Got to play with the Kaleidescape system today...  

For those who don't know what it is, the Kaleidescape is a DVD server system with multi-room distribution capability. Basically, the system allows you to copy your DVDs onto the server and then distribute them to various rooms over Cat-5. See their website here:

www.kaleidescape.com

The system has 12 hot-swappable (very easy to replace - like a business server) HDD slots that can currently hold up to 3.6 terabytes. The server includes the DVD reader for copying each disc (one-by-one unfortunately - each disc takes 20 minutes at the moment to copy over but my dealer says the company is working on deals with movie companies to be able to sell units pre-loaded with titles). From there, each Movie Player connects to the server via Cat5 with outputs for composite, S-video, component (max 480p but future plans for 720p and 1080i) composite audio, optical and coax. The system can handle distribution to up to 7 movie servers simultaneously.

The interface is pretty slick allowing you to browse by a variety of methods including jacket covers. Very unlike my experience with the Escient line, this system is FAST. My dealer, who also has had their share of Escient headaches, said this system was a breeze to setup in contrast. Jacket titles are downloaded from the Kaleidescopes website. Adiitional information, including synopsis, cast members, movie production year, etc, are also downloaded with each jacket cover so that you may browse through your library that way.

My dealer had 3 rooms setup and we had all 3 going at once. What amazed me was the combination of great video quality, DTS/DD support, the speed and slickness of the UI, and the retention of familiar items like the actual menus for each DVD. The speed factor was immediatley observable not only in the UI but also how quickly a selected movie began playing - faster than a DVD spinning up. Skipping chapters was just like with a DVD and switching to a completely different movie was a snap and exhibited no lag. Overall, I'd say the system is pretty bad ass. The price, however, is what puts this post in this category. $30K for the server with 2 HDDs, DVD reader and one Movie Player. $4k for each additional player and $600 per additional HDD.

Jeff

You know, I'd have to agree with that. This system isn't aimed at Joe Sixpack given the cost. For those who can afford it, they care very much about the UI and that portion will probably sell them on the idea. The UI is what makes Tivo such a popular product even among those who are normally technologically challenged. Additionally, I can see the database coming in handy when trying to pick a movie to watch. Since the user doesn't have to enter this data themselves, It becomes that much more worthwhile.

I really like the idea and hope that the company is successful. While I'm sure I could put together a DIY system, my wife would never use it because I could never create a UI slick enough to trick her into thinking that she was using a computer. Hopefully, the system will sell well enough for them to stay in business, the content owners won't sue, and eventually a more cost effective version will be made available for the average consumer.

Jeff

I did some poking around to try and find out more info about the Kaleidescape and why it costs what it does. It seems that Kaleidescape pays licensing fees to the folks in Hollywood for the privledge of creating a system like this to ensure that they won't be sued. No word on what the exact amount paid per system but from what I've heard, the cost associated with that pushes it into a higher-end product even before any hardware/software/development costs. So from there, they decided to pull out all the stops to make it as good as possible knowing that the price category would be high from the outset.

Tomas,

My dealer raved about the ease with which they were able to setup the Kaleidescape system. He claims it took only a couple of hours and that the setup was smartly done by the Kaleidescape folks which made their job very easy. This dealer is also an Escient dealer and said that his experience with the Kaleidescape system was a welcome change in comparison to his experiences with setting up multi-room Escient FireBall systems.

Seemingly, if this is the case, having Cat-5 runs would be the toughest part. My dealer did mention that the latest software update from Escient had cut down the rip time per movie from somewhere around 45 minutes each to 20 minutes each. While a significant improvement, count on this to still take time as the DVD reader is a single disc device so you can only load one at a time.

Jeff

I think it's pretty obvious that no, you aren't supposed to copy DVDs to the Kaleidescape that you rented from Blockbuster or borrowed from friends. No more this than the RIAA wants you to borrow a friend's CD and copy it to your computer's hard drive. Actually, when copying a new DVD to the system, you are prompted with a screen asking if you own it. They have at least asked and you have answered - maybe something akin to accepting a software license agreement before installing it.

The movie industry, after seeing all the problems the music folks faced with MP3 sharing, may have decided that making licensing costs high is the only way to protect their investment. In that way, Joe Sixpack couldn't have easy access to a commercially produced system like this and they would just sue any companies who don't want to pay the licensing fees. The Kaleidescape folks have also protected themslevs by making the system closed so that the content can't be streamed over the net or shared outside of the system.

I'd also be willing to bet that in addition to making the system closed, a few other protection features have been employed. One might be encrypting the data on the drives so that you couldn't just access them by popping them into another computer (assuming the hardware isn't proprietary - although that would be a big pain for them so I don't think they would have done it). Another might be tagging every movie file with a unique identifier that could be traced back to the unit it was recorded on so that if the files could possibly shared, they could always be traced back to the originator. Of course, since the units are so expensive, the likelihood that they would be hacked is less because so few people could afford one.

Not much activity in this part of the boards huh? Well, I have some new info on the Kaleidescape from their product brochure and installer's guide (oddly, there seems to be no user manual - that's what the Kaleidescape folks said when I tried to get one in pdf). Anyways, here's a few interesting things I found:

- The system has a web-based setup and configuration utility like you might use to configure a networked router/gateway or WAP.

- Installers are required to have customers sign and return back to Kaleidescape a "Service & License Agreement". It contains the details of various points including what the metadata service entitles you to, an agreement not to reverse engineer the product, the warranty period (only 12 months), an agreement by the customer not to use the system for public performances and the following:

"... you agree never to load or permit someone else to load a DVD onto your Kaleidescape System that you do not rightfully own and possess, and you agree to delete from your Kaleidescape System any DVD that has been previously loaded immediately upon selling, giving away, loaning, or otherwise transferring ownership or giving up possession of the physical DVD (with the exception of destroying it)."

