Update on Kaleidescape Movie Downloads

[josh]

Did anyone else catch the bad news about Kaleidescape's movie download service from a few weeks ago? "Delayed"... which I hope isn't a euphemism for "dead."

"Kaleidescape also told Consumer Electronics Daily it has pushed aside plans to launch a streaming video store in Q1. "We will not be launching the store in Q1 2012," CEO Michael Malcolm told us in an email. "We’re focused on making it great, and we won’t open the store until it’s fully ready."​

It should be obvious by now that downloads are the future for Kaleidescape... so let's hope they really are incredibly focused on making it great.

source: http://consumerelectronicsdaily.com...t-fallout-from-DVD-CCA-Kaleidescape-suit.aspx

 

[JerryL]

Josh, Im with you in terms of my hopes. In terms of whether or not we can glean any info from that statement, I think the answer is no. On the one hand you can read delayed to mean "dead"; on the other hand you can simply take him at his word. Maybe I am being naive but I will take Michael Malcolm at his word. So yes, lets hope it works out. I hate so say it but the window for K Scape to be a relevant player here is closing.

 

[josh]

Agree... and I didn't mean to sound so skeptical. Kaleidescape has the ability to show the world how a great download service can work... I'm really hoping that's what we'll see.

 

[Mr.Poindexter]

The best product in the world can fail if the studios shut it out. A marginal product can survive if it has the full support of Hollywood. The content owners can be the kingmakers for the electronics.

 

[Horsley]

Apple makes your DVD/Blu-rays available in iCloud

See news item below. These guys usually have very reliable information. Is anyone aware of or used this service?

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1331302918&newsletter

It's really tough at the moment to know whether to put more investment into K or to wait and see how this market develops.

Stephen

 

[nineball]

See news item below. These guys usually have very reliable information. Is anyone aware of or used this service?

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1331302918&newsletter

It's really tough at the moment to know whether to put more investment into K or to wait and see how this market develops.

Stephen

Even if Apple's business model requires tweaks that meet our needs it is clear that they have won a momentum that is virtually impossible to curb or stop. My bet is that Apple will heavily subsidize this initiative to the studios and gain enormous traction for this type of media distribution.

There are still a number of questions regarding the service and quality but if it works as well as the music side of the house then I believe it will truly be difficult to justify a Kaleidescape system to a new user.

Wallmart's 'just announced' waltz up the isle with Ultra Violet is certainly not going to make Kaleidescape's challenge any easier. The $5.00 charge for the Blue Ray upgrade from DVD is NOT beyond the reach of the majority of Kaleidescape owners I suspect. Although somewhat cumbersome, I suspect the transfer process will become considerably more user friendly due to the competition from Apple.

My call on the outcome for Kaleidescape is to join Apple or Wallmart and maintain an advantaged position in a boutique business........otherwise I'm afraid its soon going to be too much of a challenge to stay in business.

 

[Mars]

The best product in the world can fail if the studios shut it out. A marginal product can survive if it has the full support of Hollywood. The content owners can be the kingmakers for the electronics.

Very Very True

The Walmart announcement today definitely is interesting. All the Studios except for Disney are on board (and that is a big missing component). $2 for DVD or BluRay and $5 to upgrade a DVD to "High-Def".

The most interesting thing for this is the cloud component in that wherever you can access Vudu, you can access your collection. This something nice for all of us to be able to access our collections on many mobile devices or vacation homes etc.

Apple's new AppleTV streaming at 1080p is definitely setting them up for an iTunes Match type of thing for Movies and TV if they can get the deals done with the Studios which they have shown they can do.

The absolute brilliance from the studios are that they are going to create revenue out of thin air AGAIN.

DVD Revenue per Title is $2 and according to an article that I read, it costs the Studios about $0.02 to store the title on the cloud and $0.04 to stream it. Not a bad margin.

Oh and to give you an idea of market size. According to figures quoted in the article, there are 10 Billion DVD's in the US and another 10 billion international. 20 billion "potential" conversions isn't a bad population to be working with.

 

[JerryL]

Have you guys ever tried to use UltraViolet? Its a nightmare. Some movies require more than one password- log in to a separate site called Flixter. UltraViolet currently has only 100 movies and theres got to be a reason why.

Every time I get a disc with a UV code, I just write them and say their service is a nightmare and then they mail me a digital copy disc that I can use with iTunes. That's all I wanted! [end of my rant]

There was an article somewhere where they showed the compression Apple is using for 1080P movies vs its 720P and it was clear they are fairly compressed. Of note, the file sizes are not 2x, they are more like 1.5x. Fine for the iPad but for a large screen in your home, I think the best quality will still be Blu Ray. That said, I think most people won't care about the ultimate quality.