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    Invelos Forums->General: General Home Theater Discussion Page: 1 2 3  Previous   Next
Kaleidescape
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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Registered: May 19, 2007
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http://www.kaleidescape.com/

I saw a link for this on Juoquim's sig and I clicked it.  I wish I never had....

I've been building the same basic thing using my own computer hardware and a Yahoo Widgets.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile Registrantleo1963
Registered: May 14, 2007
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Look really nice but I bet it cost a pretty penny.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorNadja
Small and broken
Registered: March 13, 2007
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I'd love one, but with all the other drains on my funds lately I could only afford a base system, maybe with a couple extra HDs. Which wouldn't hold many of my discs, so I'd be copying, deleting and replacing them all the time, making it all kind of redundant. 

Still want though!
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantDEACON
Always liked you Clarence
Registered: March 14, 2007
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Which Widget would we want?

Sorry Dr., couldn't stop with the W's. Seriously though, what widget are you using or thinking of using?
Individuality - Always remember that you are unique........ Just like everyone else.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantAryn Ravenlocke
Registered: March 16, 2007
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Took me a while, but saving up for a base 3U server actually turned out to not be so tough. It was the profesional install that got pricey. (It is most definately NOT just plug-and-play) The key to the entire system is that is is NEARLY infinitely expandable. The expansion HDs are actually rather reasonable. I still do not have enough of them for all of my movies, however every few months I am able to pick up a new one. One thing I have discovered, as expensive as it is up frot, it geactually gets more and more reasonable with each passing day.

A few things to keep in mind, no more eer investing in storage for discs. Movies become far more inexpensive than ever. All it takes to own a movie once the server is in place is a trip to Blockbuster or logging on to Netflix. Suddenly not spending as much money on movies, there are more funds available to invest in future HDs. (Although I have rarely taken advantage of this part of things to this point as I already have enough films to fill the server. )

Also, it is both HD-DVD and BluRay compatible. These folks don't mess around.


YT
DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantporterscorners6
xfile freak
Registered: June 15, 2007
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maybe some day when $comes down
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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Question - so the drive in the machine read both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD?

Deacon, to answer your question, I'm creating a custom yahoo widget that'll import a DVDP XML export and allow you to browse and view movie details such as the DVD location and will start your DVD player software when the DVD is inserted.  This will look sweet on my built-in touch screen on the HTPC case.

I'm also adding support to edit/create new entries for other video media (file locations) and settings for players.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantCalidain
You're no Daisy at all!
Registered: March 16, 2007
Posts: 405
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Aryn...
So to build your collection in the Kaliedescape server you have to insert each movie, one at a time for the system to copy into the server???  How long is the typical copy time???
My Collection!!!
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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Registered: May 19, 2007
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Quoting Calidain:
Quote:
Aryn...
So to build your collection in the Kaliedescape server you have to insert each movie, one at a time for the system to copy into the server???  How long is the typical copy time???

Yup, acording to the FAQ, it's based on how much data is on the DVD, expect 40 mins.

What I've been doing is creating a single movie file from the DVD for my collection.  Takes up less than half of the space converted into a HD WMV and I can get right to the movie without all the DVD menus or extras.  This way when I set up my home theater, I can (optionally) play some trailers from movies in the theater, (optionally) play a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and then get right into the flic.

However, my end-to-end process per movie is around six hours.
 Last edited: by Dr. Killpatient
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantAryn Ravenlocke
Registered: March 16, 2007
Posts: 8
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Yes, each disc is inserted and read for the movie to be loaded into the system. They say expect about 40 minutes per movie as far as the "average" movie goes. However, I have found that most are done in about 30 (ish) minutes. However, while the machine is reading/archiving the film you can still be watching that film or other films already loaded into the server while the movie being entered into the server is done in the background.

Also, Kaleidescape has their own movie collections that can be purchased. Some of these are:

The Complete Criterion Collection
All Movies Nominated for Best Picture
All Best Picture Winners
Great All-Time Family Films

There are other collections as well. Obviously these collections have an ocassional hole in them where a movie simply has not yet been released. But this is becoming less and less common almost everyday. When these collections are purchased, you can choose to have them loaded into the Kaleidescape via the ethernet connection and you don't have to do anything except push a few "accept" button.

