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Strato Player - First impressions

Mr.Poindexter

Mr.Poindexter

Well-known member
⭐️ Premium ⭐️
Authorized Kaleidescape Dealer
I just got my Strato player and started downloading some new content. I noticed a couple things that were pretty cool.

First, they offer a wifi option. I don't know if that will be viable for streaming content from another server of if this is just mainly for downloading off the store and getting web updates. I have not set this up yet as I am running a wired connection to max out my speed.

The download cap has new options: 150, 200, 250, 300 and unlimited mbps.

I have set mine to unlimited and while watching a 4K movie, I saw this:
(Download throttled due to user activity)

I stopped the playback to see how fast my download speed will end up hitting. I think my download speed at my house is 130mbps based on my last speed test. I can't wait to see how fast some people can push it up to and would love to see how fast the new Terra Servers and Strato players can write new content to the drives. Right now it has to download a guide update. I am totally bushed and will let it download overnight but will report back how it went tomorrow.
 
Thanks for sharing some first impressions. Can't wait to hear more!

I'm especially interested in impressions of the new 4K UI and in the quality of the upscaling.

Congratulations!!!
 
That is really interesting on the download speed options! I was hoping the speed would be increased at some point. I will now need to check into pricing on higher speeds through my ISP.

I was hoping that someone would give a review of the 4K player and content. It will be even more interesting when there are titles with HDR and wide color gamut.

John
 
The user guide says Wi-Fi is only for use as a standalone installation. So my guess would be they don't recommend using it for any communications (other than downloads, which will just have to take the bandwidth hit.) Will be interesting to see if they force standalone when on Wi-Fi or just glare angrily if you try.
 
The Alto does the throttling thing due to activity as well. Pretty smart logic to ensure there isn't disk activity or processing activity that would in anyway disrupt the movie watching experience if someone is doing that.

Does the Strato offer the ability to set up playlists and such like the premier line does? I really need that functionality and I was hoping as things generally migrate to the encore line that some of those features would start to show up (Alto is part of encore).
 
JoshATX said:
............Does the Strato offer the ability to set up playlists and such like the premier line does? I really need that functionality and I was hoping as things generally migrate to the encore line that some of those features would start to show up (Alto is part of encore).
Click to expand...



If you are referring to the Scripts function found in the Premiere line, the answer is "no," unfortunately scripting did not migrate to the Encore line (but K is not completely ruling out a change in the future).

If you are referring to music "Playlists," the Encore line does not work with CD's (music) (except of course for music videos).



Jim
 
It looks clearer and is much faster, but for me it isn't a fair comparison. I have like 10 titles on the Strato interface and nearly 2400 on the Premier interface. It will be a while before I can really compare an M-series and an Encore player's interface under similar conditions.

Both systems use the same remote. I could convert one to use Toshiba codes and the other to use Kenwood codes, but I am going to have to get another remote to do that. (I have given up on Crestron - too expensive every time I change components and I don't use learning remotes any more.)

Also, the Kaleidescape ap for my iPad won't control the Encore system. There also is not a link to a Java controller via the web interface for the Encore like the is for the Premier.
 
Mr.Poindexter said:
Also, the Kaleidescape ap for my iPad won't control the Encore system.
Click to expand...

The iPad app should definitely work with Strato. I am using it right now with a Strato. Can you be more specific about the difficulty you are having when trying to use the app with your Encore system?
 
Force of habit. I must have mislearned it as ap instead of app and just do it from force of habit. I can fix it. ;)
 
J.Green said:
The iPad app should definitely work with Strato. I am using it right now with a Strato. Can you be more specific about the difficulty you are having when trying to use the app with your Encore system?
Click to expand...

John, I remember that in the past we could switch between two different K systems in the same network with the iPad app. I don't get this option now, the app sees only my Premiere system and not the Alto(soon to be Strato)/Terra.
 
Same here. It only sees my premier system. Also the premier system doesn't let me switch to the encore via the web interface but the encore knows there is a premier system and let's me select that under the other systems option.
 
telem said:
John, I remember that in the past we could switch between two different K systems in the same network with the iPad app. I don't get this option now, the app sees only my Premiere system and not the Alto(soon to be Strato)/Terra.
Click to expand...

