What's this?

[rafaelsmith]

I'm not suggesting replacing local storage. I'm saying that with modern fiber connections, Kaleidescape could theoretically offer an optional cloud-playback mode (perhaps an add-on service in lieu of their exorbitant storage solutions) that streams the same high-bitrate video and lossless audio currently downloaded to local storage. Local storage would still remain the gold standard for reliability, obviously.

What you call cloud based playback....most would call streaming. Even with modern fiber connections....flucuations happen...buffering will happen. Last thing K needs at this point is to have to take that into account when processing/encoding titles...they cant even get it correct all the time as it stands whe they do not have to worry about those limitations.

Another thing related to this would be ....the ISP...10-12min of high bandwidth usage is one thing.......2 hours is another. Based on the fluctuations I have been getting lately...I am pretty sure my ISP has begun throttling downloads from K store.

 

[LoveCinema]

I think I have a fair number of Arrow/Criterion UHD discs that are in house scans/restorations and they aren't available in 4K on any digital platforms.

Definitely the case. Less so by the day since Criterion started distributing 4K titles digitally. But, the general point is the K Store currently carries ~20%-30% of the titles K has access to.

 

[rafaelsmith]

Definitely the case. Less so by the day since Criterion started distributing 4K titles digitally. But, the general point is the K Store currently carries ~20%-30% of the titles K has access to.

Since joining K, I have wondered who is actually at fault for the lack of titles on K....My assumption ..based mostly on what "everyone" says that its out of K's control and its the studios fault. Would really like to know the actual data.......is something like the Extended version of The Martian not on K because K refuses to get it or because they cannot get it? If its on K then why? what needs to be done to correct that.

 

[DieZwei]

Another thing related to this would be ....the ISP...10-12min of high bandwidth usage is one thing.......2 hours is another. Based on the fluctuations I have been getting lately...I am pretty sure my ISP has begun throttling downloads from K store.

File download and (even high bitrate) streaming are different things. File download can easily saturate the bandwidth of your internet connection. Even high bitrate streaming would just be around 100Mbps. No reason for throttling.

 

[rafaelsmith]

File download and (even high bitrate) streaming are different things. File download can easily saturate the bandwidth of your internet connection. Even high bitrate streaming would just be around 100Mbps. No reason for throttling.

Ok then...maybe throttling would not be an issue......then again...I do not trust ISPs.

Still curious how K offering streaming would be in their best interest......seems totally counter to their business model where sales of storage is their #1 priority. I would image the cost to the customer of offering streaming would have to be pretty crazy.

 

[cardsdoc]

K employees/vendors be like:

 

[David23]

maybe a new 8k capable player? not that there are many titles available.

Oof, 8K. I can't wait to buy Star Wars for the 12th time.

 

[Edward Nygma]

Ok then...maybe throttling would not be an issue......then again...I do not trust ISPs.

Still curious how K offering streaming would be in their best interest......seems totally counter to their business model where sales of storage is their #1 priority. I would image the cost to the customer of offering streaming would have to be pretty crazy.

Has anyone said it would be in their best interest? In my original comment I explicitly said it would never happen.

It is in their best interest to continue up-charging these insane storage solutions and get more market saturation from all the influx of people who have purchased a Strato V, but not a drive, to buy one. That's just not happening for myself.

 

[OUTATIME]

I did see a while back K-scape announced they joined some 8K consortium. IMO 8K has little benefit over 4k for the vast majority of viewing angles. I think you need to be over 60 deg horizontal viewing angle for 8K to be resolvable over 4K. So personally I hope they put their resources elsewhere.

Agreed. I'm at 55.5 degree viewing angle with acoustically transparent screen. 8K would provide no benefit to me and the file sizes would be 4 times the size vs 4K.

I doubt we ever see physical 8K media either.

 

[cardsdoc]

Has anyone said it would be in their best interest? In my original comment I explicitly said it would never happen.

It is in their best interest to continue up-charging these insane storage solutions and get more market saturation from all the influx of people who have purchased a Strato V, but not a drive, to buy one. That's just not happening for myself.

Yeah despite my collection growing to over 500 titles and almost entirely transitioning from my Plex server, I still can't justify a server with downloads only taking 10min and having several next up movies ready to go on my V. I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have everything downloaded but I'd rather put that money towards content or other theater gear.

 

[Edgar]

Another idea that is incredibly unlikely anytime soon and would take the cooperation of studios would be Kaleidescape being able to offer a new sound mix that is somewhere in the middle between a theatrical sound mix that theaters get and the near-field mix that we all get for home use. This would be a good fit for Kaleidescape as most users that would have the home theater speaker setup and calibration required to take advantage of this new mix would also likely have a Kaleidescape system.

But this could solve the problem of the trend towards home mixes being nerfed in LFE or less dynamic since they seem to be mixing for built in audio, soundbars, handheld devices, etc since that is where most of the users are at.

