Cheapest way into disc to digital

[TrackZ]

So now that I have the Strato, what's the cheapest way to get a disc reader into my K setup in order to be able to convert disc to digital?

I assume a used Alto or M series would be enough? I don't need it to play anything, but need the drive to convert at a cheaper price.

 

[MAttHEATLifer]

The absolute cheapest way is to do vudu disc to digital and vudu mobile disc to digital, it is $2.00 for Blu-ray and $5.00 for dvd to upgrade to Blu-ray quality, and as long as it is UV at both vudu and Kaleidescape it will port to Kaleidescape , other wise you will need a used alto and a costar...

 

[J.Green]

So now that I have the Strato, what's the cheapest way to get a disc reader into my K setup in order to be able to convert disc to digital?

I assume a used Alto or M series would be enough? I don't need it to play anything, but need the drive to convert at a cheaper price.

An M-class player can't be used with a Strato. Your only options for accessing disc-based content on an Encore system is to add an Alto and/or a Disc Server. Keep in mind that if you group a Disc Server with your Strato, that would only give you access to DVDs since the Strato can't play Blu-ray discs.

 

[TrackZ]

An M-class player can't be used with a Strato. Your only options for accessing disc-based content on an Encore system is to add an Alto and/or a Disc Server. Keep in mind that if you group a Disc Server with your Strato, that would only give you access to DVDs since the Strato can't play Blu-ray discs.

I’m not thinking to integrate the two. More so just use the M player to read discs for D2D purposes and then should be able to download them for play on the Strato. Once you pay the conversion fee, shouldn’t need the disc any more.

 

[Kostas]

Hi J. You cannot use an M class player without a Premiere server(3U or 1U). Should be grandfathered as well if you want to import DVDs.
Only solution is as John suggests. An Alto together with a Disc Server. The Disc Server will read and the Alto will catalog. Or a standalone Alto but you will have to catalog your discs one by one. If there is a D2D offer it will appear under Digital offers in your account and the Alto's OSD(if I remember well).

 

[TrackZ]

So you have to catalog before you can pay to disc to digital? But you can’t catalog from an M unless you have a server?

Hmm. Can an Alto straight redeem D2D on its own without having to import to any other equipment first?

Ultimately, I don’t want the disc and I don’t want the disc bits kept anywhere. I just want the digital rights to download at my leisure later on.

 

[J.Green]

So you have to catalog before you can pay to disc to digital? But you can’t catalog from an M unless you have a server?

Hmm. Can an Alto straight redeem D2D on its own without having to import to any other equipment first?

Ultimately, I don’t want the disc and I don’t want the disc bits kept anywhere. I just want the digital rights to download at my leisure later on.

You don't have to actually catalog the disc to exercise a disc-to-digital transaction. Putting the disc in a player's tray will show the Digital Offers menu on the detail sheet for the disc without having to import/catalog it. However, that is a long process as you would have to check each disc one by one.

By importing/cataloging, the entire library of discs gets checked automatically and all qualifying titles are listed in the store's interface (the under Manage->Digital Offers menu).

As for an Alto, yes, it can exercise digital offers without having to catalog the title first (nor does it have to be grouped with the Strato).

 

[TrackZ]

You don't have to actually catalog the disc to exercise a disc-to-digital transaction. Putting the disc in a player's tray will show the Digital Offers menu on the detail sheet for the disc without having to import/catalog it. However, that is a long process as you would have to check each disc one by one.

By importing/cataloging, the entire library of discs gets checked automatically and all qualifying titles are listed in the store's interface (the under Manage->Digital Offers menu).

As for an Alto, yes, it can exercise digital offers without having to catalog the title first (nor does it have to be grouped with the Strato).

Good, then. That answers my original question. I could buy a used M500 player by itself and use it to D2D titles into my K store account. Which I can then access, download, and watch those titles on my Strato.

The M device is just a portal to building out my digital collection, in this case. I know you can accomplish the same thing cheaper on VUDU but I've found VUDU and K sometimes differ in the D2D-ability of certain titles. Plus, since some studios don't support UV on K, it's not viable to D2D through VUDU (ex. Fox).

