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3 free movie downloads until 2013

Hey guys,


I starting setting up my system to access the download store tonight... I clicked the register system tab and then entered my email address... It said to wait until you get an email response back form "K". Does anyone know how long it should take to get that email to complete the registration process?



Matt
 
It took overnight for me since my system needed to be upgraded to 5.0 version OS.

Johm
 
Hey guys,


I starting setting up my system to access the download store tonight... I clicked the register system tab and then entered my email address... It said to wait until you get an email response back form "K". Does anyone know how long it should take to get that email to complete the registration process?



Matt


Shouldn't take long (guessing within a couple/few days), but keep in mind they do these in order of receiving the request, and this being the holiday season staffing may also affect the response time.


Jim
 
Thanks guys,

Never got a return email back so I called this morning. They had me re-register and this time, it went through in a moment. Down loading 4 movies as we speak... This is definitely very cool...


Matt
 
I'm very impressed with the speed of downloads! I have very unique internet connection and i am receiving a full 100 Mbps download speed on each movie (they appear to cap the speed at 100 Mbps).

I have a 100 Mbps and have averaged 45 Mbps with fastest at 59.5 Mbps.
 
I am not sure what I signed up for a long, long time ago with Comcast, but the 4 movies are now downloaded. I averaged 15.5 Mbps.


Matt
 
Looks like some new titles have been added. Now they have a 'superheroes' collection, and a few others that were not there last week. Plus, if you search by genres, they have a pretty decent selection of horror movies. I do wish they had more recent releases though. That category seems to be lacking a little.
 
Folks, I love K and have a pretty full 3U and got the email. My issue is that I almost never, as a standard, install the latest OS of anything until its been out a while. Now, I know K does a great job of supporting the K systems, but I am also concerned that in the new kOS that they somehow might have something in the code that gives them the ability to make changes to our systems and experience if an adverse decision comes down in the courts. I know, I know I sound like I believe in the 12/12/12 stuff. NOT. I'm just very careful when I upgrade any systems for any purpose. While I like the movies, I can buy them for $3 from RedBox and get them later. The $9-12 would be worth it to me to ensure there are no unforseen problems with the kOS until I am comfortable. I can't be the only one that spent what we spent on these systems and has these concerns. I'd never question the integrity of the K folks; I believe they have our best interest in mind. But I also realize they are currently in litigation and I'm highly concerned with any OS pushes that don't give me any reassurances they aren't "preparing" our systems for some ultimate decision. Hence, I have all IP's and ports to and from K blocked except the Movie and Music guides so my system is not "updated" without me specifically knowing about it and its affects. Call me paranoid if you like, but I wasn't paranoid when I spent $20k+ for the system and I doubt I am now.

Your thoughts?
 
Since my download speed from my ISP is 25Mb/s, I limited the speed of the download at the K store to 30Mb/s. I then picked my first movie from the store. It downloaded at a rate of 15Mb/s.

This didn't seem right so I changed the download speed at the K store to 100Mb/s and then did another movie download. This time I averaged 25Mb/s.

Based on a very limited sample not picking the highest speed at the K store will affect the overall download speed.

John
 
Hey A, you've got me LOL here. That's an interesting attempt to "protect" your system, but not likely necesssary, and probably not effective in the long run.

First, although in theory it is possible a court could order something to affect us all, that is not only not expected, it would likely not hold up on appeal. Should K ultimately lose in the continuing litigation with the DVD-CCA, any order should, and is expected to, affect only DVD's and ONLY future DVD functionality, not retroactively affect current owners. This has been discussed before.

Second, K does not need access to our systems to comply with a court order restricting DVD use, it can easily comply by making changes internally. I understand that your concern is K reaching out to your personal system and disabling DVD playback. I've been assured by K's management that this will not happen. I suspect this belief is based on the remedy language being used in the litigation. Remember, the DVD-CCA did not target owners, it went after K and is trying to restrict what K can do under it's contract with them. Going after owners would require separate litigation. Now that we are legally downloading DVD quality content from the K Store, with one major studio onboard so far, I don't think you need worry about losing DVD playback capability.

