betty boop Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 this is very unfortunate news in a lot of ways.... http://www.cepro.com/article/kaleidescape_is_shutting_down_interview_with_ceo_cheena_srinivasan legal wrangles....and limitations placed...has just meant the company simply in the end it would seem has run out of money ! a real pity as it was the future of streaming.... and in demos I have seen at a few establishments in a few different settings even recently I think had a lot going for it... where could quite cheaply per title get yourself into HD, UHD and wiht top level audio mixes... none of this squashed compressed for streaming you get with netflix and such this was the real deal... as you'd get on the disc... it would just take time to download onto your server and ofcourse the cost of the server system itself was a real killer ! they can only hope that someone buys them up now... perhaps the platform might have some future then.... I feel sorry for those who have lost jobs and those that have invested massively in setup.
Kaynin Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 The article says $4k entry point - wow, pretty pricey. Did that include unlimited access to their library?
betty boop Posted August 21, 2016 Author Posted August 21, 2016 The article says $4k entry point - wow, pretty pricey. Did that include unlimited access to their library? entry point was always a killer kaynin for the secure server, however once in you still needed to buy the titles.... but a lot cheaper than physical disc and ofcourse the main benefit is no need for all the physical discs storage and means of distribution which is literally overnight into your home.
Saxon Hall Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 I saw a Demo of it once and it was very impressive, however the cost put it out of my league 1
Guest Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 The article says $4k entry point - wow, pretty pricey. Did that include unlimited access to their library? $8.5K was the buy-in price for Australia. http://www.stereo.net.au/news/kaleidescape-impresses-at-international-hifi-show As brodricj points out in the comments though, it's never been officially supported outside US, UK and Canada due to licensing agreements (or lack thereof). It's a shame, as the product is a stand-out. You do get the feeling they were so close to making it, but it seems a long way away now.
Kaynin Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 $8.5K was the buy-in price for Australia. http://www.stereo.net.au/news/kaleidescape-impresses-at-international-hifi-show As brodricj points out in the comments though, it's never been officially supported outside US, UK and Canada due to licensing agreements (or lack thereof). It's a shame, as the product is a stand-out. You do get the feeling they were so close to making it, but it seems a long way away now. Yeah, ok, I was out at $4K! Interesting article, it seems there were a couple of issues that were major in their own right.
betty boop Posted August 21, 2016 Author Posted August 21, 2016 Yeah, ok, I was out at $4K! Interesting article, it seems there were a couple of issues that were major in their own right. $8.5k was for the just released probably didnt even get off the ground latest uhd 3D audio model. not sure how many came to australia but there was one atleast at the show, the one kaynin you were probably thinking of was the cinema one which selling here in au at $4999 http://www.lifestylestore.com.au/kaleidescape-cinema-one-movie-server.html so not far off ! though looking around something listed at lot of aussie retailers web pages at all sorts of prices ! ps from what I remember this unit didnt have the limitations of the 4k new unit i.e. geographical limits with au. however it did get caught up in another legal wrangle which required if you ripped a blu-ray or dvd into the unit... every time you wanted to play the movie you would have to put the disc in to verify you still had the disc ! sort of makes the disc less side pointless. however if just buying direct from them to download to the server is where the disc less side I understand came to fore. the fact they had so many uhd movies in catalog already is an amazing achievement ! however can imagine the cost of jumping through the loops they had to and cost to bring to market was probably their undoing in the end !
Guest Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 I tried to buy one of those previous models Al. Couldn't seem to find anyone willing to accept my money. I did then hear about the legal issues and suspect that's why they couldn't be found. 1
metal beat Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 this is very unfortunate news in a lot of ways.... http://www.cepro.com/article/kaleidescape_is_shutting_down_interview_with_ceo_cheena_srinivasan legal wrangles....and limitations placed...has just meant the company simply in the end it would seem has run out of money ! a real pity as it was the future of streaming.... and in demos I have seen at a few establishments in a few different settings even recently I think had a lot going for it... where could quite cheaply per title get yourself into HD, UHD and wiht top level audio mixes... none of this squashed compressed for streaming you get with netflix and such this was the real deal... as you'd get on the disc... it would just take time to download onto your server and ofcourse the cost of the server system itself was a real killer ! they can only hope that someone buys them up now... perhaps the platform might have some future then.... I feel sorry for those who have lost jobs and those that have invested massively in setup. Really? Did you lose your $$ Betty?
