madVR Envy Extreme MK2 Video Processor Review

Video processors have been a staple for home theaters for quite some time, evolving progressively with the addition of new features. The madVR Envy is one example that represents a significant development in this field.

The madVR brand has been recognized in the audiovisual community for its software used in home theater personal computers (HTPCs) for over a decade. This setup typically involves constructing a high-end computer capable of significant processing, requiring a fair amount of technical knowledge to maximize its use. This approach can come with some significant drawbacks such as ongoing tinkering to get things to work properly, and there’s no support for HDMI input sources.

In 2019, Mathias Rauen, the developer behind madVR, collaborated with Richard Litofsky, an entrepreneur experienced in tech company development, to establish madVR Labs, LLC. Their main goals were to introduce a user friendly, plug-and-play video processor with innovative algorithms, designed to deliver the ultimate picture quality. The original Envy was released in January 2020, marking a notable entry in the market. Following its success, the Envy MK2 was introduced in April 2023 and brings further enhancements to this line of video processors.

Specifications

In this review, we’ll be focusing on the madVR Envy MK2 Extreme, a model that represents the high-end capabilities of the Envy line. The madVR Envy is available in two configurations: the more accessible Pro version and the advanced Extreme. These models come with pretty hefty price tags - in the U.S., the Envy Extreme MK2 is priced at $15,995, while the Pro MK2, a step-down model, is available at $9,495. Although pricey, the pricing is in line with other luxury AV products.

To understand the differences between the two, it's important to note that both the Extreme MK2 and the Pro MK2 feature the same redesigned case and the Glacier X2 cooling system. The key distinction lies in their GPUs. The Pro MK2 is equipped with a different, less powerful Nvidia 4060 GPU, in contrast to the 4080 GPU found in the Extreme version. Both MK2 models feature an upgraded motherboard and power supply, and twice the RAM and SSD capacity compared to the MK1 models. This includes ECC RAM, which is generally used in professional servers and workstations due to its reliability. Its inclusion in these models represents an unusual choice for consumer electronics, aimed at ensuring device stability.

Several key features are shared between both models of the madVR Envy, but certain features are reserved for the Extreme. These include the MotionAI frame interpolation, which supports up to 4K/120 Hz motion smoothing in the Extreme MK2 version, along with upscaling to 8K and 5K for displays that can handle these higher resolutions. The Extreme models also come with Geometry Control which is not present in the Pro version. The roadmap for the Extreme includes a variety of AI-based and other algorithms as can be found  HERE. There are also other undisclosed features in development exclusively for the Extreme.

Owners of the Extreme MK1 have the opportunity to upgrade to the MK2. This involves trading in their current unit and paying an upgrade fee of $4,795, which also includes a brand new 5-year warranty. These traded-in MK1 units are offered to new customers at a discounted rate through the company’s authorized dealer pre-owned program, complete with a two-year warranty.

Design

The MK2 features an exterior design that reflects its high-end status, with an all-aluminum body and a gunmetal brushed aluminum front. This design aims to balance aesthetics with functionality, incorporating five large cooling fans and heat sinks for effective heat management.

In terms of size, the MK2 is more compact than its predecessor, moving from 5U to 4U. This change improves its suitability for rack mounting and use in spaces with limited ventilation. Each unit also includes custom-made Rack Ears which perfectly match the front plate. The MK2 weighs 32 lbs and measures 17.31-inches x 17.44-inches x 7.56-inches.

The back of the unit has been redesigned for a more streamlined and clean look. It includes an HDMI 2.0 input, an HDMI 2.1 output, and an HDMI 2.0 zero-latency pass-through output. The LAN port is multifunctional, supporting firmware updates, remote access for assistance from dealers or customer support, IP control for backups and restores, and direct control of the unit. Two USB 3.0 ports are specifically labeled for IR and RF control, and there are two additional USB ports for accessories such as a USB keyboard and powering an active fiber HDMI cable if desired.