You also have to consider not receiving KEAOS updates. These not only continually improve system functionality, but also makes "adjustments" that assit in importing new content. Of course you could completely isolate your system and use it until drives start failing, but at some point I'm sure you would need K software support. Just my two cents.:)

Jim
 
Folks, I love K and have a pretty full 3U and got the email. My issue is that I almost never, as a standard, install the latest OS of anything until its been out a while. Now, I know K does a great job of supporting the K systems, but I am also concerned that in the new kOS that they somehow might have something in the code that gives them the ability to make changes to our systems and experience if an adverse decision comes down in the courts. I know, I know I sound like I believe in the 12/12/12 stuff. NOT. I'm just very careful when I upgrade any systems for any purpose. While I like the movies, I can buy them for $3 from RedBox and get them later. The $9-12 would be worth it to me to ensure there are no unforseen problems with the kOS until I am comfortable. I can't be the only one that spent what we spent on these systems and has these concerns. I'd never question the integrity of the K folks; I believe they have our best interest in mind. But I also realize they are currently in litigation and I'm highly concerned with any OS pushes that don't give me any reassurances they aren't "preparing" our systems for some ultimate decision. Hence, I have all IP's and ports to and from K blocked except the Movie and Music guides so my system is not "updated" without me specifically knowing about it and its affects. Call me paranoid if you like, but I wasn't paranoid when I spent $20k+ for the system and I doubt I am now.

Your thoughts?

In today's world I believe paranoia is NOT warranted but healthy scepticism is very appropriate. In my opinion if you live in a "supported territory" (most of the USA) the upgrade is probably worth it. I am convinced that the legal vulnerabilities are slipping away with the passage of time and technological evolution.

Warner Bros signing on for electronic distribution would mean that they have given Kaleidescape the 'right' through the current licensing program to do the very thing that the cc folks have been fighting in the courts. I also believe that Warner will not be the last studio to sign on. Within a couple of years most if not all of the major studios will have signed on which will have the net effect of negating the lawsuit.

Warner is honouring the capability with upgrading their titles to ultraviolet to take all that material into the cloud and in turn make it available on any of your registered devices. In short order even electronic counter measures won't matter because your library will be legally backed up into the cloud.

More to the point, and this only comes with the KOS 5 upgrade, you technically will extend the life and utility of your 3U (which you obviously stole for that price) because you can delete movies you don't need immediate access to on your 3U because they will always be available to you in the cloud. So those movies you really are not totally thrilled with can be removed without fear of loss and you will free up space on your server for stuff you really like and want immediate access to.

note to Kaleidescape::::::: It would be really useful in the long term to have an integrated catalog that reflects your total ownership including movies that are only stored in the cloud similar to what apple does with their tab differentiator that segments movies on the device versus all movies you own regardless where they are.

As far as OS stability is concerned I haven't heard any feedback from the "supported territories" that would suggest there are any technological reasons not to upgrade. The software appears to be behaving well.

Finally there are so many downstream opportunities for program improvements that I could not justify waiting especially if I lived in a 'supported territory'. Apple iTunes now has all of the studio previews for movies not yet in theatres or for every movie currently out on DVD/BD. Kaleidescape should make those previews optionally available to its systems owners for the obvious marketing benefits for selling new product into the ecosystem. I for one would love to see some of the movies upcoming on my 14 ft screen to get a taste of whats to come............

So yes you should upgrade so that you can join the group waving the flag from the 'supported territories' to the rest of us in the third world!!!!!!!

Peter
 
Jim,

In theory I agree with you. I'm responsible for 80,000 desktops and 15,000 servers worldwide for our global company and I don't upgrade them immediately to patches or upgrades either; and I always have the option NOT to update/patch them. So this isn't specific to K. My concern also isn't as much K reaching out to our personal systems and disabling the DVD playback but more so our ability to continue to use the system as we do today in a whole after these midnight software updates. I guess my preference would be that they notify us of an update and give us the option to upgrade as averse to doing it behind the scenes in the midnight hour. No other vendor I know of forces and update without your consent every time; especially devices as expensive as these. Again, I know K is doing great work, but these are "servers" after all with OS's and HDs. I treat them all the same and to blindly just go with the flow just because all other sheep do still doesn't fly with me.

Now...I didn't write the post to rail against K by any means, but more so to comment on my feeling of being forced to upgrade with the bait of free movies that are mostly available at Walmart. I could bet you couldn't point me to any other companies that have products, OS's and firmware, anywhere, and force updates on their products the way K forces the updates on these products without giving the owner the ability to specifically consent every time. I got a reply once that said, well you consented to K doing this in the SLA; yeah I also said I'd never speed when I signed my drivers license. I think K needs to reconsider giving owners the option (just as Apple, Cisco, MS, Intel, IBM, and all the other tech giants do) to update when they want instead of forcing the update on the owner. An added screen (tab) in the server settings with the option for setting your server up for "auto-update" (or NOT) is so simple, its too simple! Just my 2 cents. :) I love my K. Lets not get it twisted! :)
 
......I got a reply once that said, well you consented to K doing this in the SLA; yeah I also said I'd never speed when I signed my drivers license....


