• Thanks for visiting the Kaleidescape Owners' Forum

    This forum is for the community of Kaleidescape owners, and others interested in learning about the system, equipment, services, and the company itself.

    It is run by a group of enthusiastic Kaleidescape owners and dealers purely as a service to this community.

    This board is not affiliated in any way with Kaleidescape, Inc.
    For official technical support, product information, or customer service, please visit www.kaleidescape.com

  • You are currently in "Guest" mode and not logged in with a registered account.

    The forum is free to use and most of the forum can be used by guests who are not registered....

    ... but we strongly encourage you to register for a full account. There is no cost to register for a full account.

    Benefits of registering for a full account:

    • Participate in the discussions! You must have a registered account to make posts on the forums. You will be able to start your own thread on a topic or question, or you can reply to other threads/discussions.
    • Use the "Conversation" feature (known as "private messaging" on other forums) to communicate directly with any of the other users here.
    • Access the Files area. The "resources" area of the forum contains many "Favorite Scene" and Script files that can dramatically increase the enjoyment of your Kaleidescape system. Go directly to great scenes in your favorite movies, created by other owners, and add automation to playback of your system with Scripts.
    • You won't see this annoying notice at the top of every screen!😊

    It's easy and free to register for the forum. Just click the "Register" button in the upper right corner of this page, and follow the instructions there.

Oppo Digital to gradually stop manufacturing new products.

I like my BDP103, and the 981HD that came before it. But I like my K system more! Still it is sad to see the end coming for this manufacturer of quality HT equipment.
 
Not really that surprising. I don't know their financials, but I always wondered about their sales in the mainstream market. Great following among enthusiasts, mostly those that frequent AV related forums, but unfortunately even though they managed to get access to some retail chains, the average buyers still favored the known brands from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, and others. Although their players provided more, and arguably better, functions (i.e. audio options, etc), these were unrecognized, or not needed in the average system. Their pricing models didn't help.

That said, it's interesting that they indicate they will continue to service all the units still under warranty, and continue to provide firmware updates. If that remains true going forward, they must be moving into some new venture that will allow them to remain "open" for business. I guess we'll see.

Jim
 
Not really that surprising. I don't know their financials, but I always wondered about their sales in the mainstream market. Great following among enthusiasts, mostly those that frequent AV related forums, but unfortunately even though they managed to get access to some retail chains, the average buyers still favored the known brands from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, and others. Although their players provided more, and arguably better, functions (i.e. audio options, etc), these were unrecognized, or not needed in the average system. Their pricing models didn't help.

That said, it's interesting that they indicate they will continue to service all the units still under warranty, and continue to provide firmware updates. If that remains true going forward, they must be moving into some new venture that will allow them to remain "open" for business. I guess we'll see.

Jim

Apparently their core business is 'cell phones' and they are going to concentrate on that side of the business.

Hope I'm not breaking any rules here, but there's a great Q&A at the bottom of this article, which explains the reasoning behind the decision - http://www.avsforum.com/oppo-announces-will-stop-making-new-products/
 
Your post is fine, not breaking any rules, we have no problem with references to other forums.


Jim
 
I'm just glad I took advantage of the 30 day return policy when I had the chance last year. I wasn't all that impressed with the 203, especially with all of the early issues it had. The 205 is a slightly better unit, but neither lived up to the historical reputation of being significantly better than all other players in the market, IMO. They are very good, but so are the players from their major competitors.


Jim
 
Well, I'm not sure what the heck Oppo was thinking to begin with, but they totally shot themselves in the foot a couple years back.

I opened up a beautiful new home theater brick and mortar. I was able to pull in some really fantastic brands from some of the more boutique brands to major players like Sony/Yamaha/etc. I had always loved Oppo players for being the best Blu-Ray/DVD players when it came to audio (and multi-channel analog + XLR outputs!), so tried becoming a dealer for them too. The person I spoke to at Oppo HQ told me point blank that they were no longer partnering with brick and mortar retailers and installers, and in fact were even axing their lower volume resellers (like I would have honestly been). They told me they were going to start focusing on direct and on-line sales.

