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Another thing I've been up to for a few months has been testing out various 4K and UHD 4K playback devices.
On the consumer level there is a rather affordable player called the Nuvola NP-1 from Nanotech Entertainment.
I've got some thoughts on this particular device.
it's small, real small, and can push out a 4K signal.
How's it doing that?
There's two methods of playing 4K on this thing. Nanotech's UltraFLIX and Apps.
Well long and the short of it this a pure Android device and it utilizes media players from the Play Store. Particularly the focus is on the MX Player app and it does support many codecs. 4K at high bit rate H.264 files playback smoothly. There isn't enough juice in this beast to playback H.265 or VP9 yet, but it does actually play them shockingly though at a stuttered output. Even ProRes files play, but the 4K-ness of them is a bit of a monster for this device. There can be advancements in GPU and Hardware acceleration on this front, so this is a developing. You can literally hook up anything to the USB port, browse, and loop playback though. So there are certainly very useful things this device can do. Signage, demo footage, etc....
On to UltraFLIX. This is Nanotech's version of an online streaming content service, which features nothing but 4K material. It's in the early days, but there's certainly some promise here when it comes to independent filmmakers getting their content to an audience. Much like the promise of the now defunct ODEMAX service that initially had so much potential. There's actually a few familiar faces up in the UltraFLIX Store like Tom Lowe's Timescapes for instance.
The device itself comes with a peculiar remote that took me a second to get comfy with as it's a directional wireless mouse interface that has some easing when brought to borders of the screen and it re-orientates itself to maximum edge and not center. However, you can quickly adapt to that. It was just awkward for me initially.
How does it compare to say REDRAY? Well I literally have them sitting next to each other and REDRAY is 100% a higher quality device playing back 12 bit DCP-level quality imagery that is suitable for theatrical projection. So they are sort of on different levels. The NP-1 to me is 100% a consumer device that is fairly quick to get content onto and get it playing back. That's not knocking it, it's affordable and that's just what the thing can do. It is a nice way to showcase demo content on screens and I have a feeling you'll be seeing this particular device in stores doing exactly that.
Personally I dig the Android concept and it's interesting to me that this can also handle gaming. You can even get a special game pad controller for the NP-1 and there are some games you can play at 4K. Which is interesting. What I would like to see is a highly streamlined and optimized playback application for UltraFLIX and storage based media. So to me this device is interesting today, but what is really interesting is what the potential is via firmware updates and potentially a new hardware revision down the line that could maybe support things like HDMI 2.0. Right now it's 1.4, but it does allow for 24Hz playback as an option, which is great.
We're in some interesting times. 2015 was the actual roadmap target for many companies to grab onto 4K "for reals" and I think we'll see some interesting developments with new hardware, software, and services dedicated to 4K Playback and Distribution. Way more than what we are seeing right now.
This little guy fits in my hand and can be stowed easily in a bag with content even. So it's got it's strengths for review and general purpose watching.
On the consumer level there is a rather affordable player called the Nuvola NP-1 from Nanotech Entertainment.
I've got some thoughts on this particular device.
it's small, real small, and can push out a 4K signal.
How's it doing that?
There's two methods of playing 4K on this thing. Nanotech's UltraFLIX and Apps.
Well long and the short of it this a pure Android device and it utilizes media players from the Play Store. Particularly the focus is on the MX Player app and it does support many codecs. 4K at high bit rate H.264 files playback smoothly. There isn't enough juice in this beast to playback H.265 or VP9 yet, but it does actually play them shockingly though at a stuttered output. Even ProRes files play, but the 4K-ness of them is a bit of a monster for this device. There can be advancements in GPU and Hardware acceleration on this front, so this is a developing. You can literally hook up anything to the USB port, browse, and loop playback though. So there are certainly very useful things this device can do. Signage, demo footage, etc....
On to UltraFLIX. This is Nanotech's version of an online streaming content service, which features nothing but 4K material. It's in the early days, but there's certainly some promise here when it comes to independent filmmakers getting their content to an audience. Much like the promise of the now defunct ODEMAX service that initially had so much potential. There's actually a few familiar faces up in the UltraFLIX Store like Tom Lowe's Timescapes for instance.
The device itself comes with a peculiar remote that took me a second to get comfy with as it's a directional wireless mouse interface that has some easing when brought to borders of the screen and it re-orientates itself to maximum edge and not center. However, you can quickly adapt to that. It was just awkward for me initially.
How does it compare to say REDRAY? Well I literally have them sitting next to each other and REDRAY is 100% a higher quality device playing back 12 bit DCP-level quality imagery that is suitable for theatrical projection. So they are sort of on different levels. The NP-1 to me is 100% a consumer device that is fairly quick to get content onto and get it playing back. That's not knocking it, it's affordable and that's just what the thing can do. It is a nice way to showcase demo content on screens and I have a feeling you'll be seeing this particular device in stores doing exactly that.
Personally I dig the Android concept and it's interesting to me that this can also handle gaming. You can even get a special game pad controller for the NP-1 and there are some games you can play at 4K. Which is interesting. What I would like to see is a highly streamlined and optimized playback application for UltraFLIX and storage based media. So to me this device is interesting today, but what is really interesting is what the potential is via firmware updates and potentially a new hardware revision down the line that could maybe support things like HDMI 2.0. Right now it's 1.4, but it does allow for 24Hz playback as an option, which is great.
We're in some interesting times. 2015 was the actual roadmap target for many companies to grab onto 4K "for reals" and I think we'll see some interesting developments with new hardware, software, and services dedicated to 4K Playback and Distribution. Way more than what we are seeing right now.
This little guy fits in my hand and can be stowed easily in a bag with content even. So it's got it's strengths for review and general purpose watching.