Remote

The MK2 units now come with a backlit remote, which is a nice upgrade from its predecessor. This new remote is not only aesthetically pleasing with its aluminum faceplate but also functionally superior. It features backlit buttons with a battery-saving mode that allows adjustment of the backlight duration – the default is set to 10 seconds, but this can be customized to extend battery life. The function of the backlit buttons can be customized to control whether the pickup sensor is activated or the backlight is turned on or off.

Unboxing and Setup

Unboxing the madVR Envy MK2, the sense of a well-crafted product was immediate. The packaging was well designed, balancing protection with a clean presentation. A particularly nice touch was the fitted cover, providing an extra layer of protection.

One might assume that its setup process is complicated, but in reality, it's quite simple. The support from madVR is commendable, offering remote login assistance (with the user's permission) to address any issues that may arise during installation. The company also provides extensive documentation and setup guides for specific products that make installation a breeze regardless of the manufacturer. I, myself, referred back to these a few times during the process.

In terms of placement, the processor ideally should be positioned directly before the display in the signal chain. Having had the opportunity to use the unit for a month, I experimented with it in various setups. Initially, I integrated it into my living room system which includes a Kaleidescape Strato player, an Apple TV, and a Sony STR-AN1000 receiver, all connected to a Sony A9G OLED TV.

I also set it up in my movie room, connecting it to a Trinnov Alitude16, a Kaleidescape Strato player, an Apple TV, and two different projectors – a JVC NZ8 and a Sony VPL-XW6000ES. This setup was paired with a 138-inch Stewart Filmscreen with a 2:35 aspect ratio.

The Envy Extreme MK2's menu system is a standout compared to other video processors I’ve used in the past. It neatly categorizes features into sections such as image calibration, scaling and de-interlacing, geometry and aspect ratio management, black bar adjustments, HDR tone-mapping, and motion processing, the latter featuring a MotionAI in beta.

The remote for the device simplifies user interaction by categorizing settings into two primary groups that are most frequently used. The first category is the configuration menu, which encompasses settings typically adjusted once and set to remain, such as tone mapping, resolution, and bit depth. The second category is the settings menu, designed for adjustments that might vary from movie to movie, including HDR settings, upscaling and sharpening, deinterlacing, and motion settings. This clear division ensures ease of use and efficient access to the most relevant controls.

An especially user-friendly aspect of the Envy's menu system is its on-screen, context-sensitive help. This feature provides clear explanations for each setting, aiding users in making informed decisions for their setup. While the basic configuration is straightforward, the Envy offers a plethora of options for those who want to delve deeper into customization. For more seasoned users, you can also turn off the helpful tips at the bottom for a cleaner user experience.

One of the most convenient features is the ability to experiment with new settings without changing the defaults. This is often a challenge with complex systems, but madVR has simplified the process. The system employs "Active," "Temporary," and "Base" designations for its settings.

When adjustments are made, they are initially marked as "Temporary," meaning they revert to their default ("Base") values after the viewing session. If a user decides to make certain settings permanent, they can set these as the "Base" with a simple button press. The other nice thing about this feature is that Envy automatically backs up your settings daily, so if you made adjustments that day and didn’t like or remember what you changed, you can easily swap them back to the previous setting. This feature stores the backup locally for up to 12 months and you can store your settings in the cloud with up to 8 different save slots.

The Envy Extreme MK2's patent-pending Profile system offers a streamlined process for creating and managing custom configurations for various features during the setup process. For example, I used this feature to set up distinct profiles for my 16:9 Sony A9G and my 2:35 JVC NZ8.

This concept enables users to group an array of Envy settings into a 'Profile,' which is especially useful when using the device with different display types, such as a TV and a projector. You can create Custom Profiles for different scenarios, which makes it easy to compare settings for different types of content. While madVR provides documentation for setting up these profiles, this design makes it easy to configure the settings for any viewing situation after the initial setup.

