I would like to know if someone can talk to K at CES and get an update on things

Anything from CES regarding K?

All that I have raid on the net is they had nothing new at the show.I would like to now how long they can not do nothing new to it.For they have not done a meager up grade to it in a lone time.

Although it has nothing to do with BD or HD DVD, they have just issued a fairly major software upgrade which is slowly being sent out to all their customers units as we speak. The software upgrades adds some new features, particularly with respect to managing classical music and downloading to IPODs.

With respect to BD and HD DVD, the only comment I was able to obtain from one of their sales people was that everytime that sales person asked their engineers what they were working on, all the engineer would do is smile and walk away.

Scott

No update from CES other than the mentioned upgrade to the software. They better be careful...predators on the horizon 8-/

Kaleidescape will be informing their dealers tomorrow about their plans to release a Blu-Ray compatible Movie Player by Q1 2009. Although there is no decision currently, they hinted it will be "likely" that they will offer some sort of upgrade credit to those wishing to switch out their DVD-only Movie Players for Blu-Ray compatible models once they become available.

Source?

I guess we'll find out tomorrow. :D

If this is true- and I do mean IF, that will be seriously freakin' cool!

It's true. The details have just been posted over at the Kaleidescape Owners' Forum. (http://www.kscapeowners.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5).

--josh

OK- so the answer to my question is- withnew movie players! :)

This is really good news. I guess this means managed copy has been worked out?

It was always going to be new players. the current hardware did not have the chipsets, and the drive has to be different.

I guess this means managed copy has been worked out?Alas, no, it doesn't. The release seems to anticipate that it will be worked out; which given K's active participation in Blu-Ray is encouraging. But the announcement is laced with qualifying language that makes it clear nothing is yet set in stone.

Besides, even if it is never hammered out, developing this new player is in their interest if they anticipate other forms of HD content delivery (specifically over the net).

I really hope tht they allow the same convenince that is done with dvds. trailers, warnings, etc. are skipped and the movie just plays

I really hope tht they allow the same convenince that is done with dvds. trailers, warnings, etc. are skipped and the movie just plays

Easier said than done with BlueRay. If it gets you to the TOP MENU that should be good.

but even with K's programming, don't you think it is possible that the movie could just start right away?

BTW_ way to take the site down Cineramax!

in any disc, the menu is just a pointer. there is always a video file (VOB in a DVD) and they go to that file and MANUALLY pick the start of the movie and that is what is in the metadata that you get from them. part of the allure.

I really hope tht they allow the same convenince that is done with dvds. trailers, warnings, etc. are skipped and the movie just plays
From the FAQ sent out today:

Q: Why will the Blue-Laser Player take so long to produce?
A: The hardware required to properly run the Kaleidescape user interface and also play Blu-ray Discs is not yet available. We have been unwilling to degrade the Kaleidescape Experience in order to play Blu-ray Discs. It will also take some time to get the software right once the hardware becomes available.

Easier said than done with BlueRay. If it gets you to the TOP MENU that should be good.
Nope, actually that would still suck. That would be like taking an iPhone and putting a Windows CE interface on it :). Part of the beauty of the K system is that it allows the horrid interfaces of these machines/discs to be bypassed.

That would be great. In any event this announcement wins K the so "not-gay" award. Kudos.

K without bluray was the Gayest gay thing I had every gayly gazed upon.

not that there is anything wrong with that.

That's right!

Off topic, but the biggest foot-in-my-mouth story ever:
I once used the term "gay" to describe something being bad, in conversation with two homosexual men about web design. After i finished my statement, calmly realizing what I had said, I just said, "And you guys know that I don't mean to offend you, sometimes I just make poorly phased statements," while just stared at the floor, shaking my head. They just laughed and laughed. :o

That's right!

