Using the vault in the system

[nrwatson]

If you are using a vault in the system do you need to copy the blue ray disk to the server
Seems pointless if you are needing to keep copy of the blue ray in the system so to speak

 

[cinelife]

If you are using a vault in the system do you need to copy the blue ray disk to the server
Seems pointless if you are needing to keep copy of the blue ray in the system so to speak

If you want the same Kaleidescape experience for your BR collection that you enjoy for DVDs, then you must get the content into the Server. It is playback from the Server that allows for the degree of control we currently enjoy with our DVD and BR collections. If you want only the same degree of control you would get from a standard (non-K) BR Player, then placing the BR disc in an M500 player is all you need.

Why would having the discs stored in a Vault be pointless? The discs are NOT accessed for playback (although they are occasionally accessed to verify they are in the Vault). The Vault exists to insure compliance with the BR requirement that the disc be physically present during playback. K does not yet have a license to import content as it does with DVD, so the Vault is required if we want the full K experience for our BR collections. The discs have to be kept somewhere, why not a Vault!!

It's easy, and it works!


Jim

 

[nrwatson]

Just space becoming a premium
All my DVD s I can now store in the garage away from everything. I suppose I am asking if all the info that is stored by K is saved and then the disk is played from the vault saving on hard disk space
Should of gone with the 3U server !!

 

[JerryL]

I think Jim explained it really well. But to add a little bit. The blu ray rules say a disc must be physically present in a player for it to be played back. So Kaleidescape warehouses them in a vault. The vault doesn't play the disc back- it just knows the disc is present in a player- it tells the M class player connected to your TV that the disc is there and then the M class player can stream the information off the copy of that Blu Ray that resides on your server. This allows you faster access to the disc than via a regular BR player. Most movies come up on my system in just a few seconds (5-10). The best BR players take far longer for that- and with K's "Play Movie" feature- I'm skipping all the nonsense that most BRs require you to watch.

So you need both in the K system- the hard drive copy and the disc physically present. The latter part is simply to comply with the BR rules. In practice the system is pure Kaleidescape- its simple, fast and elegant.

The downside is simply that you have to add these vaults and also that you need a good amount of storage space on your server. I'd say a 3U is pretty much a must.

 

[cinelife]

Yup, one of the unfortunate requirements for storing BR is that it takes up a lot of space.


Jim

 

[Horsley]

I have question which is somewhat related to this topic of storage.

I have an M class player connected to a 40" screen. I find it I can't really tell the difference between a DVD and a Blu Ray disk. This could be one of two things - the poor quality of my eyes, or the high quality of the K system.

I can imagine that on much larger screens the difference will be noticeable. I wonder if any of the members on this site can really tell the difference on a "relatively" small 40" screen. I understand that the sound on the Blu Ray is much better, but I don't use surround sound.

 

[cinelife]

I have question which is somewhat related to this topic of storage.

I have an M class player connected to a 40" screen. I find it I can't really tell the difference between a DVD and a Blu Ray disk. This could be one of two things - the poor quality of my eyes, or the high quality of the K system.

I can imagine that on much larger screens the difference will be noticeable. I wonder if any of the members on this site can really tell the difference on a "relatively" small 40" screen. I understand that the sound on the Blu Ray is much better, but I don't use surround sound.

I think your eyesight is fine!!

It is true that the additional resolution provided by BR is less noticeable on smaller displays. It has been my experience that to the untrained eye the differences do not become as noticeable until you reach the 55" and larger range. It is VERY apparent to those of us operating large front projection displays (14' wide in my case), but it is also apparent on my 60" Pioneer Elites and one 55" Elite, but less so on the 50" I recently replaced with a gifted 65" Panny. It is almost negligible on a 40" display to most viewers, but some can see the difference in image detail, Blacks, contrast, and color, even on 40" displays. (I'm not mentioning the sound benefits given your statement.)

If you are wondering whether it is worth the extra cost to move to BR given most viewing is done on a 40" display without SS, only YOU can answer that question.


Jim

 

[JerryL]

How close do you sit to the 40"er. I think if youre more than 3 feet away you would probably not likely notice the extra resolution. If you have a DVD and BR copy of a movie- try playing them back to back and don't just look for extra detail, but look at how natural/ vibrant the colors look. This is easier to see.

In our case, we all can see the benefits of BR on our 45" LCD family room tv, but we don't really note the extra resolution at our 14' seating distance.

 

[cinelife]

Good point Jerry!


Jim

 

[josh]

With an M-class player (and, preferably, a disc vault), you should be able to create a script that plays several marked identical scenes from Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the same movie. That would be enlightening as a demo at a good home theater showroom.

 

[JerryL]

Good idea Josh.

 

[Panamar]

Hi all

I have so far imported 50 BDs on the MDV and am finding it a little flaky... I can't put my finger on it (maybe there's a new fw update!?)

