08/13/2021
Apologies if this has already been posted, but I couldn't find anything like this post when I was first thinking about buying the Strato S, so I thought this post might be helpful, especially for new buyers.
Kaleidescape (hereinafter designated as K, cause I can never remember how to spell K) has a program that will reduce the price we pay for movies in the Movie Store. It is often referred to as the "Disc to Digital" program. I have never used the program myself, so if my post here contains error(s), hopefully a more seasoned user will make a correction(s).
Basically, the way it works is that one catalogs the discs that one already owns and then the Movie Store will show the discounted price. But there are some catches:
1. It doesn't work for 4k discs. No discounts for 4k, even if you already own it.
2. To be able to "catalog" the discs you already own, you'll need to somehow beg, borrow, or steal.....or maybe buy off eBay, a device that is no longer available and no longer made or sold by K. These are the devices that will allow you to catalog/"prove that you own" your discs:
a. The Alto - this is the most commonly mentioned device that one can use to catalog our discs
b. The M-700
c. The DVD-700.
So your problem is going to be finding one of this devices (probably an Alto). Most often the way one does this is by finding a dealer who will lend you one. A way to do this is by making an agreement with your dealer for him to lend you an Alto. You might say something like this: "If you'll agree to lend me an Alto, I'll buy the 12 TB Strato S from you." You get the idea, right?
Then, once you have the device (probably an Alto) in hand, you insert your previously purchased disc into it and it records the metadata, thus proving that you own that disc. I have no idea if that'll work for "copies" of discs that one has made, but I kinda doubt it. But I really don't know.
Now, here is the (possible) kicker. Dealers have told me that it can take up to 2 - 10 minutes or more to "catalog" each disc. However, a guy on this very forum says that that is poppycock, and that it is more like a few seconds, which certainly makes better sense to me. But I suppose your mileage may vary, as they say. Oh and the guy who told me that it only took seconds didn't actually use the word "poppycock." But, should it take several minutes per disc and you have a lot of discs, you could be spending quite a bit of time "cataloging" your previously purchased discs. Hopefully then, it'll just take a few seconds per disc.
Then, after the cataloging is done, somehow that info is transmitted to your account, and then, quite nicely, the discounted price shows up in the Movie Store when you are logged into your account.
Why didn't I do the above when I bought my first addictive wave of movies? Laziness. Plus I didn't really have all the info above. So I ended up maxing out a credit card making payments for movies I already owned on discs. But then as Homer Simpson, my role model, says, "What are ya gonna do?"
Other possibly helpful notes for new buyers:
1. Initially I thought that the way to go was to buy a Strato C (a player) and a Terra (the digital storage unit, sometimes called a server). But the Strato C is getting hard to find. So it seems that the way to go now is to buy the Strato S (which is a combination player and storage unit), and then possibly add a storage unit (a Terra) if you need it.
I'm an old guy who loves movies, but is not particularly impressed by explosions and such if the story ain't worth much. Example: If it's a choice between the latest Star Wars or Super Hero movie who saves the world, yet again, and maybe, say...... "Mr. Holland's Opus," I'll chose the "Mr. Holland" category every time. I'm all "whooshed" out, and that being the case, I found that I needed just over 12 TB of space to contain all the movies I really cared about.
Now, an unsubstantiated rumor has it that K will be showing off an 18 TB Strato S at the Cedia event in September, 2021. If that's true, that is the one I would wait for and buy. On the other hand, if you prefer a ton of movies of every sort, you may want to buy a Strato S AND a Terra storage unit.
2. With all the compliments that one reads about the fantastic picture you get from the K Strato, you'll likely find that you'll have a Blu-ray or three in your disc collection that K only offers in DVD! There are probably good reasons that K doesn't have those movies in a higher quality, but I was surprised.
3. Also, you'll likely find that K doesn't even offer for sale movies that you love.....not even Young Frankenstein! Explain that to your wife that you spent thousands and yet some of her favorite movies aren't available! Good luck with that. Well, I'm led to believe that they're working on it! Hopefully so. They do already have a ton of movies in their inventory.
Well I gotta tell ya that I'm rather enjoying this adventure. I hope you new buyers will join us. Hey, I just joined up about a week ago with a shiny new 12 TB Strato S!
