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Hardware Needs...

Amen Joel.

FWIW I put the vault on top of my rack for now. No one goes in there but me.

In so far as pros and cons of the MDV or IDV, I think we've shown the pros and cons of each. One thing I think we can say for sure, the MDV works great but you wouldn't want to be showing it off the way the other K gear can be shown in public.
 
JerryL said:
FWIW I put the vault on top of my rack for now. No one goes in there but me.
Click to expand...

Great minds think alike... ;)


JerryL said:
In so far as pros and cons of the MDV or IDV, I think we've shown the pros and cons of each.
Click to expand...

Agreed...


JerryL said:
One thing I think we can say for sure, the MDV works great but you wouldn't want to be showing it off the way the other K gear can be shown in public.
Click to expand...

Agreed...
 
Apologies guys but I need your help one more time...

I just came back from a friend's house where he showed me his newly installed ReQuest Movie and Music System and, as I have neither owned nor played with a K system, I am curious as to what the K system offers over the ReQuest system so thought I would ask the experts here...

The advantages/differences that I note in K's favour are:

1. It simply works seems to be the universal mantra...I have not heard nor read enough to comment on ReQuest

2. Support seems to be unparalleled... have not heard nor read enough to comment on ReQuest

3. The number of Blu-rays disks that can be housed by the system in that the ReQuest system appears to i) be capped at 400 and ii) rely on Sony Blu-ray disk changers [not my first choice]

4. The user interface is unparalleled...but, I would like input from others because I have never seen the K interface in action but the ReQuest interface seems slick [see http://www.request.com/demos/HDTV_Interface/HDTV_Interface.html ]

5. And the biggie, it looks as though the ability to distribute Blu-ray content one needs a video switch which for me is a non starter because of how my house is wired; that is, I have run cat-5e/6 wiring [why the builder mixed cat-5e/6 is something I will never understand] which means K will work but I do not have home run HDMI wiring [and HDMI over cat-5e/6 is NOT an option for me as I do not have multiple drops in every location, another stupid oversight by the builder]...

While I am sold on the K system I am curious from those who know....you guys...what you perceive/understand the K system pros/cons to be relative to the ReQuest system in addition to those noted above...

TIA...

Joel
 
I agree with the points you already noted, but would add that I would never own a BR changer. The changers that I've encountered all eventually had problems. Too much going on inside a changer, the movies have to loaded into the changer's player to play the movie and that's a lot of moving parts. I've also heard of discs being damaged, stuck, etc..

I know some people own the Sony changers and have had no problems, but I'm not sure how much use they get.

The experiences are also different. Sure, in the end you are playing a movie or CD, but it's getting there that matters most to me, and no one does it better than K, IMO.

Completely agree regarding K's support. Based on my experiences, their support is the best in the electronic's industry. That said, I have seen, but not worked with the Request products and cannot comment on their support.


Jim
 
Joelc said:
Apologies but I must I am having trouble shaking the cobwebs this morning...

The first part of your post, at leas as I read it, suggests that I would be better off waiting for the IDV because it alone will hold more BRs than a pair of MDVs...

The second part of your post suggests using multiple vaults so that the player and vault can be "separately upgraded"...

What am I missing?

Thanks,


Joel
Click to expand...

Just that if I want a vault, I'll get a vault that will provide the most efficient storage. As they are expected to be the same height, that would not only go to the IDV but throw in a "free" BR-player zone to boot. If at some later time a wiz-bang featured player comes out, I'll get the new player and not worry about depreciating the IDV output to a different zone that doesn't need the wiz-bang. Even if the extra BR zone if overkill, or not needed, I'm still getting more storage per 5U than with MDVs.

If there was an established (and very beneficial) upgrade path from the MDV to IDV, I would strongly consider it... if I wasn't already teetering on needing another server. *celebrates achieving his Old Year's resolution of making it to 2011 before needing to get another disc*
 
Last edited:
The question about most efficient storage goes like this in my head:

I have several zones where I have bought players. Each player can get a 100 disc vault and I have the room to locate those vaults next to those players. In my case I bought 3 vaults. But I believe I have a few other zones where I could locate vaults. Anyway, I thought about waiting for the IDV but heres how I see it:

IDV: I won't be using the player portion since I have my zones covered. If we take a guesstimate of ~$5500 for the IDV then thats 5500/320 = $17.18 cost per disc. If you subtract the cost of a M300 player to get the storage alone cost then its ~$3000 / 320 = $9.4 / disc. However as I said I go with the 17.18 number because I don't have any zones where I would use the IDV's integrated player. For me it would be purely storage.

MDV: already bought the players, going to do something in terms of vault- either go with the IDV which isn't out or go with the MDV which is. 3xMDV= ~4500 / 300 discs = $15/ disc. Granted, if you add in the cost of the players it really sky rockets- but my point is I was upgrading the players already- I wasn't going to add IDVs to all these locations. If you were to add in the cost of the players then it would be 12k/300= $40 per disc.

So it depends on how you look at it. I also like that I can have the MDVs now. I figured what I might do one day, when the IDV is out and is a known quantity is maybe get one of those for my main equipment rack and then move the player and vault I have in there to another location.

Bottom line- a K system is not an insubstantial investment but for for those of us who appreciate it, it's worth it.
 
