Kaleidescape outs M300 and M500 Blu-ray players, copiers
By Laura June 
posted May 11th 2010 10:51AM
posted May 11th 2010 10:51AM
Kaleidescape Introduces Next Generation Movie Players
New Movie Server Architecture, New User Interface, Blu-ray Support
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SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaleidescape, Inc., the market leader in movie servers, today announced its new M500 and M300 Players. Built on the company's proprietary M-Class architecture, this next generation of players delivers a new and improved onscreen user interface and Blu-ray support. The M500 Player copies Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs onto a server. The imported content can then be played back instantly by M500 and M300 Players, creating the world's first multi-zone movie server for Blu-ray.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100511/SF02684)
To address the concerns of the studios, Kaleidescape requires the disc to be present when playing Blu-ray content from the server. Today this means the Blu-ray Disc must be in the tray of an M500 Player. To enable the full Kaleidescape experience for Blu-ray, the company is developing a disc loader which will keep a large number of discs present within the Kaleidescape system. It will also provide bulk import, and make it easy to find and retrieve a disc.
"We have invested a great amount of time and resources in developing the M-Class architecture, which is our platform for future innovation," said Michael Malcolm, Kaleidescape's founder, chairman and CEO. "We now have the tools to improve our world-renowned user experience and offer an even greater variety of content."
Further enhancing the Kaleidescape experience, the company's award-winning onscreen user interface has been substantially improved with M-Class players. The Kaleidescape Movie Guide, the largest and most comprehensive of its type with over 135,000 titles, has been expanded to include over 3,300 Blu-ray Disc titles. Your treasured collection of movies and music is presented in high definition, with eye-popping detail and improved performance. The company's patent pending video bookmarks enable advanced features, including instantaneous start of a feature or concert, easy access to favorite scenes or songs, and control triggers to automatically adjust screen masking, lighting and curtains during playback.
The Kaleidescape M500 and M300 Players, when coupled with a Kaleidescape server, play back Blu-ray content and include support for 1080p video with 24 frames per second and bitstream pass-through of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Kaleidescape is accepting orders for M500 and M300 Players, and shipments will begin May 18th. U.S. MSRP is $3,995 for the M500 Player and $2,495 for the M300 Player. Both players are compatible with existing Kaleidescape products. The disc loader is expected to be available in the first half of next year. Please visit www.kaleidescape.com for more information.
About Kaleidescape
The Kaleidescape movie server redefines home entertainment by transforming the way movies are enjoyed throughout the home. The Kaleidescape movie server delivers a powerful and entertaining movie-watching experience for the family, and provides peace of mind to the owner. Kaleidescape, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. Kaleidescape products are available through custom-installation dealers and distributors throughout the world. For additional information, please visit www.kaleidescape.com.
Kaleidescape and the Kaleidescape logo are trademarks of Kaleidescape, Inc.; they are registered in the United States and certain other jurisdictions. Other trademarks and trade names are owned by third parties and may be registered in some jurisdictions.
SOURCE Kaleidescape, Inc.
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"Kaleidescape will require that the physical disc be present for playback from the server"
Another company that just screams that their software is being hacked.
@SeeKo Another example of why it's easier to just download the video and be illegal than it is to be legit. Seriously, stop punishing those of us who still buy media by making it impossible to work with. Make it better, not more complicated.
This is so illegal
@ashleythehottiest
Actually, it's probably not illegal because of the fact that the physical disk is being checked before playback and I can almost guarantee that Kaleidescape isn't the one that decided the physical disk needed to be in a player before playback could occur. I'm sure you can thank the MPAA and the Blu-Ray association for that wonderful addition.
We have one of their DVD systems is our office, and it's fantastic. It blows any other media distribution piece out of the water. I was hoping for the same functionality from the Blu-Ray player. I didn't get it.
@ashleythehottiest actually it's not, which is what makes it so annoying. A great system, crippled by the law.
@MFrasier
This is not illegal. Not so many years ago. I worked on the trial in which the MPAA sued Kaleidescape. The MPAA lost.
@redspear I did in fact say it WASN'T illegal. For the money you shell out for a kscape, they'd better make sure everything on it is as legal as possible.
Sadly, in some cases, as seen here, it's also a con
@ashleythehottiest
Not really. There was supposed to be managed copy in the blu-ray spec. Whatever happened to that anyway?
that seems a bit pointless.
@zweihander
"a bit pointless"
You mean absolutely pointless!
...waiting for the ignorant, unwashed proletariat to complain about the price...
@hikeskool
Ok, I'll bite this one.
"ah deet di dee dee dooo... this is too expensive...blah blah blah"
And your reply would be...?
@hikeskool. It's too expensive. Take it away.
There, do what you must, but remember, you will probably die doing whatever you choose
@Lord Vader
Don't hate because your Kaleidescape got blown up on the Death Star. You can get a new one. I think there is a dealer on Dagobah
@Pacey (waits) What, do you expect it to fly over here? Go fetch me it at once
@Lord Vader
time for Long -Distance Force Pull
'doh!