Off topic, but the biggest foot-in-my-mouth story ever:
I once used the term "gay" to describe something being bad, in conversation with two homosexual men about web design. After i finished my statement, calmly realizing what I had said, I just said, "And you guys know that I don't mean to offend you, sometimes I just make poorly phased statements," while just stared at the floor, shaking my head. They just laughed and laughed. :o
That is a funny story. My best friend all throughout my youth was black and I once accidentally used a bad word when I was with him to describe a black person who had pissed me off. I got some good natured sh*t for it and can still remember it coming out of my mouth and thinking OMG what did I just say.

Well, I hope K continues to update its dealers on any developments on this. Does anyone know of increased hd capacities being released as well? With 1tb hard drives out for a while now, I would hope that K is increasing the capacity of their cartridges to handle bluray.

We've been anticipating the release of 1TB drives for quite awhile. K, as usual, will not discuss future equipment releases. The BR announcement was VERY unusual, and was likely a forced response to the never ending questions regarding K's HD plans and the fact that some competitors are currently offering a method to import HD material (albeit with questionable legality).

Also keep in mind that each incremental storage capacity increase means less servers need to be sold for larger collections, perhaps that has been a factor in the 1TB release. (Just speculating) Of course once BR importing comes into play the larger drives will be necessary.

Jim

That is a funny story. My best friend all throughout my youth was black and I once accidentally used a bad word when I was with him to describe a black person who had pissed me off. I got some good natured sh*t for it and can still remember it coming out of my mouth and thinking OMG what did I just say.

"Hey, I recognize you, you're That N* Guy!"

Kaleidescape will officially release the 1TB drives beginning next week. Currently, new K Systems are shipping with the new 1TB drives installed. Even those that ordered 750's are being "upgraded" to the new 1TB drives free of charge. The 750's will no longer be available after February 20th (approx).

Jim

This is great news!

Also a nice surprise for those that ordered last week (the upgrade). The upgrade is NOT a promotion. It is just K's way of getting the new drives into the system. Beginning next week we will likely see price increases on the new drives. I'm just happy they are finally released.

Unfortunately, those of us with 5U's will have to live with the 750 drives. I guess I'll be adding a 3U when BR capability is released.:)

Jim

look at the bright side, there are folks out there with 250 meg drives in them.

Yup, and they'd be good for what, maybe 6 BR movies.:eek:

Wait- are we talking about a player that can accept BR disks and play them locally, or are we talking about ripping the disks to a hard drive system just like current dvds? :confused:

If you read the press release carefully, they do not clearly state that you will be able to import them to the Array.

I think that they are being careful in what they promise. lets be real, they (like others) can only predict that MMC will be ratified. They cannot guarantee it.

So while the press release infers that they will be able to support it just like they do DVD, they seem to be covering themselves a bit. (not that i blame them)

Yup, and they'd be good for what, maybe 6 BR movies.:eek:

MPEG4 could scale them down if it's a problem, if KS were to support that. Seems like most HD movies on Dish are about 6-7GB. Not great and not sure if that is MPEG2 or MPEG4, to be honest. You could take a movie for the kids and scale it down to 5-10GB with VC9 or MPEG4 and lose surprisingly little. Not that many would want to do that on principle. I don't know why all this has to be such a hassle. The only way to really stop pirates is to make the product stupidly low priced. If you could buy a BD for $3-$5, who would bother copying it? Or renting? Everyone would have hundreds of movies. As it is, I barely buy any and only for demo purposes. The movie is already well paid for before it comes out on disc anyway.

K's principle has always been to import a bit for bit copy. ppl can debate all day long about how much compression from there is noticeable, they always have felt that by importing bit for bit... you take no chances on complaints about encoding/compression issues.



Actually, many of the movies make more FAR more money on disc than in the theatres. As an example, finding nemo sold 28 million copies. based on an average of 20$ per copy that would be half a billion. OK, it is the best selling DVD of all time (at least was at one point in time)

I think K's intent is clear. They "intend" to provide the ability to store our BR collections to the server in the same manner as we currently store our DVD's. IMO, the letter to dealers is clear in this regard. I do, however, acknowledge that one could read into the lack of a definitive statement and come away thinking this is intentional because of the uncertainty regarding BR licensing.

