NEWS: New Kaleidescape Mini System Announcement!

[josh]

Wow... big news today: Major new product announcements just out.

• Completely new "Mini-System"... 1080p movie player, server, reader, and 2-zone music player all in one box. And all for $7,995!
• New dedicated Kaleidescape Remote Control (with the MiniSystem, no idea yet if it works on other players or if it's available separately)
• Price reduction on 1080p Player: Now $2,995.
• Price reduction on 1080p MiniPlayer: Now $1,995.
• Price reduction on all Disk Cartridges (1U, 3U, 5U): Now $995.

--josh

 

[josh]

Official Press Release:
___________________________________

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[FONT=&quot]Introducing the Kaleidescape Mini System: A Complete Multi-Zone
Entertainment Server in a Compact and Affordable Package[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Ideal for Retrofit Installations and Remodels[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]SUNNYVALE[/FONT][FONT=&quot], CA[/FONT][FONT=&quot], March 3, 2009[/FONT][FONT=&quot] - Kaleidescape, Inc., the market leader in entertainment servers, today announced availability of the Kaleidescape Mini System, an innovative product that puts your entire collection of movies and music at your fingertips. The Mini System is the first Kaleidescape product to integrate a complete multi-zone Kaleidescape System into a single component, and the first to include a remote control. Its elegant industrial design is beautifully suited for a living room, and it installs as easily as an ordinary DVD player. Priced about 40% less than the current Kaleidescape System, the Mini System is affordable and well-suited for a variety of projects.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Mini System can be expanded by adding Players so you can enjoy your entertainment collection in other rooms of your home, by adding Servers to accommodate your growing collection, or by adding other Mini Systems to do both. The Mini System has a movie zone and two additional built-in music zones to provide ?whole-house entertainment? out-of-the-box. Significant price reductions are also being announced today for the 1080p Player, 1080p Mini Player, and Disk Cartridges for the 1U, 3U and 5U Servers.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Browsing your collection on a Mini System is simple and rewarding. With the press of a button, your movies or music are sorted by title, actor, artist, director, genre, year-of-release or run time. Kaleidescape?s Movie and Music Guide Services automatically cross-reference your entertainment collection to help you rediscover your favorites and share them with family and friends. High-resolution cover art provides an endless panorama to help you quickly identify the movies and music that are ?just right? for the occasion. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]?The [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Kaleidescape[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Experience makes choosing a movie, television show, or album interesting and fun for the entire family,? said Michael Malcolm, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Kaleidescape, Inc. ?The frustration of rummaging through discs and mediating between siblings is replaced by leaning back and enjoying your entire entertainment collection with your family. Our customers spend more time being entertained, and ultimately derive more value from the DVDs and CDs they already own.?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]?The Kaleidescape Mini System installs quickly and easily, without the need for structured wiring and complex control system programming,? said Brian Hudkins, President of Gramophone, a leading home theater installer in Maryland for over 30 years. ?It?s a perfect and complete entertainment solution at a price point that is well within the budget for most of the projects we deliver.?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Mini System is available immediately at a manufacturer?s suggested retail price starting at $7,995 in the United States, and includes a standard one-year limited warranty. Price reductions on the 1080p Player, 1080p Mini Player and Disk Cartridges for the 1U, 3U and 5U Servers are effective March 16, 2009, and their new MSRPs in the United States are $2,995, $1,995 and $995 respectively.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Key Features[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Stores Up To 225 DVDs or 2,500 CDs[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The base Mini System stores up to 75 DVDs or 825 CDs and can be expanded by adding Disk Cartridges to store up to 225 DVDs or 2,500 CDs, or any equivalent combination. Content stored on a Mini System is protected by Kaleidescape?s RAID-K technology, and need not be re-imported if a hard disk drive fails.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Stunning 1080p Output[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Mini System creates beautiful high-definition output from DVDs, providing a viewing experience that rivals Blu-ray. The Mini System adapts its video processing to the type of content being viewed, and its 10-bit 4:4:4 color processing renders accurate colors, natural skin tones and nuanced shadows. Motion adaptive deinterlacing produces crystal clear video with smooth motion.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Two Additional Music Zones[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Along with the 1080p movie zone, the Mini System includes two more independent music zones so that a movie can be watched in one room while music is enjoyed in other parts of the home. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]DVD/CD Playback from Disc[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]A DVD or CD need not be imported into a Mini System in order to enjoy it with the Kaleidescape Experience. High resolution cover art and other details are displayed whenever a DVD is inserted. Select Play to directly start the movie or television show without trailers and advertisements ? even for rented DVDs![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Simple Installation[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Mini System installs easily by connecting it to power, the Internet and a television display. With the included Kaleidescape remote, it?s ready for immediate use. It is shipped configured as a free-standing component, but it can be adapted for rack-mounting with the included kit.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Expansion[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Mini System works with other Kaleidescape products so that your System can grow to handle a collection of thousands of DVDs and CDs and a home of any size. Additional Kaleidescape Players, including the forthcoming Blue-Laser Player, can provide more movie and/or music playback zones, and additional Kaleidescape Servers can provide more storage capacity. Additional Mini Systems can increase both the number of playback zones and the amount of storage capacity.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]About Kaleidescape[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Kaleidescape System redefines home entertainment by transforming the way movies and music are enjoyed throughout the home. The Kaleidescape System combines a compelling user interface, outstanding industrial design, and services that set new standards in the consumer electronics industry. Kaleidescape, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is based in Sunnyvale, California. Research and development are done by Kaleidescape Canada, Inc., based in Waterloo, Ontario. Kaleidescape products are available through custom-installation dealers and distributors throughout the world. For additional information, please visit www.kaleidescape.com.[/FONT]

 

[josh]

Some pictures:

 

[josh]

Initial thoughts on the new Miniserver:

This is a very big announcement for Kaleidescape. It brings the Kaleidescape experience into a completely different price tier and should be an excellent way to get into the service for a user who just can't or won't spend 5-figures for a system. Like buying a good receiver rather than separate pre-amp/controller and power amp, it brings all of the functionality into a single box. Most surprising to me is the inclusion of 2 extra music zones in addition to the movie player and server!

