Kaleidescape Disc to Digital How To & Pricing Guide

Here is my complete overview of how to catalog physical Blu-ray discs for disc to digital redemption offers in a Kaleidescape system using your own external drive. I go over the entire process and show upgrade pricing levels for a dozen movies from a mix of studios.
To buy the approved drives, check out Amazon:
Pioneer BDR-X13UBK amzn.to/3xKCdum
ASUS BW-16D1X-U amzn.to/3ECpTQz
OWC Mercury Pro x16 Blu-ray amzn.to/3IQcruY
Buffalo BRXL-16U3 amzn.to/3Z0CqWm
Instructions to use the D2D program:
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#hometheater #homecinema #kaleidescape

[@Techthusiasm]

I am a certified Kaleidescape dealer and am adding more home theater brands as well. I can help add Kaleidescape to your system or upgrade your Kaleidescape gear. Contact me through www.jaremypyle.com for more information. Thanks!

[@Rob_James]

This is awesome. If all the prices could be under 5 bucks this would’ve essentially made my zappiti obsolete Great video

[@Techthusiasm]

$4.99 across the board 4K upgrades would be insane. I'd buy them all day.

[@Rob_James]

@@Techthusiasm exactly

[@adamjj85]

Thanks for doing this. Totally agree that under $5 is the ideal discount price. I would say under $10 is still reasonable, but over that is not worth it to me. Hopefully some of the studios get their head in the game and the discounts become more consistent. But definitely a step in the right direction!

[@Techthusiasm]

Thanks!

[@hockeyplayer28]

Nice work Jaremy. The performance is great, but even better is the capability to get 4K disc to digital offers from distributors like Shout! Factory and Criterion who might not yet be selling their 4K UHDs. Thanks for all of the detail and showing how this works for all of us K fans.

[@Techthusiasm]

I was really surprised the Criterion disc resulted in a digital offer. I tried a few more Shout discs and a Studio Ghibli title and they all cataloged for discounts too.

[@JLRJ]

Thanks! I like power bricks. A lot easier to replace if they ever stop working. If the power supply is built in then it’s probably off to the shop or trash can.

[@CompletelyLawless]

It really is a big feature and making me think more about buying. Your point about having the Blu-Rays was helpful because it hadn’t crossed my mind yet.

[@SealedOrPorted]

Smart move on K-scape’s part. I converted many DVD to digital via Vudu upgrading to Blu-Ray quality for a buck or two if you did 10 at a time. For those entering K-scape world, one could get 20 HDR movies for ~$100 from their library to start. Not bad, not bad at all.

[@Techthusiasm]

Yeah, hopefully they grow the customer base with this move.

[@tharrigan5661]

Great demonstration. Your explanation was very clear and the demo was outstanding. Presentation was superb. I’m convinced. I’ll be buying that Asus drive. I still have a lot of disks that I didn’t convert digitally.

[@Techthusiasm]

Thanks! Go run those discs!

[@erich2649]

That is way faster than I expected the process would be. Kudos to K-scape for doing this. If you have any TV series like Game of Thrones I’d be curious how cataloging works there, like do you have to catalog every disc in the set?

[@Techthusiasm]

Yeah, I'm amazed at how efficient they made this process. I will try some TV series discs and see what happens.

[@jedimasterreg]

Jaramy, great video! None of my Superbit DVDs would scan (Original Spider-Man 1 and 2). Other than that, it was a seamless process!

[@Techthusiasm]

Thanks! Welcome to the club!

[@JS-shim]

Thanks for this. Your Kaleidascape content is second to none. This is potentially a big deal as it is highly likely that many Kscape owners have giant Blu-ray and DVD collections. It will be interesting to see if the discounts still apply during sale times.

[@Techthusiasm]

Thanks! I very specifically try to be the top K creator while being honest and pragmatic about it. I do think this new feature will open the door up to some folks that had been sitting out of the platform. We'll see.

[@Strong_Genetics]

The speed that this works at is impressive……I don’t think they could of executed any better then they have 😮(Still waiting on my update to 10.14)🙃

[@Techthusiasm]

I agree!

[@russelldye5506]

A screen shot of or display for viewers so we with have i deal. ? if we chose to invest in Kaleidescape system. Good info.

