Kaleidescape was founded with the goal of developing a new category of products that redefine the home entertainment experience. The Kaleidescape System is a movie server that has changed the way movies and music are collected and enjoyed in the home, yacht and private jet. The Kaleidescape System combines a compelling user interface, an outstanding industrial design, and services that set new standards in the consumer electronics industry. Kaleidescape was founded in 2001 and is privately held. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California; research and development is conducted by Kaleidescape Canada, Inc., based in Waterloo, Ontario. Our products are available through a network of custom-installation dealers and distributors throughout the world.

Kaleidescape is privately held and profitable. Kaleidescape's investors comprise fourteen individuals, most of whom have been successful entrepreneurs and investors in technology companies over the past 25 years.

The Kaleidescape System is a movie server that digitally stores and organizes your movies, and makes them available from any television in your home. It makes it much more fun and convenient to enjoy movies and music in your home. It lets you store your entire collection of Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs on an array of fail-safe hard disk drives. It automatically documents and organizes them, and makes them instantaneously available for viewing or listening in every room of your home. The intuitive and entertaining Kaleidescape user interface provides various ways for you to browse and select your movies and music. You can play, pause, resume, even bookmark and later jump to favorite movie scenes, create personalized scripts and play lists, and exercise parental controls over which movies and music are available in each room of your home. Kaleidescape makes it easy for the whole family to enjoy a large collection of movies and music.

Kaleidescape has 14 issued patents, and an additional 46 patents pending, over 3 million lines of source code, and rights in circuit designs and industrial designs.

The Kaleidescape movie server solves the problem of managing a large collection of movies and music. Many of us have this problem in our home. The Kaleidescape movie server organizes Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs, keeps them organized (and safe), catalogs them so you can find what you are looking for, and stores them for easy access. The Kaleidescape movie server has a fun and intuitive user interface that changes the "problem" of finding a movie or album into an entertaining experience for the whole family.

The M-Class players are the new M500 Player (KPLAYER-M500) and the M300 Player (KPLAYER-M300). The M500 Player has the same 1U form factor as the 1080p Player; the M300 Player has the same form factor as the 1080p Mini Player. The M500 Player copies Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs onto a server. The imported content can then be played back instantly by M500 and M300 Players, creating the world’s first multi-zone movie server for Blu-ray.

M-Class players are the first Kaleidescape products built with M-Class architecture, a powerful platform for the onscreen user interface and for playing Blu-ray content. Blu-ray movies are played in high definition video with lossless audio, including support for 1080p video with 24 frames per second, and bitstream pass-through of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. M-Class players support Blu-ray Profile 2.0 and BD-Live.

M-Class players feature a new onscreen user interface in native 1080p, which presents your collection of movies and music with eye-popping detail and beautiful cover art.

Each M-Class player ships with a Kaleidescape Remote included. M500 Players ship with the rack ears installed and include side panels. M300 Players include a wall mount bracket. A rack shelf to hold two M300 Players is optional.

Kaleidescape's security architecture prevents movies and albums from being accessed or transmitted over the Internet. It is also impossible for computers inside or outside of the home to play back movies or albums stored on a Kaleidescape movie server. The content on a Kaleidescape movie server is only accessible to Kaleidescape players that are attached to the same Ethernet local area network.

Yes, you can import Blu-ray Discs to your Kaleidescape movie server using your M500 Player. Importing provides faster access to a Blu-ray Disc throughout the home by creating a digital copy on the disk drive. The movie then becomes part of your library and appears on the onscreen user interface. An M500 or M300 Player can play the copy of a Blu-ray Disc stored on your server so long as playback is enabled by the presence of the physical disc in one of your M500 Players. Several people can even watch the same movie in different rooms.

Kaleidescape requires the disc to be present when playing Blu-ray content because that's one of the ways we can fully comply with the copy control agreements we have signed.

