I am well informed of the policy, I am a Kaleidescape dealer! I know that they have no idea if you actually own the media, but the responsibility is outta their hands since the end user signs an agreement. I also realize that digital information is all the same. My point has more to do with the user interface, experience and reliability. The way you access your movies and browse your library with a Kaleidescape far exceeds that of a HTPC. Also it is almost impossible for a Kaleidescape system to fail, sure hard drives go bad, but data is almost never lost and to top it off before a hard drive even goes bad Kaleidescape knows about it and sends out a replacement!

“My point was that high bit rate lossy audio such as the standard DD and dts you find on Blu-Ray, is for the most part indistingushable from the lossless codecs. DD TrueHD and dts MA. This is a fact, whether or not you can get past your subjective analysis is another thing all together.”

Fact? How so? It was ONE test done by a couple people.

“For all of the misinformed people on this website. First of, Kaleidescape does not “rip” DVDs, it creates a bit for bit copy of the disc that is stored digitally. There is an EULA involved in owning a system, the purchaser must sign documentation that states they must own the media that is being played and have a copy of the media on hand in order to legally use the equipment. For anyone who has not used a Kaleidescape there is an enormous difference between a HTPC and a Kaledeiscape, it is something that you have to experience. An entry level Kaleidescape that can hold about 75 movies cost less than 10K. Comparing a Kaleidescape to a HTPC is like comparing a supped up Mustang to a Ferrari!”

Please, digital is digital and Kaledeiscape does nothing different from a HTPC other then cost more. You think Kaledeiscape is better simply based on the amount of money it costs, this is very typical of high end owners. Kaledeiscape has no protection against someone renting movies and ripping them to their system and Kaledeiscape has no way of telling if the copy is rented or owned, read their FAQ.

For all of the misinformed people on this website. First of, Kaleidescape does not “rip” DVDs, it creates a bit for bit copy of the disc that is stored digitally. There is an EULA involved in owning a system, the purchaser must sign documentation that states they must own the media that is being played and have a copy of the media on hand in order to legally use the equipment. For anyone who has not used a Kaleidescape there is an enormous difference between a HTPC and a Kaledeiscape, it is something that you have to experience. An entry level Kaleidescape that can hold about 75 movies cost less than 10K. Comparing a Kaleidescape to a HTPC is like comparing a supped up Mustang to a Ferrari!

Get your facts straight.  The MPAA could NOT have appealed the Kaleidescape ruling because it is not even a party in that case.  That’s purely a contract dispute case between the DVD copy protection licensing group (DVD CCA,which is not the MPAA) and Kaleidescape, and DVD CCA has in fact appealed the Kaleidescape ruling.  DVD CCA is ONE of the parties to the current RealDVD case and has brought contract claims again.  However, the MPAA has brought a totally different claim against Real for circumvention in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Kaleidescape simply has no bearing on that claim.

Bill, did you bother to copy and paste the link I provided?If you had read it, you would have seen that while one system was what would be considered high-end, the other was very modest. After reading your post it appears as though YOU are the one championing the high-end game. My point was that high bit rate lossy audio such as the standard DD and dts you find on Blu-Ray, is for the most part indistingushable from the lossless codecs. DD TrueHD and dts MA. This is a fact, whether or not you can get past your subjective analysis is another thing all together.