powerav Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 Pretty arrogant company just like when Sonos first started I think. Charging premuim price for something you can do yourself for next to nothing. 1
betty boop Posted August 21, 2016 Author Posted August 21, 2016 Pretty arrogant company just like when Sonos first started I think. Charging premuim price for something you can do yourself for next to nothing. in demos I've attended of the system if I were coming to that conclusion...that would be a very limited view of its capabilities I would suggest. about the only aspect of what can do yourself is the ripping and storing of discs. something have done myself to quite length with DVD and blu-ray. it certainly doesnt cost "next to nothing" and id suggest there is a little bit of effort required to do this. certainly not to the scale of what kaleidoscope offered. they had a massive range that I could see, not the kind of thing most people will have. that could download from their server at point of release is pretty impressive and really then dependant on internet capabilities to how quickly could then watch. also what was distinctive is it was as you get on the disc...ie not compressed version via netflix and the like and with full audio i.e. 3D audio and the like that you dont get with other streaming sources. there were some other nifty things as well e.g. if you had the dvd you could rip this and for a relatively small cost then upgrade your rip to the latest blu-ray or better version. that in itself is pretty awesome. there were some HUGE barriers to getting on board though...certainly enough to keep me away...eg the relatively high cost of entry, all the legal stuff going on was quite a put off e.g. when copyright laws required you needing to put a disc in to prove you owned a copy that you had ripped...defeated the whole purpose... if am going to be popping a disc in ... I might as well do that in a blu-ray player ! and then there was the internet bandwidth you realistically need if talking blu-ray let alone uhd ! with our feeble connection here that is all quite highly unlikely realistic proposition. quite a futuristic system really...perhaps well ahead of its time with its cloud base..beyond peoples means in price and internet wise or what the studios and copyright limitations could cope with perhaps....
powerav Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 (edited) Yes all that is true @@betty boop but unfortunately human behavior says if you can get it for nothing and easily they will. It's not right but it's true that you can download a full bluray disc or even better a hevc265 with 3d audio and atmos for around 8-10G. Almost impossible for any company too compete with that. Netflix are doing well because they have made it cheap enough so people don't need the hassle of downloading and storing. Edited August 21, 2016 by powerav
betty boop Posted August 21, 2016 Author Posted August 21, 2016 Yes all that is true @@betty boop but unfortunately human behavior says if you can get it for nothing and easily they will. It's not right but it's true that you can download a full bluray disc or even better a hevc265 with 3d audio and atmos for around 8-10G. Almost impossible for any company too compete with that. Netflix are doing well because they have made it cheap enough so people don't need the hassle of downloading and storing. no its not right...and not somewhere quite frankly is where I want to go for source of my movie watching. while netflix is all good and well it still doesnt compete with what can be achieved via disc. Ourselves while we too use netflix for casual watching, for the very best experience in audio and video discs rule.
Guest AndrewC Posted August 26, 2016 Posted August 26, 2016 http://hometheaterreview.com/kaleidescape-to-close-its-doors/ Kaleidescape to Close Its Doors HomeTheaterReview.com, August 22, 2016 http://www.cepro.com/article/kaleidescape_is_shutting_down_interview_with_ceo_cheena_srinivasan August 20, 2016 Kaleidescape, the icon of high-performance movie players, lossless video downloads, elegant home automation integration and beautiful user experiences, is shutting down. ... Pity. For me personally, fortuitously, the Kscape journey somewhat ended with their failure to support high-resolution audio a couple of years ago. :-\
crazysurfer Posted August 27, 2016 Posted August 27, 2016 Heard about it from Clarity Audio last week. Seems that they are looking for a White Knight to buy over and have pledge to continue to service their existing customers.
Guest AndrewC Posted August 27, 2016 Posted August 27, 2016 My hardware is still connected, but I hardly touch it these days.
Guest Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 Kaleidescape has apparently been resurrected!
kevanp Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 That's good to here as it is not only good for movies but a fantastic user friendly device for CDs that have been copied to the player.
blybo Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 On 21 August 2016 at 2:01 PM, Marc said: $8.5K was the buy-in price for Australia. http://www.stereo.net.au/news/kaleidescape-impresses-at-international-hifi-show As brodricj points out in the comments though, it's never been officially supported outside US, UK and Canada due to licensing agreements (or lack thereof). It's a shame, as the product is a stand-out. You do get the feeling they were so close to making it, but it seems a long way away now. Interestingly when viewing the 4K demo at the HiFi show, the projector input came up as 1080p , not sure if this was because the projector wasn't actually 4K, or that it may have still been an older Kaleidescope system???
betty boop Posted September 7, 2016 Author Posted September 7, 2016 Projector wasn't 4K I believe ... It was native scope format dlp, that's how it was described as by the person introducing ...
