madVR Envy Core Deep Dive
Richard Litofsky, Co-founder & CEO of madVR, provides some insight into the reaction to the company’s latest launch, the madVR Envy Core, as well as the maker’s general impact on the high-quality AV sector.
“Frankly, it has been mayhem since we launched the Envy Core, like being caught in the middle of a stamped at a rock concert,” explains Richard, or Ric as some in the industry know him. He adds, “The reception has been even better than we could have hoped. We’re building enough product in the first batch to take us through the first three months — or so we thought — but that sold out in nearly three weeks. Clearly, there was pent-up demand for this version of the madVR concept. Some of this demand has come from the DIY market, but the demand from pro-installers has been fantastic as well. This has been an exciting build for us because, at the end of the day, we are AV fans and enthusiasts too. I co-founded madVR Labs because the Envy is the video processor that I have always wanted to have in my home cinema. Kicking back at the end of the day and enjoying some great content is why we do this!”
So, what was the concept behind introducing the Envy Core? “Up until now the Envy Pro and Envy Extreme have brought high-performance video processing to the home cinema and AV worlds. We have had lots of success with this, but enthusiasts and integrators have been asking for a product that takes the ‘core’ abilities of the platform and delivers them in a compact and more affordable version — hence the name Envy Core. Integrators focusing on more modest based home theatres and media rooms wanted a product that they could offer to their customers. While integrators focusing on the high-end theatres want to use the Envy Extreme in the main theatre, but also something smaller for other rooms around the house.”
Ric also points out a use case that might surprise a few. “We have seen a lot of interest in pairing the Envy Core with large-screen TVs. While some people may assume the Envy is destined to work mainly with projectors, and of course, they do this very well, increasingly we are seeing them used with the many large high-performance TVs and video walls.
“We often say that a display’s job is to paint the image on the screen, and it’s our job is to prepare each and every pixel in the most optimal way for the display to paint on the canvas. Ultimately, our job with the Envy products is to give installers and end users an easy path to the ultimate picture quality and immersion.”
Image conscious
So, what do we mean when we say a ‘better image’? What is the madVR product actually doing? Ric explains, “Since the Envy Core was created to deliver all our most popular abilities from the range, let’s concentrate on those. The Envy Core delivers our proprietary 4K HDR dynamic frame by frame tone mapping (check out one of our ‘with and without’ demos to see the impact here), and it really does unlock the real power of HDR, ensuring highly accurate colours and all the detail both in the darkest and brightest areas of the image. Also provides is our instant aspect ratio handling — say goodbye to ‘lens memory’ and the inconvenience, slow operation and potential focus drift issues that come with it. The Envy Core also includes intelligent subtitle management to solve the problem with subtitles appearing off the screen, delivers next-generation non-linear stretch both for scope and 16:9 screens, and powerful 4K upscaling to maximise all content, as well as specialised sharpening and detail enhancement. The unit also supports the largest 1D and 3D LUT calibration in the industry for reference level results which take picture quality to the next level.”
Ric is also keen to underline that all this power does not mean that the Envy Core, or indeed any of the products, are hard to set up or use. “Ease of use is very important to us. Our menus are designed to be very intuitive, and we continue to receive very positive comments from integrators on this aspect of the design. Power is, of course, nothing without control.”
A further key aspect of the Envy Core is the ability, like the other models, to allow integrators to remote into the system and check system health and performance with the customer’s prior permission. Ric emphasises, “This is a really popular feature with installers. Professionals can ensure that the customer is always getting the optimal performance from every aspect of their viewing, with no truck rolls needed. And the end customer loves the convenience as well.”
Further enhancements to the Envy Core concept are available via the aftermarket Core Premium Package, available at the introductory price of just $995. Ric explains that this package is designed to deliver additional features and enhancements and doubles the warranty from two to four years from the original purchase date of the Envy Core. Basically, this option allows extra bells and whistles to be added to the unit. Ric also confirms that the Envy Core has started shipping in the USA and will start shipping to the UK in a few weeks.
Training and certification
Training is, of course, a big part of any company’s offering, and Ric explains, “We used to rely on online sessions for our new dealer training. We still do that on in some cases, but it is now more of a guided install. This is thanks to our new Envy Academy Online, which is the company’s official dealer training. It contains over 50 bit-size online lessons that integrators through every and any aspect of the madVREnvy. From the most basic to the advanced abilities of the system, it’s all in there, and it’s free and open to everyone, even end users We are committed to training and education and want the market to understand how to best leverage the Envy for the ultimate cinematic experience at home.”
The company also has its ‘Certified for Envy’ programme. Industry professionals who complete the online Envy Academy Course and pass the exam are recognised as a ‘Certified for Envy – Product Specialist, Level 1’ and earn three CEDIA CEUs into the bargain.
Ric says, “Becoming certified really builds confidence. Not everyone passes first time, but the exam is always a learning experience and helps those who embark on it to truly understand what the products are doing and how to get the very best from them.”
All of this performance and ease of access to the platform has resulted in many awards for the company. Most recently, the Envy Core won the 2024 CEDIA Best in Show award from AVS Forum and Projector Central, and the Best Products of 2024 award from CE Pro. ProjectorCentral also gave the Envy Core its Editor's Choice Award, calling it an ‘excellent unit offering great value’. The Envy Extreme MK2 won the 2024 Top Technology Award from CE Pro at ISE 2024, the AVS Forum ‘Top Choice of 2024’ Award, and was named to TechRadar's Best Indulgent Home Theater Gear of 2024. It also won five awards at CEDIA 2023, including the AVS Forum Best in Show Award for the main demo room experience.
Ric highlights another piece of recognition the company is proud of. “We are thrilled to be included in the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in America.. Inc. is a well-respected American business magazine that provides information and advice for business owners and CEOs, and each year the publication produces its Inc. 5000 list. We were included on the list for the first time, and we firmly believe that it is our rapid rate of innovation that has allowed us to grow so fast.”
Ric enthuses, “To put this in a nutshell, the Envy Core and the rest of the range deliver the ultimate picture quality and immersion for customers, while greatly simplifying the user and operation of the system, and eliminating many headaches that integrators have to deal with otherwise. It creates a point of difference for systems that do and don’t have this ability, giving integrators an edge over the competition who is not forward-thinking. It greatly simplifies the process, enabling you to do your job better, but also with more ease. A genuine win-win for everyone.” For more information, see https://madvrenvy.com/.