At several points in the letter the ability to import BR movies is at the very least strongly implied. Again, just my read. (I can also say that this is the belief of all the folks at K that I've spoken with on this subject since the announcement.)

Of course Dizz is correct that the announcement is unilateral and requires the appropriate BR licensing for K to actually implement that capability.

Jim

Anyone have info on managed copy being accepted?

Anyone have info on managed copy being accepted?

I haven't, but my ear's to the door.:)

What about this idea for the practical implementation of managed copy:

1. For every "approved" managed copy device that gets sold- i.e. Kaliedescape- you get a set amount of free managed copy disk copies- say 35, or 50,, or whatever.

2. When they approve managed copy, every blu-ray disk sold includes a coupon for a free managed copy to your device. It is a one-time use code, and it attaches itself to your specific information and yoru specific movie. That way, if the device is damaged, and you need to make a copy, you can. You could store this used copy with a verification code written on it in your movie disk box. You're going to shelve it anyway, right?

3. These coupons are movie specific, but you do not have to use them. Heck- you could ebay them if you wanted.

4. If you do not use a coupon, copies are 15$ bucks- that's it. And if you go home, lose the coupon, you're focked. That's it- no whining, no pissing, no moaning, no looking up some code on the internet or calling customer service- that's it- you have to pay additionally for your back up copy.

We get managed copy, those of us with half a brain and the ability to enter codes once and keep things do not have to pay for it, those who can't and don't, don't. If you buy a disk and don't want to make a copy, then you can give your coupon away. The coupons never expire, and if they use a 15 digit alphanumeric code, that should give enough variations.

This idea has the added benefit of discouraging used disk sales that would probably be missing coupons- which the studios make no money off of.

thoughts?

The only downside I see, is to the masses... does this matter? Unless you mean that managed copy can be copied to pc or something as well as a K system.

I just can't see them including "coupons" in DVDs for such a small percentage of the population to use.

Sure, that could be one method used for the general market.

For Kaleidescape I thought it would be easier to sell us "importing packages." Just like buying any of their existing DVD packages with the exception that you instead buy the right to import a specific number of movies (i.e. 50 movie import fee, 100, 200 etc.).

One of the problems with this method is how to properly distribute the revenue amongst the copyright holders. (I find it difficult to believe the more successful studios would be willing to share equally if THEIR movies account for most of the Managed Copies.)

Of course, a program could be created to catalog specific movie imports and apportion the revenue appropriately.

Jim

I think they should just lie- "Nope- no one's copying bluray" and use the money to develop a rival format.

Any news on this or any news on when we will hear more specifics / announcements about bluray copying?

Any news on this or any news on when we will hear more specifics / announcements about bluray copying?

Nothing has changed. The BR player will be available in 2009.

Jim

Well, Slysoft just cracked BD+. That means all BD+ disks, at least up until now, can be copied to a hard drive just like everything else. I really hope the movie industry takes a look at itself and realizes that if they don't let Kaliedescape properly rip blurays like it does dvds, that people will just end up doing it themselves somewhere less controlled than a kaliedescape system.

Managed Copy: Over Before it Began
Posted April 22, 2008 06:26 PM by Josh

Reports claim that when the AACS content protection system gets finalized this summer - a full year after the self-imposed due date - Managed Copy is not expected to be a part of it. AACS is a mandatory protection system used on Blu-ray, and was initially supposed to include the ability to copy Blu-ray movies onto computers - a process that was named Managed Copy.

If reports end up being true, this functionality may never be a part of the Blu-ray spec.

Studios have taken matters into their own hand. Both Fox and Lionsgate have included digital copies of the film with some high profile Blu-ray releases, allowing those who purchase the release to also have a standard definition version for their PC or portable media player.

Sony is planning to introduce a similar function on their Blu-ray releases. When a specially defined Blu-ray release is placed in a PS3, it will be able to send a digital copy directly to a connected PSP.

While the Managed Copy functionality could be added by way of an amendment to the spec, it is unlikely to ever be implemented at this late in the game.