The only time when the iPad app allows for selecting between multiple systems is during the initial setup. Once you select a system, the app always connects to that system then from then on only allows selecting different players within that system.

In order to link the app to a different system, you need to launch the iPad's settings app, select "Kaleidescape" in the side bar and then either:

a) change the IP address entered in the "Kaleidescape Server IP Address" field to the IP address of your Encore system; or,
b) Set the "First-Time Setup" toggle to "On" and relaunch the iPad app. At that point, you will have the list of systems to choose from.

Mr.Poindexter said:
Also the premier system doesn't let me switch to the encore via the web interface but the encore knows there is a premier system and let's me select that under the other systems option.
Click to expand...

This is due to the fact that the version of kOS running on Premiere systems doesn't recognise Encore systems. This will be fixed in a future release of kOS for Premiere systems.
 
Would it be possible to have two installations of the iPad app (see, I can change!!) so we could swap from system to system? Or will I need to have one iPad configured to the Encore system and another configured to the Premier?
 
Very nice initial write up! Thank you! Are you playing HD through the Strato as well? How does it look upscaled?
 
Mr.Poindexter said:
Would it be possible to have two installations of the iPad app (see, I can change!!) so we could swap from system to system? Or will I need to have one iPad configured to the Encore system and another configured to the Premier?
Click to expand...

It's not possible to have two installations, but what we are likely to do is to add a feature to the iPad app to make it easier to switch systems. There's no scheduled date for such a feature, but it seems like it's going to be needed by customers, especially in the near term before it becomes possible to do the Premiere -> Encore migration.

To answer another question that was raised: Wi-Fi can only be used when the Strato is a standalone component. (This is the same as Alto.) Wi-Fi is just not reliable enough to consistently deliver video playback, especially at 4K Ultra HD data rates.
 
Hey guys - first time kaleidescape owner. Just got my Strato.

Question for people familiar with the downloads. Is it better for me to only que up 1 download at a time? Right now i'm experiencing slower than expected downloads ( around 90 mins per bluray). I have all 120 ish movies que'd up, so i wonder if its faster for me to schedule each movie 1 by 1 vs all at once? Just surprised at my download speeds currently (especially since I have 150/150 download capabilities).


Thanks!
 
naylorman32 said:
Question for people familiar with the downloads. Is it better for me to only que up 1 download at a time? Right now i'm experiencing slower than expected downloads ( around 90 mins per bluray). I have all 120 ish movies que'd up, so i wonder if its faster for me to schedule each movie 1 by 1 vs all at once? Just surprised at my download speeds currently (especially since I have 150/150 download capabilities).
Click to expand...

Downloads from the store only proceed one title at a time so having multiple titles in your queue has no effect on your current download speed.

A couple of things to check:

1) Are you using your system whilst the downloads are active? System activity will cause the downloads to be throttled.

2) Have you changed your download speed setting on the store download page? It defaults to 100 Mbps but you can set it higher (150, 200, 300 and Unlimited).

Beyond that, you could be encountering network congestion and/or traffic shaping by your ISP.
 
J.Green said:
Downloads from the store only proceed one title at a time so having multiple titles in your queue has no effect on your current download speed.

A couple of things to check:

1) Are you using your system whilst the downloads are active? System activity will cause the downloads to be throttled.

2) Have you changed your download speed setting on the store download page? It defaults to 100 Mbps but you can set it higher (150, 200, 300 and Unlimited).

Beyond that, you could be encountering network congestion and/or traffic shaping by your ISP.
Click to expand...


I haven't used it since I started downloading everything. I do have it set at Unlimited, but still seem to be stuck around 60ish mb/s. I will check on the network now. Its plugged directly into the mail router. Would it make any difference if I unplugged all other sources (video game consoles, AVR, etc.) and only have the Strato fed into the router? Or is that just me pretending I have any clue how to increase speed haha

Thanks for the reply!
 
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