[@Techthusiasm]

Showing the on screen experience wasn't really relevant to this video. If you want to see more info like that, check out my Kaleidescape playlist or this specific video too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3rSiIdqfbOWq7c

[@Gene_Splicer]

If they ever offer the same for 4K media, I'd be buying a 48/72Terra and Strato. I'm currently at ~400 4K titles - and really don't want to buy them all over again just to be able to use K for the ease. Until then, I'll stick with my NAS and Zidoo...

[@CompletelyLawless]

I don’t ask this in the context of stealing content, but I can’t imagine the system indentifies unique discs, just titles, right? Do you know the mechanism by which it does it? Total bytes or a file on the disc?

[@Techthusiasm]

A disc is just a disc. There's no tracking element to it. Each disc has some kind of unique identifier for that release, not for an individual disc.

[@JNHEscapes]

I want one of these units, but please explain to me why I would not just watch the bluray i already own? I am buying boxes and boxes of blurays from people on facebook most are brand new and I’m paying 40-60 CENTS each. So for 10-20k what am I gaining?

[@Techthusiasm]

Are you buying 4K or HD? Kaleidescape is all about elegance and convenience and advanced online features. It's about accessing movies weeks if not months before they come out on disc, if they even come out on 4K disc at all and sometimes even when they are still in the theater. It's about not having shelves and shelves or boxes and boxes of discs but having everything neatly online and on-screen. Being able to start movies right to the movie at the click of a button vs. flipping discs, siting through FBI warnings and forced trailers, and not worrying about a scratch or a skip. It's about an interface the whole family can use with ease. You don't need to spend $20k to enjoy Kaleidescape. The entry point system can be had for a good bit under $10k. If you're interested, reach out to me at [e-mail], and we can talk it. I'm an authorized/certified dealer now. Some folks might not find all of these conveniences still worth the money, and that's OK too.

[@Bcopper98]

Hey, thanks for the helpful video - I’ve been having some trouble, after seeing all my catalogued discs it doesn’t some to be connecting them with the films on Kaleidescape, like I did all my seasons of Game of Thrones, it’s recognised the dates, ratings, year - but it doesn’t have a cover art, and I’m not getting any digital offers. Any tips?

[@Techthusiasm]

Are you only looking on the screen or in the app/web for the digital offers? Only cataloged DVDs will show up on on-screen. Not everything may generate a digital offer as well.

[@PatekGirl]

This seems really cool, but I have already duplicated 99% of my disc collection on my Kscape. I wish there was a way to import discs. I have a lot of movies that are not currently in the K-Store. For example favorites like Ransom and True Lies.

[@Terrell1428]

Great video needed this

[@Techthusiasm]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jillbraser9302]

Is there a reason why I couldn't use my Opportunity 203 as a blu-ray player for the Disc to Digital programs. Kscape doc says the requirements are: The Drive has a USB 2.0 or 3.0 Interface The drive has its own external power supply The drive is capable of reading DVD's and Blu-Ray discs

[@Techthusiasm]

I wouldn't think any commercial disc player would work like that. Their USB ports are more for service, than for accessing a disc in their drive.

[@ocdav1546]

This is awasome!

[@Techthusiasm]

Yes!

[@donjaun540]

I really liked your video. Will you please have at the end something like this is what you would pay at store for these 12 movies and with the discounts this is what you would pay. The other thing I didn't like is you already bought your movies and this is to upgrade so in the end you're losing money 🤑. I mean it is to upgrade but you still lose. What if you don't own a movie 🍿 and you want it❓ In my opinion they should give a very decent discount so you want to pay for these expensive upgrades. I mean these machines will probably cost you like over 10k just to start. Please explain in future episodes. I'll subscribe. 👍😎

[@Techthusiasm]

I do talk about the price of each piece of content that did the process for in the video. I also did another follow up with more movies. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoKpqXyhi8dpj68 Keep in mind, yes you pay for upgrades, but they can be heavily discounted. Most platform (Apple aside) don't give you any kind of break or discount for upgrading levels, including physical media.

[@donjaun540]

@@Techthusiasm Alright thank you very much.

[@johnwayne2103]

Just started looking at something like this due to my extensive movie collection, so of course I am rather confused being that you bought the movie and they are charging you for each digital conversion into Kaleidescape? I am way too cheap to even want to pay more money for something I already paid for.

