Media server provider Kaleidescape is continuing to bank on consumers’ satisfaction with standard DVD, for now. Though the company is working toward pushing out a Blu-ray player next year, this year’s big product still fully integrates with Kaleidescape’s robust organizational system for your movies and music.
The company has announced two movie players that give your DVD collection the upconversion treatment—the 1080p Player and the 1080p Mini Player—and are straightforward in saying that these will be just as good as Blu-ray for the non-videophile mainstream viewer.
“We believe we’ve done a really good job of scaling DVD content. As I’ve looked at the output and we’ve had some folks look at the output, we’ve become pretty convinced that the viewing experience rivals that of Blu-ray,” says Kaleidescape product development director Linus Wong. “We’re not going to say you get a bit-for-bit identical image. But we certainly believe, that for most consumers, the experience they get with our new players will, in fact, rival the experience you might get with Blu-ray.”
Designed to work as components within a Kaleidescape system and not as standalone units, both new players deliver the 1080p upconverted goods with help from Sigma Designs VXP video processing.
The 1080p Player includes a DVD/CD-ROM drive for direct playback and importing to your Kaleidescape system, where you’ll get the usual metadata and extras in the company’s Movie Guide database while sorting through the onscreen display (OSD) for both movies and music. The 1080p Mini Player includes a mounting bracket so you can attach it and hide it locally in a room where you don’t need direct playback—perhaps a secondary area where you won’t be inserting Netflix rentals or movies that your friends bring over—and can just pull from your Kaleidescape server.
Wong says that an Import button on the front panel of the 1080p Player was added so people don’t have to worry about any potential legal troubles when popping in a borrowed or rented movie. The importing of a movie to the system only starts when you press the button, and not automatically when you insert a disc; you can also select the “Import DVD” or “Import CD” on the OSD.
“It helps cover the customers’ peace of mind,” says Wong. “Customers understand they aren’t allowed to import rented movies, or movies they don’t own. It gives them peace of mind that the player won’t automatically import content, as it did in the past.”
The 1080p Player is available now with an MSRP of $4,295, and the Mini Player will be out next month with an MSRP of $2,995.
“I guess if the customer is rich but lame...” Hey LilghtningRod, I think you need to learn how to spell before you preach to us “rich” folks about what we WANT TO BUY with our hard earned money. In fact, you are the lame one, because you waste HUNDREDS OF HOURS, I’m sure, designing, connecting, setting up, programming, recording and playing your movies and CDs on a Computer controlled by Microsoft and HP software. I spent the money on the Kaleidescape System and all I have to do is insert a DVD or CD and it does EVERYTHING for me, including importing, cataloging, sorting, art work, listing, etc. All I have to do is pick the movie or CD / Song List and I am in business. The system has NEVER CRASHED in the 5 years I have owned it. Also, it has dual redundant hard drives so that if one ever fails, just pop in a new one and your library is not affected at all. It is called RAID-K data protection and Hot Spare Disk Cartridges are standard. Each additional 1 TB Disk Cartridge stores 150 DVDs or 1,650 CDs and is Expandable to 14 Disk Cartridges for a maximum of 12 Terabytes (1,800 DVDs or 20,000 CDs). Multiple Servers can be clustered seamlessly to provide over 100 Terabytes (15,000 DVDs or 170,000 CDs). It also has a Bandwidth Capacity of 45 simultaneous independent video or audio zones per Server, which is great when my different children’s age groups and their friends want to watch something different from each other, or Mom and Dad, in different rooms, seamlessly. It also updates its own software automatically and over the internet at night. So, your system is never down. Trust me, I am a degreed Electronics Engineer who knows how to write software and set up computers. But, I would rather spend my time with my children and wife, having fun and enjoying electronics technology, instead of constantly tweaking and dealing with problems with software and hardware. Believe me, I know........Kaleidescape, while it is expensive, YOU DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Microsoft and HP have nothing on these guys! Only the Apple TV even comes close; but, you cannot simply import your own DVDs into iTunes yet. Also, AppleTV doesn’t allow multiple simultaneous video output feeds to different video zones. So, you can only watch the same thing on all zones at once, unless you purchase separate AppleTVs for each room. Even if you do that, you can only control each AppleTV with only one video screen because it does not allow multiple video control hook-ups; i.e., I can either control it with the TV and remote, or the Crestron video screen, but not both, which is stupid. So, until Apple catches up, and Microsoft / HP copies up, Kaleidescape is KING in my book. To me, Kaleidescape is easily WORTH THE MONEY! Time is still money and I have plenty of it to always enjoy this Kaleidescape system. I feel sorry for you...............tight-wad.
Form can be just as important as content when one considers ease-of-use for spouses, kids, guests, etc.
A question (and I’m not being pi**y or trying to start a flamewar, I’m just curious), if you “think most folks would be very happy with a black box that just plays movies,” and you “much prefer to just watch the movies,” why’d you spend the grand to build a HTPC, when there are other, cheaper devices that’ll do the samething with much less heat, noise and power use?
And doesn’t your PS3 make the HTPC redundant?
(Again, I’m not trying to be pi**y or trying to start a flamewar, I’m just curious)
Not to start a p***ing match, but I wonder how many of “us” are truly impressed with “slick menus” and the like? I much prefer to just watch the movies. All this pre-occupation with user interfaces and other nonsense is just a case of form over content. I think most folks would be very happy with a black box that just plays movies.
One other note on HTPCs - if you build and configure it yourself, (I know, very rare in todays idiot society) and if something breaks, you have choices in what you use to fix it and where you buy it. I’m pretty sure my local electronics superstore doesn’t have any parts for these overpriced Kaleidescape boxes…
This announcement is a joke. The Esoteric division of TEAC Corporation has been selling players that do 1080p from standard DVDs for years. They also have a custom video output stage with special buffers and a black level detail enhancement that rivals anything Blu-ray can show. See it yourself at one of their dealers. In fact, I own their DV60 and their UX3Pi. Why buy Blu-ray with 90,000 titles out on DVD?
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KScape is powerful, premium stuff. I have put in a few. I would love to demo their players v. others in the 300.00 to 500.00 range. I’ll see. So may you, if you go to a trade show or read a related magazine.