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

[thrillcat]

This is what I'm starting to think about myself. Here is a great video which discusses the addiction:

This is only a problem if you're only interested in Home Theater for the gear and the flashy lights and seeing all the on screen displays and taking the grills off your speakers so you can see the drivers and filming your subs in ultra-slo motion so you can measure the travel distance.

If you're actually in it for the movies, it's easy to hit a point where you can just enjoy a bunch of great films. One thing that I don't like about having a YouTube channel is it cuts into my movie-watching time. I much prefer just enjoying the presentation of the equipment in the room.

 

[artur9]

... We'll continue to see improvements in the movie files along with what we're already seeing in the ever-improving Strato and Terra products. ...

This is an interesting point. Does the K-player have some secret sauce in it to enable an even better playback experience that wasn't ready at launch time? Or, can it support some secret sauce in the video files that the encoding team wasn't ready to deploy just yet?

Can lead to an exciting future for those demanding the very best playback (I'm more in the convenience camp...).

 

[Neighbor]

This is only a problem if you're only interested in Home Theater for the gear and the flashy lights and seeing all the on screen displays and taking the grills off your speakers so you can see the drivers and filming your subs in ultra-slo motion so you can measure the travel distance.

If you're actually in it for the movies, it's easy to hit a point where you can just enjoy a bunch of great films. One thing that I don't like about having a YouTube channel is it cuts into my movie-watching time. I much prefer just enjoying the presentation of the equipment in the room.

This is only a problem if you're only interested in Home Theater for the gear and the flashy lights and seeing all the on screen displays and taking the grills off your speakers so you can see the drivers and filming your subs in ultra-slo motion so you can measure the travel distance.

If you're actually in it for the movies, it's easy to hit a point where you can just enjoy a bunch of great films. One thing that I don't like about having a YouTube channel is it cuts into my movie-watching time. I much prefer just enjoying the presentation of the equipment in the room.

Interesting perspective. I think a lot of us can chase gear. I want to get to the mindset of just enjoying the experience. Any improvements at this point are marginal.

 

[Golfx]

I actually miss “chasing” better stuff. Arriving at my version of end game is kind of sad. A lot like a life-long stamp collector filling up their collection. Now lost without that challenge.

There is a thrill to investigating, learning, comparing, purchasing and then learning (or perhaps relearning) how to set up the new gear and blend with your HT.

 

[Techthusiasm]

Other comparisons haven't been as noticeable so far, but I've only been testing for a few days. I have found a few other bugs that I've reported to Kscape though. The weirdest one has to do with the main menu. Occasionally when I stop a movie and go back to the main cover art menu (the movie cover art wall if you use a Terra), the background of movies is scrolling constantly to the side and never stops until the movie you exited is reached in the library. Very bizarre, but it has happened a few times now. I captured a video of it and sent it to K.

I've seen this a few times, as well. It's very dizzying!

 

[sanfor]

I am using a madVR Envy, noticed when I set the video output in the K as per the madVR guide to external proccessor movies are 422 but if it's on default it plays 444?

Checking the incoming video signal on the madVR.

 

[joey_corleone]

I've seen this a few times, as well. It's very dizzying!

Me too.

 

[joey_corleone]

I am using a madVR Envy, noticed when I set the video output in the K as per the madVR guide to external proccessor movies are 422 but if it's on default it plays 444?

Checking the incoming video signal on the madVR.

What version of the movies? 4k cinematic is 4:2:2 for DV but should be 4:4:4 for HDR10 mostly.

 

[joey_corleone]

I’m catching up in this thread today. I’m interested in if there is a general consensus here about 4k cinematic HDR10 vs DV.

I have a K in my theater going through a MadVR and JVC NZ800, but in my living room I have a Strato E going to a DV capable OLED. I’d like to only keep 1 version of these titles.

I initially was thinking to stick to HDR10 when available, but having second thoughts. What are folks doing that have similar setups and why?

 

[Spooky]

I enjoyed the video from Shane Lee where he said that movies were mastered in 4.2.0…

 

[joey_corleone]

I enjoyed the video from Shane Lee where he said that movies were mastered in 4.2.0…

I saw that but K has stated something like 80+ % of their mezzanine files from the studios are 4:4:4. So, I’m not sure that holds water

 

[joey_corleone]

I’m catching up in this thread today. I’m interested in if there is a general consensus here about 4k cinematic HDR10 vs DV.

I have a K in my theater going through a MadVR and JVC NZ800, but in my living room I have a Strato E going to a DV capable OLED. I’d like to only keep 1 version of these titles.

I initially was thinking to stick to HDR10 when available, but having second thoughts. What are folks doing that have similar setups and why?

