Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I don't even want to think about the money I've spent on the Star Wars movies between VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray.

For me, it’s Highlander. I know some feel the movie is crap, but I love it more than Ricky Bobby

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by RefractiveIndex

I've yet to see proof that Kaleidescape is anything more than a borderline scam.

I don't know what kind of proof you want, they have been around for a while. The equipment is expensive, and made for High End Home Theaters that are 1:1 Downloads Video and Audio. The Movies and Shows are also not limited to the 100Gb of 4K Discs. Here is a Link that reviews the Strato S Movie Player:

Kaleidescape Strato S Movie Player Review - YouTube

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I don't know what kind of proof you want, they have been around for a while. The equipment is expensive, and made for High End Home Theaters that are 1:1 Downloads Video and Audio. The Movies and Shows are also not limited to the 100Gb of 4K Discs. Here is a Link that reviews the Strato S Movie Player:

Kaleidescape Strato S Movie Player Review - YouTube

More like made for people with more money than sense as PenguinInfinity beat me to saying. The Strato S is nothing but a 12 TB proprietary conventional hard drive that costs $7000! A $7000 ordinary conventional hard drive with Kaleidescape's own software required to view anything that is downloaded onto it.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/kaleide...?skuId=6338636

A 6 TB Strato S is available for the budget minded at a mere $4500 Also, there is a 40 TB model priced at $13,000 for the certifiably insane.

Even you yourself have acknowledged in the past that conventional hard drives are a poor choice for the long term storage of data. I would never trust a single conventional hard drive to store my movies and at $7000 each having a back-up would only compound the insanity of this system.

As for the downloaded files themselves, sure, they can exceed 100 GB in theory, but from what I have read this is mere theory at this point. In reality they are just equivalent in size to what you will find on the corresponding 4K disc. Further, the prices at their movie store tend to be considerably higher than what 4K discs cost. 4K discs, which are sold from many retailers, often go on sale where as Kaleidescape downloads are only available from Kaleidescape and their prices reflect that monopoly.

If Kaleidescape downloads begin to routinely exceed, or even reach, 100 GB each, that insanely priced hard rive will fill up really fast. Anyone willing to spend $7000 for this over priced conventional hard drive is likely a film collector and a 12 TB hard drive is only gonna hold about 120 movies at 100 GB each and even less if the files are still larger. I buy that many movies in 4-5 months. Maybe there is a 10% off bulk rate discount if you buy a half dozen or more Stratos at a time?

As for "proof" that Kaleidescape's quality exceeds that of 4K disc, the request was quite simple. Provide a credible and independent review that supports that assertion from someone who is NOT a sales representative for Kaleidescape. Blindly trusting the claims of a salesman is foolish.

I watched the video that you attached and it sounded more like a cheap infomercial than anything else. He did no actual comparisons in that video to either 4K disc players, Apple 4K TV, or to 4K streaming in general. In fact, he only shows us a washed out image projected with an unspecified projector. He did not even have the sense to show us the thing in action on a flagship display; he just aimed a camera at the projector screen in a too brightly lit room! All you hear from listening to him is a heavy slathering of adjectives praising the thing. I think you will be pleased to know that he said there was a "night and day" difference between it and streaming, though. In the written review linked on the actual youtube page for this video, he says streaming quality is "laughable" in comparison to the Strato.

"When you compare a 4K movie on the Kaleidescape to streaming 4K from Apple, VUDU, Netflix, or Amazon, the comparison is just laughable. It completely blows streaming out of the water!"

^Do you still respect this guy's assessment?

Even I am nowhere near to being that critical of streaming and the hyperbole in that statement is extreme. Such hyperbole is not typically found in a well written, factual, and unbiased review.

