• Thanks for visiting the Kaleidescape Owners' Forum

    This forum is for the community of Kaleidescape owners, and others interested in learning about the system, equipment, services, and the company itself.

    It is run by a group of enthusiastic Kaleidescape owners and dealers purely as a service to this community.

    This board is not affiliated in any way with Kaleidescape, Inc.
    For official technical support, product information, or customer service, please visit www.kaleidescape.com

    You can dismiss this box forever by clicking the "X" in the upper right corner of this message.

  • You are currently in "Guest" mode and not logged in with a registered account.

    The forum is free to use and most of the forum can be used by guests who are not registered....

    ... but we strongly encourage you to register for a full account. There is no cost to register for a full account.

    Benefits of registering for a full account:

    • Participate in the discussions! You must have a registered account to make posts on the forums. You will be able to start your own thread on a topic or question, or you can reply to other threads/discussions.
    • Use the "Conversation" feature (known as "private messaging" on other forums) to communicate directly with any of the other users here.
    • Access the Files area. The "resources" area of the forum contains many "Favorite Scene" and Script files that can dramatically increase the enjoyment of your Kaleidescape system. Go directly to great scenes in your favorite movies, created by other owners, and add automation to playback of your system with Scripts.
    • You won't see this annoying notice at the top of every screen!😊

    It's easy and free to register for the forum. Just click the "Register" button in the upper right corner of this page, and follow the instructions there.

    This box goes away for registered users.

Strato M Retired? Moved to legacy section

jackuiowa

jackuiowa

Well-known member
⭐️ Premium ⭐️
Joined
Aug 31, 2023
Messages
136
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Just noticed the Strato M has been moved to the legacy section of the hardware on the website. I guess just four strato players are still being made (K, V, E and C.). Its also been removed from the comparison chart.


Legacy Products Movie Players and Servers - Kaleidescape

Kaleidescape's archive of award-winning legacy home theater movie players and servers for the movie theater in your house. Learn more.
www.kaleidescape.com www.kaleidescape.com
 
That is very interesting. I wonder if it simply never caught on, though I can see some practical uses for it.

Personally, I have seriously considered one for a room with a 55" TV that would be fine with 2K.
 
by96 said:
That is very interesting. I wonder if it simply never caught on, though I can see some practical uses for it.

Personally, I have seriously considered one for a room with a 55" TV that would be fine with 2K.
Click to expand...

Literally how I use mine. 55 inch
 
Maybe they are thinning out the Strato line-up in anticipation of a smaller form-factor (and smaller SSD) Cinematic-capable player.
 
I noticed during Kaleidescape footage from CEDIA on YouTube that their display rack did not feature the M nor the V. Wonder if it’s time is almost up too.
 
I think with the addition of the K...the V's days are numbered...simply does not have a spot in the lineup..its essentially a E with more storage or a K without 4k UI and 4kC. I forsee one budget (E) and one flagship (K). I know those would be my only considerations if I were new ...would come down to budget.
 
by96 said:
Personally, I have seriously considered one for a room with a 55" TV that would be fine with 2K.
Click to expand...
Yes, that was actually the target use-case: smaller, lower priority display, e.g. for staff on a yacht or in larger residencies. Even on a yacht, budget is still an issue. If you can save a couple of ten thousand $, that´s still welcomed.
 
DieZwei said:
Yes, that was actually the target use-case: smaller, lower priority display, e.g. for staff on a yacht or in larger residencies. Even on a yacht, budget is still an issue. If you can save a couple of ten thousand $, that´s still welcomed.
Click to expand...


I put one in a bedroom. The 2k is much less noticeable. Wish it had co star support but I can still access my disc vault if I ever get another alto i guess
 
rafaelsmith said:
I think with the addition of the K...the V's days are numbered...simply does not have a spot in the lineup..its essentially a E with more storage or a K without 4k UI and 4kC. I forsee one budget (E) and one flagship (K). I know those would be my only considerations if I were new ...would come down to budget.
Click to expand...
I’m new to K-scape but not topics such as this. I disagree to your statement. A K is $1,000 more than the V and $2,000 more than the E.

As a person who is without a server, I can’t fathom having 512 GB standalone player. 1TB is useful. They still have the C as available and it’s only useful with a Server.

I can see the E going but not the V or neither going.
 
I don’t see a place for the V if I’m being honest. If I’m going to spend that much on a player, I might as well spend the extra $1k for all the features of the K with improved UI.
Just look at how many have gone up for sale here.
 
Spankey00 said:
I don’t see a place for the V if I’m being honest. If I’m going to spend that much on a player, I might as well spend the extra $1k for all the features of the K with improved UI.
Just look at how many have gone up for sale here.
Click to expand...
That may apply to a few people. How many people who are K-scape owners can take advantage of HDR, let alone, DV or 8K. I can’t on any of those, am I missing out on “experience”, maybe a little.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but atm the only display devices that support 8K are pixel shifting projectors. What percentage of K-Scape users actually own the latest pixel shifting projectors?