You can use the browser interface to restrict access to movies based on their MPAA ratings (e.g., G, PG-13, R). You can set a different restriction on each viewing zone. The Kaleidescape movie server completely hides the existence of restricted movies — no titles, no cover art, no indication of any kind. You can also use the browser interface to create passwords that can be used to override these restrictions.

Yes.

M-Class players are shipped as region A or region B. The Blu-ray region code cannot be changed by the user. Any M500 Player can import any Blu-ray Disc. The Blu-ray region code of your M-Class player may be checked by the movie when you play it. About 70% of Blu-ray Discs from major studios are region free and can be played on any M-Class player.

DVD region codes work the same as they do with other Kaleidescape players. M-Class players are only able to read Region 1 DVDs as shipped. The installer can use the browser interface to set these components to any other region, but it is not possible to set them to be region-free, and you can only change the region for a given component up to four times. These restrictions are dictated by the DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. You can have components in the same system set to different regions. Any player will play back any DVD movie once it is imported, regardless of its region code.

Yes. Kaleidescape Mini Systems, players and readers are only able to read Region 1 DVDs as shipped. The installer can use the browser interface to set these components to any other region, but it is not possible to set them to be region-free, and you can only change the region of a given component up to four times. These restrictions are dictated by Kaleidescape's CSS License Agreement with the DVD Copy Control Association, Inc. You can have multiple components in the same system set to different regions. Any player will play back any DVD movie once it is imported, regardless of its region code.

If we made the movie players region-free, that would be in violation of our CSS License Agreement with the DVD Copy Control Association, Inc.

Yes.

In order to view PAL content, your display must accept PAL video signals.

Yes, you can import home movies that you have authored with DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring tools. Any Kaleidescape component with a disc tray can import content in DVD-Video format from DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW discs. M-Class players can import and play content recorded on Blu-ray Discs. The disc need not be in the tray to play an unencrypted Blu-ray movie from the server.

For more information, please refer to www.kaleidescape.com/go/home-movies and www.kaleidescape.com/go/adding-guide-info.

Yes. The Kaleidescape movie server automatically creates a paused bookmark when you stop a movie or episode. You can then resume watching the movie or episode from any movie player in the system. Just press "Play" or select "Resume Movie" from the details page for the movie.

A paused bookmark is only created when stopping a movie or episode. You can't resume the DVD menu, a favorite scene, a trailer, or a standard or custom introduction. Also, for your convenience, paused bookmarks are not created in the first 10 seconds of a movie or after the end credits start.

If you pause a DVD that you were playing without importing, then you can resume playback from the Disc tab of the Kaleidescape main menu on the onscreen display, by selecting "Disc in Tray" and "Resume Movie".

Yes you can play a DVD directly without importing it, and enjoy the Kaleidescape experience, by placing the disc in the disc tray of a Mini System, 1080p Player or Movie Player 2. After recognizing the DVD, the Kaleidescape movie server will display details about the movie including the cover art, synopsis, rating, and actor and director names. You may choose to play the movie or import it. Selecting "Play Movie" on the onscreen display starts the movie instantly, without trailers and advertisements — even for rental movies! On a Mini System, you also have the option of placing a disc in the tray and pressing the Play button.

Yes. The Kaleidescape movie server has been designed for the anticipated widespread availability of HD content. The massive disk capacity of the server is ideal for storing HD movies. A few HD titles are already being distributed by Kaleidescape pre-loaded on every new Kaleidescape movie server, and more will be available in the future.

Yes, imports may be disabled on any Mini System, 1080p Player or Movie Player 2. It will still be possible to play back directly a DVD or CD by placing the disc in the player's tray. Disabling imports is useful for playback-only zones such as guest rooms or a child's room. The installer can set this configuration per player with the browser interface.