Apologies if this has already been posted, but I couldn't find anything like this post when I was first thinking about buying the Strato S, so I thought this post might be helpful, especially for new buyers.
Kaleidescape (hereinafter designated as K, cause I can never remember how to spell K) has a program that will reduce the price we pay for movies in the Movie Store. It is often referred to as the "Disc to Digital" program. I have never used the program myself, so if my post here contains error(s), hopefully a more seasoned user will make a correction(s).
Basically, the way it works is that one catalogs the discs that one already owns and then the Movie Store will show the discounted price. But there are some catches:
1. It doesn't work for 4k discs. No discounts for 4k, even if you already own it.
2. To be able to "catalog" the discs you already own, you'll need to somehow beg, borrow, or steal.....or maybe buy off eBay, a device that is no longer available and no longer made or sold by K. These are the devices that will allow you to catalog/"prove that you own" your discs:
a. The Alto - this is the most commonly mentioned device that one can use to catalog our discs
b. The M-700
c. The DVD-700.
So your problem is going to be finding one of this devices (probably an Alto). Most often the way one does this is by finding a dealer who will lend you one. A way to do this is by making an agreement with your dealer for him to lend you an Alto. You might say something like this: "If you'll agree to lend me an Alto, I'll buy the 12 TB Strato S from you." You get the idea, right?
Then, once you have the device (probably an Alto) in hand, you insert your previously purchased disc into it and it records the metadata, thus proving that you own that disc. I have no idea if that'll work for "copies" of discs that one has made, but I kinda doubt it. But I really don't know.
Now, here is the (possible) kicker. Dealers have told me that it can take up to 2 - 10 minutes or more to "catalog" each disc. However, a guy on this very forum says that that is poppycock, and that it is more like a few seconds, which certainly makes better sense to me. But I suppose your mileage may vary, as they say. Oh and the guy who told me that it only took seconds didn't actually use the word "poppycock." But, should it take several minutes per disc and you have a lot of discs, you could be spending quite a bit of time "cataloging" your previously purchased discs. Hopefully then, it'll just take a few seconds per disc.
Then, after the cataloging is done, somehow that info is transmitted to your account, and then, quite nicely, the discounted price shows up in the Movie Store when you are logged into your account.
Why didn't I do the above when I bought my first addictive wave of movies? Laziness. Plus I didn't really have all the info above. So I ended up maxing out a credit card making payments for movies I already owned on discs. But then as Homer Simpson, my role model, says, "What are ya gonna do?"
Other possibly helpful notes for new buyers:
1. Initially I thought that the way to go was to buy a Strato C (a player) and a Terra (the digital storage unit, sometimes called a server). But the Strato C is getting hard to find. So it seems that the way to go now is to buy the Strato S (which is a combination player and storage unit), and then possibly add a storage unit (a Terra) if you need it.
I'm an old guy who loves movies, but is not particularly impressed by explosions and such if the story ain't worth much. Example: If it's a choice between the latest Star Wars or Super Hero movie who saves the world, yet again, and maybe, say...... "Mr. Holland's Opus," I'll chose the "Mr. Holland" category every time. I'm all "whooshed" out, and that being the case, I found that I needed just over 12 TB of space to contain all the movies I really cared about.
Now, an unsubstantiated rumor has it that K will be showing off an 18 TB Strato S at the Cedia event in September, 2021. If that's true, that is the one I would wait for and buy. On the other hand, if you prefer a ton of movies of every sort, you may want to buy a Strato S AND a Terra storage unit.
2. With all the compliments that one reads about the fantastic picture you get from the K Strato, you'll likely find that you'll have a Blu-ray or three in your disc collection that K only offers in DVD! There are probably good reasons that K doesn't have those movies in a higher quality, but I was surprised.
3. Also, you'll likely find that K doesn't even offer for sale movies that you love.....not even Young Frankenstein! Explain that to your wife that you spent thousands and yet some of her favorite movies aren't available! Good luck with that. Well, I'm led to believe that they're working on it! Hopefully so. They do already have a ton of movies in their inventory.
Well I gotta tell ya that I'm rather enjoying this adventure. I hope you new buyers will join us. Hey, I just joined up about a week ago with a shiny new 12 TB Strato S!
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