[@Techthusiasm]

Our hobby has always required buying content again in new formats or platforms. The face that K gives us this feature is quite nice.

[@mikewright9547]

When you bought that Asus drive do you have to pop the disc in it came with or is it plug and play ready to go?

[@Techthusiasm]

No, the disc that comes with most drives is usually just a driver or included software. You won't need it.

[@mikewright9547]

@@Techthusiasm thanks. Works exactly how you show in the video.

[@matthewrichards1161]

Hi Jaremy, just wondered weather the kaleidoscope disk rom drive used for registering for a digital copy is region free for people like myself who have bought blu rays from different countries and 4k disks from the US, while I'm in the UK?

[@Techthusiasm]

I'm not 100% sure how regions may or may not work or restrict being able to use the K D2D. I would recommend posting this question on the kscape owner's forum. I don't want to give you bad advice.

[@vpnogueira]

Suppose you want to own 300 movies at Kaleidescape. Do you have to download all the movies you own and consequently have to purchase a 22tb compact terra? Or can you have a 6tb compact terra and only keep in it some (100) of your movies? If you can have only those movies you choose, the advantage of larger than 6Tb compact terra is just that you don’t have to wait to download before you see movie that is already stored there? Thanks

[@Techthusiasm]

No, your Kaleidescape purchases live in your account in the cloud. You can choose to download them at your leisure. I have like 1,400 movies in my K account, but only 12TB of storage and cycle content. It works great that way and saves a ton of money on storage.

[@dc2044]

Hey JP can you do a video comparing different music streamers and Roon , blu os etc.

[@Techthusiasm]

I hope to get into that stuff later on once my living room is rebuilt this year.

[@FrankieKennethL]

Jaremy. How long do these price offers stay active? Do they expire?

[@Techthusiasm]

AFAIK, they should not expire. They should remain indefinitely in your account until you decide to purchase them. That's the cool part about being able to catalog discs for content not in the store too. They will hold the cataloged right in case the content does comes.

[@barbouradam]

Will it work with movies you bought on iTunes or only discs?

[@Techthusiasm]

Only discs.

[@motogp3478]

If you only have the 4k disk how do you catalog ?

[@Techthusiasm]

Cataloging doesn't work for 4K discs. You need the HD one. It would be nice if they added the ability to do it with 4K though.

[@NickMatzkeMusic]

Do you think they’ll ever do this with 4K UHD discs? I have over 150 4K discs so if they offered something like this for 4K UHD, I think I’d jump in.

[@Techthusiasm]

I don't expect so, but we'll see. If you have the 4K discs, don't you also have the HD Blu-rays that were packaged with them?

[@NickMatzkeMusic]

@@Techthusiasm That’s true, most of them do. Some newer ones they’ve stopped doing that but most of them yes! Also, one other thing I’m not sure why K doesn’t get into is Dolby Vision. It’s customers must be like 70% or more projector only otherwise I’m not sure why they wouldn’t offer it sometime in the near future.

[@scotttild]

Still expensive piece of equipment, and they still don't offer anything for 4K disc so you have to re buy all those.

[@Techthusiasm]

D2D still only converts DVD and HD Blu-ray, but it does still allow you upgrade to 4K quality in the Kaleidescape store in the digital offer.

[@srikanthsbk]

1) If we catalog a blu-ray and the store has a 4k version, can we still download the HD version without purchasing the upgrade? 2) if we catalog a blu-ray and store has NO 4k, then will there still be a fee or will I be able to download the HD version for free?

[@Techthusiasm]

1. You would still have to purchase the movie. So you could do D2D and just buy the HD quality. If you own a 4K movie, you can choose download quality to your system. 2. No again, you still have to buy the digital copy. I've seen of the HD Blu-ray to HD digital copy offers be around $3.

[@txag007]

I understand you need the terra to play content, but do you know if you start with a strato, could you still do the cataloging to a created account?

[@Techthusiasm]

Hmm, good question. You might need to have storage to actually be able to create and register an account. That's probably a good question to post on the kscape owner's forum. I presume you want to move in to the system, can't yet buy the whole thing, so you get a Strato first, and start building content there until you get the Terra later?

[@ocdav1546]

This should help me fillup my 72TB quicker lol

[@Techthusiasm]

LOL, fill 'er up!