That really upset me on a personal level because it was the little mom & pop B&M's and the high end integrators that put Oppo on the very map to begin with!!! They were literally biting the hand that fed them. I don't know what knuckleheads up top at Oppo made this decision, but like much of modern business, I'm assuming it had to do with focusing on increasing overall profitability at the expense of low volume contributors (which all do add up btw). I can envision exactly how that boardroom meeting must have went in my head right now.

First they abandoned small retailers like me. Now they're abandoning an entire core market of theirs?! I understand that mobile tech is all the rage these days, but comon guys. Seriously?! Reminds me a bit of how (until this new iMac pro) Apple has long left one of its key markets (graphic designers, web developers, etc.) in the dust while focusing almost exclusively on iPhones. Oh, Oppo's planning on focusing on their mobile phone products too? Monkey see, monkey do I suppose. I understand it from looking at it from an MBA-fueled executive type position, BUT I hate it when companies abandon their roots in an effort to chase fluid market trends.
 
I think it was me. I seem to be the A/V equivalent of "The Cooler". In my first dedicated movie theater I purchased the "Escient" disc server. Within 2 years they announced they were ceasing operations. Not to fear, shortly there after Sony announced and delivered its excellent 400 Disc Blu-ray Changers. Within about a year of purchase Sony left the Disc Changer market after a history of offering these devices. By that time I was getting interested in K and eventually pulled the trigger. 9 months later K announced it was closing its doors. Luckily like Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentleman" they had no where else to go and reopened.

So I ordered the Oppo 203 and two weeks later, before it even reached my home, Oppo announced it was leaving the Blu-ray Player Market. My only take away here is that my mutant power over Video Player Manufacturers appears to be growing stronger. Only K appears to have a buff for this power so I think that should be reassuring.:D
 
From K to Dealers:

Limited-Time Kaleidescape Offer for Oppo Customers

What is the Offer:

With the recent announcement that Oppo Digital will no longer be making new products, Kaleidescape would like to help fill the vacancy left in the high-performance movie-playback arena by offering your Oppo customers an incentive to migrate to the next level of luxury home cinema performance: The Strato movie player.

A $300 credit toward any purchase at the Kaleidescape Movie Store will be included in the purchase price of a Strato 4K Ultra HD player by owners of qualifying Oppo Blu-ray players. This will provide an incentive for them to jump-start their upgraded movie experience with Kaleidescape’s 4K HDR downloads featuring lossless Dolby Atmos surround soundtracks.

Customers can continue to use their Oppo Blu-ray players and still take advantage of this incentive program. To prove eligibility, the dealer needs to provide proof of purchase of the qualifying Oppo player listed below, including the serial number from an Oppo invoice for that customer.

This promotion will expire on July 31, 2018 and is limited to one per customer.

Who is Eligible:

Any customer who purchased a qualifying Oppo player who purchases a Strato 4K Ultra-HD player.

Qualifying Oppo Players
UDP-205
UDP-203
BDP-105

Qualifying Kaleidescape Strato Movie Players
Strato 4K Ultra HD Movie Player—6TB (K0509-0006)
Strato 4K Ultra HD Movie Player—10TB (K0509-0010)

Contact your dealer for additional info or to place an order.

Jim
 
Does this offer include people who already own an Oppo UDP player and a Strato or only for new Strato purchases? Thanks. SJ
 
In the same boat as SJHT.

Too bad Kaleidescape’s offer doesn’t apply to hard drive purchases to extend the life and capacity of our Premier systems.
 
No, this offer only applies to future Strato purchases, it is not retroactive.

Jim
 
Not sure about why 103 was not included, I'll check.


Jim
 
Back
Top