The calibration capabilities of the Envy Extreme MK2 are impressively extensive. It accommodates 1D LUT calibration with up to 4,096 points using the ColourSpace software and 3D LUTs that can interpolate up to 16.7 million points. The Calman software is also supported for large 1D and 3D LUTs. The Envy can also store a virtually limitless number of LUTs, which can easily be recalled with Profiles. Once the necessary equipment, such as a meter and pattern generator, is set up, the calibration process becomes mostly automated. This leads to a level of color precision that surpasses what can be achieved through a display's built-in menu system.

MotionAI

The latest addition to the madVR Envy Extreme MK2 is the MotionAI feature, a sophisticated approach to motion/frame interpolation, which is still in its beta phase. Frame interpolation is a technique used to match the input frame rate of content to a display's output frame rate by inserting predicted intermediary frames between actual frames. This aims to provide smoother motion.

Most display manufacturers incorporate some form of frame interpolation to enhance clarity in moving objects or reduce judder in 24 Hz content. However, a common limitation is introduction of motion artifacts, and the lack of detailed control over these settings, usually limited to basic options or resulting in the polarizing Soap Opera effect. As someone who generally dislikes this effect, I was interested in seeing how MotionAI tackled this issue.

MotionAI operates with native 23.976 and 24 Hz content, outputting either 48Hz, 60Hz or 120Hz depending on the display’s capabilities and your preference. For example, in addition to outputting 24p at 60p, you can also output 24p at 120p, and even convert 60p to 120p. To use it, you’ll need to download the experimental build version 1.6.3.43 or later. This is performed directly from the Envy itself. MotionAI offers several different “models” ranging from Alpha8 and Hybrid to more sophisticated ones like Dragon Mouth and Big versions.

These latter models require significant processing power. My preferred settings were the Dragon Mouth model on high with blur mode 3 a setting of Blur Strength 7 and a blur width of 4. These settings are referred to by madVR Labs as “Balanced.” The blur setting allows you to add back some motion blur and helps preserve the cinematic look.

The impact of MotionAI is particularly evident in films like "1917," which employs a continuous shot technique. On both the Sony projector at 4K 60Hz and the JVC at 4K 120Hz, MotionAI significantly improved the clarity. For instance, in a scene following Lance Corporal Blake's death, a pan across a brick building that shows some judder without MotionAI became more detailed and clear. The side-by-side comparison feature of the madVR Envy showcases these differences to the point that watching content at 24Hz now almost feels inadequate.

There is a bit of an adjustment period with MotionAI. We’re so accustomed to watching movies at 24 frames per second that any addition of motion can initially feel unfamiliar. My experience at CEDIA left me skeptical, but after testing it in my setup and giving it a couple of days to adjust, the improvement in detail and the overall enhancement to the picture quality became indisputably clear and is my preference moving forward.

Dynamic Tone Mapping

HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping (DTM) is another exciting feature of the Envy. The Envy's HDR DTM operates on a frame-by-frame basis, optimizing images according to the peak nit output of the connected display. This system is further enhanced by additional algorithms such as Highlight Recovery, Contrast Recovery, Shadow Detail Recovery, and Color Tweaks for Fire. While many displays, including TVs, video walls, and particularly projectors, often face challenges with peak nit output to accurately render HDR, Envy's tone mapping effectively addresses this challenge.

In my experience, the Dynamic Tone Mapping by the Envy stands out as exceptional. With the Sony VPL-XW6000ES projector, which employs its own tone mapping but doesn't consider metadata, the difference became very noticeable when I connected the madVR. In "Equalizer 3," there’s a scene where the detectives are standing outside of a crime scene, and the bushes, which appeared black and detail-less, reveal pink and red flowers with the use of the Envy. Similarly, in "Oblivion," a scene where the light falls on Morgan Freeman's face shifts from an overly harsh illumination to a balanced and detailed exposure with the Envy's tone mapping.

The impact was just as significant when I switched to the JVC NZ8. Although JVC projectors have commendable tone mapping capabilities, the addition of the madVR Envy MK2 brought an extra level of refinement. I often noticed clipped highlights in scenes with clouds when using the JVC's tone mapping, but with the Envy, these issues were absent, maintaining a natural brightness without overdoing it.