[@daeejon3100]

Great clip. I don't have projector but i have big collections of 4k disks and big new tv and complete home theater. Is this for me or not? Thank you.

[@Techthusiasm]

Can you afford to drop the $10k+ without missing it? Do you want to stop using discs? Are you drawn to any of the advantages of the K that would make it worth it to you?

[@daeejon3100]

@Techthusiasm if I don't have to get a projector, then yes. If I get perfect resolution on the TV. Thank you

[@Techthusiasm]

I think adding a Kaleidescape to a great flat panel setup is a great decision when you know you can't or won't support a projector system. You still benefits from excellent picture quality, ease of access, early releases, all the hundreds of 4K releases not on disc, no trailers/ads, no need to spend all the time ripping discs, and so on. It's a great purchase still, IMO.

[@daeejon3100]

@@Techthusiasm i appreciate your help. I think the k should do it for me.

[@Techthusiasm]

Sweet. Keep in mind there's a sale on K hardware now that I believe expires at the end of June, so take advantage. Also, feel free to buy from Audio Advice if you'd like with my referral. www.audioadvice.com/?referral=techthusiasm And when you set up your account, use my K referral and you'll get $100 in store credit "pyle21432".

[@CompletelyLawless]

How long ago did K-scape discontinue the Stratos S and do you think there is a hardware release in the next 12 months? Would Dolby Digital content require additional hardware? They’d have to license idevices with Dolby, right?

[@Techthusiasm]

S was stopped a year or two ago, IIRC. If we see new hardware, could be CEDIA, but I'm not sure what it would be. I'm not sure what you mean by Dolby Digital content, do you mean Dolby Vision?

[@CompletelyLawless]

Sorry, yes, Dolby Vision.

[@Techthusiasm]

DV for K has been a request and a question for a long time. Time will tell.

[@darthsimon4393]

What about 4k Discs?

[@Techthusiasm]

You can only D2D HD Blu-rays.

[@danielwander605]

Did you ever try leaving connected with the drive switched off? Did the K function normal or does it have to be completely disconnected?

[@Techthusiasm]

Having the drive plugged in puts the Strato into a different mode than normal use. The UI does still work, but they don't recommend doing having the drive plugged in and powered all the time. I just use a slim drive now any time I do catalog something. I plug it in to do it and unplug it otherwise.

[@danielwander605]

@@Techthusiasm My first unit is coming to me Thursday. My optical drive is on my desk and I don’t want to have move it around so I had a solution. I’m going to run the optical drive through a 1x2 USB switch, and snake a 12’ USB cable to the back of my rack to the K. This way I can switch the drive over to the K when I need to. I just don’t know if leaving the K connected to the switch all the time will be a problem or not. The K won’t see the drive when it’s switched to my computer but I still don’t know if it will be an issue or not. Guess I’ll find out in a few days.

[@Techthusiasm]

I think that will work just fine. If the K doesn't see the drive attached, then it shouldn't enter into catalog mode. So switch, it should change modes, switch back, it should go back to normal mode. When I had the big drive that had a power switch, I could leave it plugged in via USB and just power on/off the drive and the K would switch modes accordingly.

[@danielwander605]

@@Techthusiasm AH ok, that's exactly what I was wondering. My first attempt didn't work though. The switch was a bit chintzy and wouldn't play well with my computer and drive. I have a better one coming today that has its own power supply so will see if it does any better. If not, then not a big deal. Ill probably just a run a USB extension from the K to my desk and just plug it in to the drive when needed.

[@jadan2000]

Thanks for this video. I definitely wouldn't do disc to digital for anything over 5 bucks. That's buying the movie all over again. and they quality between disc and kscape just isn't big enough to warrant that.

[@Techthusiasm]

I wish there was more

[@jadan2000]

@@Techthusiasm are you seeing any major differences in quality between the disc and kscape?

[@Techthusiasm]

Movies on K are on average a decent amount higher bit rate than disc and in some cases can way outsize it. I rest easy knowing that I have essentially the highest fidelity source for video that I can have in my theater room. In practice, many times these differences may be minor or certainly hard to see if were to do a direct A/B blind comparison (except for the movies with major difference like Avengers Endgame). Check out this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYDWiH1ne9mbnM0 That all said, you can't justify K's price just on fidelity over disc alone. You have to consider all the factors.

