Commenting on the Critics with Simon Columb…
We talk about VOD and streaming services, against the illegal piracy audiences turn to when watching Game of Thrones, but we are forgetting about the obvious. Home Theatre Review writes:
“The Kaleidescape Cinema One, (or the K-scape we call it here at HomeTheaterReview) the high-end storage locker for your Blu-rays (and more) has just been recognized for its excellent product design and is the winner of a Red Dot Award. The server can import and store hundreds of movies and allow you to watch them instantly sans previews and promos and even menus.”
Read the full article here: http://hometheaterreview.com/kaleidescape-honored-with-award/
This is the product we have been waiting for – and technology will only improve. Since 1999, we have collected DVDs and Blu-rays, and yet we talk about streaming services. If all my DVDs and Blu-rays were in one digital box it’d be the best service in the world – and all the space dominating the right side of my living room would be empty too. All the Disney animated ‘Classics’, The Wire and The Pacific are all available to me, on my shelf. We digitise CDs the day they are bought, while DVDs still remain, like a library, on the shelf. But not for long…
To copy DVDs and Blu-rays, you have to dodge a few laws. Copyright laws are encrypted on most discs, meaning you need a program to scratch that off before copying them onto your hard drive – and its tougher with Blu-ray but it’s more than possible. You also need the digital space to store the films and the time to upload them all – two hours for DVDs, maybe the whole night for a single Blu-ray. And that may not include special features either.
This may be too much hassle for some. In time, this routine will get faster to do and we’ll have more space to store using improved technology – and the “K-scape” is a testament to how fast things are moving. And those in the know are already doing this anyway. Catalogues of DVDs and Blu-ray’s stored on digital libraries use IMDB-integrated programs that organise the films by alphabetised titles, directors and actors. Some choose to only copy the film itself – others the entire DVD disc, special features and all.
Distributors know what’s coming. Those who shell out thousands of pounds for a storage device to hold their (already purchased) DVDs are obviously not against paying for product. But they are also not clueless to the relentless costs studios try and bleed out of honest customers. Paying “extra” for a digital download to watch an already-purchased DVD on a portable device? Find the rule-breaking product and, using your paid-for DVD, you can make your own digital copy. This technology will also take a hit on streaming services – those who own hundreds of DVDs never know each and every title. Scrolling through a catalogue online, and with one click, watching what you want will make the whole process easier. Maybe I’ll watch a forgotten film I already own tonight rather than the Netflix and Amazon Instant choice I’m “recommended”.
This is inevitable. Distributors should have learnt from the music industry – and they had extra time to organise themselves in the process. But I have a feeling it’ll take longer and those savvy enough will already be jumping on the digital storage bandwagon sooner rather than later as studios and distributors argue amongst themselves. Of course, they all want a bigger piece of the pie, and can’t decide – who will be the “iTunes” of home-film storage in the future?
Simon Columb – Follow him on Twitter @screeninsight
Originally published April 27, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