Hey my friend, I never thought you were "railing" against K, and I understand your argument for having the ability to opt out, I just don't happen to agree with it (no offense intended). I guess we fundamentally disagree on what our word means when we give it. Perhaps it's the lawyer side of me, but I'd like to think it's my upbringing (not questioning yours here), I agreed to K's terms when I purchased the system and nowhere in that agreement did it give me an option to forego updates.

Paragraph 4 of the SLA: "By using the Kaleidescape Service, you agree to receive any software updates and upgrades that Kaleidescape, in its sole discretion, sends to your model of the Kaleidescape System." I think that's clear.

It is obviously not possible for K to actually go around and insure everyone is connected online to receive these updates, they rely on our understanding that these updates have value to our systems, and ultimately to us as the end-users. Personally, I prefer the automatic updates, I'd rather not have to actively seek out updates to make my system operate at its best. (One update process that I particularly disliked was having to update several Blu-ray players to keep up with the ever changing HDMI issues associated with playing back BR discs. Glad that's in the past!)

All of that said, this is obviously a personal choice, and there may be others, perhaps many others, that see it your way.:)


Jim
One of the "flock."
 
...

Paragraph 4 of the SLA: "By using the Kaleidescape Service, you agree to receive any software updates and upgrades that Kaleidescape, in its sole discretion, sends to your model of the Kaleidescape System." I think that's clear.

...

Jim,

I get it! However, if a company sells "servers", regardless of what they get the users of those servers to agree to in unenforceable T's & C's, the IT industry norm is, "no updates without consent". Its simple, makes sense and K should offer that option (or people will do like I do and block the IP addresses, and their associated ports), that do SW download until I choose to upgrade. So, yes, its a personal preference for my personal system - and an industry standard that any IT company should be at least looking into and attempting to comply with (especially those that say they are ITIL compliant - K?). I definitely would not be looking to be an exception to industry standards just because I can get people to read and agree to "words" on paper that don't affect a single server operation.

Just my .03 cents (inflation was added) lol
 
Okay my friend.:)


Jim
 
I can think of at least one company that sends updates all the time. TIVO does exactly that. I am not sure if there is an option to disable it, but they are automatic and frequently happen when I sleep... There have been several times when their updates have adversely affected my TIVO but I don't consider them the quality of K...


Matt
 
Very nice of K to do this. I received the email and promply downloaded my three movie credits. However, not 7 minutes after receiving the first email, I received a second offering four movie credit!

Allllmost makes me want to hold-out until Sunday :) I'm already torn, as-is, thanks to that auto-catalog-upload phase.

but I am also concerned that in the new kOS that they somehow might have something in the code that gives them the ability to make changes to our systems and experience if an adverse decision comes down in the courts.

As opposed to the last how-many years? If they were going to do this, wouldn't it already be there? What if it was setup as a deadman's switch tied to updates? (That's how I'd do it if I actually wanted to.) More importantly, how will you ever know before the hammers start falling? Might as well pop-on, grab your update, and then go as far to ground as you feel sufficient.

No other vendor I know of forces and update without your consent every time;

Ever owned a next-gen game console? Sure, they technically might ask your permission, but the other option may as well be "unplug and recycle."

EDIT: TiVo... yeah.
 
Andre has a point...Tivos and game consoles are end user clients, basically. When you're talking about a $20k *server*, I don't know that you'll find anyone force-feeding you updates like K does.

On the flip side, I've not found a company that does a better job with their updates, either. I'd *like* them to give me the option not to take updates until I want them, but at the end of the day I am pretty sure I'd leave it set on automatic until they give me a reason to stop that. *shrug*


--Donnie
 
Yeah, I admit I had an initial cringe reaction to my system being updated without me knowing. But, they seem to do such a good job of providing a stable yet continually improving and valuable product with said updates, I really don't worry about it any more. They are just that good.

BTW, I'm seeing "$20k" mentioned here and there. I'm starting to feel like I got ripped off ;)
 
.......BTW, I'm seeing "$20k" mentioned here and there. I'm starting to feel like I got ripped off ;)



Getting into a system has gotten less expensive over the years for sure. With the introduction of 1U's, C1's, and less expensive Players there were many that came to K at or under $20K.:)

In the early days the average system we sold was probably $40 - $50K, sometimes more!!!! Of course if you jump right in to a 3U system the numbers these days are $30k+, still a bargain!!:D


Jim
 
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