No Bluray = no Kaliedescape purchase for me. It's that simple. Well studios, I guess you have just made it easier to use AnydvdHD and setup a home brew media server- congratulations.

When will Hollywood learn to embrace technology rather than try to pretend it doesn't exist? It is downright silly that in 2008, a customer with tens of thousands of dollars to spend on a media server has to resort to "piracy" or a a changer to get multi-disc Blu-ray capability.

It's still odd that the one company that did try to DVD ripping legally was sued and the dozens of companies that blatantly advertise DVD ripping haven't been sued. So I wonder if companies like Axonix and Vidabox that offer Blu-ray ripping will gain traction in the market if K* doesn't develop Blu-ray capability (since there seems to be no legal action agains Axonix or Vidabox)?

all the "illegals" can really only be sued under the DMCA or copyright violation. and both of those are deep waters. since they have no contracts with the DVDCCA... nothing to sue over.

Now doesnt that make sense!

You are right though... we are moving backwards. think of the nacent market for portable video players, transporting part of your library to your car, etc. they are shooting themselves in the foot. they lose out on a massive revenue stream.

Dizzman-
Tell us something comforting about K that will give us hope that they will have a way to import Blurays legally! Please!

i wish i knew something. it is not hopeful.

although at the end of the day... the future is not in shiny polycarbonite discs. it is in downloads. and the studios will only embrace that when they are presented with a solution that is actually secure.

THat is what killed MMC (or so it appears) the lack of security for the content. the assumption is likely that if it gets opened up more via mmc, then the stuff will be broken even more and get spread wider than a.... sorry, going a potentially innapropriate path there.

So it is possible that since there are not many things more secure than a K, this could bode well for them in the download market. the problem there however is that while they could convince the studios that it is safe with them, they do not have the required market size to entice them. At least not yet.

So I wonder if companies like Axonix and Vidabox that offer Blu-ray ripping
As I understand it, those companies offer ripping from unencrypted discs, but not from encrypted discs.

One of their press releases states: "Unencrypted titles can be copied onto a VidaBox server, and then streamed to VidaBox extenders."

Remember as well that those companies DO NOT offer ripping. they offer the ability to add in a third party app that does it for you.

THat way they do not do anything illegal.

Surely there are some adults at the studios that realize that the lack of managed copy will spawn a huge illegal copying industry? Once people become defacto criminals by buying and using Slysoft, they'll have no reason not to share their unencrypted blu-rays with anyone else. Presumably Kscape will have to do what the other media player companies are doing and allow tie in points for Slysoft.

All because of what exactly? The only thing I've read about why managed copy isn't going to make it says amorphous things like the studios "not having the legal rights" to allow it. Huh? That's idiotic. When a moviemaker enters into a contract with Fox, or Paramount or whoever to sell and distribute DVDs and Blu-rays, they sign a contract. That contract explicitly gives the distributor certain rights on how they can and can't sell the movie. And in particular, such a contact would allow the movie to be sold on a Blu-ray disc with everything that that implies, including managed copy, were it part of the Blu-ray spec.

No, there are two possible reasons why this is happening. One is what Kaleidescape's CEO has been reported as saying during the DVD litigation, and that is the consumer hardware companies see this as a way to shut out the little guys. The fact that Sony will allow a managed copy lite to work on their PS3 platform is good evidence of that.

The other is that the studios are trying to maximize their revenue per movie by making sure they have multiple electronic distribution means. They want to charge people separately if they watch the movie via iTunes, via DVD, via Blu-ray, via Bob's download service, etc. And the problem might be that they haven't figured out how they can allow managed copy without allowing a person to watch the same Blu-ray on an iPod or on their TV.

If the latter issue is the problem, I would gladly donate my time for free to help the AACS write licensing language that would disallow it. As I'm sure Kaleidescape would.

Anyone here that knows the real reason?

The real reason? Probably fear and stupidity. We are talking about an industry where a billion dollar next generation format war was lost because Toshiba could not coax Fox to their side with a little more money, after dropping hundreds of millions of dollars to bribe the other studios they got exclusive support from.

