MadVR Envy Owners & Discussion Thread

[hifiman]

After confirming all Envy Extremes will be using the new RTX 3080 card, Madshi did say that he will be adding more algos to take advantage of the extra horsepower. This would take take over the next few months. 

I'm guessing for those more interested in the Envy Pro model, the current GTX 1660 card will probably be replaced by the forthcoming RTX 3600 card which hasn't been announced yet sometime in 2021. That's my guess anyway. 

[Mobe1969]

8 hours ago, cwt said:

Another alternative for those concerned with eol issues for oppo's there is the pio LX500 [which emulates source direct like a 51hd  I once owned] . Possibly puts out 4.2.2  rather than 4.2.0 uhd colour subsampling iirc

A nice match when the envy takes over the panas tone mapping . excerpt from a pio review -

 

 

The pioneer does seem to be plagued with playback issues. The Panasonic has a few (eg recent Lionsgate DV so no issue for MadVR) but no source direct.

 

I wonder if the Sony x800m2 is currently the least problematic best suited for an external video processor, having the desired features (eg source direct). I think the only issue with Sony won't affect madvr users - eg Dolby Vision on for all content.

 

I really love the Panasonic subtitle control. And a region free mod will be available next month (Gatti). But I'm really struggling to figure out what the best solution is.

 

@wooferocau, would you know if there is say a simple way to get the madvr to say send an edid saying 1080p so the player switches?

@,,,

Edited September 18, 2020 by Mobe1969

[Javs]

11 hours ago, Marc said:

Oh that is not clear. They should post an update on that review then. 
 

Where would one find his current thoughts and “about face”?

Here are some tests...

 

Oblivion:

Oblivion : Screenshot Comparison
Oblivion : Screenshot Comparison
Oblivion : Screenshot Comparison
Oblivion : Screenshot Comparison

Game of Thrones:

GoT : Screenshot Comparison
GoT : Screenshot Comparison
GoT : Screenshot Comparison

Samsara:

Samsara : Screenshot Comparison
Samsara : Screenshot Comparison
Samsara : Screenshot Comparison
Samsara : Screenshot Comparison
Samsara : Screenshot Comparison

Skyfall:

Skyfall : Screenshot Comparison
Skyfall : Screenshot Comparison
Skyfall : Screenshot Comparison
Skyfall : Screenshot Comparison
.
Conjuring 1&2:

Conjuring 2 : Screenshot Comparison
Conjuring 2 : Screenshot Comparison
Conjuring 2 : Screenshot Comparison

Edited September 18, 2020 by Javs

[Marc]

They're excellent examples @Javs, assuming all things being equal of course. Thanks.

[Marc]

 

[cwt]

Quote

The MadVR Envy Pro is available now from $13,995 RRP.

I think the putative price of the top of line Elite puts a lot into perspective ; including the lumagens to an extent Marc   Not to mention the low jitter value adding of the 5348 ..

 

I wonder which ce's have any plans to upgrade to hdmi 2.1 ports ; they could shave some of the $ of some models by ditching the 1.4 ports and having less 48gbps ones as well .. 

[wooferocau]

31 minutes ago, cwt said:

I think the putative price of the top of line Elite puts a lot into perspective ; including the lumagens to an extent Marc   Not to mention the low jitter value adding of the 5348 ..

 

I wonder which ce's have any plans to upgrade to hdmi 2.1 ports ; they could shave some of the $ of some models by ditching the 1.4 ports and having less 48gbps ones as well .. 

 

 

Interesting.....  Since the Envy PRO comes in at $14K , that will put the Envy   EXTREME in the vicinity  of $22-23k !!    

[Hilltop Hippy]

I was a little surprised not to find a thread on this.

 

http://madvr.com/

 

Its supposed to be the ducks nuts of video processors. I'm looking at a new HTPC and this came up on my searches.

 

.....I favour the DIY/free option as opposed to the $15,000.00 Envy box......seems like development of the software is a bit hit and miss.

 

What about MPC Renderer?

 

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this? Am I just over thinking it?

