I mostly lurk but I couldn't let this go. For the most part I respect the author's POV and attempts to sound impartial, but I think he's showing a bit too much bias this time.
We all know this is a D800s. It is just a mild update based on a sensor designed for stunning still photography (which to date, no 35mm digital sensor matches it, and this further improves it). So all the 4K gear we see today was designed from the ground up to support this feature. The D810 sensor is a refinement of the stellar 2 year old sensor.
Therefore I don't think Nikon is really behind, or any more behind than other big names, such as canon, to bring 4K to a truly affordable entry point in their DSLRs. In this regard, I don't think Nikon deserves to be blamed for trying to do a press releases that hypes the video so much. Canon would do the same thing if they released a 5DmkIII refinement which had the same sensor with similar tweaks but no 4K since it wasn't designed to do that.
Marketing is supposed to be like this, and I find it rather disappointing the author can't see past it. We all know press releases always stretch the truth don't we? The 5DMkIII press release surely didn't tell you about the soft video output. Yet do we blame canon as being deceptive? When sony released the A7R with the alleged 36MP sensor which didn't quite achieve the same still qualities of the D800, in particular in its inability to deliver true 14bit quality, were they lying? Where was the eoshd's article then?
These are not lies or deception. They are being a typical business. So let's not pretend that when Nikon does whate everybody else does: stretch the truth, they are some how deceiving people, or at least anymore than all the other companies are. So until we get a 5DmkIII that really shot 14 stops of DR (it doesn't), an A7R which really shoots 14 bit worth of image data in its files (it doesn't), I think all cameras have strengths and weaknesses and marketing's job is to try to pretend they don't.
Ultimately the problem, as I see it, and based on the number of cameras the author uses is that there is no one perfect camera. Unlike the Author stills comes first to me so something like the sony A7s is immediately a non starter. I suspect that is where the Author's other camera's come in? but yet none of these really match the D800, or presumably the D810s, even if as the author puts it "it is the same old camera". Well the same old camera still better than all of those image quality wise. We've all seen the specs. Base 64ISO on top of the already legendary DR and color depth, and the removal of the AA filter should deliver quite simply the best stills seen in a full frame camera in the world. THIS is what Nikon is selling today while the other guys are still trying to catch up to them with sony being close but ultimately dropping the ball with the strangely crippled A7r sensor.
So yes, the current iteration of the 800 line is probably behind video specs. And with rumors from both canon Nikon and sony's camp of 50+MP sensors in the works, the video story isn't going to get better. High resolution sensors just aren't friendly to low resolution video, including what videographers refer to as 4K, sorry but that is a joke for still imaging resolution. For Sony to provide a similar experience to the A7s on current resolution still image devices, they would have to capture at least 8K video which is a few MPs shy of the 36.6 the D810 already has. But then even that won't be good enough if we're in 50MP territory in a few years.
And before you all jump on me to say nobody needs more than 12MP, I tell you nobody really needs more than 1080p, yet you're all drooling at 4K and if you could 8K. It's the same thing with stills guys. we're just higher in the numbers game but the same arguments apply, and I in fact agree that 1080p isn't enough and would off course love a D800 with a full sensor 8K readout. Yet I know this is technically not possible today, at least at the price point of 3-4 thousand USD.
IMHO, if you want really good stellar video you're going to have to sacrifice stills resolution. At this point that isn't much of a problem because only the D800 line can really offer a preview of what is to come: the revenge of the MP wars. So ultimately and unfortunately you'll be stuck with cameras which are a non starter for serious stills, or non starter for serious video. Unless off course you can go back to convincing still photographers that 12MPs ought to be enough for everybody, yeah, good luck with that.