My observations with the Sony A9G were equally striking. While TVs generally handle tone mapping better than projectors, the madVR Envy showed a marked improvement over the TV's onboard tone mapping. A scene from "Shazam: The Fury of the Gods" illustrated this perfectly. The TV's tone mapping tended to over-brighten elements like the lightning bolt on the suits, losing detail in the process. However, with the Envy, the details were preserved, and the brightening was more controlled and effective.

The company is set to release a new firmware update for the Envy, introducing additional features to its Tone Mapping capabilities: Global Saturation and Highlight Saturation. These features provide users with more control over the visual output, a change from Envy's previous approach of automatically selecting what it deems best.

Global Saturation pertains to the overall HDR saturation, while Highlight Saturation specifically targets the brightest areas of the image. This isn't noticeable in every scene, but a good example can be found in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." During the climactic battle scene where Voldemort and Harry's spells collide, these new settings come into play.

By adjusting the Global Saturation, one can intensify or reduce the greenish hue of the streams in this scene. Altering the Highlight Saturation can also change the streams' color from white to greenish tones, depending on the level of adjustment. While these adjustments boil down to personal preference, I found that a setting of Global Saturation at +2 setting and a setting of Highlight Saturation at +4 provided the ideal mix.

Aspect Ratio Control and Non-Linear Stretch

Movies and shows come in a variety of aspect ratios, ranging from the standard 16:9 to the cinematic 2.40:1. This variety can pose challenges for display devices, often leading to a compromise between cropping the picture or dealing with black bars.

The Envy addresses this issue with several features. Firstly, it offers an option to shift the entire image up or down, effectively eliminating one of the black bars when viewing content on a 16:9 screen. This reduces visual distraction when watching films with wider aspect ratios like 2.40:1, which typically have letterbox bars.

For those using a Scope Screen, which has an aspect ratio between 2.35:1 and 2.40:1, the Envy becomes even more beneficial for aspect ratio management. It automatically detects the incoming aspect ratio and scales the content to fill the full height of the screen and as much width as the aspect ratio permits. This feature is particularly advantageous compared to manually adjusting lens memory settings for each aspect ratio.

The Envy's ability to adapt to varying aspect ratios within the same movie is another plus. For example, in "The Dark Knight Rises," which fluctuates between 16:9 and 2:39:1, the Envy seamlessly and instantly adjusts the image to optimally fill the screen.

An often-overlooked benefit is the handling of on-screen menus during movies with wider aspect ratios. When such movies are zoomed in to fill the screen, menus can become hard to see. The Envy rescales the image to ensure these menus are always visible.

Moving to Non-Linear Stretch, a feature particularly useful when matching content to screen size, the Envy offers a solution for both 16:9 content on a 2.40:1 screen and vice versa. It effectively reduces or eliminates black bars through a user-friendly graphical interface, allowing real-time adjustments. The image can be cropped and selectively stretched or compressed to fit the screen without significant distortion. This is particularly noticeable in scenarios like stretching a football game onto a 2:35 screen or reducing the black bars on a 2:35 movie to fit a 16:9 TV. While some distortion is inevitable, it's pretty minimal.

Subtitles

The Envy handles subtitle management well, particularly catering to users with Scope screens. Typically, in movies with subtitles, the text often appears within the letterbox area of the video. This becomes an issue if users zoom in to fill the entire screen or use an anamorphic lens, which causes subtitles to fall into the non-visible area. The Envy addresses this by introducing a temporary black bar behind the subtitles to ensure they remain legible. The system is smart enough to detect the length of subtitles, whether they span two lines, three lines, or more, and adjusts the size of the black bar accordingly.

The Envy offers a range of settings for the duration of this black bar's visibility. This "stickiness" feature ranges from having no stickiness, where the bar disappears as soon as the subtitle does, to remaining present until the movie ends. Through my experience, I found that a 5-second duration strikes the perfect balance. It prevents the image from appearing too jumpy, which can happen with shorter durations, while still maintaining an uninterrupted viewing experience.