Kind of pricey dont you think.
Is the MPAA/RIAA ever going to get it?
I'll stick with my 60GB PS3, thanks.
@1UPForever
Your 60GB PS3 or a Kaleidescape that keeps uncompressed, bit-for-bit copies of the original DVD that can be upgraded to over 6TB... yeah, they're exactly the same thing.
@Pacey exactly, anyone who has ever owned a kscape system will know the value - tho this bluray solution is pathetic.
wow.. ummm.. no.
Here's a free and better solution:
Auto Rip n Compress
http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/81697.aspx
"Auto Rip n Compress is a Windows 7 Media Center addon to easily rip a DVD or Blu-ray with DVDFab HD Decrypter, AnyDVD, or MakeMKV and convert or compress it (if wanted) using Handbrake and other tools automatically."
I guess I should've been more specific. My PS3 and computer with Media Server software. I'm sure these "bit-for-bit copies" can be done with a computer just as easily and for a HELL of a lot less money. I didn't really say they were the exact same thing either, did I? I'm just saying that there are MUCH better ways to spend over $2500, surely.
@1UPForever
Whoops. That was supposed to be a reply. Ah well.
@1UPForever
The main difference being that the average consumer doesn't have time to learn the process of using a pc to do these things. What Kaleidescape, and companies like them, do to justify their price/existence in the marketplace is to make it easy for the average consumer, not techies on tech blogs.
And, in related news, XBMC is still free and a 2tb harddrive costs about $130.
@njthomas
And the rich continue to waste their money on devices such as this while "proletarians" continue to not have any. Now to Jill with the weather.
Idiocy.. I have over 120 Bluray movies ripped to my home media server.. for a fraction of the price of this silly thing.
@ctyrider
Same. lol. and I don't need the disc to play it back..they're all compressed and encoded with x264.
and I bet you encoded them all to x264 yourself, right. No way you got them from p2p or elsewhere.
again, kaleidescape isn't marketing to tech nerds and thieves, their target demographic is higher end home theater installations.
OK, how about this. You buy the disc, rip it, and SEND IT TO Kaleidescape, where they store it for you.
At this point, they validate physical ownership, and they unlock the ability to play it back without the disc.
You can still watch it in the mean time if you put the disc in. If you want a disc back, you just lose the no-disc playback.
Yes, huge PITA, but if a wealthy owner wanted to, this could be a good middle ground until all of this is worked out.
I don't mean this in a bad way (because I am included!), but the people posting here are NOT the target market. This is for people with more money then time, and they want the best, quickest way to watch a movie. This system does that well.
@(Unverified)
What a great idea! The whole reason that I have a Kaleidescape system is so that I don't have to deal with the disks all the time. I don't care what happens to them after I import them to the system.
Uhhh, unless I reading their web site wrong the M500 has NO STORGE. You have to connect it to one of their servers. So basicly it's is a $4,000 blu-ray player!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.kaleidescape.com/products/players/m500/index.php?specs=1
@Jay Evans
No, you're reading it right, but conversely, the players are what also stream music/video back from the server for you to watch in the room.
In most cases, there's only 1 or 2 of these located in a central rack with a video distribution system. As someone mentioned earlier, these pieces are meant for people with whole house audio/video distribution and $100K+ home theaters.
Also, if you've never seen or used a Kaliedescape system, you wouldn't understand how easily they handle media distribution to a home.
Yes, the player works to playback Blu-Ray's and DVD's, so it could be summed up as a $4K Blu-Ray player, but it does so much more. In this case you're paying for the convenience of not having to walk across you 30,000 sq ft home to grab the disk and walk back to watch the movie, or to have to remember where your 5 year old threw her Dora disk when she's having a tantrum.
People need to learn what these devices are before they blindly comment on them.
@Pacey
"In this case you're paying for the convenience of not having to walk across you 30,000 sq ft home to grab the disk and walk back to watch the movie,"
Wrong.
"Kaleidescape will require that the physical disc be present for playback from the server"
You still have to walk across the room and back. But it should be an easier walk now that your wallet is $4000 lighter.
@Jay Evans
You know, I had noticed that. I'll have YOU notice that it doesn't say it has to be in the player you're trying to watch the movie from, just "in the tray of an M500 Player". Any M500 player in the system.
That's why they're working on a disk loader to hold all the disks in one place.
Also, you know that boot up lag that exists for the 30s before you want to watch Avatar? Yeah, I'm willing to put down "+1 internets" on the fact that it plain ol' doesn't exist on the Kaliedescape solution.
Why even bother with a "server" then? Just skip that part and have an autoloader system with a bluray player...
LAME!
Vudu HDX
So other OS on PS3 might be back YeY!
If you can afford these systems, then I guess they assume you can afford to pay someone to get up and put the disc in the tray.
@Lord Vader
Function and quality are the obvious main points for Kaleidescape goods, but, for the price you pay, some nice shiney black, silver and/or glass aesthetics wouldn't go amiss. They look like over-sized routers.
@Kromatik
Oops, sorry, wasn't meant to reply to you, vader, lol.