Appendix A - Understanding Kaleidescape And Framerates - madVR Labs Envy Setup Manual

Kaleidescape

Hide thumbs Also See for Envy:

Appendix A – Understanding Kaleidescape and Framerates

Kaleidescape players are often set up to output movies at 60p instead of 24p. This is because its

movie selection screen only uses 60p, so it avoids the longer HDMI handshakes when movie

playback is started 24p, and when stopped.

Almost all movies with few exceptions (Gemini Man, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, a few others)

are mastered at 23.976 frames per second (24p) and meant to be watched this way. In some

cases, a CE device (e.g., the Kaleidescape) may be set to output 24p content at a frame rate of

59.94 fps (60p).

This means that each video frame needs to be repeated, some frames twice, some frames three

times, and this uneven pattern (called "3:2 pulldown") causes a slightly distracting motion

jerkiness. Not everyone may notice this, but now that we mentioned it, you very well may. Since

the Kaleidescape movie selection screen is always output at 60p, setting the Kaleidescape to

output movies also at 60p means you can start and stop movie playback much faster. That is

because when switching between 60p and 24p, a (slow) HDMI handshake is required.

So, in the case of your Kaleidescape, by outputting movies at 60p you get faster HDMI handshakes,

but with motion artifacts some people find distracting, and you are also not watching the movie

as the director intended. Therefore, for the best cinematic experience, we recommend that the

Kaleidescape be set to output the native frame rate for the movie (24p).

This is done by selecting the option "Allow display mode changes (use external scaler)", as

covered in the #3 of this document. Further, since movies will now be output at 24p, you can get

much faster HDMI switching by making the Kaleidescape menus (Cover Art view, Movie List

Viewer, Settings, etc) also run at 24p. This is achieved by setting the "Prefer 24 Hz onscreen

menus" option, as covered in Step #5 in this document.

Note that one small downside of forcing the Kaleidescape menus to 24p is that the animations in

the menu, such as the shuffling of Covert Art posters, will not be as silky-smooth as before. As

discussed elsewhere in this document, most people prefer to use 24p anyway, due to the much

faster HDMI switching times. However, if you prefer the silky-smooth animation over the faster

switching times, it is fine to not use the "Prefer 24 Hz onscreen menus" option. However, it is still

recommended either way to use the "Allow Display mode changes" for reasons discussed above.