v1.3.05, v1.3.05_G Beta version for Z9X 8K/Z30 PRO/Z3000 PRO/UHD8000

Yeah...for now nothing beats HT5 with the Zidoo player...but on the fly variable aspect ratio handling is currently something I've only seen done with expensive external hardware (Lumagen, MADvr)...If someone is working on it with the hardware we have now, then it bodes well for the future...

Mark is fond of pointing out that CEC is the work of the devil... Variable aspect ratios is soooooo much worse!

 

I see. Did you tried removing them to an external storage then play?

 

I see. Could you please send me the files without the episodes themselves(fanart and NFO)?

 

I think I have solved it, I have restored the router, it changed the IP of the zidoo and it seems to be going well, I will continue with the tests

 

Completely agree - there's nothing better to drag you out of a movie than the aspect ratio suddenly changing, especially when you have a masked or a scope screen.

My screen is multi-aspect CIW, and the way I cope with it is to have soft masks as well as hard masks.

So for example if I have a scope movie with 1.78:1 IMAX scenes, I set the screen to 2.40:1 and I also have soft mask presets in the projector so that stops bleed onto the hard masks when the IMAX scenes crash into view - so I'm blissfully unaware of it and of course all IMAX presentations are also framed for scope so you don't lose out in the cinematography.

I set up soft mask presets in the projector of 2.20:1 (for Nolan!), 2.40:1 and 2.76:1 - I haven't seen anything other than these three so far, but of course if I needed to program more I could.

What's a real shame about the newer JVC projectors is that they used to have 3 presets for soft masks but now only have one so the only way to have multiple presets now is to send discrete commands for top and bottom mask positions rather than just setting a preset and selecting it, and obviously you need a control system to do that. But that's progress for you.

So what does this Aspecta player do in this example - if you have a 2.40:1 movie with 1.78: IMAX scenes? Does it just mask the whole lot to 2.40:1?

 

Yes, I'll send them later. But as I said... when moving them to a separate folder the issue disappears.

 

I haven't quite followed what you've done here, but posters and fanart need to be in the correct directory. Putting them in the root directory will lead to unexpected results, not least because series are are simply named poster.jpg and fanart.jpg.

I suspect what happened is the series without local assets had the assets in the root directory applied to them (which is kind of logical).

 

Logical for the series and not logical for the movies? Not that easy while those series names are completely different to the messed ones. It didn't happen in the past really and I noticed the issue after 2-3 months of placing such files in the root directory.
No doubt that matching system under NFO must be optimized is a must.

 

If you put the files where they're supposed to go, it works.

If you don't, it won't.

 

@Zidoo Support-Kim
Hi Kim, it’s very kind of you to be active on this forum again, but we were actually expecting new firmware after 2.5 months.

It sort of looks as though Zidoo has only just started working on the issues; at least, that’s the impression I’ve got.

 

Don't leave it aside. It's an issue to investigate as the series got a correct matching and created a collection in PosterWall. Few weeks later, the poster is shown messed in others... Sorry, but not that easy to understand!! That's a normal user behavior and could be avoided!!

 

Honestly, I'm still not sure what the problem is. With the greatest of respect, this seems like a simple issue of finger trouble.

As long as you put the assets in the right place, it works.

As I say - if you don't, and you decide to ignore that and put them elsewhere, it doesn't. But why would you do that?

Or am I missing something?

 

Due to a happy accident involving my inability to measure properly, I ended up with a 2.20:1 aspect ratio screen. With past projectors, I used to make hard mattes for various aspect ratios, but with the JVC's blacks,I have no issues with black bars especially when they are mostly to the sides. I have presets for 16:9,1.85:1, 2:1 which use up the total height of my screen with black bars on the sides... I have a 2.35:1 setting which leaves small black bars at the top and bottom of the image and,like you, an IMAX setting which uses the JVC masking for 2.2:1. On properly formatted discs, this simply takes the top and bottom off of the IMAX frames and leaves what was usually protected for non IMAX screens...On some movies, I'll have minor acceptable shifts from 2.2 to 2.35:1, where the top and bottom black bars shift from scene to scene...

Some movies, like EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE employ shifting ratios in the worst way where the movie generally formatted for 16:9, with the scope scenes pillerboxed within...

What the app does is allow for on the fly shifting of ratios for people with CIH screens...

 

Yes, if you put any movie file in the main directory of your collection tree, there isn't mess with the poster. But if you put any series files in the same folder then it messes up. Nothing wrong but matching behavior.
Edit FYI: When I say "root folder" means in the main folder (series) of my NAS directory organized by genres and series. Nothing wrong!!

 

I have to be honest, and this is after decades in the CI arena, you're the first person I've ever come across with a 2.20:1 screen

If you have a MASSIVE subwoofer and fire extinguishers on hand, Chris Nolan would be proud

Anyway - I'm entirely with you on the masking issue, but I have to admit, these days, I couldn't watch a movie where any part of the masked area was displayed on the actual screen, even with JVC blacks. No way.

I even added an MDF board covered in black velvet under the screen so that when it moved up, the velvet would absorb the "grey" projection of the "black" bars so they couldn't even be detected on the wall (which is black!).

And "EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE" - Yep - that one really really annoyed me.

The Rock sequence - that was a burned in subtitle in all commercial releases and it was burned into the bars. Crazy. Very bad decision made by the guys in post - I haven't watched that movie for precisely that reason. Idiots.

 

Ya, I love my JVC's blacks, but I still notice the greyer bars without masking, so I stick with physical masking. My 16:9 screen is pretty low in general, so I just have one panel that lays down in front of it and just needs to be flipped up for scope and back down when not. Then I shift the lens up with lens memory and have programmed the digital masking like Mark and just do without the changing aspect ratios. I dont find the extra moments worth not having the masking but sometimes, like Top Gun Maverick, I will do it on the full screen.

 

Definitely! However you do it, you can't beat physical masks - and hell, it's been said many times, but black velvet is your best friend

Watching a correctly masked scope film in a fully darkened room - definitely can't be beat!

(Those who don't use projection will be wondering what the hell we're on about!)

 

It definitely is! And crazy value for the difference it makes. I ordered huge rolls of the sticky back off Aliexpress for pennies on the dollar in context of this hobby.

I re-built my theatre room with a bigger 135" screen last year and when I did that, I went further and covered every single inch of the room in black velvet. Walls, ceiling, panels covering anything like glossy speakers, black plush carpet for the floor, and black velvet furniture coverings (I prefer lounging chaises, etc. to official theatre style seating). I even ordered a fresh set of throw blankets in black plush velvet like material. What a HUGE difference it made. I would put covering the room in velvet in the realm of what it was like stepping up from an old Epson 1080P projector to the JVC.

The only complaint I have is when I wake up in the middle of the night after my sleep timer on the projector turned it off and it is PITCH BLACK. It can be an eerie place to wake up.

 

That's when you know you did it right

 

Right with you guys on creating a pitch black cave. My walls and ceiling are painted black. My equipment stack is at the back of the room with all displays set to off or taped over... with the JVC's laser dimming mode, I can't see my hand in front of my face when the image fades to black... I just watched the movie UNDERTONE...fades to black are a large part of that movie's creep factor..

Make no mistake...I have the extra mattes made...but with my LASER set to medium and a low gain screen (less than .7)...I really don't have much need as I seem to have achieved the "floating screen" look that I strive for, regardless of the A/R...