He makes no direct mention of 4K disc players, but rather just claims that the Strato is "the best" movie player that he has ever seen without offering anything concrete to support his statement. It was not a real review as it contained no facts, no data, no comparisons, and no solid information at all. Even as an infomercial, it was lousy as the video showing the Strato produced image was poorly represented. For a youtube video that was clearly meant to promote the Strato; it shows a lackluster segment of the device in action. It was as bad as if I took a video of my TV screen with my cellphone in an attempt to show people how great my TV looked in action. He also spends a third of the video bragging about the 80 movie collections in the download store. Laughable indeed.

[sapiendut]

Maybe nobody read my post. A couple of my clients own Kaleidescape system in their home, but after a short while the stopped using it because at the end of the day it’s cheaper to buy the disc than buying the download (they live out of town where internet download is maxed at 25 mbps via satellite link and anything beyond 5Gb a month they need to pay per 100 Gb or something stupid like that).

None of the files they have purchased is higher than 100 Gb. Just because the file size can be larger than 100 Gb, it doesn’t mean that it is (or will).

[dublinbluray108]

I wonder how Kaleidescape is priced over in the UK market. It probably much more expensive that I would imagine than the U.S. market.

However; I don't really get why people say things like "Oh.....paying for Apple products is so so expensive" but having Kaleidescape as choice for downloads put its into a whole new stratosphere. I do understand that the choice and breath of products that Apple offer to their customers has been quite a vast array of choice to people living around the world over the past number of decades. But Kaleidescape only offers one type of the same product in only three countries out of 200 for a vastly higher price which only limits it to people who have a really, really large bank balance in their possession. They are probably in the same market as buying the really, really expensive products on the market as in the super wealthy by any means necessary (including Apple products) because people of that nature may exude certain behaviors that propels them into a much higher social standing among the most ordinary of people on the planet like us on this thread.

Then you would have to have a debate about which of them has more value in providing higher quality product for your money; would it be Kaleidescape or Apple? I would like to ask that question to people here who do own Kaleidescape media servers in their home. Is it that good of a product, going from their opinions, compared to using Apple? I know that I will never own a Kaleidescape product within my lifetime because 1) It is really, really expensive & 2) It is not available in my own country.

[sapiendut]

Why? Because Apple products are targeted towards regular joe like us and there are equivalent products out there. Kaleidescape is unique and there is no equivalent (that is legal)

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

For me, it’s Highlander. I know some feel the movie is crap, but I love it more than Ricky Bobby

I love Highlander. I plan on upgrading to Blu-ray at some point, though may hold out for the 4k treatment now.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I love Highlander. I plan on upgrading to Blu-ray at some point, though may hold out for the 4k treatment now.

I remember watching back in the VHS days. It’ was hard to even see what was going on at times.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Maybe nobody read my post.

You can post charts, pictures, links, etc., to make or clarify a point but some here will ignore the facts and continue to post their babblings.

[stonesfan129]

The people saying I would come back to discs were right. I am back to buying Blu-ray and DVD. There is just not the same selection with streaming. I can find stuff dirt cheap. It takes up more space but the quality is better. I have been considering getting a couple of those Case Logic cases to put my discs in. Does anyone use these? Will they damage the discs?

[sapiendut]

I use CaseLogic albums for my DVD series sets. They are the best quality one amongst others I tried.

[alchav21]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

The people saying I would come back to discs were right. I am back to buying Blu-ray and DVD. There is just not the same selection with streaming. I can find stuff dirt cheap. It takes up more space but the quality is better. I have been considering getting a couple of those Case Logic cases to put my discs in. Does anyone use these? Will they damage the discs?

You guys are going backwards, over 10 years ago I used Vaultz CD Storage Cases that I would put my Back up Blu-rays and DVD in thin plastic cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Lockin...y&sr=8-1-fkmr1

I still have one of them, and I also have a Catalog to keep track of the Movies stored. I think getting a Top of the Line UHD 4K Display where you can also access Streaming Providers would be your next priority.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You guys are going backwards, over 10 years ago I used Vaultz CD Storage Cases that I would put my Back up Blu-rays and DVD in thin plastic cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Lockin...y&sr=8-1-fkmr1

I still have one of them, and I also have a Catalog to keep track of the Movies stored. I think getting a Top of the Line Display where you can also access Streaming Providers would be your next priority.