- Interestingly, the system does not come with a remote. It assumes you will be using a serial based control scheme (and at this price point, who wouldn't be?) or if you wanted to use a simple universal remote to control the individual Movie Players, you would set the remote to Zenith's DVD remote code set.

- In order to copy both sides of a DVD, you must manually flip it in the DVD Reader. I assumed this but thought it would be cool if it could read both sides without you having to flip it since the import process is a lengthy one.

Some interesting quotes from the brochure:

"• One-touch “Intermission†pauses the movie, displays its cover art, and provides cues to raise the lighting level. "

"Video Bookmarks
Kaleidescape’s patent-pending video bookmarks will change the way you use and showcase your theater.
• Start the main feature instantly, bypassing the DVD menu and previews.
• Even small children can easily select and start their favorite movies.
• Jump to a trailer.
• Bookmark favorite scenes (e.g., Casablanca’s final scene) and create a playlist.
• Special video bookmarks cause “event cues†to be sent to the control system. Event cues can be used to create a true theatrical experience, by automatically opening or closing the curtains, raising or lowering lights, automatically setting the screen masking at the beginning of a movie, etc."

"• Pause a movie in one zone and resume it later (even days later) in a different zone, exactly where you left off. "

"• Configure each zone with its preferred audio track and aspect ratio. For example, pressing “Play†in the theater would start the anamorphic widescreen version of a movie, while pressing “Play†in the kids’ bedroom would automatically start the fullscreen version of the same movie on a 4:3 television. "

"Parental Controls
Kaleidescape gives you full control over which movies your children and guests can view. • Kaleidescape’s Movie Guide Service supplies the MPAA ratings.
• You can provide a rating for unrated movies.
• You can configure each viewing zone to only show movies of a specified or lower rating. For example, the kids’ room could be restricted to movies rated “G,†while the family room could be set to “PG-13 and below.†These defaults can be overridden by entering a passcode on the local touchpad.
• Without the proper passcode, users will not know of the existence of the other movies in your collection—no titles, no cover art, no indication of any kind.
• Children can easily select and play their favorite movies while parents rest easy that they cannot access inappropriate content. "

"• Long movies that span multiple DVDs (or come on 2-sided DVDs) are automatically linked together to create a seamless viewing experience. "

All in all some interesting reading. Additionally my dealer mentioned that the folks at Kaleidescape are gearheads willing to try and incorporate new features that a customer requests.

I could also see using this type of playlist to create a series of previews prior to the main movie. You could also use the special event cues to lower the lights somewhat for the previews then to down the rest of the way for the main attraction like you have in a regular theater. that would be pretty cool.

For those wondering what commercial competition the Kaleidescape has, AMX offers a similar setup called the MAX MMS (MultiMedia Server). It offers storage capacities from 1.2 to 7.2 Terabytes for storage of 125 to 900 DVDs. The server has an integrated DVD/CD reader (the system also supports audio storage and streaming) and the equivalent to the Kaleidescape Movie Player is AMX's MAX AVM unit. I haven't found any screenshots of the GUI or pricing for that matter. What is interesting is that each MAX server can support simultaneous playback on 8 AVMs (compared to Kaleidescape's 7) but the connection from the MAX server to the switch is Gigabit (requiring a Gigabit compatible switch, of course) with normal 10/100 connections allowed from the switch to each AVM. Seeing as how both use the uncompressed, raw DVD data, it's interesting to see that one needs only 100Mb/s from the server while the other is Gigabit. One interesting quote I found on the AMX's sell sheet is teh following:

"As you rip each disc, the titles are automatically recognized and categorized. Enter detailed information, such as the featured actors, director and producer names, genre and year the movie was made. You decide what works best for your and your family. The goal is to offer you a variety of ways to search for the film you want, making everything simple, organized and fun. "

Does that mean that the actor, director, producer, production year and genre data is not automatically downloaded and has to be entered manually? One nice touch on this system is a dealer unit that allows CDs and DVDs to be ripped en masse via a 200-disc changer that can connect to the MMS by FireWire 800. Haven't seen or heard of anything like this from Kaleidescape although it would be a good idea.


As a side note, Kaleidescape's FAQ at their site has been expanded and now makes mention of the development of a Movie Player with DVI and HDCP support.

So what's missing? We can all agree that this system is pretty cool but the question is, what would you like to see from a server based movie system that it doesn't currently do? Given that the concept lends itself to advanced features because of the storage format, what else could be implemented? The video bookmarks idea is a great one that they have already implemented to take advantage of the technology. They took it a step further by having the movie guide service incorporate these automatically so that movies you load already have bookmarks for things like the start of the movie (past the FBI warnings and normal DVD menu, of course) and the trailer, etc. Keeping in mind the things they are already officially working on (DVI on the movie players, HD storage and output) and the things they are considering (audio storage including DVD-A), what would you like to see?

Of course it would be nice if the system could do the laundry and make dinner but hey, maybe that will be a future enhancement. ;)

Anyone?

Slocko,

Do you mean as in a list of the stored titles? The system may already support this. There's a web interface that you use for system setup, etc. In the installation manual, there's a screenshot showing that interface with status of movies that are currently being imported. While not shown or described in the manual, there's a tab for Movie Library. I'm guessing that would be a complete list of all the imported movies. If so, you could print out right from that screen.

Jeff