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Kaleidescape teases movie download store; brings Rotten Tomatoes, Leonard Maltin to its servers
Last year at CEDIA we were introduced to Kaleidescape's iPad control app, and this year its back and enhanced with the addition of movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, and content rating info from Common Sense Media. Rotten Tomatoes can help viewers tell if a particular flick in their collection is any good, while Common Sense Media is built around detailed breakdowns of what potentially objectionable content is in each title so parents can decide what their children are ready to see. Both should reach end users with the free app by the end of this year. Another tweak it's adding to its movie servers is the Leonard Maltin Recommends Collection. It's a pack of movies updated quarterly (the 17-disc Blu-ray collection is available for the low, low price of $445) that the respected film critic feels are unappreciated greats, to which he adds his own thoughts, anecdotes and behind the scenes info. A more ambitious development however, is the Kaleidescape Download Store the company was giving an "early sneak preview" of behind closed doors. While its claim to fame has always been disc servers that store user's movies, making them accessible with as little physical media interaction as possible (and antagonizing the MPAA) its next step is a full digital media distribution service, potentially tied into UltraViolet. There's not a lot in the way of specifics, but it will be interesting to see how Kaleidescape and Hollywood get along when it comes to selling downloadable content compared to the old wars of the past, whenever the new service actually arrives for its high-end customers.
Kaleidescape intros "whole-home" Mini System, cuts prices on other systems
Our hearts were aflutter at the sight of a new Kaleidescape product today, but alas, it wasn't the fabled Blu-ray player we were hoping for. Instead, we're getting the cutely named Mini System, which bills itself as a complete multi-zone entertainment server for those with oodles of cash and a thing for ease-of-use. The device is the company's first to combine the player and server functionality into one unit, and it's also the firm's first product to ship with a remote control. With installation "as ease as an ordinary DVD player," the system contains space for DVD and CD storage as well as a main "Player" zone and two music zones; those wishing to expand things can tack on more Mini Systems or additional Players / Servers. Said system is available as we speak for a somewhat reasonable (by Kaleidescape standards) $7,995, and the 1080p Player, 1080p Mini Player and Disk Cartridges for the 1U, 3U and 5U Servers will all fall to $2,995, $1,995 and $995 (respectively) on March 16th in the United States.
Kaleidescape goes "entry-level" with new $10k 1U server
Not a lot of companies have the brass to call a $10,000 media server their "entry-level" product, but the Kaleidescape peeps practically pity the weak-sauce consumers who can't pony up the $30k for their flagship server. According to COO Cheena Srinivasan, their new 1U server is "catering to the several hundreds of prospective customers that have witnessed a Kaleidescape demo, and the $30,000 configuration was a little too steep." Can't you just hear the derision drip? For the piddling sum of $10,000 you can now get the rack-mountable server with dual 250GB HDDs, which connects to your TV for flashy media browsing. Oddly, you have to choose between movie or music server functionality, or "upgrade" to both for $2,735. Another configuration is available for $17k that includes three 750GB discs and plays back both formats. The introduction of 750GB drives also means that if you make the right choice and spring for the full-fledged server, you can manage 8.25TB of storage. If that's not worth selling a kidney, we don't know what is.
