Description
If youre looking you already know what this incredible video processor is and how rare an opportunity it is to get one at this price. Normal MSRP is over 15K. We are a MADVR Dealer and this is B-Stock, used in an installation for a short period of time before the client decided to change to a Lumagen instead for video switching and audio capabilities. It was purchased in 2022, but the theater was not complete and it was unused until 2024. Thus it should still carry part of its 5 year warranty. You will see a photo close up of the serial number if youd like to look up hardware details. This is the original MKI model. The Envy is a powerful Video Processor, dedicated to providing the best possible picture quality for high-end Cinema. Modern video images exist in the digital domain, and so must go through a wide variety of devices and processors to get from the original source to the screen where it is viewed. Video Processors are present in the players we use, a/v receivers, pre-pros, as well as the projector or other display device. These will vary in what they are able to do with the image, and more importantly, how well they do it. The Envy was designed to outperform them all, so let’s take a look at how it measures up. The award-winning madVR Envy uses our patent-pending video processing to deliver the ultimate picture quality in your dedicated home theater. Enjoy the most dramatic yet highly accurate 4K HDR dynamic tone mapping, instant aspect ratio detection, subtitle management for scope screens, and non-linear stretch unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The Envy also offers unrivaled 4K upscaling, specialized sharpening and detail enhancement, 3D and 1D LUT calibration with unprecedented precision, and much more. The Envy is the first and only dedicated video processor to use machine learning algorithms with real-time video streams, taking your video quality to a whole new level. The Envy installs in minutes and is a joy to use. Dynamic Tone Mapping (DTM) for HDR ContentThe latest and most exciting development in home theater is the production of shows and movies with 4k Resolution, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG). This can create an unprecedented level of realism and visual impact when done right, but there are significant challenges to achieving this in our homes.Specifically, most HDR mastering is based on having a very high degree of brightness available on the display device – 1,000 nits, or in some cases, up to 10,000 nits. The best current televisions can get between 600 and 1,000 nits, sometimes higher, while the average is about 450 nits. And when we look at projectors, with a reasonably large screen size, theyre generally in the 50 to 150 nit range.As a result, in order to display HDR in home theaters where the brightness is quite limited, the original signal must be “tone mapped” to the range that is actually available. Initial efforts used “static” tone mapping, where a single map was used for any and all HDR content, but it really didn’t work well.The Envy is one of very few devices that uses “dynamic” tone mapping. Here, each and every frame is independently analyzed, and sophisticated algorithms are used to produce the best looking image. The Envy allows you to input the actual Nits available on your screen, which it then uses to customize its output for your particular theater.This makes a huge difference, and it does a superb job of creating the visual impact made possible by HDR. Before adding the Envy to our system, we frequently encountered scenes that were either too dark, others too bright, or areas where whites were clipped or blacks were crushed. The Envy has beautifully handled everything we’ve thrown at it, and we’ve been able to just sit back and enjoy the show!The most recent firmware provides 5 selectable “looks” to the dynamic tone mapping, which along with other options available, provides the ability to fully ‘tweak’ the image to look its best in your own theater.Aspect Ratio ManagementThe movies and shows we enjoy can vary quite a bit in their Aspect Ratio – from the HDTV standard of 16:9, to 2.00:1 often used by Netflix, all the way to 2.40:1 for most motion pictures. This makes things difficult for any display device, and very often the picture gets compromised as a result.If you’re using a 16:9 screen, and watching a 2.40:1 movie, there are letterbox bars at the top and bottom, which can be visually distracting. The Envy provides an option to automatically move the entire image either up or down, eliminating one of those bars, which reduces this distraction.Widescreen Explained: What’s with the Black Bars?If you’re using a Scope Screen (where the Aspect Ratio is between 2.35:1 and 2.40:1), the Envy will automatically detect the incoming aspect ratio, and scale it so that it always fills the full height of your screen, and as much of the width as the aspect ratio allows. This is a huge benefit. Before adding the Envy, we would have to use different lens memory settings for each and every aspect ratio, which physically zooms the lens, shifts the image, and refocuses the picture. This usually takes at least 10-20 seconds, and because it relies on physical motors, the precision isn’t exact, and tends to drift over time, requiring additional manual adjustments. But with the Envy, it happens instantly and automatically, and is always precise.This feature really comes in handy when watching movies where the aspect ratio changes during the same movie – Christopher