No, going backwards is investing in a format that is worse than the one before it. Even industry folk know there is no future in Digital HD. It’s a dead end that will NEVER bring in the money they are looking for. Streaming subscriptions are the future for those that don’t care about quality. Even then, you are going to need half a dozen subscriptions otherwise you will be prevented from seeing various films. Some of us have principles and won’t budge.

Quality, quality, quality.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

You guys are going backwards, over 10 years ago I used Vaultz CD Storage Cases that I would put my Back up Blu-rays and DVD in thin plastic cases.

https://www.amazon.com/Vaultz-Lockin...y&sr=8-1-fkmr1

I still have one of them, and I also have a Catalog to keep track of the Movies stored. I think getting a Top of the Line Display where you can also access Streaming Providers would be your next priority.

Enjoying the best in quality and the best selection, by far, is in no way "going backwards." A vast number of excellent titles in my collection can not be found on subscription services and a large number are not available as a digital purchase, either. Streaming is useless if you want to see many of the greatest films ever made as well as many fantastic lesser known gems. If you only stream, you are missing out on a TON of wonderful titles.

You are the one being left behind by limiting yourself only to streaming services; the content they lack is immense. I, and others like me, who both purchase on disc and who also use streaming services, literally have the best of both worlds. You, on the other hand, arbitrarily deny yourself access to so many great movies because of your streaming only fixation and obsession. Just like with 4K disc players, you simply have no idea what you are missing.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Some may find this interesting for Captain Marvel:

Blu-ray Disc formats accounted for 73% of first-week Captain Marvel sales, compared with 40% for Five Feet Apart. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format comprised 17% of total Captain Marvel unit sales.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Some may find this interesting for Captain Marvel:

Marvelous results.

Waiting for the U.K. 3D release myself; it comes out July 15th and it has a much better price than the U.S. 3D release.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I think getting a Top of the Line UHD 4K Display where you can also access Streaming Providers would be your next priority.

Oh, and another thing, why are you telling anyone what their next priority should be? Your 4K TV is nowhere near to the "top of the line" and it never was, either. Nor is/was mine for that matter lest you think that I am just singling you out here. Why do you tell people to do what you yourself have not?

Have you placed an order for that 65" Song A9G TV? It only costs $3800 leaving you plenty left over to buy yourself a Kaleidescape for $4500+. I heard that it "completely blows streaming out of the water." Where did I hear that? Oh, that's right! It was from that video that you posted.

Maybe you're saving up for that 8K 85" Sony Z9G for just $13,000? Or, for the same money, you could buy the 40 TB Kaleidescape. Ah, the hell with it, you aren't getting any younger, I say that your next priority should be to buy them both.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

If you think about it, alcahv21's advice is actually rather helpful if you look at it from the correct point of view. Just listen to whatever he says, and do the opposite. Then you'll be on the right path!

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Waiting for the U.K. 3D release myself; it comes out July 15th and it has a much better price than the U.S. 3D release.

Have not added a region mod to my 203 yet, is the UK disc region locked? Looked on the disc package via Amazon UK but could not find any info.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Have not added a region mod to my 203 yet, is the UK disc region locked? Looked on the disc package via Amazon UK but could not find any info.

All of my Disney 3D imports have been region free except for one of their earliest 3D titles: Ratatouille.

Disney has not region locked any of their 3D releases in quite a long time. Captain Marvel 3D is listed as region free on the Amazon.uk product page, but Amazon's region code listings are not always reliable in their product descriptions. When they offer an image of the back cover, these images are usually accurate.

Amazon.uk shows this back cover image and it is the same one as found on blu.ray.com; all three region codes (A, B, C) are present next to the feature running time:

[Show spoiler]

Warner Bros. and Universal do not lock their 3D editions, either, or at least none that I have encountered.