I was also thing about higher fidelity files. Both audio and video, since they have access to Mezzanine files. Maybe contract @Rmarci to do QC.

Of course, while we're dreaming of the potential of K, it's going to turn out to be a 200TB server.

Which would support these 200GB+ movie files! See, we are thinking of K's profits!

 

[LoveCinema]

Since joining K, I have wondered who is actually at fault for the lack of titles on K....My assumption ..based mostly on what "everyone" says that its out of K's control and its the studios fault. Would really like to know the actual data.......is something like the Extended version of The Martian not on K because K refuses to get it or because they cannot get it? If its on K then why? what needs to be done to correct that.

(Nearly*) 100% in K's control and directly tied to resources. Can K get The Martian: Extended Edition in 4K HDR? Absolutely. But, it's a title they already have in HD and they know exactly how many copies they've sold. It's an alternate edition which almost surely won't sell as much as the theatrical cut (which they did get in 4K). With limited resources (both $$$ and personnel bandwidth) the question becomes: Will adding The Martian: Extended Edition in 4K generate more or less revenue than adding a different/new title in 4K? Every title has to fight for K's resources and like many on this forum I don't envy this job while simultaneously thinking I could do it better.

I say "nearly" as there are certainly some more limited situations where things can be out of K's control. For instance, other digital stores are allowed access to HD assets for PBS series. However, K's offerings match disc releases which are generally lower resolution. Also, they've only received a couple of 4K titles from AMC Entertainment (formerly RLJE) that have HDR. It's such a "rule" that we basically accept it. But, why? That distributor doesn't give HDR? Or maybe they charge so much more for it? So, there's definitely a box of mystery with K Store titles, but it's a pretty small box.

 

[cardsdoc]

Agreed. I'm at 55.5 degree viewing angle with acoustically transparent screen. 8K would provide no benefit to me and the file sizes would be 4 times the size vs 4K.

I doubt we ever see physical 8K media either.

I'm at the same viewing angle from an AT screen. Fantastic immersion and no way can I see any pixels on 4K.

 

[OUTATIME]

I'm at the same viewing angle from an AT screen. Fantastic immersion and no way can I see any pixels on 4K.

Agreed, and if I moved much closer I would see the perforations in my screen probably before I saw the pixels.

 

[rafaelsmith]

Has anyone said it would be in their best interest? In my original comment I explicitly said it would never happen.

It is in their best interest to continue up-charging these insane storage solutions and get more market saturation from all the influx of people who have purchased a Strato V, but not a drive, to buy one. That's just not happening for myself.

Oh, I am very much in the same boat. I have a standalone V and can honestly say I will never opt to buy storage from them. They got their 4k and what I buy in terms of content but that is it....so not exactly the customer they were hoping for, considering it seems like the content side of things is not a source of income from them.

A streaming option or whatever we want to call it would simply make no sense to me or be of any value to me. I can have a drink while I wait for a movie to download then be able to watch it without concern of interruption (ok I live in Florida so that is never a guarantee).

So any wishlist I have would include things that increase how much they make from me from the content side of things.

 

[LoveCinema]

The issue with 8K is that there's so little native content and the vast majority of what anyone will watch will be upscaled. So, will it be upscaled at the source and distributed as 8K? Will it be upscaled by the player? Will it be upscaled by the display? Although allowing a system to take time to upscale at the source will likely always generate the best results, I think we're so deep in the land of diminishing returns that it would be hard to tell. I can't imagine any of the three options being so significantly better than the other that it's worth fighting with the big boys (TV manufacturers).

 

[rafaelsmith]

It would be unfortunate if this is a 8K thing. I mean there is a reason that TV OEMs have pulled back on the 8k thing.

Taking HDR out of the mix for a sec.....I can barely notice the improvement in 4k -vs- 1080p in my system and viewing distance.

 

[Rengozu]

I really wish the studios would allow K to be in its own group...lumping it in with streamers is really holding back Kaleidescape IMO. Even if it meant more premium price for content.

If putting in its own group gives us more movie options then awesome, but I never minded being lumped into the streamers as that seems to give us most new releases the same day they do in better quality. I'd hate to lose that feature if they changed the classification since that was a big reason I dropped getting most disc releases.

 

[rafaelsmith]

If putting in its own group gives us more movie options then awesome, but I never minded being lumped into the streamers as that seems to give us most new releases the same day they do in better quality. I'd hate to lose that feature if they changed the classification since that was a big reason I dropped getting most disc releases.

Well I would want our group to be somewhere between Theatrical release and current VOD release. Personally, my true wish would be for K to somehow work out a deal with studios to allow K to be in the theatrical release window....some sorta premium rental type system...essentially taking the place of "buying a ticket".

 

[JWort93]

Hey, if it's an 8K player, maybe the player will have a 4K UI again? I'd probably upgrade for that lol.