[@jadan2000]

@Techthusiasm thank you. I totally understand what you mean. I do want to ask this specifically as I see people dance around this question a bit. The file size difference for endgame.. can you explain the difference you see and hear between the disc and kscape file?

[@Techthusiasm]

I can post more later. I’d encourage you to bring your question to the Live tonight if you can.

[@jasonsmith7874]

Question: How do we confirm if my kaleidoscape has been upgraded to 10.14?

[@Techthusiasm]

Go to your K system on your local network in a browser via its IP address. Then go to Settings -> General and look at the Software Version.

[@jasonsmith7874]

@Techthusiasm I confirmed having the new update last night and promptly ordered the Asus. I'm new to the ecosystem, so this should benefit me greatly! Thanks again for your videos, sir!

[@texranger1012]

Do 4K Blu Rays work to

[@Techthusiasm]

No, just DVD and HD Bluray discs.

[@texranger1012]

@@Techthusiasm Then if there’s a 4K digital copy then they’ll be upgraded right?

[@Techthusiasm]

Yes, you can upgrade the level of the content in the store from DVD/HD to 4K.

[@ryanrutherford470]

has to be STRATO or can you plug into a Terra server?

[@Techthusiasm]

Strato only, as I understand it.

[@ryanrutherford470]

@@Techthusiasm yup. Terra failed. Stratos was super fast. Faster than Alto ever was.

[@Techthusiasm]

Yeah, this new process destroys the previous one in efficiency and reliability.

[@marcoceballos8250]

I was able to get bullet train on sale for 5$ on iTunes few weeks ago,

[@Techthusiasm]

I love then movies are $4.99 on iTunes.

[@ericmatthews8497]

AppleTV is nearly just as good as Kaleidescape, especially if you are using a projector. Your poor HDR quality projector will do far more damage to the image quality than Apple's streaming compression.

[@ivozanette7010]

Why on earth would you do this when you can get your own digital copies with MKV and most discs you buy offer the digital copy for free anyway

[@Techthusiasm]

The digital copy included on discs isn't redeemable for any rights in Kaleidescape. For physical media owners interested in adding or migrating to K, this is a great option to get lower price rights to content in the platform.

[@sfdave5669]

doesnt stack. i had see. bundling actually increasing the rate like the current star treks…

[@sfdave5669]

what is that site where aomeone reports all the sales on kscpe? i’m archiving my collection with six m700 and have been working on thar nonstop for 2 months…

[@Techthusiasm]

www.kscapeowners.com Come join the K discussion there.

[@D8099.]

WOA? WAIT? WHAT? WTF IS THIS. IM CONFUSED. IM ABOUT TO BUILD MY HOME THEATER. WAS GOING TO BUY THE CHEAPEST KALEIDOSCOPE JUST TO RENT MOVIES UNCOMPRESSED. THEN IF I LIKE THE MOVIE ORDER THE 4K discs and put the discs in one of those other systems. Zapping or something? I want to own my media. After 20 years of bs. I will always own my media in my hands or I won’t watch it. I’ll rent it somewhere and go to theaters but then own it physically. Are you saying that kaleidoscope has changed thier tune and now allow us to hook up a NAS to thier pretty little system because of these new zappi players taking over??? I don’t know weather or not to tell kaleidoscope to go f themselves or celebrate. I guess I will buy both systems and whoever has best software wins. Nothing will ever compare to the quality of an Apple TV and how all those services blend together in the main aptv app so I will always have that device with a NAS holding my 4K BLURAYS.

[@Techthusiasm]

Kaleidescape does not access storage or content outside of their own ecosystem, no. You cannot store movies on a NAS and play them under K. You have to buy and use a Terra server. You may find once you use the K for a while, perhaps you won't even want to bother with discs and ripping content any more.

[@D8099.]

@@Techthusiasm That’s what I thought 20 years ago when I bought the very first Apple TV. Today I own 3000 movies on iTunes worth over 30,000. I sold a library of BLURAYS for Pennie’s about 2000. I was a total idiot. I had no idea what compressed and uncompressed data was. Also you say future streaming all that high data. Well sure if we all have fiber. I might build a house in the mountains or the middle of no where completely off the grid. I want the data physically on a disc and digitally in a NAS or cloud (iTunes) full control