Hello again, Wayne!
Thanks for your patience in awaiting answers to your questions. John has already answered some of them, so I will focus on the ones that he has not already addressed.
2. I understand the in-player decoding of lossless audio tracks will be coming. Will this be ready in time for the product’s first availability in Q1, 2016 or will the software update be at a still later date?
At this time, we plan to release the in-player decoding of lossless audio formats in a follow-on release. I can't discuss timing of that release yet, except to say that we do understand that this is an important feature for customers with certain audio equipment like Meridian, so we're doing our best to have it as soon as we can.
Most customers output lossless audio in bitstream format to their audio processor for decoding, and Strato will support bitstream output of lossless formats (including Atmos) at launch.
3. How will remote control codes be handled? Hopefully there will be no interference with current products in the same location using the supplied remotes. I realize many (most) of us use custom controllers but even then, it would be ideal if the codes were complete different from those currently in use.
To expand just slightly on John's answer, I want to clarify that the Kaleidescape IR remote can only transmit a single code set. As John said, the players are able to respond to either of two code sets. You would need to use a programmable remote or a control system in order to generate the other set of signals.
4. As this system only accepts downloads, how is region encoding handled or is it handled at all? Are the players the same around the globe, i.e. region free? Currently, in the premiere system, if I try to play a disc either in the tray or imported, but not in the database (using “Play Disc”), I must use the correct M-class, region specific, player. Is this an issue when playing Blu-rays or DVDs from the disc server (vault) in an Encore system with only 1 Strato player or will 2 separate players, 1 for each region, be required?
This is a complicated topic!
As you're probably aware, the selection of movies available on the Movie Store differs depending upon the country (US, Canada or UK). That content region is enforced based upon several factors, including the address of the billing credit card and the geographic location of the system.
For optical discs, it's important to understand that DVDs and Blu-ray discs handle this differently. DVD region is enforced by the actual disc drive mechanism. On Premiere systems that have DVD import ability, this happens when the disc is imported. Once imported, any player in the system can play a DVD from any region. On systems that do not import DVDs, they are played from the optical disc, so region enforcement happens at playback time. The region of the optical disc mechanism in an Alto or a Disc Server may only be changed a limited number of times. For practical purposes, this means that a Disc Server can only contain DVDs of a single region. For example, you might have a Region 1 Disc Server. If you had any Region 2 DVDs, the Disc Server could not play them, but you could play such a DVD in the optical drive of a Region 2 Alto. That same Alto could play any disc in the Region 1 Disc Server, because it's the region of the optical drive that matters.
Blu-ray region is enforced by the player, at playback time. If you had a Region A and a Region B player in the same system, then you could have both Region A and B discs in a single Disc Server, and either player could play them. For more information on Blu-ray region handling, you can see
this article.
Questions regarding the current Premiere Line Products:
1. I think I speak for everyone on this forum that we are glad to hear there will be ongoing support for the Premiere line. Kudos Kaleidescape!
2. Aside from the 6TB drives hopefully arriving soon, is any further hardware development planned (perhaps an updated player with some of the wish list features posted elsewhere on this forum)? We all realize that resources, human and otherwise, are extremely limited, and concern exists that future development will be devoted mostly or entirely to the new product line instead of the “legacy line.”
Apart from the 6TB drive, I can't comment on future plans for the Premiere line at this point, sorry!
3. Migration from a Premiere line server to the Terra Server, even if for downloads only (such as with 2 systems being maintained side by side - 1 for downloads, the other for imports), remains a problematic issue. Are there any preliminary ideas that can be shared at this point on how best to accomplish this? Is replication even possible with such incompatible products? Re-downloading everything is a huge bottleneck (ISP restrictions that many of us face) and not at all practical, except for small numbers of titles. Perhaps the feasibility of pre-loaded software titles can be further investigated by Kaleidescape.
It's our intention that you will be able to migrate your downloaded movies from your Premiere system to an Encore system, so that you won't have to download them again. We don't plan to have that replication feature available at initial launch, but expect it to be in a later release.
I realize that there may not yet be answers for many of these questions for a great variety of reasons. My point in this post is to stimulate thought and further discussion between end users, retailers and K. headquarters. Thank you for listening!
I do appreciate your understanding regarding things we're not able to disclose yet, but rest assured we're working hard on all of these topics and more!