CEDIA 2015

Kaleidescape, the company that literally invented the movie server category, is looking to remain on top with the launch of a new product line called Encore. This new line-up of movie players and servers will target aggressive price points designed to attract new customers as well as feature cutting-edge, industry leading performance in the new Strato Movie Player; the world’s first 4K Ultra HD, HDR player for the home to cement the company’s position at the top of the luxury home cinema market.

At the entry-level, the company is introducing two new Alto players, one with and one without internal storage. The storage-less model will stream DVD and Blu-ray quality movies downloaded from the Kaleidescape Movie Store and will retail for a breakthrough price for Kaleidescape at $2295. The 6TB Alto will be able to store 150 Blu-ray quality and 900 DVD quality movies downloaded from the Store and sell for $3295. Up to four Altos with internal storage can be grouped together to create an aggregated library. Alto players also feature an optical drive local DVD or Blu-ray content.

The new flagship, Strato, is designed with unrivaled performance in mind, and will process open standard, full 4K video at up to 60 fps. The player will also be capable of playing high-dynamic range (HDR) content on displays that can process open standard, 10-bit HDMI 2.0a HDR signals. Strato will also feature a new user interface displaying in full 4K at 60 frames per second for gorgeous, fluid animation. Of course, Strato continues to support legacy DVD and Blu-ray content as well, becoming the ultimate entertainment platform for cinephiles and enthusiasts alike.

Strato will also be offered in models with or without an internal storage The storage-less model will retail for $3495 while the Strato with internal storage ($4495) will feature a 6 Terabyte drive that can store up to 100 4K Ultra HD titles (150 Blu-ray quality, 900 DVD quality movies). This player can be used standalone or stream content from either of the new Terra servers. Additionally, up to four Stratos with internal storage can be grouped together to create one large aggregated library.

A combination of Strato and Alto players – with or without storage – can be grouped to form a housewide video system, with a maximum of four having internal storage. Alto players are unable to stream any 4K content, and only Stratos can store 4K content.

To accommodate the massive storage demands of 4K titles, and improve overall streaming performance of all players, Kaleidescape is introducing a new server, the Terra. Terra will be available in two configurations; a $5995 version that can store 200 4K titles, 300 Blu-ray quality or 1800 DVD quality, and a larger, $7995 model that will double that amount to 400, 600, and 3600. Both servers have hardware designed to handle the demands of multiple streams and can support simultaneous streaming to seven 4K zones or 15 Blu-ray zones, and customers with large collections can add additional Terras as needed. Storage-less models in both Alto and Strato series can stream from either Terra server.

Company co-founder and CEO, Cheena Srinivasan, stressed how much work the company had poured into the Encore project over the past several years, with the singular goal of delivering the ultimate sound and picture quality while retaining the company’s renowned interface and performance. Srinivasan stressed that Strato is vendor-neutral as a 4K media source, meaning it will work with any 4K display or projector that supports HDMI 2.0 or 2.0a.

The Alto players are available now, with Terra available in November and Strato expected to launch in early Q1, 2016 in the US and Canada. More about Kaleidescape’s new third generation, 4K Movie Store can be found here.