I think the K is a great product but it’s an early adopter product. 1 movie in 8K atm, and the rest are up-converted and pixel shifted.

I see a very large contingent of folks who look at a stand alone E and have to justify the extra $1K to have more space. You think people who are new to K-scape are going to cough up $2,000 for something that is new and not widely supported?

I dont think so.

I get it, some folks look at $1,000 or $2,000 as pocket change but the E and V are targeted at value minded new users who want to dip their toes into the product line. The K while can be stand alone, is not targeted at new users but early adopters who have to have the latest wizbang product.

Do you have a system that supports 8K?
 
I still maintain that there is no reason for the V anymore. One budget to get folks hooked...with small storage...which serves to entice folks to buy servers. E seems perfect as secondary player for folks already invested...Yachts, bathrooms, whatever. One flagship...the K and 4kc movies requiring more storage = more storage sales. By all accounts, the K plays non 4kc movies slightly better than the E/V. For Kaleidescape it is all about selling more storage...given the insane markup that is where they make their bacon. I wish the E had existed when I decided to get into Kaleidescape...it would have saved me money...I have been doing just fine with 1tb of space..however...I only need room for 1 or 2 demo movies and whatever I plan to watch next so 512gb or 1tb both serve that purpose. Then again, I am not the customer Kaleidescape wants.
 
I have a V. Currently have one 4K TV Season, a couple 4K movies and 2 HD movies and it’s full. Frankly I couldn’t imagine working with less than the storage it comes with. I highly value enough room to have a couple movies and TV show in play.
 
I am exactly as you describe and the target new K-Scape customer and as such, I'm a V owner. No K. No E. No Strato S. I'm looking at storage solutions now for future expansion. On the used market an E is $300 at most less than the V. Granted I do not have Gig Internet either. So I have to wait about an hour to download a full movie. I also don't mind waiting for the movie to download because chances are, I'm watching another movie and when that movie is half or so done, the next movie is downloaded.

If and when K-Scape comes out with a K lite, IE, a C type player with no storage or a E type, K player with limited storage that is cheaper, I'll be in on that. But as of now, I have no use for any of the features on a K except, you guess it, more storage.

-JD-
 
JonProphet said:
I am exactly as you describe and the target new K-Scape customer and as such, I'm a V owner. No K. No E. No Strato S. I'm looking at storage solutions now for future expansion.
Click to expand...

Okay, but what you're saying is that you're a perfect customer for an E. If you buy storage, the E and the V have identical functionality. And without storage, both E and V really have to work in the "small local cache of a handful of movies" mode. That the handful is slightly larger is unlikely to $1000 matter to anyone.

(That the price difference is much smaller in the used market is more evidence that the V is pointless: That's used buyers saying that they're only willing to spend $300 more to get a V than an E, because it's not significantly better.)
 
mkozlows said:
Okay, but what you're saying is that you're a perfect customer for an E. If you buy storage, the E and the V have identical functionality. And without storage, both E and V really have to work in the "small local cache of a handful of movies" mode. That the handful is slightly larger is unlikely to $1000 matter to anyone.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I was trying to say when I said that if the E was available when I decided to join Kaleidescape, I would have gone for it over the V....my use case is just as you describe....standalone only...at which point I accept I will have to deal with storage limitation...512 -vs- 1b really does not matter in that case...I need some space for some demo material and then enough for cycling thru whatever we watch/rent next...doable on either E or V so why spend the extra $1k? I would have saved money and my experience would have been exactly the same.

Also, as you said...if you buy storage ...the E and V are the same thing...why pay $1k more? Whereas, with the K...the extra $1k actually gets you something.

They really only need the E and K to cover everyone.
 
Last edited:
I know people have said the M has a role for smaller TVs/secondary rooms (which may be true) but I never felt it was a good idea to sell a non-4K device AND I'm sure it really is just a firmware limited E anyway. I'm glad it's no longer being offered. I'm guessing it wasn't selling. I'm biased since I own the V but I find the storage on the V to be just good enough and would not want less. I would be doing a lot more swapping with an E.
 
cardsdoc said:
I know people have said the M has a role for smaller TVs/secondary rooms (which may be true) but I never felt it was a good idea to sell a non-4K device AND I'm sure it really is just a firmware limited E anyway. I'm glad it's no longer being offered. I'm guessing it wasn't selling. I'm biased since I own the V but I find the storage on the V to be just good enough and would not want less. I would be doing a lot more swapping with an E.
Click to expand...
But you don’t have a server, right? No plans to get one?
 
When the E came out and looked back at my history with the V and realized that I would have been fine with the lower storage on the E. The way we use K...just need "slot(s)" for cycling 1 - 2 movies + 1-3 "slots" for favorite demo movies. Currently my V is almost always at most 3/4 full...could easily do with 1/2 full.

No interest or desire whatsoever for external storage....which is good since I would not be able to afford it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top