Strato V: latest roundup of issues - fixable with firmware & re-encodes or not?

[Furnace Inferno]

Ok Genlock off on Lumagen playing DV version of Transformers One and no drops, will need to play more to understand if that was the issue on my end as Deadpool 3 was fine with it on.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

Godzilla x Kong TNE, one very quick audio cutout so I’m going to say issue is not fixed by changing a setting on the Lumagen. I’ve also watched more on the Zidoo and not had any drops so not sure what to test next.

 

[Robert300]

I agree, never had any issues (or very rarely) with Strato C like I’m having with the V which have random audio drop outs routinely, sometimes accompanied by picture stuttering. Similar response from engineering kicking the can down the road. I get that they may be working on it but sending back a list of things to try on my end is a bit disappointing at this price point. Just own it at least. I have a very basic system: Strato-Trinnov-Sony 95k.

I recently added the Strato V to my theatre (Sony 77A95L, Anthem AVM 90, Control 4, B&W Atmos, etc) and enjoy the experience but frustratingly I have a random issue of audio dropout / picture stuttering in various films. At one point I also had audio / video sync issues but (I think) I resolved that by changing the KS sync by 150ms. Reading various threads tells me the audio dropouts / picture stuttering is happening for a few other clients but has KS acknowledged this is an issue? Because I’m not the only one experiencing these issues I’m no longer spinning my wheels and running diagnostics. I’m back to BluRay’s for the time being.

 

[josh]

LONG post here...

I wonder if Kaleidescape dealers have quietly stopped recommending the Strato V to their clients at this point, at LEAST in situations where there is, or will be, a Terra server so the standalone capabilities of the V are not needed. Yes, the V definitely does address a new user segment for those specific use cases and budgets, and is bringing in new users, which is great for the company.

But it's pretty clear that owners of the Strato V (as a group) are undeniably having more audio drop-outs and video drop-outs than owners of the Strato C, often in cases where the exact same equipment path, processors, settings, display hardware, and cables don't show issues with a C or other 4K video sources.

Not every owner of a V is having frequent problems, but there are enough happening that there are definitely some compatibility issues out there. The issues MAY largely be fixable with encoding changes at Kaleidescape, changes to recommended cables, changing signal bandwidth settings, or alternative ways to handle some possible equipment signal paths and compatibility issues. Maybe. Not really clear yet.

OK, so let's say that Kaleidescape manages to address 95% of what users have seen along those lines. The V still has one less HDMI output that can make certain types of installation more difficult if not impossible. And the V has a degraded 1080p UI for the interface and as far as I know it's the only Encore-line player ever released that doesn't support 4K in the GUI, which I think is a major failing given how Kaleidescape has always touted (and been commended for) their gorgeous UI, usually shown in their demos and marketing materials on giant screens. (The criticality of a 4K GUI topic is hotly debated elsewhere here on the forum.)

I bought a V as soon as it was announced, as it served a specific need for me as a standalone system at a vacation house with projector (no DV needed), no anticipated or budgeted Terra server at that home, and no need for dual HDMIs. I would absolutely not buy another Strato V in any situation right now for myself. For me, it's the degraded UI that is now starting to be obvious to me since I have a Strato S setup at our main home with full 4K GUI, and the degraded library (for now) with occasional dropouts. Not ready to say i completely regret the purchase, just that I definitely would not buy another.

For me, the purchase calculation for now is this: Is the player to be used standalone without a server, and is DV really a priority for the installation? OK, buy a Strato V, living with the GUI degradation, and hope that the ongoing compatibility and re-encoding process addresses most or all of the playback issues in the future.

In any other scenario, buy a Strato C instead, saving money, getting a better UI, getting 2 HDMI outputs, etc. Or, better yet, wait until the successor to the V comes out, which it certainly will. I'd be willing to bet it has the standalone capability, DV, a full 4K GUI, and chipset or other changes that make it as reliable for playback as today's Strato C. Not clear if it will have dual HDMI, but likely would as well.

 

[Robert300]

Thank you for posting this Josh. It confirms for me (a new KS Strato V owner) that the audio/video issues I’m having are not exclusive to my theatre and sends a message to KS that the Strato V needs help.

 

[Substance]

LONG post here...

I wonder if Kaleidescape dealers have quietly stopped recommending the Strato V to their clients at this point, at LEAST in situations where there is, or will be, a Terra server so the standalone capabilities of the V are not needed. Yes, the V definitely does address a new user segment for those specific use cases and budgets, and is bringing in new users, which is great for the company.