 

Basically the HPTC will play all our content stored on the NAS - digital music and movies

 

[AudioGeek]

How are you going to use it? Upscaling? DTM for a projector?

[Hilltop Hippy]

1 hour ago, AudioGeek said:

How are you going to use it? Upscaling? DTM for a projector?

 

Both, well that was the plan/way I understood it

[AudioGeek]

Madvr htpc would be unbeatable

[Boby Vee]

MPC Renderer while OK is definitely inferior to MadVR, mostly because no way to set display light output so tone mapping works to best advantage for the display

Also not as sharp as MadVR without using shaders such as luma sharpen etc

 

 

[Marc]

We've finally got our hands on an Envy which is currently undergoing an extensive review by Tony O'Brien.
Stay tuned!

[AudioGeek]

10 hours ago, Marc said:

We've finally got our hands on an Envy which is currently undergoing an extensive review by Tony O'Brien.
Stay tuned!

 

Ah, if I had known you were after one to review would have leant mine. Tony has allready played with it when calibrating my projector

[Hilltop Hippy]

4 hours ago, AudioGeek said:

Tony has allready played with it when calibrating my projector

 

You're obviously a fan then. Presumably a worthwhile exercise? Even a HTPC capable of running it well is still like $4-5k from what I understand (good info here)

[Satanica]

31 minutes ago, Hilltop Hippy said:

 

You're obviously a fan then. Presumably a worthwhile exercise? Even a HTPC capable of running it well is still like $4-5k from what I understand (good info here)

 

Yes a PC of that cost should run it well, it all about the graphics card of course as it is GPU based. Unfortunately MadVR is seemingly no longer in development for the PC free release. I've switched over to JRVR which is part of JRiver Media Centre. While not capable of the best images MadVR is, the good quality it provides come with a fraction of the resources consumed and it's much easier to configure. 

[Hilltop Hippy]

On 04/09/2022 at 11:50 AM, Satanica said:

I've switched over to JRVR which is part of JRiver Media Centre.

 

JRiver seems to be the software of choice, either with or without MadVR. How do you find it as an interface?

 

Presumably you find a significant benefit in picture quality with either JRVR or MadVR versus nothing?

[Satanica]

19 minutes ago, Hilltop Hippy said:

 

JRiver seems to be the software of choice, either with or without MadVR. How do you find it as an interface?

 

Presumably you find a significant benefit in picture quality with either JRVR or MadVR versus nothing?

 

Jriver MC has multiple interfaces. Standard View is what most use from a PC. Theater View is aimed for when using a HTPC and for this I use a Media Center IR remote control which I've setup with a Logitech Harmony Elite. Theater View is good but not great IMO, it could do with some improvements, but it gets the job done.

 

https://jriver.com/htpc.html

 

Yes both madVR and JRVR offer improvement over just "standard" video renderers of which JRiver MC actually has three being:
Red October Standard

Red October madVR (requires fast computer)

Red October JRVR (recommended)

 

I have a projector and a 110" screen. Both madVR and JRVR have good HDR to SDR tone-mapping which is especially useful when using a projector.

 

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/JRVR_-_JRiver_Video_Renderer

Edited September 5, 2022 by Satanica

[Hilltop Hippy]

On 03/09/2022 at 8:11 PM, Marc said:

We've finally got our hands on an Envy which is currently undergoing an extensive review by Tony O'Brien.
Stay tuned!

 

G'day, sorry to pester Marc, just wondering when this review might be out? I'm getting close to needing to make a decision, I'd appreciate some SNA insights

[Marc]

Just now, Hilltop Hippy said:

 

G'day, sorry to pester Marc, just wondering when this review might be out? I'm getting close to needing to make a decision, I'd appreciate some SNA insights

 

There have been some technical issues with the review unit that we have been working through with the Australian distributor and MadVR themselves - who have been very helpful. I believe they are nearly resolved. I woudn't expect to see it for another few weeks now unfortunately though just due to scheduling.

[SimonNo10]

This is my next purchase and wont be for awhile while I save or win Tatts tonight.

[Hilltop Hippy]

Anyone here have any thoughts on the new Intel GPUs? Apparently the 770 beat the 4080 for AV1 encoding. I'm wondering if this performance would translate to tone mapping etc?

