On pages 28-33 of the April 2019 Widescreen Review magazine they have an excellent article about 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc versus downloading and streaming.
For those that want the absolute best picture and sound quality in the year 2019 and possible for the next 7+ years, purchase or rent the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc or download the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc image to your hard drive server using the
Kaleidescape system. Nothing beats 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and the Kaleidescape system. In fact most of the time the Kaleidescape system has bit for bit 100GB 4K Ultra HD images with the same exact picture quality, sound quality, and extra features as the original store purchased 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, but at a discounted price since one is not purchasing the package with physical optical media. However, in the ideal world one needs to have 40TB or larger hard drive servers in their home with a minimum network speed of 1Gbps Ethernet so that streaming at 128Mbps to each room that is watching the movie can occur. If the hard drive in 5 to 10 years goes bad, then Kaleidescape keeps a record of every movie that one has purchased on the account, and then automatically downloads the movie to the new hard drive server that was installed. In addition, people in rural areas with super slow Internet can use the service since its download and not live streaming. The only advantage of Kaleidscape system over physical media is that it is super easy to use. In a large family there might be 7 or more rooms that want to watch the same movie or a different movie. However with physical media on optical disc one has to wait for the movie to arrive in the mail, and once the optical disc arrives only one person at a time in the home can view the movie.
The big advantage of the Kaleidscape system is that one can pull up a 4K Blu-ray library on any TV in the home, and then everyone can access the same movie or a different movie without needing to load a disc.
The problem with streaming in the year 2019
Streaming offers the worse picture and sound quality when compared to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc and the download Kaleidscape system. Netflix and other streaming providers recommend a minimum of 25Mbps for 4K Ultra HD streaming and some professionals recommend a minimum of 50Mbps if several people in the home are using the Internet at once. Personally, I have seen people in rural areas use 4K Netflix and 4K VUDU with Internet speeds of around 16-17Mbps and under ideal conditions as long as no one else is using the Internet the 4K stream works.
However, Netflix, VUDU, and all other streaming providers in the year 2019 use lossy audio with low bit rate video when compared to 4K Blu-ray. Netflix, VUDU, and all other streaming providers in the year 2019 are unable to stream at 4K Blu-ray HD quality. A 100GB 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc requires a constant Internet speed of 128Mbps. This also means 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray streaming would not work on a 100Mbps wired home network connection, but instead requires a minimum of a 1Gbps Ethernet connection. It is estimated that a minimum of 250Mbps Internet is required for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray streaming if other people in the house plan on using the Internet.
When more consumers in the United States get access to 1Gbps and 10Gbps residential Internet service, then companies like Kaleidescape might start offering 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc streaming services that are bit for bit exactly the same as the physical disc, currently Kaleidescape only offers 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray image downloads to a 40TB hard drive server. Some high-end 4K Blu-ray players like the 2016 OPPO UDP-203 have 1Gbps networking and a programmer with a software update could make the OPPO player or 4K Pioneer player have a 4K streaming Kaleidscape interface.
However, in the year 2019 physical media like 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Kaleidscape download services is the best in picture and sound quality. Companies like Netflix and VUDU 5+ years from now would need to start offering 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray image downloads to match the quality of physical media. Perhaps in the years to come Netflix might offer 8K streaming with lossless audio, which would be even better quality when compared to physical media. 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray uses a 100GB optical discs, and if a 8K optical disc format were to launch around the year 2026 the optical disc would need a minimum of 300GB of storage space with a new advanced algorithm compression system.
Select quotes from the article located on pages 28-33 of the April 2019 Widescreen Review magazine
“Kaleidescape is the gold standard for downloaded movies and home network playback. There is literally nothing better.”
“Right now, there is no streaming service that competes with the video and audio quality you get from UHD/HDR discs or from lossless downloads like the Kaleidescape system.”
“To my way of thinking, the best streaming service would be Kaleidescape’s download system updated to support streaming where you can access everything that came in the original disc package.”
“If you want the video and audio experience to be “the best that it can be” in your home theatre without a worry that quality is comprised, buy the disc version of the movie or get a Kaleidescape system.”
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