Kaleidescape's patent-pending video bookmarks enhance your movie viewing experience. They provide the flexibility to begin playing a movie wherever you want: the start of the main feature, a trailer, or one of your favorite scenes. The Kaleidescape movie server also uses special video bookmarks to issue control triggers to the control system, signaling the beginning of a feature movie, the beginning of the end credits, the end of the movie, and other significant events that may require changes in lighting, position of motorized curtains, screen masking, etc. Many of these bookmarks are provided automatically through the Kaleidescape Movie Guide service. In addition, users can insert custom bookmarks to mark their favorite scenes in movies. Using bookmarked favorite scenes, customers can showcase their theaters by playing a sequence of all their favorite clips. Favorite scenes are also compelling for demonstration purposes in A/V showrooms.

A DVD or CD changer can play only one DVD movie or audio CD at a time, and it is generally dedicated to one play-back zone in the home. The Kaleidescape movie server is based on hard-disk technology, which provides very fast, random access to your entire content collection, and makes it possible to use the system simultaneously from multiple play-back zones. A Kaleidescape movie server can play movies and music in different rooms at the same time, and it makes your entire DVD and CD collection available throughout your home. You can even play a movie or an album that is already playing in a different room. Kaleidescape's highly optimized software provides sub-second response times when you start a movie or album, play a trailer, or move from chapter to chapter, favorite scene to favorite scene, or track to track.

Kaleidescape's unique Movie Guide and Music Guide Services enhance your home entertainment experience with detailed information about the movies and albums you have imported. In addition, Kaleidescape's patent-pending video bookmarks provide the ability to begin playing a movie wherever you want: the start of the main feature, a trailer, or one of your favorite scenes. The Kaleidescape movie server also uses special video bookmarks to issue control triggers to the control system (such as Crestron or AMX) to signal the beginning of a feature movie, the beginning of the end credits, the end of the movie, changes in aspect ratio, and other significant events that the control system can use to automatically control the lighting, motorized curtains, screen masking, etc.

If the Blu-ray Disc has been imported, you can watch the movie from the server in any room with an M-Class player. If the Blu-ray Disc has not been imported, it can be watched only using the player it is in.

All Kaleidescape players, including M-Class players, produce output that is compatible with D-BOX motion systems when playing DVDs. The player must be connected to the D-BOX controller via the coaxial or optical audio output, and M-Class players must be set to the player decode audio mode.

M-Class players do not currently provide D-BOX programmed motion effects for Blu-ray Discs.

Make a selection, press PLAY, sit back, and enjoy the feature — even for Blu-ray. Movies start instantly, without advertisements, trailers or menus. The Kaleidescape Movie Guide Service provides video bookmarks that let you start at the beginning of the movie or jump to your favorite television episode. Songs on concert films are indexed for easy access.

Kaleidescape has added bookmarks for the songs in all concert Blu-ray Discs in the Movie Guide. We are working on adding bookmarks for concert DVDs, starting with the titles that are most popular with our customers. KEAOS 4.0 is required to use a song bookmark. If you have a concert DVD that you would like us to process, please loan it to us as described at www.kaleidescape.com/loan.

The Kaleidescape Music Player is a high-performance audio component that is designed to play up to four independent music zones through digital and analog audio outputs. A Music Player can be used to provide audio to zones not equipped with a video display. Also, the Music Player incorporates a disc tray that can import DVDs and CDs into the system. Each Music Player can be controlled by a touch panel, an in-wall touch pad or one of the control panels available in the browser interface.

No. We may add this feature in the future.

Yes, the Kaleidescape System now supports this feature with Kaleidescape Conductor. Kaleidescape Conductor copies all or part of your Kaleidescape music library to your computer so you can enjoy it with your iPod portable music player or other portable music player.

The current release of the KEAOS software does not support this feature directly. However, Kaleidescape customers can burn CDs with the music on their PC and import these CDs into their Kaleidescape System. For best results, first import your CDs directly into your Kaleidescape System. A direct import has higher audio quality and fewer pops and dropouts. When a CD is imported into the Kaleidescape System, it is not compressed and all of the fidelity of the original CD is preserved.

No. The Kaleidescape System can play music through any Mini System or movie player as well as through Music Players.