[wooferocau]

From "Kris Deering" in the US...

 

I did a calibration with an Envy a few weeks ago. I didn’t find their menu system very intuitive at all (I didn’t do the initial setup though), or certainly not anymore intuitive than the Lumagen once the initial setup was done. Their text based system didn’t honestly seem that different either, just a different font and color. It also didn’t work with the calibration software I was using (CalMan) despite them advertising that it does. After almost 4 hours of trying to get it to work with the client right next to me and MadVR on the phone for some of it (telling me to backdate CalMan to a version from over a year ago which still didn’t work), we gave up and I just did the projector on my own. During that session I called another high profile traveling calibrator and he said he hasn’t had any luck with getting the Envy to do what they say it will with calibration and he just ignores it. Another called me during the session and I asked him if he had any insight and he started laughing saying he just ignores it as well along with some other information that I would rather not share here. It was not the first impression I was hoping for and the client that was in the room for the entire session was not pleased at all with the experience either and was going to reach out to his dealer about it.

The Lumagen was designed from the beginning to be a custom install device sold by a dealer that should know how to set it up FOR THE CLIENT. Once this setup is done properly, the client rarely if ever should need to go into the main menus. All of the “season to taste” settings can be accessed from quick commands. The rest should really never need to be messed with. But Lumagen’s operating manual goes through every menu for the most part (some of the recent stuff hasn’t been added) and walks through what the settings do. I agree the font and coloring give it a rather old school DOS look, but the menu system works extremely well once you learn to use it (Which wasn’t even very hard). But I’ve brought the perception of the interface up to Lumagen so I know it will be something that will be looked at down the line. Right now they are prioritizing features/issues that directly impact picture quality.

[AudioGeek]

36 minutes ago, wooferocau said:

From "Kris Deering" in the US...

 

I did a calibration with an Envy a few weeks ago. I didn’t find their menu system very intuitive at all (I didn’t do the initial setup though), or certainly not anymore intuitive than the Lumagen once the initial setup was done. Their text based system didn’t honestly seem that different either, just a different font and color. It also didn’t work with the calibration software I was using (CalMan) despite them advertising that it does. After almost 4 hours of trying to get it to work with the client right next to me and MadVR on the phone for some of it (telling me to backdate CalMan to a version from over a year ago which still didn’t work), we gave up and I just did the projector on my own. During that session I called another high profile traveling calibrator and he said he hasn’t had any luck with getting the Envy to do what they say it will with calibration and he just ignores it. Another called me during the session and I asked him if he had any insight and he started laughing saying he just ignores it as well along with some other information that I would rather not share here. It was not the first impression I was hoping for and the client that was in the room for the entire session was not pleased at all with the experience either and was going to reach out to his dealer about it.

The Lumagen was designed from the beginning to be a custom install device sold by a dealer that should know how to set it up FOR THE CLIENT. Once this setup is done properly, the client rarely if ever should need to go into the main menus. All of the “season to taste” settings can be accessed from quick commands. The rest should really never need to be messed with. But Lumagen’s operating manual goes through every menu for the most part (some of the recent stuff hasn’t been added) and walks through what the settings do. I agree the font and coloring give it a rather old school DOS look, but the menu system works extremely well once you learn to use it (Which wasn’t even very hard). But I’ve brought the perception of the interface up to Lumagen so I know it will be something that will be looked at down the line. Right now they are prioritizing features/issues that directly impact picture quality.

Wow, thats quite damning.

I never had any issue setting it up - and I was a complete novice, even had Tony O fine tune it. Still adjust on the fly as needed.

 

I used to follow a lot of the advice on avsforum until I was informed who was giving it. A lot of these master calibrators charge >US$2000 for a projector calibration! I see people post in their projector to get calibrated. Then they sell and "set up" certain devices as well - which are always the ones they recommend and the best performers! 

 

I actually pay more attention to your feedback and others on SNA.

 

Finally got to see a Lumagen in action For myself. It is essier to set up, cheaper and more than good enough for the average punter. Would probably go that way if buying now.