blybo Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 5 hours ago, al said: Projector wasn't 4K I believe ... It was native scope format dlp, that's how it was described as by the person introducing ... So a bit of a stretch to show us 4K then and call it UHD content. I thought it was a pretty avg projector TBH, colors were washed out, though native scope makes a lot of sense so that was pretty cool. I wish JVC would do it! 1
betty boop Posted September 7, 2016 Author Posted September 7, 2016 2 minutes ago, blybo said: So a bit of a stretch to show us 4K then and call it UHD content. I thought it was a pretty avg projector TBH, colors were washed out, though native scope makes a lot of sense so that was pretty cool. I wish JVC would do it! uhd content maybe but it were not watching uhd. the projector was most definitely not calibrated for uhd material certainly not setup for colour space it uses or HDR clipping etc. it did look pretty impressive for 1080p material though. I thought the contrast was very average but then we are comparing to jvc contrast monsters and nothing beats those. its amazing how quickly you get used to this kind of thing. and notice lacking in anything else within a few seconds. they could have helped the situation by just not draping black curtains down the back but also doing the same for down the sides and doing the ceiling aswell. it would have helped a little. I did mention to marc that had some constructive feedback for who ever ran or setup the demo rig and to let me know who to pass onto, however never heard back. I had some similar suggestions with regards their atmos demo. the atmos height speakers were actually setup in the same plane as the side and rear surrounds. when clearly the whole purpose of atmos height speakers is actually to place them on another higher plane above. so am not really sure how they expected it to be doing atmos. I had a simple suggestion for them to fix this. so while it was suggested it was a 4k atmos demo and while they used 4k uhd material and we watched stuff with atmos tracks we certainly did not get to see uhd or experience atmos. it was still a good audio video experience and all kudos for them for arranging....however a few things could have improved to take to another level...literally with the speakers but no one to provide the feed back to so will just leave it ... I just hope they are not out there telling more people with demos its 4k uhd and atmos they are experiencing .... I totally agree great to see a native 21:9 projector...
Guest Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 Forgive me @:) al - I do recall a message regarding that, but I had a lot going on post-show as you know. The exhibitor was Entertaining Environments - though not sure the feedback serves any purpose so late now, the show is well and truly over. That said, I would suggest given their vast experience building some of the biggest home cinemas in the country I am sure they are aware of the compromises that have to be made with a temporary structure and setup, and only hours to setup the entire audio AND video system in the hours of the day before the show. The guys responsible for Kaleidescape in AU and on hand for the whole demo at the show are also ex-DTS engineers (as in, employed directly by DTS) so I reckon they know what they are doing. It's all a compromise in that environment, but I did see some very impressed attendees leaving that demonstration and feedback from the general consumer was amazing. Unlike enthusiasts, the majority of the attendees had never experienced something even close, so I guess it achieved its purpose mostly. At the end of the day, this thread is about Kaleidescape, and I'm glad to see they've managed to pull through. Let's see what the future brings, and whether licensing for Australia will ever happen.
betty boop Posted September 10, 2016 Author Posted September 10, 2016 On 7 September 2016 at 11:07 PM, Marc said: Forgive me @:) al - I do recall a message regarding that, but I had a lot going on post-show as you know. The exhibitor was Entertaining Environments - though not sure the feedback serves any purpose so late now, the show is well and truly over. That said, I would suggest given their vast experience building some of the biggest home cinemas in the country I am sure they are aware of the compromises that have to be made with a temporary structure and setup, and only hours to setup the entire audio AND video system in the hours of the day before the show. The guys responsible for Kaleidescape in AU and on hand for the whole demo at the show are also ex-DTS engineers (as in, employed directly by DTS) so I reckon they know what they are doing. It's all a compromise in that environment, but I did see some very impressed attendees leaving that demonstration and feedback from the general consumer was amazing. Unlike enthusiasts, the majority of the attendees had never experienced something even close, so I guess it achieved its purpose mostly. At the end of the day, this thread is about Kaleidescape, and I'm glad to see they've managed to pull through. Let's see what the future brings, and whether licensing for Australia will ever happen. understand....and that it is really no longer your concern for yourself since your show is done and dusted. I was trying to get some contact details at the people who put it on since while what they did was to be commended it neither delivered atmos - given how it was setup and configured, or for that matter 4k/uhd given the equipment they were using. I had some constructive feedback and suggestions for this and keeping in mind the constrains of a show demo. I'll endeavour to figure out some contact details for them and whom to talk to. I'll certainly do my best to let them know because I strongly believe ...as the famous saying goes.... " You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time" what they do from there ofcourse and whether want to take on board or actually do anything about it wiht the next time they setup for a demo is totally upto them.. getting back to kaleidescape, interview with their ceo saying "Kaleidescape" http://www.cepro.com/article/kaleidescape_is_back_interview_with_ceo including the letter sent to dealers.... apparently their stratos that sent them out the door will remain without blu-ray support. hopefully something remedied he says in 2017. He says they will be concentrating on forward looking tech and hopefully their player getting HDR for instance in the near future. wish them well. am not sure how well non support with blu-ray will go down....way too much out there already. and they probably need to get on their skates with things like HDR support. interestingly they say their point of entry is $3200. not sure what that translates to here and whether dealers here will be game to take on again....
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