Premiere and Strato/Terra Co Star Questions

[USAMP411]

A couple of probably easy questions to most of you. I have picked up pieces of information here and there but thought it may be easier to ask again with my specific set up.

I currently have a 1U, 3U, M700 Vault, an M500 and 3 M300s. I am planning to soon add some combo of Terra and Strato (not sure if C or S). At first I am only worried about adding the Encore products to my theater set up with one of the M300s. All of the devices there simply run through my Marantz SR5011. My current projector is only an Epson 5040U so 4K content isn't a major concern, though hope to upgrade to either a JVC NX7 or Sony 325ES later this year. I want the NX7 I think, but am leaning towards the 325 because it comes in WHITE and my wife may not even notice that I changed projectors!! LOL!

So as I understand it, I will connect the Strato and the M300 via costar. These two systems will show as one on the screen and only require ONE HDMI connection through the Marantz, correct? If not, how do they run through the receiver as a Video Processor is way above my current pay grade!!

Secondly, because they are technically two systems, I will be able to purchase Disney movies through the Strato and not affect the grandfathered status of the Premiere systems, correct? If so, is it clear once I have them set up as to which one I am purchasing the Disney films for?

My goal is to get rid of the vault at some point. I only have about 85 BD in the vault and over half are a combination of Disney or James Bond products. Aside from Band of Brothers and The Pacific there are about 5 or 10 BD that aren't in the store and have been hard to find even on DVD. Who's Harry Crumb, which I cannot believe is so hard to find and The Final Option which is a more obscure title.

Thanks as always for your advice and assistance!!

 

[cinelife]

Yes, in your setup, when you use the Co-Star Switch you'll have the M300 connected to HDMI Input #2 on the switch and the Strato on HDMI Input #1, with the single HDMI Output going to your receiver. When you select a movie on-screen, the switch will open the correct HDMI port to play the selected content, from either Premiere of Strato.

If you have not "opted-in" to Disney's agreement, any disc based content can only imported to, and play from, your Premiere server. That only applies to disc based content. Any Disney content you want on your Strato must be downloaded from the K Store (true for all content in the Store). When you make a purchase of a specific title in the Store, you have the ability to direct where that content goes (Premiere or Strato/Terra server), WITH EXCEPTION to Disney titles if you have not opted-in, and UHD/HDR content which must go to a Strato or Terra for obvious reasons. HD and SD content purchased in the Store can be directed to either system (unless it's Disney as already noted). The point is, you control where your content goes, subject to the stated caveats.

Most of us with both systems have the same problem, Premiere loaded content that's not available in the Store (yet), which is why we maintain two systems.

Jim

 

[J.Green]

[snip]
I currently have a 1U, 3U, M700 Vault, an M500 and 3 M300s. I am planning to soon add some combo of Terra and Strato (not sure if C or S).

If you're already planning to buy a Terra, then you should go with a Strato C. Yes, a Strato S would give you some additional storage space but you'll also be introducing some performance hits and limitations. If you plan to go multi-zone with the Encore system as you have with your Premiere system, then Terra + Strato C is the better choice.

Jim has already answered your other questions so I won't repeat his comments. However, I'd like to make one clarification on a point he posted:

When you make a purchase of a specific title in the Store, you have the ability to direct where that content goes (Premiere or Strato/Terra server), WITH EXCEPTION to Disney titles if you have not opted-in, and UHD/HDR content which must go to a Strato or Terra for obvious reasons.

When your Premiere system is Co-Star-paired to your Encore system, the store will start to treat them like they are one single system. So when downloading content from the store, you will just see one system listed with modifier of "(paired system)" beside the system name. For example:

Ignore "Guest House System". That's a completely separate system in another location.

Now you don't get to directly specify whether you want the download to go to the Encore system or the Premiere system directly. Instead, there is a setting -- accessible on the Store Account > My Systems page or on the Encore system's browser interface -- that let's you specify where SD and HD downloads go to; either the Encore or Premiere system. This is the store settings page which you can access by selecting the menu arrow to the right of the system name and selecting "Download Settings".


In your case, since you have a multi-zone Premiere system and you're initially planning to only add a Co-Star pair to one zone, it would make the most sense to have all SD and HD downloads go to the Premiere zone so that the Premiere-only zones have access to that content. However, if your Premiere system isn't opted in for Disney downloads then those downloads will always go to the Encore system regardless of your setting.

 

[cinelife]

Thanks for the more detailed explanation John!

Jim

 

[andy]

My current projector is only an Epson 5040U so 4K content isn't a major concern

I have the same projector connected to my Strato through a Denon AVR6400 (w/o a video processor in between) and the 4K interface looks better than the 1080p version on my old M-class player (richer colors and sharper image). You mention that 4K content is not a major concern, but I suspect you will find yourself downloading a few titles especially if you find that is the only way to get the Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack. Then again, there are other titles where only the HD version includes these immersive mixes, but I digress... that is for another thread .

Any way you slice it, you are in for a fun upgrade... enjoy!!

Andy

 

[USAMP411]

I have the same projector connected to my Strato through a Denon AVR6400 (w/o a video processor in between) and the 4K interface looks better than the 1080p version on my old M-class player (richer colors and sharper image). You mention that 4K content is not a major concern, but I suspect you will find yourself downloading a few titles especially if you find that is the only way to get the Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack. Then again, there are other titles where only the HD version includes these immersive mixes, but I digress... that is for another thread .

Any way you slice it, you are in for a fun upgrade... enjoy!!

Andy

That's encouraging!!

I ended up getting Atmos speakers to go on top of my Def Tech 9050s but I haven't gotten around to figuring out running new speaker cables through the walls.

Thanks Andy!