Why is my Strato movie player not outputting a 4K Ultra HD image?
First and foremost, HDCP 2.2 copy protection is required to play any 4K Ultra HD content with Strato. Some early 4K display devices do not support HDCP 2.2, and will not be able to display 4K Ultra HD content when used with Strato. Other 4K displays only support HDCP 2.2 on a single input. Consult with the display’s manufacturer for details.
If a display does not support HDCP 2.2 copy protection, but does support HDCP 1.x, Strato will down-scale the 4K Ultra HD content and output it at up to 1080p resolution.
Strato also requires HDMI 2.0 to properly display 4K Ultra HD content and the Kaleidescape on-screen user interface. One might expect that a display that supports HDCP 2.2 is also an HDMI 2.0 display, and vice-versa. Unfortunately, the situation is more complicated.
Some HDMI 2.0 displays do not support HDCP 2.2. Also, some HDMI 2.0 displays only support data transfer at 10.2 gigabits per second (Gbps), rather than the maximum 18 Gbps included in the HDMI 2.0 spec. The lower speed places some limits on how Strato displays 4K Ultra HD content.
Note that some equipment describes HDMI bandwidth in terms of frequency rather than data rate. A 10.2Gbps connection or cable may also be called 340MHz, and an 18 Gbps connection may also be called 600 MHz.
The chart below summarizes how HDMI and HDCP capabilities affect Strato playback.
| | HDCP 1.x | HDCP 2.2 |
| HDMI 1.3 and below | 1080p 24/30/60 | N/A |
| HDMI 1.4 | 1080p 24/30/60 | 2160p 24/30
Not recommended. On-screen interface
performance will be degraded and some
content will display poorly. |
| HDMI 2.0 @ 10.2Gbps | 1080p 24/30/60 | 2160p 24/30
10-bit color
2160p 60
8-bit color |
| HDMI 2.0 @ 18Gbps | 1080p 24/30/60 | 2160p 24/30/60
10-bit color
Kaleidescape OSD can be rendered
with 4:4:4 chroma |
| HDMI 2.0a @ 10.2Gbps | 1080p 24/30/60 | 2160p 24/30
10-bit color
HDR possible with HDR display
2160p 60
8-bit color |
| HDMI 2.0a @ 18Gbps | 1080p 24/30/60 | 2160p 24/30/60
10-bit color
HDR possible with HDR display
Kaleidescape OSD can be rendered
with 4:4:4 chroma |
Note: in countries using PAL format, content is displayed at 25 or 50 frames per second rather than 30 and 60.
For more information, refer to the Kaleidescape Strato Installation Guide. Of particular interest is the "Getting the Most out of Strato" section starting on page 22.