Pinocchio BD (new platinum ed) does not present the metadata! But more of a concern is the fact that Avatar Ex ed BD imports and can be seen on the pc kscape user interface (in Movies, Disc Vaults & Imports) but is not on or in the gui on screen when I go to watch it!! Is this a bug?

I reset the server and have now deleted both titles from the server (and trash) and am now trying to re-import them via the M500 instead of the MDV.

Im finding that watching a film and importing from the M500 whilst importing from the MDV is perhaps putting too much on the old boy and causing various errors and 'Import Interrupted' messages so will now try to avoid overloading the system!

I knew a USB connection was required but thought it would be for disc info only and that the dvd import would be transfered via Cat5! USB cannot be ideal. I hope the IDV is back to cat5.

Has anyone else experienced these problems?

Rgds

Pan

Ps. Both Pinocchio & Avatar are Region A.

 

[cinelife]

Not sure if this will help, but, when you have a couple of MDV's and Player's controlling them, always check to insure all Players and MDV's are powered "On" and properly connected. If either the MDV or Player controlling the MDV are off, you will not be able to access movies stored in that MDV.

It is true that some titles are still not being recognized, and K still recommends forwarding the disc to them to be integrated. I have not had any problems importing and watching at the same time, as you have described. I'll report that to K.

Although Cat cable is what we are predisposed to think of and use when working with networks, USB, especially when connected between two USB devices, has the potential for being faster in transfer rates (and should be equal in reliability).


Jim

 

[JerryL]

I had this issue with Iron Man2.

I had the DVD version imported.

I then imported what I thought was the movie for Iron Man2- but it was the extras disc- somehow my main movie was missing.

So I (reluctantly) bought a new Iron Man BR (single disc). I didnt want the extras imported so I moved the extras disc to the trash.

When I imported the actual movie- it did not show up in my movies.

It was in the trash because thats where the extras disc was.

I deleted Iron Man 2 (both movie and extras) and then imported just the movie.

As for new movies- I had no meta data for Bambi for a little bit- perhaps a few hours or maybe half a day- then- presto- its there.

I find K is on top of things but sometimes they dont have the metadata immediately.

If youre getting flaky behavior you should see if you have the latest SW and if you don't shoot them a line and ask to be put at the top of the list. My current SW is: 4.1.0-9184

My experience has been out of many hundreds of movies I have maybe two that the vault didnt like. One was solved by importing via the M player and then just letting the vault hold it- the other didnt work. I cant remember either right now- clearly they weren't that important to me.

 

[Panamar]

Thank you Gentlemen

I have verified that the units are on and running (at the same time). I think the import interruption maybe down to a new RC that is switching the player on and off (a toggle power button I suspect is to blame instead of a descrete power button!!?) I will look into that later...

I checked and re-checked that it was the Feature disc of Avatar, I don't get it... It finds the correct metadata for the disc but refuses to show up in the OSD? I have tried re-importing via the M500 but the same result. I will call Ksupport on that one.
(afterthought: I wonder if I need to import the other 2 bonus discs? I hope not).

My current FW version is v4.1.0-9184

I have installed half the other Walt Disney Platinum BD's and all the metadata came through, however I have designed my own Kscape HD BD metadata coverart for Pinocchio which will work until K's comes through (It is indistinguishable from K's own line up ) If anyone would like it as temp coverart drop me a pm!

K do a great job of collating the metadata for thousands of DVD's (I wouldn't want to do it!!) So all praise there... I have recently bought quite a few new titles which the info has not turned up on, such as 'The Storm Warriors', 'Alpha & Omega', etc...
I will wait till I've imported them all and send in one hit...

Pan.

 

[JerryL]

I dont think you have to import all the bonus discs of Avatar. Although this will be annoying- perhaps you should delete all the copies of avatar on your system and then try again- dont just move to the trash though- empty the trash.

I am also having trouble with Alpha & Omega but that is for the kids and they asked a while ago but have forgotten so its a little bit off my radar.

 

[cinelife]

I know Alpha & Omega DVD works (I have it), but have not tried the BR version yet.

Avatar should not be a problem, I'd follow Jerry's advice (if you have not already done that) and delete/delete from trash, and try again. I notified K support about the discrepancy in the import/GUI display, I'll let you know what they say.


Jim

 

[Panamar]

Hi

Thanks Jim, yes I did delete files from the trash also... but still no luck...

Rgds

Pan

 

[cinelife]

Hi

Thanks Jim, yes I did delete files from the trash also... but still no luck...

Rgds

Pan

I'm in contact with Support and they are looking at your "logs" to try and find a solution. I'll be in touch by PM (or K will contact you).

Jim

 

[Panamar]

Hey Jim....

Many thanks for your support, the issue is now.... resolved!

Rgds

Pan.