We are talking about an industry where the two sides of the format war could not train their CES spokespeople well enough on the differences of 1080i OUTPUT from 1st gen players due to hdmi chips not being ready yet and 1080P encoded CONTENT on the disk that will be viewable on later generation players.

We are talking about an industry so out of touch with consumers that they cannot even release a mass consumer product like a blu-ray disk without requiring Joe Dumasse to download a "firmware update" to get it to run, thinking that they are upgrading copy protection that has since been obliterated by slysoft.

I don't know, I just don't have much faith in their ability to remove their heads from their asses any more. It stuns me- it absolutely stuns me that they can't just see that if someone is going to pirate because of need or a lack of respect for IP, then the are going to do that- they are going to sit in front of their computers, in their basements, picking their noses, not having jobs, and downloading gigabytes of blu-ray movies- it's going to happen! And you know what- they weren't customers to begin with!!

So then, because they can't get their act together, they destroy the ability of legitimate customers with tens of thousands of dollars to blow on a Kaliedescape media server to rip blu-rays that they will legitimately buy to their system. I do not think anyone here would disagree- if you have a Kaliedescape, you buy more movies because they are more convenient to watch!

You know what says it all- you know what really demonstrates the absolute stupidity of the people in charge o the blu-ray format- the fact that they force you to sit through trailers promoting BLU-RAY after you just bought BLU-RAY!!! I just bought your freakin' disk! Just let me pop in the disk and watch the movie!

Enough of my rant- but it is enough to make someone who hates piracy illegally rip their disks to get the convenience they want! :mad:

I agree with all the above sentiments. The sad part is, us K owners are prolly screwed because it's doubtful K will support any kind of shady 3rd party ripping softwares

The real reason? Probably fear and stupidity. We are talking about an industry where a billion dollar next generation format war was lost because Toshiba could not coax Fox to their side with a little more money, after dropping hundreds of millions of dollars to bribe the other studios they got exclusive support from.

We are talking about an industry where the two sides of the format war could not train their CES spokespeople well enough on the differences of 1080i OUTPUT from 1st gen players due to hdmi chips not being ready yet and 1080P encoded CONTENT on the disk that will be viewable on later generation players.

We are talking about an industry so out of touch with consumers that they cannot even release a mass consumer product like a blu-ray disk without requiring Joe Dumasse to download a "firmware update" to get it to run, thinking that they are upgrading copy protection that has since been obliterated by slysoft.

I don't know, I just don't have much faith in their ability to remove their heads from their asses any more. It stuns me- it absolutely stuns me that they can't just see that if someone is going to pirate because of need or a lack of respect for IP, then the are going to do that- they are going to sit in front of their computers, in their basements, picking their noses, not having jobs, and downloading gigabytes of blu-ray movies- it's going to happen! And you know what- they weren't customers to begin with!!

So then, because they can't get their act together, they destroy the ability of legitimate customers with tens of thousands of dollars to blow on a Kaliedescape media server to rip blu-rays that they will legitimately buy to their system. I do not think anyone here would disagree- if you have a Kaliedescape, you buy more movies because they are more convenient to watch!

You know what says it all- you know what really demonstrates the absolute stupidity of the people in charge o the blu-ray format- the fact that they force you to sit through trailers promoting BLU-RAY after you just bought BLU-RAY!!! I just bought your freakin' disk! Just let me pop in the disk and watch the movie!

Enough of my rant- but it is enough to make someone who hates piracy illegally rip their disks to get the convenience they want! :mad:

I couldn't agree more. You'd think that the movie execs would learn from the music execs that saw the U.S. music industry go from a 30 billion a year industry to a 9 billion a year industry in 15 years. Instead, movie execs are lining up to make the same mistakes as the music industry.

Apparently, there is still hope. According to this article, the original article about managed copy going away was in error:

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?sec_id=2&&article_ID=12611

Any rumblings / updates on this front? Any dealers have any new knowledge on K doing bluray?