Upscaling and Image Enhancement

As a user of the new JVC NZ line, I have the capability to input 8K resolution (7680x4320). The JVC projectors accept this signal and use pixel-shifting to display individually addressable pixels. The Envy can upscale content to both 5K and 8K resolutions. Intrigued, I tested this feature to see if there was a noticeable difference between native 4K and content upscaled to 8K using the madVR.

Surprisingly, I did notice some slight improvements in sharpness on the JVC, particularly in close-up shots of faces. For example, in a shot of Michael Keaton’s face from "The Flash," the upscaled 8K version revealed more detailed skin textures, like pores and wrinkles, compared to the native 4K. The same goes for a shot in “Black Adam.” You can see a little more detail on the suit lines than in the regular 4K version. It’s slight, but it’s there.

The Envy also offers a variety of settings to enhance sharpness, edge crispening, and the reduction of various types of noise such as grain, compression artifacts, and mosquito noise. After experimenting with these settings, I found that configuring edge crispening to 4, adaptive sharpening to 2, and detail enhancement to 5 significantly improved the image quality. Playing with the noise reduction setting helped remove grain, though it could slightly soften the image. For newer films like those from Zack Snyder, I prefer to keep this feature off, but for older movies, a lower setting of no more than 2, enhances the viewing experience without overly softening the picture.

Geometry Correction

For users of an anamorphic lens, one common challenge is dealing with image distortions, such as 'barrel' distortion, where the sides of the image bow outward, or 'pincushion' distortion, where they bow inward. Another advantage of geometry correction is its ability to perfectly square and align the screen. This feature ensures a straight, well-proportioned display without any skewed corners or the need for overscan. This makes the installation of the projector and screen much more straightforward.

The Envy Extreme model is equipped with a unique capability to fully correct and eliminate both types of distortion, ensuring a precise alignment between the image and the screen. Although I don’t use an anamorphic lens myself, I experimented with this feature to simulate a "curved screen" effect. I found the process of adjusting the image on the display to be straightforward and user-friendly.

Fan Noise and Software Updates

When using this video processor, especially when upscaling to 8K, applying edge sharpening, tone mapping, and MotionAI, one might expect the unit to generate significant heat. Surprisingly, it maintained a cool performance throughout its operation. The GPU temperature consistently hovered around 36 Celsius, and the mainboard around 28 Celsius. This effective cooling is likely due to the combination of three 140mm fans and two 120mm fans. The company does offer the option to adjust the fans for rack-mounted setups and also set a fan curve, but overall, the unit operated silently during my usage even under the heaviest loads.

Regarding software updates, I expected this to be a lengthy process, which is typical with many devices in this day and age. However, the Envy defied those expectations. This unit came with an early February build and did not include the new MotionAI features. When I updated to the latest experimental build, the process only took about 7 minutes and 20 seconds, which I later found out was on the longer side. The company pushed new software to my review unit with the enhanced dynamic tone mapping features, and that update was completed in about 5 seconds. The madVR Envy also allows for you to revert to a previous firmware version if needed, all within the same brief time frame. While not a "feature” in the traditional sense, this deserves a mention for its unexpected efficiency.

Conclusion

The madVR Envy MK2 stands as a testament to high-end video processing, albeit with a price tag to match. This unit is not just an accessory; it's a transformative addition to any home theater system. It excels in elevating your display experience, harnessing the full potential of your existing setup. Whether it's the precision of its tone mapping, the clarity brought by its upscale to 8K, or the fluidity added by MotionAI, the Envy MK2 consistently pushes the boundaries of what your display can achieve.

While the cost is a definite consideration, the value it adds is undeniable. It's akin to giving your home theater a professional-grade refinement, ensuring that every viewing is not just watched, but experienced in the highest quality possible. The meticulous attention to detail in every feature, from subtlety in subtitle management to the ease of firmware updates, all contribute to a seamless, top-tier viewing experience.