When I first droppped the coin to get the system everyone told me I was nuts. After seeing it in action though, and seeing all the money I have saved on DVD purchasing and how nice I have been able to make my living space without the cool looking wall(s) of DVDs, almost everyone I know now is looking to get in on the product, even at the low-end. (For me this is a lt like when I was one of the earliest of the early adopters of TiVO).

Although the system does not currently support movies-on-demand through download, the basics are already in place. A simple software/firmware update received via the ethernet connection could fix that problem pretty easily.

Scratched or finger-printed DVDs? Never again. TRIPLE-REDUNDANCY of the movies once they are loaded in ensures that even if one of the HDs encounters a problem, you will be able to continue watching things as if no problem existed while the serer sends ou its own trouble-call for servicing.

Sorry folks, I don't mean to sound like a late-night infomercial or high-pressure salesman. This just happens to be one of those few products that I have ever come across that once exposed to it daily, it just keeps getting better, and no amount of testimonials from me or from their site will ever do this system justice.

Downsides:

YES, this system does cost a fair bit of coin to get in the door. Some people buy a beater used car, I bought this instead.

NO, it is not simply plug-and-play. If you aren't living in the place you intend on staying, or if you are in an apartment that would frown on folks crawling though attics to wire a home, this system is not for you. Well, at least not yet it isn't.

Entering an extensive library of films is indeed a daunting task. However, since it can be done in the background, it became far less so once I got into the habit of simply having the system loading something at all times while I was home. Goint to the system every 30 minutes or so sounds inconvenient. But the reality is that unless I am watching a movie, chances are I am not doing anything that precludes me from wandering in t the room every half-hour and spending 2 minutes swapping out discs. (Unless of course I am sleeping, but really, with all those movies, who has time for sleep?)

Kaleidescape also in fact has a unit called a Bulk Loader. This unit can help those with really large collections get everything put in a bit faster. I did not fork over the money for this though since I found the money better spent on expanding the storage capacity of my server. The reality is that the loader will indeed speed up, or at least make easier, the loading of an extensive library, however it has a very limited usefulness. Once someone has finally entered their entire library, the need for mass loading of discs dramatically decreases. Even for big-time movie buyers, unless they just have NO TIME AT ALL to spend casually swapping out movies every once in a while, the usefulness of this piece become rather limited.
 Last edited: by Aryn Ravenlocke
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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Registered: May 19, 2007
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Aryn, if you don't mind me asking, how much money did it cost for you to get your setup and what kind of a setup do you have?
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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I already wired most of my house with a Gigabit LAN to support BeyondTV Link.  Since it seems the main issues with installing it is wiring up the house, that's not an issue with me.  How plug-n-play friendly is it if the network isn't an issue?
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantTheJohnDoctor
Registered: May 9, 2007
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I believe a "bare-bones" system starts at about $35,000.00 and will store several hundred DVDs. The price goes up as more RAID drives are added for more movies.

FYI: Klaidescape is involved in a second lawsuit over breaking DECSS (?) encryption. The licensing agency is amending their contract to state that in no case can the encryption be overcome in order to transfer DVD content to hard drives. Klaidescape won the first lawsuit, so now the licensing organization is changing their license which will mean Klaidescape will not have a license for their hardware should they lose the suit. Cavet Emperor!
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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That's just [beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep] stupid.  You can't get data off of their system by normal means so how are the movie lots loosing?

35k?  Daaaam.  That's more than most cars!  I have a rather nice paycheck but that's even out of my comfort range.  I think I'll stick to the home-brew solution I've been [slowly] working on.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantVega
Registered: May 19, 2007
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Quoting Dr. Killpatient:
Quote:
That's just [beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep] stupid.  You can't get data off of their system by normal means so how are the movie lots loosing?


I think it's more an issue of how the data is getting on the system.  As several people have mentioned in the thread, all it takes to "own" the movie once your have Kaleidescape setup is a rental from Blockbuster or NetFlix.  The Studios are losing potential money because people using this no longer need to actually purchase the movies.  Of course, the cost of the system prevents this from becoming a widespread problem, so it's probably more an issue of the studios being upset that this company is making huge amounts of money for the sale of this system and every unit sold means less money for them.
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantDr. Killpatient
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Registered: May 19, 2007
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I wonder if the agreement you have to sign stating that you will only load DVD's that you actually own will help them any?
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