Any rumblings / updates on this front? Any dealers have any new knowledge on K doing bluray?

Ask again in 2009... They didn't promise anything until then and they are not ones to say much in advance.

M class released. Attended a dealer conference this week and only slightly more expensive players.

Need to have the actual Blu-ray to playback, they check for physicality, and don't actually read the disk.

Thanks man.

I asked about the d-box issue.


...According to him, the Kaleidescape movie players only output movie audio over coax and optical in "Player Decode" audio mode - in "Bitstream Passthrough" those outputs are silent. So for D-Box support, the players must be in "Player Decode" mode. This might be inconvenient for customers who want D-Box for DVDs and also want to pass through the high bit rate Blu-ray audio codecs over HDMI, since they'll need to switch between "Player Decode" when they want D-Box and "Bitstream Passthrough" when they want lossless Blu-ray audio.


NOW WHAT?

OK the M500 has now been out for a few weeks but I have, to date, seen no comments on its performance and if it meets expectations.
Reams and reams have been written about the legalities of the product but nothing on its quality, operational capabilities and how it compares with stand alone players etc of which I am more interested than the legalities.

I have now used the player for 2 days and my first comments are:

1.Build quality disappointing - Transport tray light weight plastic and very flimsy I have seen better ones on $100 DVD players.
The color labels on the back are already rippled and coming off.
All BNC connectors have been replaced with standard RCA connectors. This is very annoying when one is replacing the previous rack mount version player, which had BNC, as you either need to replace the cables, when wire wrapped is a real pain, or use a conversion connector, which I hate to have to do. WHY DOWN GRADE THE CONNECTOR ON A $4K PLAYER??

2. Picture quality on the first few disc I tried looked acceptable, on my Kuro, but need to compare in my cinema against the Pioneer BDP 09.

3. BIGGEST ISSUE OF ALL IS HAVING TO PUT THE DISC YOU WANT TO WATCH BACK IN THE TRAY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY INCONVENIENT WHEN YOU HAVE DIFFERENT REGION DISCS OR JUST WANT TO REVIEW THE ODD CHAPTER. THIS MAY BE A SHOW STOPPER FOR ME AS I HAVE MULTI LOCATIONS WHICH MEANS UNLESS I HAVE TWO PLAYERS IN EACH LOCATION I HAVE TO RESTRICT EACH LOCATION TO A SPECIFIC REGION.

I would be interested in other users first thoughts on the product.

D.

M class released. Attended a dealer conference this week and only slightly more expensive players.

Need to have the actual Blu-ray to playback, they check for physicality, and don't actually read the disk.


Does it have to be exactly the same disc you ripped, or just the same version of the title (by catalog number). IOW is individual disc id now in effect? No? Right?

So that I can rip the same disc for a client with 4 homes and send them the discs loaded on the storage unit when it becomes available.

3. BIGGEST ISSUE OF ALL IS HAVING TO PUT THE DISC YOU WANT TO WATCH BACK IN THE TRAY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY INCONVENIENT WHEN YOU HAVE DIFFERENT REGION DISCS OR JUST WANT TO REVIEW THE ODD CHAPTER. THIS MAY BE A SHOW STOPPER FOR ME AS I HAVE MULTI LOCATIONS WHICH MEANS UNLESS I HAVE TWO PLAYERS IN EACH LOCATION I HAVE TO RESTRICT EACH LOCATION TO A SPECIFIC REGION.

I would be interested in other users first thoughts on the product.

D.

Are you SURE you read the thread, or at least read about this issue on K's website?

But good point about the M500s being out for a little while now. Still no legal action by AACS-LA... Maybe K knows what they are doing afterall! ;)

I have been using the same disc, I did look at the option of ripping and using the copy, the only issue is if you require a 50GB disc the cost is not that different from getting another original.
We need to get the player multi region. I am guessing that it is a Toshiba player, as before, because it comes with a remote which use's the Toshibia IR set.

Are you SURE you read the thread, or at least read about this issue on K's website?