Forgot, the living room E will be replaced with a K very soon. Sorry, my initial question makes a lot less sense if the E was still a factor

 

[sanfor]

What version of the movies? 4k cinematic is 4:2:2 for DV but should be 4:4:4 for HDR10 mostly.

Correct, I think there is no benefit to do the DV version in our case since we using an Envy.

Unless of course that is the only one available.



HDR 10 444 10 bit
DV 422 12 bit

 

[Broncowrangler]

Just noticed that the solitary 8k 6min demo clip is no longer available on the store.

Addendum: it’s still available on the App.

 

[joey_corleone]

Correct, I think there is no benefit to do the DV version in our case since we using an Envy.

Unless of course that is the only one available.



HDR 10 444 10 bit
DV 422 12 bit

Well it seems like there are good arguments to be made for 4k cinematic HDR10 and DV

With HDR10 you are getting the full 4:4:4 chroma but 10-bit color

With DV you get 4:2:2 chroma but 12-bit color

I think the MadVR is mostly not relevant because your Strato K will convert the DV to HDR10 in hardware before it goes to the Envy.

In my case, I have a theater that doesn’t support DV and a TV that does, so to me it comes down more to what gets the priority. For me, that is my theater room.

You also have to consider some displays will compress the 4:4:4 chroma down to 4:2:2 internally for processing. From what I can find so far, the JVC NZ series projectors process 4:4:4 natively, but my LG C1 compresses 4:4:4 to 4:2:2 for processing. Since my theater is the priority, my choice right now is HDR10 but I am actively researching

I’m very interested to hear others’ perspective on similar situations

 

[Imakeller]

Just noticed that the solitary 8k 6min demo clip is no longer available on the store.

Addendum: it’s still available on the App.

Not sure what to make of this, if anything? I sure hope it doesn’t indicate any backing away from 8K or that 2.1 interoperability for the K is a tougher problem than expected.

 

[Imakeller]

Well it seems like there are good arguments to be made for 4k cinematic HDR10 and DV

With HDR10 you are getting the full 4:4:4 chroma but 10-bit color

With DV you get 4:2:2 chroma but 12-bit color

I think the MadVR is mostly not relevant because your Strato K will convert the DV to HDR10 in hardware before it goes to the Envy.

In my case, I have a theater that doesn’t support DV and a TV that does, so to me it comes down more to what gets the priority. For me, that is my theater room.

You also have to consider some displays will compress the 4:4:4 chroma down to 4:2:2 internally for processing. From what I can find so far, the JVC NZ series projectors process 4:4:4 natively, but my LG C1 compresses 4:4:4 to 4:2:2 for processing. Since my theater is the priority, my choice right now is HDR10 but I am actively researching

I’m very interested to hear others’ perspective on similar situations

I would trust MadVR to do any DV to HDR conversion more than the Strato K. It seems the only reason to prefer DV is if you’re feeding a display directly that is DV capable. With all the file options, it’s going to take some downloading of multiple versions (SDR, HDR, DV) to try on specific setups to decide what looks/works best.

 

[cinelife]

Just noticed that the solitary 8k 6min demo clip is no longer available on the store.

Addendum: it’s still available on the App.

I still see it available in the Store when I go online. In the Movies section, select the Video filter and then 8K.

Jim

 

[Broncowrangler]

I still see it available in the Store when I go online. In the Movies section, select the Video filter and then 8K.

Jim

Yes, it’s back on. Might have been offline earlier for some reason.

 

[Techthusiasm]

Well it seems like there are good arguments to be made for 4k cinematic HDR10 and DV

With HDR10 you are getting the full 4:4:4 chroma but 10-bit color

With DV you get 4:2:2 chroma but 12-bit color

I think the MadVR is mostly not relevant because your Strato K will convert the DV to HDR10 in hardware before it goes to the Envy.

In my case, I have a theater that doesn’t support DV and a TV that does, so to me it comes down more to what gets the priority. For me, that is my theater room.

You also have to consider some displays will compress the 4:4:4 chroma down to 4:2:2 internally for processing. From what I can find so far, the JVC NZ series projectors process 4:4:4 natively, but my LG C1 compresses 4:4:4 to 4:2:2 for processing. Since my theater is the priority, my choice right now is HDR10 but I am actively researching

I’m very interested to hear others’ perspective on similar situations

My gut feel for now is that my TCL QM9K (as far as I know) cannot handle the native 4:4:4 HDR10 copy without turning off modes/processing. AI research seems to agree, but is vague. So, I've been opting for DV 4:2:2 even though my theater is technically my primary Kscape experience area. I'll just trust the DV -> HDR10 output of the K (knowing the point release that improves it is coming) and hope the ~12-bit depth is more valuable than the native 4:4:4.