But it's pretty clear that owners of the Strato V (as a group) are undeniably having more audio drop-outs and video drop-outs than owners of the Strato C, often in cases where the exact same equipment path, processors, settings, display hardware, and cables don't show issues with a C or other 4K video sources.

Not every owner of a V is having frequent problems, but there are enough happening that there are definitely some compatibility issues out there. The issues MAY largely be fixable with encoding changes at Kaleidescape, changes to recommended cables, changing signal bandwidth settings, or alternative ways to handle some possible equipment signal paths and compatibility issues. Maybe. Not really clear yet.

OK, so let's say that Kaleidescape manages to address 95% of what users have seen along those lines. The V still has one less HDMI output that can make certain types of installation more difficult if not impossible. And the V has a degraded 1080p UI for the interface and as far as I know it's the only Encore-line player ever released that doesn't support 4K in the GUI, which I think is a major failing given how Kaleidescape has always touted (and been commended for) their gorgeous UI, usually shown in their demos and marketing materials on giant screens. (The criticality of a 4K GUI topic is hotly debated elsewhere here on the forum.)

I bought a V as soon as it was announced, as it served a specific need for me as a standalone system at a vacation house with projector (no DV needed), no anticipated or budgeted Terra server at that home, and no need for dual HDMIs. I would absolutely not buy another Strato V in any situation right now for myself. For me, it's the degraded UI that is now starting to be obvious to me since I have a Strato S setup at our main home with full 4K GUI, and the degraded library (for now) with occasional dropouts. Not ready to say i completely regret the purchase, just that I definitely would not buy another.

For me, the purchase calculation for now is this: Is the player to be used standalone without a server, and is DV really a priority for the installation? OK, buy a Strato V, living with the GUI degradation, and hope that the ongoing compatibility and re-encoding process addresses most or all of the playback issues in the future.

In any other scenario, buy a Strato C instead, saving money, getting a better UI, getting 2 HDMI outputs, etc. Or, better yet, wait until the successor to the V comes out, which it certainly will. I'd be willing to bet it has the standalone capability, DV, a full 4K GUI, and chipset or other changes that make it as reliable for playback as today's Strato C. Not clear if it will have dual HDMI, but likely would as well.

I’m curious about how the original Strato performed in its first year. As we know, new devices often have initial bugs and issues that need to be worked out, even for major consumer electronics brands like Sony and Toshiba, which faced challenges with their first-generation disc players.


I became a Kaleidescape owner well after the Encore line, and today, the Strato C is flawless. It would be great to hear from longtime users about the original Strato’s early experience so we can get a sense of its track record over time.

 

[thrillcat]

I’m curious about how the original Strato performed in its first year. As we know, new devices often have initial bugs and issues that need to be worked out, even for major consumer electronics brands like Sony and Toshiba, which faced challenges with their first-generation disc players.

This is my question as well. The C is rock solid at this point but it should be. I would assume the V will get there as well.

To Josh’s point, I would hope most or all dealers would avoid recommending the V in projection systems or when a Terra is already in the plan. Even if DV is a desired option, I’d still be recommending a Strato C until the V is as solid as the C, or there is a V v2.

 

[Substance]

I wouldn’t go out of my way to discourage anyone from buying the V. Early adopters play a big role in helping Kaleidescape improve their products, and without them, there’s less incentive to refine and develop future versions. That said, buying the V does come with a few things to consider, like the lower UI resolution and the lack of a second HDMI output.

To their credit, Kaleidescape has been upfront about these trade-offs, which I respect. For some, these might be dealbreakers, but for others, they may not matter as much. Bringing the Strato C back into the lineup was a smart move, giving people more options based on their needs.

 

[SJHT]

Seems like the V was maybe more of a marketing driven project vs a technical/engineering one? Im sure they will fix all the issues, but we also know that they in their history hit some huge technical challenges which caused them to change product direction (eg Strato playing Blu-ray’s from a disc vault). There are a lot of newer components in the V including HDMI 2.1. Who exactly supports the more technical aspects of these players? The chip manufacturers or internal to K?

 

[Wal99]

Other than the compatibility issue, I’m very happy with the V. The latest SW seems to have helped a lot with dropouts and at least for me I don’t want to give up DV. Don’t understand the issue with the UI, it’s not like you spend hours looking at it, pick a movie and move on.