But good point about the M500s being out for a little while now. Still no legal action by AACS-LA... Maybe K knows what they are doing afterall! ;)

Yes I read the thread but there is a big difference in reading about it then getting the hands on experience and trying it yourself, my locations are about 100yds apart.. It really is a pain!!

D

Yes, that can be a pain on the disc in tray requirement, but the alternative is no bluray serving at all and it really isn't less convenient than using a disc based bluray right now. Once the vault becomes available, it will be back to the same old convenience we are used to with a couple exceptions - no simultaneous streams of the same title but that won't affect most users and the films won't start as quickly as a DVD but that is the nature of BluRay.

Lots of people complained about BNC connectors. They change to RCA and others complain. Lose-lose situation there I guess.

I have noticed a substantial decrease in the load times for DVD with the new M500 player - perhaps twice as fast. I will run an analysis once I finish loading my latest infusion of films.

The region encoding is more of a pain now but that is because BluRay handles it differently than DVD. I am fortunate to have my whole collection in one region. I think region encoding is just a bad idea but I don't call the shots at the MPAA.

I don't call the shots at the MPAA.
Why not? I thought they were all nuts. :D

I deal with a different kind of nut, Dennis. That is why I have a processing plant and not an asylum.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=178448&stc=1&d=1276977532

If they are 250 I will need an extra 1u server for the overflow (total 750 Blu-ray discs).

While not the main part of this article that mainly discusses jailbreaking of phones...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_wguy/2..._wguy_tc3236_2

The relevant excerpts I took from this are:

Apple fought hard against the legalization, arguing that jailbreaking was a form of copyright violation. The FCC disagreed, saying that jailbreaking merely enhanced the inter-operability of the phone, and was thus legitimate under fair-use rules.

In addition to the jailbreaking exemption, the FCC announced a few other rules that have less sweeping applicability but are still significant:

• Professors, students and documentary filmmakers are now allowed, for “noncommercial” purposes, to break the copy protection measures on DVDs to be used in classroom or other not-for-profit environments. This doesn’t quite go so far as to grant you and me the right to copy a DVD so we can watch it in two rooms of the house, but it’s now only one step away.


This seems that the DMCA has some limitations. Also, enhancing the fair use of the cell phone may pave the way for pushing that ruling towards DVD/BluRay in the future.

Interesting development on the DMCA:

Court Backs Dismissal of Digital Copyright Claim (http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/07/23/29099.htm)

Full ruling: http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/08/08-10521-CV0.wpd.pdf

"Merely bypassing a technological protection that restricts a user from viewing or using a work is insufficient to trigger the (Digital Millennium Copyright Act's) anti-circumvention provision," Judge Garza wrote for the New Orleans-based court.

But the 5th Circuit said MGE "advances too broad a definition of 'access.'"

"Without showing a link between 'access' and 'protection' of the copyrighted work, the DMCA's anti-circumvention provision does not apply," Judge Emilio Garza wrote.

"The owner's technological measure must protect the copyrighted material against an infringement of a right that the Copyright Act protects, not from mere use or viewing."

Thoughts?

I would think that if it only applies to infringing uses of a copyright, that would shut down the case against media servers unless the courts would view that a person viewing their own DVD off of a hard drive server violated copyright, which is a huge difference from their current stance that just moving the content from the disc to the hard drive is itself a violation.

Which case are you referring to, savant? The one I linked or the one SweetSpot linked? I think Sweetspot's case (the one with GE circumventing the dongles on the APC power supply software) has much less direct bearing on media servers than the FCC statement about instances where copying DVDs does not violate the DMCA.