Each component with a disc tray (including M500 Player, Mini System, Music Player, 1080p Player, Movie Player 2, Movie Player, and Reader) imports CDs and DVDs. The M500 Player imports Blu-ray Discs. Most Kaleidescape dealers and some service providers will import your library of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs into your Kaleidescape movie server as a service for you.

Those who appreciate classical music often organize their music differently than fans of other varieties of music. So Kaleidescape has added two classical music collections in the Music Collections view of the onscreen display. The Classical Composers collection lists the composers of the classical music in your library and shows biographical information about each composer and the compositions in your library by that composer. The Classical Works collection displays the classical compositions in your library and shows you all the available performances of each work.

With user-defined music collections, you can organize your music any way you see fit. For example, you can create collections called "Dad's College Albums and Artists" or "Exercise Albums". Collections can contain albums, artists, genres, composers, conductors, ensembles, performers, and/or mix albums. To create a new music collection, use the Music tab of the browser interface, choose "My Collections" and click on "Create New Collection". Once you name your new music collection, you can add music to it anytime using either the browser interface or the onscreen display. With the onscreen display, add music to a music collection by selecting "Add to Collection" on the details page of any album, artist, genre, composer, conductor, ensemble, performer, or mix album. Collections are updated automatically whenever you import a new album.

This feature is generally part of a distributed audio control or automation system. Typical installations of these systems allow any source to be listened to in any room. Any music zone from your Kaleidescape System can be selected in any listening area. The way to play the same music throughout your entire home is to play the music from a single zone in every listening area.

We may add the ability to synchronize multiple Kaleidescape music zones in a future release of KEAOS for use by customers that do not have a distributed audio control system.

When you import a CD, the music data is stored on the disk cartridges of your Kaleidescape server(s), along with the movie data from the DVDs you have imported. The music from each CD is stored bit-for-bit, which means that all of the information on it is stored without any loss of quality from compression. Your data is also protected against disk drive failure by proprietary Kaleidescape RAID-K storage technology.

Kaleidescape Conductor is a PC application that copies music from your Kaleidescape music library to your computer so that you can enjoy it with your iPod or other portable music player. Once you have installed Kaleidescape Conductor, you can choose the music collection you wish to copy to your computer. Kaleidescape Conductor updates the Kaleidescape music on your computer as you add or remove music from your chosen music collection. The Kaleidescape music on your computer may be managed with iTunes and other media players, and mix albums are automatically converted to iTunes playlists. To install Kaleidescape Conductor, go to the browser interface, and click on the link to install Kaleidescape Conductor.

Yes. The hard disks of the Kaleidescape server store exact (lossless) copies of the digital data imported from your CDs. Your Kaleidescape player will convert these bit streams into digital and analog audio outputs just as if you were playing the CD in a reference-quality CD player.

The Kaleidescape System automatically controls the volume for fade-outs and fade-ins and for normalization. There is no way to explicitly control the volume through the Music Player or a movie player. Volume control should be performed via an audio amplifier. In distributed audio control and home automation systems the volume control is usually facilitated by touch panels and keypads throughout the home.

The Kaleidescape music server is a software option for the Kaleidescape System. There is also a Music Player hardware product that can be used with any Kaleidescape System that has a Music Playback license to deliver content to music-only zones. This is not a new product line — it is an extension of the Kaleidescape System.

If you import your CDs into your Kaleidescape System, you will have an uncompressed lossless copy of each of your CDs on your Kaleidescape System. The Kaleidescape System uses a proprietary method for reading CDs that eliminates most of the clicks, pops, and other noises that can result from read errors when you rip a CD to your PC.

The Kaleidescape System has the best user interface in the industry — finding and playing your music is easy, intuitive and fun for everyone. The Kaleidescape System provides the richest information about your music along with a very flexible way to navigate through such information onscreen. The Kaleidescape System is more reliable — it just works. Your music files are protected on hard disk drives by proprietary Kaleidescape RAID-K storage technology, which means you don't need to worry about losing data when a single disk drive fails. You can add more music zones to your home without having to buy more storage; and you can add more storage without having to add more music zones. The Kaleidescape System is by far the most scalable music server, with the ability to store all of your music without losing any quality by compressing files, and with the ability to simultaneously serve music to as many zones as you can find in any home or yacht. And, the same Kaleidescape System can also store all of your DVD movies and serve them to any viewing zone in your home or yacht. In short, the Kaleidescape experience for music and movies is unmatched in the industry.