 

[andy]

I’m curious about how the original Strato performed in its first year.

When the original Strato launched in 2016, it was one of the only source devices on the market that supported (and used) the full 18GBps HDMI signal. Considering this, most of the audio/video dropouts that were perceived to be a K issue were typically the fault of an existing HDMI component that could not handle the jump in bandwidth (e.g., cables, switches, splitters, receivers, processors, displays, etc.). This is of course why K had settings that allowed you to downgrade your Strato signal to 13GBps, but this was generally a temporary fix until the old component(s) could be replaced.

Aside from the fairly common experience of figuring out where your system was in relation to the "HDMI edge", I don't recall any wide-spread Strato-specific dropouts. Then again, it's possible the water was muddied a bit with all the component swapping in combination with the typical software updates K does to improve performance.

Andy

 

[josh]

To their credit, Kaleidescape has been upfront about these trade-offs, which I respect.

That’s not entirely true. When i bought my V, Kaleidescape had yet to acknowledge that the GUI was only rendered in 1080p, the first player ever launched in the encore line that did not have a full 4k interface. People do not expect a spec downgrade like that. I didn’t. In all of the interviews, press materials, and even their detailed comparison chart of features between the V and C, this was not mentioned. It was only after some people started noticing the issue and posted about it on this forum that kaleidescape finally did acknowledge this difference and changed the material to show that difference on their website. So all early users bought this device without knowing that limitation.

I think that was a huge error. People can forgive a disclosed tradeoff when the reasons for it are explained if it’s disclosed upfront. But not disclosing it until being forced to by users who discovered it after the purchase is just not a good look for the company. I feel at the very least, customers who bought it expecting the UI resolutions to be the same as every other encore line Strato player are owed some sort of apology from the company for this mistake.

It should be obvious to all here by my running this forum for nearly two decades that i love and respect the company, the people there, and the products. I praise them often, deservedly so, but i also will call them out when I see something with which I don’t agree. This was a bad decision by them.

 

[josh]

... the first player ever launched in the encore line that did not have a full 4k interface.

CORRECTION: That should have said first Strato player that did not have a full 4K interface. Technically, the Alto is an Encore-line player and it was a 1080p player and therefore its GUI was rendered in 1080p as well.

 

[SJHT]

CORRECTION: That should have said first Strato player that did not have a full 4K interface. Technically, the Alto is an Encore-line player and it was a 1080p player and therefore its GUI was rendered in 1080p as well.

So, ALL Stratos EXCEPT the V have a full 4K interface?

 

[StanfieldNC]

That’s not entirely true. When i bought my V, Kaleidescape had yet to acknowledge that the GUI was only rendered in 1080p

You beat me to it.

I just wrote a really detailed response to back up my decisions, then accidentally deleted it.

No major regrets with my two V units. Probably would've kept a mismatched system longer though. Hope the bugs get fixed. I haven't had many, especially since the updates. That V launch was botched. Hope they learn from it.

The people at K have been awesome when I've needed support. Hope it all gets worked out so the system grows and they have money to bring in more studios and movie options.

 

[josh]

So, ALL Stratos EXCEPT the V have a full 4K interface?

yes

 

[Substance]

That’s not entirely true. When i bought my V, Kaleidescape had yet to acknowledge that the GUI was only rendered in 1080p, the first player ever launched in the encore line that did not have a full 4k interface. People do not expect a spec downgrade like that. I didn’t. In all of the interviews, press materials, and even their detailed comparison chart of features between the V and C, this was not mentioned. It was only after some people started noticing the issue and posted about it on this forum that kaleidescape finally did acknowledge this difference and changed the material to show that difference on their website. So all early users bought this device without knowing that limitation.

I think that was a huge error. People can forgive a disclosed tradeoff when the reasons for it are explained if it’s disclosed upfront. But not disclosing it until being forced to by users who discovered it after the purchase is just not a good look for the company. I feel at the very least, customers who bought it expecting the UI resolutions to be the same as every other encore line Strato player are owed some sort of apology from the company for this mistake.

It should be obvious to all here by my running this forum for nearly two decades that i love and respect the company, the people there, and the products. I praise them often, deservedly so, but i also will call them out when I see something with which I don’t agree. This was a bad decision by them.

Thanks for the correction. Your complaint here is fair. I hope they chime in on this matter.