# Anyone Have Kaleidescape



## showcattleguy (Jun 30, 2011)

My wife and i are thinking it's about time to do something with the 1000+ blurays we have since our 15 month old has already destroyed 2 discs. We like the idea of being able to keep everything rackmounted in the theater room and still be able to pull the content to our bedroom or the family room. The parental/guest controls also seem to be really well thought out from what i have read. Kaleidescape seems to be the top tier solution so we figured we could start here and see if it was worth it. We have not had a chance yet to play with a system i figured i would seek others opinions so i dont waste my time or that of any dealers.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

I installed one unit many years ago... Very nice peice of equipment , but ridiculous price tag.... Just buy a SYNOLOGY 1815+ which gives you roughly 20 TB of storage ... then use DVDFAB to rip your Blurays to it..

Movies are then available on your network via PLEX > ROKU3 on any TV and there you have it for thousands less than Kalidescape .... your welcome :wave:

http://www.amazon.com/Synology-DiskStation-Diskless-Attached-DS1815/dp/B00P3RPMEO/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1441112054&sr=1-6&keywords=synology


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## showcattleguy (Jun 30, 2011)

There are 3 reasons i dont feel that is the right solution for me.
1- i am very impatient. I have over 1200 blurays which equates to well over a year of ripping realistically. I want a solution that is plug and play and takes the hassle out of this. 
2- i am one step above level zero when it comes to computer literacy. I had given a fair ammount of thought to building an unraid/plex media server but all the different types of pc parts and not being sure if they will work well together or even at all just made my stomach churn. I understand with a NAS this doesnt come into play but already have the bad taste so to speak.
3- the solution has to look nice in a rack with the rest of my components.
Throw in the ability to filter the content my little girl is able to have access to with the childs remote and being able to purchase downloads from the store i figured for $6500 (at least to get me started) this wasnt a bad proposition. Plus the user interface is pretty amazing from what i hear.
I guess my wife and i will have to go try out a system and see what we think.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

the Synology unit is unseen - in a closet on your network - wherever your network hub is

The Roku3 unit is tiny - will easily hide in a rack 

PLEX has rating filters 

Kalidescape is going to charge you an enormous fee to transfer your Blurays to your all ready very expensive unit...

Here is an in depth article on the system 

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/kaleidescape-1u-server-m500-player#2Jv5TYEwhmuWqVs3.97


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

There are many reputable installers who have gone through the teething pains of NAS set up, and would be more than happy to help you part with your money . How much you care to part with is up to you, but maybe some dealers are more reasonable than others. It seems you've done at least a bit of homework--as you've arrived at a semi-firm decision with Kaleidescape--so you're educated enough to shop the B&M stores. This is just me, but I don't feel like I'm wasting a salesman's time as long as I don't use them for research but then purchase elsewhere. Dealers worth their salt understand that some if not most of their clientele want good deals and need to shop around to avoid buyer's remorse. As a _generic_ example, a dealer near me will install and setup an adequately-sized NAS complete with server and GUI for around $1200. Icing on the cake are the 10,000 free downloads which come along for the ride!


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

As great a product as Kalidescape obviously is, I no longer consider it a viable option for my clients simply because I can save them so much money with the Synology/PLEX option...

And the Synology option does so many other important functions such as backup every bit of data you own and will ever own... mail server ... iTUNES server... Surveillance camera DVR ... the list goes on ...

What frustrates me is people who come here asking our opinion , when their mind is obviously made up on the product they want our opinion of ... and so we give our opinion and they spend the rest of the thread shooting down our opinions and suggestions....:rant:


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## showcattleguy (Jun 30, 2011)

What frustrates me is people who come here asking our opinion , when their mind is obviously made up on the product they want our opinion of ... and so we give our opinion and they spend the rest of the thread shooting down our opinions and suggestions....:rant:[/QUOTE]

Your opinion was noted. Just because i gave feedback on elements of your opinion does not give you grounds to call foul and get frusterated. My mind is not made up and i am still doing my research. I have looked into the synology systems although we are in all honestly leaning towards Kaleidescape more so now because we had a chance to play around with it last note for an hour or so and my wife and i both really like the way it works.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

sorry I got bent... I havent heard how Kaliedecape is doing recently as far as copyright issues but the were in a legal hotspot for a while.


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## showcattleguy (Jun 30, 2011)

Its ok i really do value your opinion and the opinion of others on here. I was a bit biased toward Kaleidescape going into it cause i was attracted to the plug and play aspect. That being said we are still exploring building a server/nas cause it can be done at a fraction of the price.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

I really am starting to like PLEX , though I much prefer JRIVER Media Center on my PC , simply because i's very easy to setup as a remote server online > meaning all my family / friends that have a ROKU have access to it..


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## Lumen (May 17, 2014)

Thank you both for the good work sorting that out in a civil manner, and I apologize if I acted as the catalyst in any way.



RTS100x5 said:


> I really am starting to like PLEX , though I much prefer JRIVER Media Center on my PC , simply because i's very easy to setup as a remote server online > meaning all my family / friends that have a ROKU have access to it..





showcattleguy said:


> Its ok i really do value your opinion and the opinion of others on here. I was a bit biased toward Kaleidescape going into it cause i was attracted to the plug and play aspect. That being said we are still exploring building a server/nas cause it can be done at a fraction of the price.


Not trying to sway you one way or the other, just confirming what RTS100x5 said about JRMC having a gentle learning curve. It's full featured for the expert user, yet still offers easy setup. A free-trial download can be found here.


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## showcattleguy (Jun 30, 2011)

Just curious... how family friendly is ripping a bluray? If your wife/son/daughter bought a movie could they get it on the server rather painlessly or is it something that waits until you get home to do?


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

To my knowledge K-scape is the only service that's stores the film aspect ratio and when paired with an automated system and an anamorphic projector the system can automatically set the projector's lens and adjust screen masking. 

That's said yes their are many cheaper options. 

But seeing as you're looking at a server and 4+ vaults and more clients and talking about racking... I'm thinking this may be something to consider.


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