Kaleidescape has released some information on their upcoming BluRay vault products:

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July 28, 2010

Kaleidescape is developing two disc-vault solutions to enable Blu-ray movies to be played without having to touch a disc: (1) the Modular Disc Vault based on a third-party mechanism, and (2) the Integrated Disc Vault designed and developed entirely by Kaleidescape. Either disc vault can be used to import Blu-ray Discs and verify that they are present. The Integrated Disc Vault can also be used to import CDs and DVDs. Neither vault supports playing directly from a disc. When your Blu-ray Discs are stored in a vault, playback of a Blu-ray movie from any M-Class player works just like the playback of a DVD movie; the physical disc itself is not read or even accessed upon playback because its contents are played from a copy located on a Kaleidescape server. Any number of disc vaults (of either type) can be added to a Kaleidescape System to accommodate a large collection of Blu-ray Discs. These two vaults differ in capacity, appearance, physical size, usability, and pricing. With both vaults, discs are inserted and removed through a vertical slot in the front. Both of these projects are proceeding on schedule.

Modular Disc Vault
The Modular Disc Vault is a third-party 100-disc carousel (with Kaleidescape's firmware modifications) that will be available for purchase from Kaleidescape. The Modular Disc Vault must be directly connected to an M300 Player via a USB cable. The Modular Disc Vault can be placed on a shelf in a standard equipment rack (20 inches deep). Its physical dimensions are: 14.6 in. x 17 in. x 7.3 in. (370 mm x 430 mm x 186 mm).

An M300 Player can play movies and music from a server while it controls the Modular Disc Vault. Any number of Modular Disc Vaults may be added to a Kaleidescape System, but each must be connected to its own M300 Player.

If you already have an M300 Player, you will be able to add a Modular Disc Vault for $1,500 (U.S. MSRP) and connect it via USB. If not, then you will be able to purchase an M300 Player together with a Modular Disc Vault for a total of $3,995 (U.S. MSRP). This product will be running in our booth (#2228) at CEDIA Expo in September. We plan to make it available with "beta" software in the fourth quarter of this year, and with production software in the first quarter of 2011.

Integrated Disc Vault

The Integrated Disc Vault is a new Kaleidescape component that has the capacity to hold 300 Blu-ray Discs. Like a server or a player it connects directly to your Ethernet network. Besides importing discs and verifying Blu-ray Disc presence, the Integrated Disc Vault incorporates an M-Class player that can play movies and music from a server. It is a 5-RU device that can be mounted in a 20-inch-deep rack. U.S. MSRP will be no more than $6,000. We anticipate that this product will be available in June of 2011; however, there is still some uncertainty in this date.

no simultaneous streams of the same title

What about simultaneous streams of different titles? Will it load the disc, check its there and play it in one zone, and concurrently then load the next disc, check it there and play another title at the same time in a different room?


Integrated Disc Vault

The Integrated Disc Vault is a new Kaleidescape component that has the capacity to hold 300 Blu-ray Discs. Like a server or a player it connects directly to your Ethernet network. Besides importing discs and verifying Blu-ray Disc presence, the Integrated Disc Vault incorporates an M-Class player that can play movies and music from a server. It is a 5-RU device that can be mounted in a 20-inch-deep rack. U.S. MSRP will be no more than $6,000. We anticipate that this product will be available in June of 2011; however, there is still some uncertainty in this date.

Didn't notice it has a player built in. So all I would need is this and a 5U/3U server and I would be good to go?

July 2011 still a while away. Maybe if things change in the courts we won't need the Vault at all? Wishful thinking :)

So if you want 3 players for 3 room access you need 3 vaults and 3 copies of the bluray disc one for each vault?

So if you want 3 players for 3 room access you need 3 vaults and 3 copies of the bluray disc one for each vault?

Why would you want 3 players? Don't most load the one disc into the vault and send it around the house from there??

I would think if one wanted to watch 2 different tittles in 2 different rooms then more than one player is required, or stated another way to play different movies in different zones.

from kaledescape website:

Throughout Your Home
Enjoy movies and music throughout your home by adding players. Each player operates independently so you can watch different movies in different rooms

I see. Didn't think if that as it a rare occurrence in my place. Nice option though.

Multiple streams is a common occurance at my house. My kids can't agree on what to watch or they constantly argue so I just put each one down in front of a different TV and let them pick.

Once you have a disc in one vault, you can play that title on any player in your system.