The Next Level of Home Theater Is Here. Scott Explains Why.
There are moments in a home theater that stop you. The kind where the technology disappears and you're just there -- in the story, in the room, in it. We've spent 51 years chasing those moments for our clients.
The Kaleidescape Strato K is one of those rare pieces that genuinely moves the line.
If you already own a Kaleidescape player, this is your upgrade. Our trade-in program is built exactly for this moment -- bring what you have, step into what's next, and hear the difference the same day. Talk to Scott about what your current player is worth toward a Strato K. You might be closer than you think.
Scott Wallace has been on our team for 24 years. Before that, he spent years in video production. He doesn't just sell home theater. He understands how the image is made, where quality gets lost in the chain, and exactly what it takes to get it back. When Scott says something changes the picture, it does.
Here's what he has to say about the Strato K.
By Scott Wallace, Definitive Audio
When designing a home theater system, how your favorite movies and shows get to the TV or projector is a key decision. Streaming certainly has its place. But for content at its very best, the highest quality source remains Kaleidescape. Combining streaming’s convenience with performance beyond even the best physical media, Kaleidescape’s new Strato K movie player introduces the ‘Cinematic 4K’ format with technology never before available outside professional environments.
In the professional world, data compression is unnecessary. In the consumer world where reliability and consistency are paramount, data compression (i.e. – MP3) has been the means to assure that. For video, that compression has resulted in a reduction of color information on the order of 75%. While engineering workarounds help maintain quality, it remains a truism that what is lost at the source cannot be fully recovered. The Strato 4K and the Cinematic 4K format are unique in that there is no compression of color information. In addition to the large improvement in color, Kaleidescape has gone back to the original studio masters (called mezzanine files) and completely re-transcoded titles for the new format with significantly less compression than their still reference level 4K content.
For those who care to dive into the weeds a little bit…
Consumer video has, up to now, undergone a compression process called “chroma subsampling”. Human beings are less sensitive to color information than we are to brightness information. Color profiles therefore address pixel grids of two rows of four pixels each. In the 4:2:0 color profile, only two of the eight pixels in a grid are sampled for color data (that’s where that 75% statistic comes from). The savings in space/file size are significant, albeit at the cost of absolute quality. The Strato K can play back data with a full 4:4:4 color profile, where all eight pixels are sampled for color data. The most obvious benefits in playback are improved clarity and contrast at object edges and cleaner gradients in skies or underwater scenes. And just as with audio, there is a tipping point in which the qualitative improvements help move you further away from analysis and more easily immerse you with a natural presentation. This is why the industry and those of us here at Definitive are very excited to present the new Kaleidescape Strato 4K. Please contact your salesperson for more information on how the Strato K could benefit your system.
Oh, one last thing…For those imagining buying yet another version of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, you can rest easy. Kaleidescape is providing those with existing 4K titles on their Kaleidescape system a free update to include the ‘Cinematic 4K’ version when available. The standard 4K version remains available to other non-Strato K players in the system.
Ready to step up? If you have a Kaleidescape player already in your system, reach out to Scott directly. We'll tell you what it's worth and put a Strato K in front of you.
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