Kaleidescape players provide reference-quality audio and video output that is comparable to the very best Blu-ray, DVD, and CD players available today. Kaleidescape M-Class players play Blu-ray movies in high definition video with lossless audio, including support for 1080p video with 24 frames per second, and bitstream pass-through of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Kaleidescape 1080p players and M-Class players create beautiful high definition video output from ordinary DVDs.

No. The Kaleidescape System imports an exact digital copy of the disc, without removing any copy protection. No additional compression is applied; therefore no quality is lost. Kaleidescape players use state-of-the-art DVD and CD playback hardware and software to provide reference-quality video and audio playback from these same exact bits.

The average Blu-ray Disc uses about 37 GB of disk space. A dual-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold as much as 50 GB. About 50 Blu-ray Discs fit on a single 2 TB Disk Cartridge.

DVDs can vary in size, but you can expect to store about 300 DVDs on a 2 TB Disk Cartridge or about 75 DVDs on a 500 GB Mini Disk Cartridge.

CDs can vary in size, but you can expect to store about 3,300 CDs on a 2 TB Disk Cartridge or about 825 CDs on a 500 GB Mini Disk Cartridge.

The number of Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs that can be stored on a Kaleidescape movie server varies depending on the system and the specific discs.

A single Kaleidescape 3U Server fully loaded with fourteen 2 TB Disk Cartridges can hold approximately 600 Blu-ray Discs or 3,600 DVDs.

A single Kaleidescape 1U Server fully loaded with four 2 TB Disk Cartridges can hold approximately 150 Blu-ray Discs or 900 DVDs.

A Kaleidescape Mini System fully loaded with four 500 GB Mini Disk Cartridges can hold approximately 225 DVDs or 2,500 CDs.

A system may contain one or more servers of each kind and will provide the sum capacity of all its servers. One customer has a system with 11 servers. The user experience is good up to about 8,000 DVDs and 3,000 CDs. We are working to improve the user interface with larger collections.

M-Class players import most Blu-ray Discs in one hour, most DVDs in 10 to 15 minutes and most CDs in 15 to 20 minutes. Non-M-Class players import most DVDs in 15 to 20 minutes and most CDs in 5 to 10 minutes. The Kaleidescape Speed Reader, with its two DVD/CD-ROM drives, reaches import speeds of six DVDs or sixteen CDs per hour.

A scratched, dirty, or poorly-authored disc may take longer to import. Imports may also take longer when the import device is playing back content.

For the fastest import speed with an M500 Player or Speed Reader, use a Gigabit network connection.

A 1U or 3U Server can serve DVD movies or music to up to 45 zones simultaneously; and can serve Blu-ray movies to up to 5 zones simultaneously.

A Kaleidescape System can serve enough movie and music zones for any practical purpose — even for the largest palaces and yachts in the world. The number of zones that can be played at the same time depends on the types of movies or music that are being played (e.g., Blu-ray vs. DVD), and on how many servers and disk cartridges are used. Each movie player can deliver either a movie or music to one zone. The Music Player can simultaneously serve up to four independent music zones.

Kaleidescape engineers have demonstrated that an individual 1U or 3U Server has the ability to simultaneously deliver DVD movies and music to 45 independent zones, even if all of the movies and music are coming from the same disk cartridge. We expect that a properly designed and installed system with 12 servers can support as many as 200 simultaneous independent zones. Kaleidescape's largest installation to date has 87 players.

Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks is a storage system that combines two or more disk drives for fault tolerance and (sometimes) increased performance. RAID storage systems are frequently used on servers, especially for enterprise applications.

