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M500 vs M700

mawilla

Member
I'm considering an upgrade from the 2500 to either an M500 or M700 - can anyone recommend one over the other? Other than the obvious carousel is there much of an advantage or any other features that would justify the additional cost for the M700?
Thanks
Mawilla
 
Well, if you are watching blu ray you need the disc in a tray or the K-Vault/M700. You don't want to place a disc in every time, that defeats the purpose of the server. I think that is the biggest reason advantage of the carousels.
 
Brendon's comment is obviously correct, you really need at least one vault if you currently have a small collection of BR discs that you want to access in the same manner you do with DVD's. As you probably know, the M700's carousel is only accessed for loading and removing discs, it is NOT accessed during Playback (the system knows if you have a BR disc present in the carousel), so it is really for storage to prove ownership of the physical disc. (It is also accessed periodically by your system when it runs an inventory check to insure discs have not been removed.)

One advantage the M500 has over the M700 is the ability to Playback from the tray, a necessity for rented movies. You can not do this from the M700. Another advantage is obviously cost, the M500 being less expensive.

From a playback quality standpoint, they are the same.

Jim
 
another thing to consider is placement of the device. the vault is huge and in my opinion better suited for a rack mount location whereas the m500 is more like having a bluray player size piece of equipment. I agree that you need at least one vault though and would add m500 players after.
 
Thanks for the responses. I suppose the question for me is - Is the price difference worth it? It seems a lot to not have to get off the sofa to change a disc!
 
That very thing, not having to get up to change a disc (and search for a new one), is one of the main selling points to a K system. I personally think getting up to put a new BR disc in the tray (even with the content on the Server) negates the very simplicity I paid for when I bought the system. Like most, before the first vault was released I did the disc swap thing with the 500 and I was VERY happy when that KVAULT-10 became available.:) If you watch any BR movies on a regular basis, and have a reasonable sized collection, I think the M700 (or DV700 if you another M-Player) is a must, but that's just me.




Jim
 
That very thing, not having to get up to change a disc (and search for a new one), is one of the main selling points to a K system. I personally think getting up to put a new BR disc in the tray (even with the content on the Server) negates the very simplicity I paid for when I bought the system. Like most, before the first vault was released I did the disc swap thing with the 500 and I was VERY happy when that KVAULT-10 became available.:) If you watch any BR movies on a regular basis, and have a reasonable sized collection, I think the M700 (or DV700 if you another M-Player) is a must, but that's just me.

It's not just you.

If not for the vault option, as the world moved to BR I would have simply sold my Kscape instead of upgrading. I think many people would have.


--Donnie
 
Agree with what's said above about maintaining the simplicity of the system to not having to change out a BR disc. What is more important to me, that the M700 provides, is import capability for BR, DVD and CD. Before the M700 in my house, importing content was a chore. Now, if I get 2 seasons of a show on DVD, I just dump it into the vault for import and it's there in morning.

I don't have to import disc by disc with CD or DVD. Besides playback and BR disc storage, the M700 is a bulk importer. With that in mind, and based on previous costs of bulk importer devices, the M700 moves to the top - at least for me.

Jay
 
TivoSloth- So I can use the M700 to import DVDs and CDs onto the server and then remove those discs once imported to free up slot space in the M700, so I can keep my Blu-Ray discs in there only?

Don't want to buy a M500 if I can avoid it as Ill just use my Oppo for rented Blu-Rays, SACDs, etc.

Lastly say I have a M700A Vault and a M300B Player as I have both Blu-Rays from Region A & B. For DVDs as I have different Regions the M700A will be set to Region 1 and the M300B to Region 2 or 4, will the DVDs import through the M700 from both Regions without issue?

If the M300 can't be set for DVD Region (and only Blu-Ray) would my next option be to just buy a KScape DVD player (KPlayer 5000?) from the marketplace in the Region I need or can they be made to change to the Region I need? The player doesn't need to be turned on in order to play from the server?

So many possibilities :)
 
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TivoSloth- So I can use the M700 to import DVDs and CDs onto the server and then remove those discs once imported to free up slot space in the M700, so I can keep my Blu-Ray discs in there only?

Don't want to buy a M500 if I can avoid it as Ill just use my Oppo for rented Blu-Rays, SACDs, etc.

Lastly say I have a M700A Vault and a M300B Player as I have both Blu-Rays from Region A & B. For DVDs as I have different Regions the M700A will be set to Region 1 and the M300B to Region 2 or 4, will the DVDs import through the M700 from both Regions without issue?

If the M300 can't be set for DVD Region (and only Blu-Ray) would my next option be to just buy a KScape DVD player (KPlayer 5000?) from the marketplace in the Region I need or can they be made to change to the Region I need? The player doesn't need to be turned on in order to play from the server?

So many possibilities :)


Not sure when TVS will see your question so I'll answer if you don't mind::

Yes, you can use the M700 to import DVD (of the same Region as M700), and CD's, and then remove and store them elsewhere. That will free up the M700 for BR storage.

The rules regarding "Regions" are as follows:

Blu-ray: The BR Region is "verified" during Playback, not during import, so any BR can be imported by any M700, M500, or DV700, BUT to "playback" that BR content there must be at least one Region matching BR capable Player in your system (on the same LAN, and turned "On").

DVD: The DVD Region is NOT verified during Playback, it is "verified" during import, so the device being used for import must be set to the same Region as the DVD being imported. Once the DVD is imported into the Server it will Playback on any K-Player, regardless of that Player's internal Region setting. This is why the M300 does not have DVD Region settings, because it is not capable of importing (no tray/drive).


Jim
 
Also, to answer your last question, buying one of the older DVD/CD only Player's to use for other Regions is not a bad idea, especially if you will be regularly buying different Region DVD's for your system. As you know, the DVD Region can only be changed in the Player settings 5 times, and on the 5th change it will remain in that Region setting permanently. You can set the DVD Region on any Player capable of importing content (again up to 5 times). It is therefore important when buying used to determine how many Region changes are remaining on the Player you are considering.

I have client's that have multiple Player's and they have reset one or two to other Region's and use those Player's for importing those specific Regions.

Jim
 
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