Also impressive is how it can seamlessly integrate into a larger system... so when a user wishes to add more storage or zones, the MiniServer will act as a zone controller and additional storage, but will seamlessly make its content available to any players on the network and mixing that content with that from any other servers. Very slick. Clearly a great way to start with Kaleidescape but add more storage at any time with a dedicated server or even just with more mini-servers in other rooms.

I'm very impressed!

And the price drops on the existing players and disk cartridges is also excellent. (except for what it will do to the resale value on our used equipment!)

--josh

 

[josh]

Here's the new Kaleidescape Remote:

​

 

[josh]

Initial thoughts on the new remote:

1. It's about time! (ahem - June 2006 discussion!)
2. I expect (but don't know for sure yet) that this will work on any Kaleidescape player and should be available separately.
3. Looks very nicely designed, except I wish they had added direct buttons for the three different navigation modes: Covers, Collections, or List. I code these on my remotes (6 in fact - 3 for music and 3 for movies) and use them all the time. I don't like going through the Kaleidescape Menu to get to those interface areas, but I'm sure they wanted to keep this remote very clean.

--josh

 

[josh]

(reserved)

 

[josh]

Just got confirmation from Kaleidescape (yes, a real human, at 3:00am!) that the remote WILL control any Kaleidescape Movie Player. It's not yet available separately but it will be... no word on when or on the price.

 

[JerryL]

Josh, this is very interesting. How much capacity in the new mini server? I think this will really cut into the used marketplace and I also think this hurts the 1U server. That said, this is the right move for K- they have been bringing the system to a wider audience via lower priced gear over the years and now for a variety of reasons they really need it (1- to keep relevant vs much lower priced (and inferior IMHO) competition and 2- the recession). Good moves by K.

I also like the remote, but to get the true experience you need something that allows you to search via a keyboard. A supplemental ipod touch with the new remotescape software or even a small old laptop or netbook could be a cost effective method for most people.

 

[TivoSloth]

Following up on what Josh said, here's a link to a further description and pictures of the system:

http://www.kaleidescape.com/products/mini/

Initially configured to store 75 DVDs or 825 CDs (2 mini cartridges appear to be included; 1 for content and 1 for RAID-K). It uses 500GB mini disk cartridges for additional storage and permits 2 additional cartridges to be added. Overall less storage than a 1U, but certainly a great competitor for just music with the added functionality of movie storage and playback. The additional music zone would be a nice complement for a receiver capable of supporting a second audio zone.

 

[carajo]

This is great news.
The remote control is about time! Although I am happy with my Universal MX remote controls. I am hoping those music and movie buttons bring up the list, I would think they do.
It needed a collection button ...but you can't please everyone.

As far as the mini integrated K, I think this is the best think they ever did. With the lower price point this is going to be a much easier sell.

 

[carajo]

I think they are bringing back the License and movie fees..
Can anyone confirm that?

 

[JerryL]

IMHO this is a really great starter system- much easier to be enthused about than a 1U+ movie players. You could get this and maybe 1 or 2 other players for a much more reasonable price. If you ever filled up the server you could decide what your needs are and either get another player with more storage (another mini system) or setup up to your choice of servers. I've always felt the 1U didnt offer enough for the money- but as an add on to this, it now makes more sense.

 

[ptrubey]

This is a great idea for a vacation house kind of thing. Load a new one up before heading up with all the kids DVDs and some movies.

 

[cinelife]

This is a great idea for a vacation house kind of thing. Load a new one up before heading up with all the kids DVDs and some movies.

Exactly, I was thinking the same thing. One for each of my mainland homes. We are usually only in Indiana for the Notre Dame home games and normally for 5 days at a time, so this will be a great "away from home" entertainment system.

Jim

 

[Steven]

Additional Mini Drives

Hey,

What a great product!

Has anyone heard what additional mini-drives will cost?

I assume since it says that the default config holds 75 DVDs, that it means that two 500 GB drives are included, and one can be added?

Thanks, Steven

 

[iansilv]

Wait- so this is the remote:


Oh wait- that's my Media center remote...

 

[iansilv]

Seriously though, I am getting so frustrated with Bluray. anydvdhd rips the disks now. People are ripping disks now. why are these CE companies such idiots as to not have figured this out by now?

Question- if I buy a mini system now, and put i tin the living room, can I add a new minisystem in the bedroom and will they talk to each other? How about this- can I import a disk on one and if the storage is full on that one will it just go to the other?

 

[josh]

Question- if I buy a mini system now, and put i tin the living room, can I add a new minisystem in the bedroom and will they talk to each other? How about this- can I import a disk on one and if the storage is full on that one will it just go to the other?

Yes, like any multi-server Kaleidescape system, the available literature makes it clear it shares its library with other servers (assuming you group them via your installer web interface), and movies are available to any player. I'm pretty certain it's a Yes also to the question about using one loader to store content to any available server with space.

 

[Steven]

Ripping Software

...I'm also not sure that anydvdhd software does it legally.