Nolan’s movies in particular use this a lot. We watched Tenet, where the Aspect Ratio varied between 16:9 and 2.20:1, and these changes were automatically and instantly detected, so that the movie optimally fills the screen from start to finish.And perhaps even more importantly, if you’re watching a 2.40:1 movie, zoomed to fill your screen’s width, and you hit the player’s Pause button, to fast forward, find a time-stamp, or to select a different scene to watch, those On Screen Display elements are typically in a 16:9 format. Without the Envy, these can’t be seen because they would ‘spill’ over onto the screen’s frame and the wall behind the screen. But with the Envy, they are instantly recognized, and the image is automatically rescaled so that all On Screen Display elements are always visible. This was needed basically every time we watched a movie, and was incredibly useful.Non Linear StretchWhenever there is a difference between the aspect ratio of what is being watched, and that of the screen where it is being displayed, there will be black bars present. When watching 16:9 content on a 2.40:1 screen, there will be ‘pillarbox’ bars on the sides. When watching 2.40:1 content on a 16:9 screen, there will be ‘letterbox’ bars on the top and bottom. In both situations, there is unused screen space, and many want an option to fill their screen, regardless of the Aspect Ratio.The Envy provides a very easy way to reduce or eliminate the black bars in either of these situations. It provides a well-designed graphical interface where you can make the adjustments, and see the results in real time. You can configure this for any aspect ratio you want, and the settings will be automatically applied.The image can be partially cropped, which will increase the image size, and reduce the black bars, with no distortion of the content’s geometry. This can be combined with stretching of selected areas of the content, along with compression of other areas. The result is a larger, more immersive image, with no black bars or unused space on the screen.This is a personal choice, however, as some people prefer not to alter the original image in any way. But we do like the fact that the Envy provides the choice to the theater owner, to display the picture according to their personal preferences.SubtitlesWe often find it helpful to turn on subtitles, and when watching 2.40:1 content on a 2.40:1 screen, they are often partially or completely cropped out, because they’re in the black bar area usually below the screen. The Envy provides the ability to fix this, and the result is that the subtitles can be completely seen within a narrow bar at the bottom, with no bars at the top or sides. This is a huge benefit, and it works quite well. And even better, it does this automatically, needing no button pushes!UpscalingIf you’re watching regular HD content (1920x1080 pixels) with a 4k Projector (3840x2160 pixels), the image must be ‘upscaled’ to be viewed correctly. This can take place in the player, the AVR, pre-pro, or the projector. These devices can get the basic job done, but having limited processing power, the results are often not optimal.The Envy has a huge amount of processing power available with its hardware, and along with its sophisticated proprietary algorithms to handle the upscaling, HD content often appears just as sharp and detailed as if it were 4k to begin with.Image EnhancementThe Envy provides an array of settings to further improve the image. This includes options for sharpness, edge enhancement, reduction of grain, compression artifacts, and mosquito noise, as well as other tools. We find that adding just a little sharpening to upscaled HD material provides a significant improvement in image quality. And a little noise reduction makes watching older, grainier movies more enjoyable. Anamorphic StretchMany people use Anamorphic Lenses to further improve image quality when using Scope Screens. Projectors typically have 2 Anamorphic Modes of processing available – one for 16:9 content, and the other for 2.40:1 content – with no ‘in-between’ options. This creates major problems for seeing full menus and other on screen Display elements, as well as subtitles, or when watching shows with aspect ratios other than 16:9 and 2.40:1.The Envy is designed to handle these automatically and optimally, and it lives up to its claims. Regardless of the aspect ratio of what you watch, the Envy scales it automatically, and it looks great. It basically provides an unlimited number of anamorphic modes, which no projector could possibly duplicate.Geometry CorrectionAn anamorphic lens is frequently used when viewing content on a scope screen. They increase the brightness and pixel density, providing a better picture. But they do also cause some unwanted changes to the image: either ‘barrel’ distortion, where the sides bow outward, or ‘pincushion’ distortion, where they bow inward.The Envy Extreme model has the unique ability to fully correct and eliminate both of these types of distortion, providing a precise fit between the image and screen. We used this feature in one of our theaters, and it worked exactly as described, and was quite simple to actually do the correction.3D LUTThe capability to have your system professionally calibrated, using software such as ColourSpace and Calman, is built into the Envy, supporting 256-point LUTs. This provides a powerful way to get the most accurate image possible in your Theater.
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