madVR Envy - 2021 Highlights!

2021 was a breakout year for madVR Labs and the Envy. Today they recap some of the key highlights, announcements and excitement from 2021.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

On the heels of winning the CEDIA 2020 Best New Hardware Product Award, the Envy was awarded “Best in Class” in the Video Processor category (>>>) this year, with a rare “10/10” score.

madVR greatly scaled their operations and expanded their dealer and distributor networks – now serving customers spanning 23 countries and growing.

madVR introduced their Geometry Control feature, perfect for fixing a-lens barrel distortion, fitting curved screens, and off-axis projector mounting.

They introduced full IP control for Crestron, Control4, Savant and RTI.

They introduced their patent-pending Profile system that is unparalleled in flexibility and usability. It allows for unlimited stackable profiles and calibrations for even the most demanding use cases, and all with friendly names, automatic recall, and or recall through control systems. Check out the documentation.

They introduced their non-linear stretch (NLS+) platform, the first such system to combine horizontal stretch with simultaneous vertical compression (and vice-versa), along with built-in images and simple to use on-screen controls for quick setup. Although NLS may not be for everyone, even “NLS skeptics” have given our NLS+ high praise. See this announcement (>>>) and this one (>>>) (and the videos further below). And please don’t miss their NLS+ Setup Guide.

They introduced their calibration API 2.0, with unprecedented support for a massive 3D LUTs (256 point cube, interpolated 16.7M points) and 4,096 point 1D LUTs (12 bit precision) when using ColourSpace (support for others is underway). This makes Envy the only processor we know of in home cinema that supports both 1D front and 1D back LUTs, if/as desired. Check out this incredibly accurate calibration report (>>>) that was submitted to them, as obtained with a JVC RS2000, a madVR Envy Extreme, and ColourSpace.

They introduced a highly-innovative solution for Subtitle Management, which allows for finally watching scope movies with subtitles at full or near-full screen size. See this whitepaper (>>>) for the full scoop.

Customers and market experts shared their joy of Envy with us through exciting testimonials.

Envy was on display with other high-end A/V gear at several industry shows and events, including the Paris A/V show, Home Cinema Happening 2021 in Belgium, the CEDIA 2021 Tech Summits across several US cities, and other special showings such as at Fairland Studios with the Sony GTZ-380 + Envy Extreme and at RTFS with the Barco Freya + Envy Extreme, both in Germany.

madVR Labs and Barco Residential joined forces to bring 5K HDR to home cinema, raising the bar to new heights.

They had some fun with these football screenshots taken with a Barco Bragi CinemaScope projector(>>>) coupled with an Envy Extreme(>>>). Pretty crazy looking, especially considering these were taken with just a handheld iPhone!

They grew their documentation library substantially, with extensive setup guides for media players, projectors, and more. Additional documentation and training materials are on the way.

Check out the madVR Labs website (>>>) for more information.

NOW ONTO SOME OF THE BEST 2021 VIDEO AND PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS…

madVR Envy Delivers the Ultimate Video Experience in This High-Performance Theater

Notable quotes from the video review include:

“The Envy Extreme is the most advanced video processor made, and does a superb job of converting the video to the best image possible.”

“Envy delivers incredible HDR tone mapping, which ultimately creates the best picture.”

Click here to watch the video review of this amazing theater in action!

[please enable images - click to watch demonstration]

Video review of this high-performance theater, featuring the madVR Envy Extreme

NLS+ IMAGES

Non-linear stretch is used to fill a scope screen so there are no black bars when watching content with a smaller aspect ratio. For instance, you can use NLS+ to remove the vertical black bars when watching 16:9 content on a 2.40 screen. See their NLS+ Setup Guide for more information.

Now let’s take a look at this same image, but with NLS+ engaged.

WATCH NLS+ IN ACTION

Images are great to compare, but it’s also important to consider how NLS+ looks in motion. In the below video clip, custom NLS+ settings are applied to nicely fit this 16:9 commercial to fill a 2.37 screen.

INSTANT AR DETECTION MEETS NLS+ AND HOW IT COMPARES

The Envy’s instant AR detection is such an exciting and important development that Andrew Poole, Proprietor and Senior Calibrator with Home Theatre Engineering, created a video to explain what this all means and why it is the breakthrough he has been waiting for. Please click here (>>>) or on the image below to play the video.

In Andrew’s video, he shows Envy’s instant AR detection and black bar management in action, and how it compares to the competition. He also demonstrates how Envy’s NLS+ can be used in conjunction with Envy’s instant AR detection to deliver a seamless, full screen, highly immersive experience.

Notable quotes from the video review include:

“For me, it’s [the Envy] one of the most existing products to come to our industry… This is a stunning piece of equipment and the more I know about it, the more I love it.”

“This incredible aspect ratio switching is revolutionary – it completely changed cinema watching for me. It adjusts your aspect ratio exactly to fit your screen. And it works perfectly, and it works instantly.”

“It’s then applying its non-linear stretch, and it’s happening absolutely instantly – it’s imperceptible…. So quick that we can’t actually tell when those scene changes have taken place.”