of the examples here, the darker areas retain better grain on KS, while the white areas of the same image look worse/denoised. You would think that, given the price they’re charging for the KS players, they would have performed proper testing to ensure the player is bit-accurate. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. The lack of quality control at KS is quite obvious.
Block artifacts:
Last edited:
I’d be curious to get your take on the 4K SDR grade of interstellar as it doesn’t have the raised black floor of the hdr version. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I use the C player.Interstellar, my favorite movie, is on sale right now, and I couldn't resist checking out the quality...
Interstellar (2014) kscape vs uhd-bd | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
- Clear signs of DNR + fake grain overlay. Look at the window on the right side of this image and here
- Green push and paler colors... Probably the result of their stupid DNR + fake grain.
- Wierd MDL HDR10 metadata. This movie has pixels that hit 3000nits
Looks like some poor experimental encoding... I wish KS would stop altering their mezzanine file.
Why are they even allowed to do that in the first place? Disrespectful to the intended look of this masterpiece movie.
View attachment 9598
###############################################
###############################################
Tenet
- 50/50: some shots are better, some are worse.
I think the player is doing more than just introducing block artifacts in the white areas of the image; it also seems to be applying some denoising. In many of the examples here, the darker areas retain better grain on KS, while the white areas of the same image look worse/denoised. You would think that, given the price they’re charging for the KS players, they would have performed proper testing to ensure the player is bit-accurate. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. The lack of quality control at KS is quite obvious.
Block artifacts:
View attachment 9599
ok SDR, 18 comparisons...
Kscape vs iTunes vs Amazon vs UHD-BD (tonemapped with DV 100nits trim pass) vs 1080p Blu-ray
slow.pics
- Much better than the HDR10 version, no fake grain overlay in the SDR version.
- If it weren't for the shots with block artifacts (and smeared grain) in bright elements, it would be better than the UHD-BD.
Kscape vs iTunes vs Amazon vs UHD-BD (tonemapped with DV 100nits trim pass) vs 1080p Blu-ray
Interstellar (2014) KS vs 1080pBD vs iTunes SDR vs AMZN SDR vs UHD-BD | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
slow.pics
- Much better than the HDR10 version, no fake grain overlay in the SDR version.
- If it weren't for the shots with block artifacts (and smeared grain) in bright elements, it would be better than the UHD-BD.
Remind me Kris, the raised black floor issue is only with Strato E and V?
raz77
Member
So why are K pushing the E and V, I have two E’s and a server. I have an inferior product for what I have paid for. Don’t like all the grain either they push. When do we get this update?
No. For some reason a lot of Nolan’s movies have an elevated black floor in hdr. This is even on disc. The 4K SDR versions don’t seem to have the same issue
Cost and the fact that they do Dolby Vision. I’ve been telling my clients from day one to stick with the C player unless they absolutely want DV as it doesn’t have the same issues, has a true 4K interface and doesn’t have compatibility issues with their HD library either. It is without question the best player for projection setups.
MartR
Well-known member
I’ve been seeing this a long time and told here before… sounds maybe crazy for some but here on K the 4k SDR versions of almost any movie looks better then the HDR version of it. No dnr and no fake grain overlay for the most of them
I wish K just stops with all these crap and just putting the movies out as they are on disc… DON’T TOUCH IT K. !!!
I wish K just stops with all these crap and just putting the movies out as they are on disc… DON’T TOUCH IT K. !!!
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2023
- Messages
- 1,718
FYI, the HD versions of Nolan films on K typically have VAR. It was at the 4K releases that Nolan wanted VAR on disc and Scope on digital.
rafaelsmith
Well-known member
Agreed ...especially on a projector...I almost exclusively opt for 4k/sdr over 4k/hdr.
I am still baffled that given K does not have to worry about bandwidth or storage limitations that they still are going thru whatever process they do that is introducing all these artifacts. Makes me suspicious that it is because of some hardware limitation.
This is getting ridiculous... Most of their old stuff is so bad... This might be the worst one yet... How can this even pass quality control?
Inception KS vs UHD-BD vs MA
- Heavy DNR + fake grain overlay
- messed up colors and brightness, probably due to the insane/disrespectful processing they do.
What a joke! KS is 78gb, BD is 66 GB, and MA is only 25 GB, but still destroys that KS garbage encode.
Inception KS vs UHD-BD vs MA
- Heavy DNR + fake grain overlay
- messed up colors and brightness, probably due to the insane/disrespectful processing they do.
What a joke! KS is 78gb, BD is 66 GB, and MA is only 25 GB, but still destroys that KS garbage encode.
deyorew
Member
So the 4K SDR downloads are all good? only the 4K HDR and Dolby Vision downloads have issues?
and the sh*t show continues...
The Dark Knight 2008
- Green push and washed out colors.
- possibly fake grain overlay
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Blade Runner 2049 2017
slow.pics
- Washed out colors.
- UK BD seems over-sharpened. US BD is better IMO
The Dark Knight 2008
- possibly fake grain overlay
#########################################
Blade Runner 2049 2017
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) kscape vs UK vs US BD | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
slow.pics
- Washed out colors.
- UK BD seems over-sharpened. US BD is better IMO
The UK 4K is mastered by Sony while the US is a Warner master. I’ve seen people go back and forth on which they like more. The Kscape version used to have a ton of issues with blocking and other issues. They actually got several masters from Warner, all with their own issues I guess. The new version looks better than it used to, but I agree the disc still looks better. This is one I’ve always preferred the disc over K (another is 1917).and the sh*t show continues...
The Dark Knight 2008
- Green push and washed out colors.
- possibly fake grain overlay
#########################################
Blade Runner 2049 2017
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) kscape vs UK vs US BD | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
- Washed out colors.
- UK BD seems over-sharpened. US BD is better IMO
Dark Knight is another where the HDR has a raised black floor compared to the 4K SDR.
MartR
Well-known member
and the sh*t show continues...
The Dark Knight 2008
- Green push and washed out colors.
- possibly fake grain overlay
#########################################
Blade Runner 2049 2017
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) kscape vs UK vs US BD | Slowpoke Pics
Slowpoke Pics image comparison service
- Washed out colors.
- UK BD seems over-sharpened. US BD is better IMO
Blade Runner 2049 on K also has a fine grain overlay on it… the uhd is cleaner and doesnt have this.
Boy i hope the K guys read all this and just leave it as the discs are!!!