JerryL said:
The question about most efficient storage goes like this in my head:

I have several zones where I have bought players. Each player can get a 100 disc vault and I have the room to locate those vaults next to those players. In my case I bought 3 vaults. But I believe I have a few other zones where I could locate vaults. Anyway, I thought about waiting for the IDV but heres how I see it:

IDV: I won't be using the player portion since I have my zones covered. If we take a guesstimate of ~$5500 for the IDV then thats 5500/320 = $17.18 cost per disc. If you subtract the cost of a M300 player to get the storage alone cost then its ~$3000 / 320 = $9.4 / disc. However as I said I go with the 17.18 number because I don't have any zones where I would use the IDV's integrated player. For me it would be purely storage.

MDV: already bought the players, going to do something in terms of vault- either go with the IDV which isn't out or go with the MDV which is. 3xMDV= ~4500 / 300 discs = $15/ disc. Granted, if you add in the cost of the players it really sky rockets- but my point is I was upgrading the players already- I wasn't going to add IDVs to all these locations. If you were to add in the cost of the players then it would be 12k/300= $40 per disc.

So it depends on how you look at it. I also like that I can have the MDVs now. I figured what I might do one day, when the IDV is out and is a known quantity is maybe get one of those for my main equipment rack and then move the player and vault I have in there to another location.

Bottom line- a K system is not an insubstantial investment but for for those of us who appreciate it, it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Jerry:

Interesting math...and, assuming that the $5,500 cost for the IDV is in the ballpark then in my case it means waiting for the IDV as I would essentially be getting a M300 for $1,000 unless I am missing something...

It is a good thing that math is not the sole determining factor... :)

Joel
 
Im not sure if I agree or not. Since the IDV is integrated its hard to break out the cost on the player part alone. If the IDV was out now Id probably get that for one of my zones and if I needed more storage I would have gone with the MDV. One good point about these that was brought up is that the modular nature of the MDV+M player means if one part goes down, or becomes obsolete its easier to move on from.
 
JerryL said:
Im not sure if I agree or not. Since the IDV is integrated its hard to break out the cost on the player part alone. If the IDV was out now Id probably get that for one of my zones and if I needed more storage I would have gone with the MDV. One good point about these that was brought up is that the modular nature of the MDV+M player means if one part goes down, or becomes obsolete its easier to move on from.
Click to expand...

I think that in the IDV versus MDV/M debate that there is no right or wrong answer as both have their pros and cons...

In the end I will probably opt for the IDV purely on the basis of i) desire/need to centralize all Blu-ray storage and ii) limited rack space because the IDvs / MDvs, like my NAS drive] command a lot of rack space...
 
Agreed. Let me tell you though that the system with the MDV functions wonderfully and I would expect no less with the IDV.
 
Since we are both a K and ReQuest dealer I thought I'd try to answer the ReQuest question somewhat quickly. First and foremost K is a better total solution for those that can afford it. Which is why we offer and support both products. Not everyone can afford K, but with the lower priced entry of the Cinema One that changes things.

As many have already said the K music support seems like an after thought.

While the R UI is acceptable the K UI is superior. When I try to do something like select comedies under 2 hours with R I can only select comedies and then I have to manually look at all of the titles to find one under 2 hrs. Not very helpful. Many other functions like that are unavailable with the R UI.

I don't consider a Sony Blu-ray changer a solution. I don't want to wait for titles to load and I don't want the possible maintenance issues of a mechanical device. The fact that K has come up with a reasonable solution, albeit expensive, to accommodate the ridiculous studios stupidity is commendable.

R devices have an industrial look. Not something to show off.

R good things....streaming support for Pandora, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube...if Netflix gets more HD new titles this could be a future. They do music very, very well, that is their history and they overtook the leader at one time, Arrakis, which could be everyone's hated grandfather because of their arrogance. R has support for off the shelf NAS, which keeps the cost down. Now that could be a bad thing as well if you don't, and most don't, purchase enterprise level discs but you can get NAS with RAID.

ReQuest support is adequate...superior? No.
 
Good stuff. I wouldn't say K's music is like an after thought- its just not as strong as the video side.
 
glr-fti:

Appreciate the information provided in your response...very helpful indeed...


Joel
 
I considered a ReQuest DVD server some years ago. I was told by the salesman I would occasionally be asked to place a DVD in the system for a presence check.

Not so inconvenient if the DVD's are at hand. Not so good if you are on the 25th floor and the DVD's are in the basement store room.
 
JDS said:
I considered a ReQuest DVD server some years ago. I was told by the salesman I would occasionally be asked to place a DVD in the system for a presence check.

Not so inconvenient if the DVD's are at hand. Not so good if you are on the 25th floor and the DVD's are in the basement store room.
Click to expand...

This, of course, would not be an issue with ReQuest's Blu-ray solution as it uses a Blu-ray changer...
 
True!

When I heard K was going to be using a changer I cringed because of
1- load times and
2- mechanical failures

Then I learned of their smart implementation. If I had friends over and my changer seized 25 floors below Id not be happy.
 
JerryL said:
True!

When I heard K was going to be using a changer I cringed because of
1- load times and
2- mechanical failures

Then I learned of their smart implementation. If I had friends over and my changer seized 25 floors below Id not be happy.
Click to expand...

There are lots of reasons not to be happy with the use of a changer...:)

The other point of particular interest -- at least to me -- is that the IDV will look like the rest of the other K product which is very appealing to me...with that, I wonder whether or K will ultimately replace the current MDV with and internally built MDV to keep the K aesthetics...
 
After the IDV has been released I would not be surprised if the present MDV is upgraded and becomes an inhouse design.

I can see the appeal of a larger capacity MDV for owners who do not need another M class player.
 
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