Of course, it we just had Movies Anywhere, this idea and process mostly becomes moot.

 

[Kostas]

Good, then. That answers my original question. I could buy a used M500 player by itself and use it to D2D titles into my K store account. Which I can then access, download, and watch those titles on my Strato.

No you can't. M500 simply won't work with the Strato or any other Encore line component.

Only solution is the Alto and one by one disc check(if you don't want to buy a Disc Server). If your discs qualify for D2D you will pay the price and then the movie will be made available for download to your system.

 

[J.Green]

Good, then. That answers my original question. I could buy a used M500 player by itself and use it to D2D titles into my K store account. Which I can then access, download, and watch those titles on my Strato.

An M500 cannot operate on its own. It must be paired with a Premiere line server.

 

[MikeKobb]

Just to reinforce what John said, you can't use the M500 without a Premiere server. It is not a standalone component. You could do this with an Alto, which needs to either be linked with your Strato into a single system, or registered to the same Movie Store account as your Strato, as a second system.

Be advised that if you link the Alto and Strato into a common system, then HD purchases will begin to download to the Alto (to save disk space on the Strato for 4K titles). So if you don't intend to keep the Alto after you've done the disc-to-digital, I'd go with the second-system approach.

Conversely, if you kept the Alto and integrated it with the Strato into a single system, you'd have that much more storage space available to you.

 

[TrackZ]

Just to reinforce what John said, you can't use the M500 without a Premiere server. It is not a standalone component. You could do this with an Alto, which needs to either be linked with your Strato into a single system, or registered to the same Movie Store account as your Strato, as a second system.

Be advised that if you link the Alto and Strato into a common system, then HD purchases will begin to download to the Alto (to save disk space on the Strato for 4K titles). So if you don't intend to keep the Alto after you've done the disc-to-digital, I'd go with the second-system approach.

Conversely, if you kept the Alto and integrated it with the Strato into a single system, you'd have that much more storage space available to you.

Alto it is then. Thanks for all the clarifications.

With regards to setting them up in the common system:

- Will HD downloads automatically go to the Alto only or can I control that?
- If the Alto fills up, will HD downloads then redirect to the Strato?
- Can the Strato display in it's UI and play the downloaded HD movies off the Alto directly by just having both on the same network? Or would I need a Costar for this?

The extra few TBs aren't likely a big deal, so the second-system but same-store approach is probably what I'm looking for. Buy a used Alto, run a variety of D2Ds, then end up reselling the Alto, most likely.

 

[MikeKobb]

- Will HD downloads automatically go to the Alto only or can I control that?

It’s automatic.

- If the Alto fills up, will HD downloads then redirect to the Strato?

Yes. It just tries to keep space on the Strato for 4K, but it will use the Strato’s storage for HD if that’s the only space available.

- Can the Strato display in it's UI and play the downloaded HD movies off the Alto directly by just having both on the same network? Or would I need a Costar for this?

You’ll see all the movies in the Strato’s UI, and any movies stored on Alto will play on the Strato over the network. Both players will need to be on a hardwired Ethernet connection (no Wi-Fi). Gigabit is best (and is required for 4K content, which wouldn’t be a factor in this case).

No Co-Star required for this configuration. You’d only need Co-Star if you were using the Alto to play disc-based content.

 

[SJHT]

It’s automatic.
Yes. It just tries to keep space on the Strato for 4K, but it will use the Strato’s storage for HD if that’s the only space available.
You’ll see all the movies in the Strato’s UI, and any movies stored on Alto will play on the Strato over the network. Both players will need to be on a hardwired Ethernet connection (no Wi-Fi). Gigabit is best (and is required for 4K content, which wouldn’t be a factor in this case).

No Co-Star required for this configuration. You’d only need Co-Star if you were using the Alto to play disc-based content.

Mike, what happens to HD content when you mix in a Terra Server to the system (Strato, Alto, Terra Server)? Do HD downloads still go to the Alto first if there is room? Thanks. SJ

 

[MikeKobb]

When you add a Terra Server to the system, all downloads in all qualities go to the Terra for as long as it has free space. The Terra is the highest-performance component in the system, so it’s the best place to store movies.