RAID Level 5 is a type of RAID that uses block-level striping (spreading out the blocks of each file across multiple disk drives) and block-interleaved distributed parity to spread the parity information used to achieve fault tolerance across all the disks in the array. If any disk fails, the distributed parity data are used to compute the contents of the "virtual" (failed) disk. An advantage of RAID 5 is that there is no single dedicated parity disk causing a write bottleneck. A disadvantage of RAID 5 is that the capacity of the array of disks cannot be increased without rebuilding the array. RAID 5 is the most popular version of RAID. Kaleidescape servers do not use RAID 5; they use RAID-K.

RAID Level 4 is a type of RAID that uses block-level striping (spreading out the blocks of each file across multiple disks) and a dedicated parity drive to store the parity information that enables fault tolerance. If a data disk fails, the parity data are used to compute the contents of the "virtual" (failed) data disk. An advantage of RAID 4 is that the storage capacity of the array can be increased one disk drive at a time. A disadvantage of RAID 4 is that the parity disk can become a write bottleneck. RAID 4 has been very successful with the enterprise file servers sold by Network Appliance. Kaleidescape servers use a proprietary type of RAID called RAID-K which has some of the features and advantages of RAID 4.

RAID-K is a type of RAID that is proprietary to Kaleidescape. RAID-K has similarities to RAID 4, but it does not use block-level striping of file data — it attempts to keep each movie or music album wholly contained on a single disk. Also, the redundant parity information may exist on more than one disk in order to accommodate a mixture of different sizes of disks. Furthermore, there is more than just parity data in the redundant information used to achieve fault tolerance. These features provide better performance for movies and music, and increased safety for the storage of such data. Finally, RAID-K permits the user to incrementally add storage capacity; it is possible to add larger disks, and it is possible to add disks that contain content (movies or music) and incorporate them automatically into the RAID-K array and the Kaleidescape file system.

A hot spare disk cartridge is an additional disk cartridge installed in a 3U Server that is immediately available as a replacement if a hard disk drive fails. If an active drive fails, the server continues to operate, no content or user-entered data is lost, and information that was stored on the failed drive is automatically restored to the hot spare. This eliminates the need for an urgent service call and provides peace of mind in marine and other remote installations. The failed disk cartridge should be replaced as soon as practical, and upon replacement the new disk cartridge becomes the hot spare. The hot spare disk cartridge feature provides an additional measure of data protection. If a drive fails, the server is at risk of losing content should a second drive fail. Without a hot spare, the server cannot begin repairing itself until a replacement disk cartridge is installed. With a hot spare, the repair begins immediately — minimizing the window of time that the server is at risk of losing content. The hot spare disk cartridge feature is standard on 3U Servers; it is not available on other Kaleidescape server products. Please refer to the Understanding Kaleidescape Hot Spare Disk Cartridges Technical Note for further information.

RAID-K reserves space for parity information, and this space is not available for storing DVD and CD content on the server. The amount of space allocated to parity information is equal to the capacity of the largest disk cartridge in the array. For example, a RAID-K array with seven 500 GB Disk Cartridges uses 500 GB for parity information. A RAID-K array with seven 500 GB Disk Cartridges and four 750 GB Disk Cartridges uses 750 GB for parity information. A hot spare disk cartridge is not incorporated into a RAID-K array and does not affect the amount of space allocated to parity information.

The amount of new storage you get when you add a disk cartridge to a server depends first on the capacity of the new disk cartridge compared to the capacity of the drives already in the array, and second on whether or not the server is a 3U Server. A 3U Server behaves differently than a 1U or 5U Server because of its hot spare disk cartridge.

For 1U and 5U Servers, if the new disk cartridge is no larger than the largest drive already in the array, then the server's storage capacity increases by the size of the new disk cartridge. If the new disk cartridge is larger than the largest drive already in the array, some of the new capacity will be used for parity information. For example, a 5U Server with seven 500 GB Disk Cartridges uses one 500 GB Disk Cartridge for parity information. If you add a 750 GB Disk Cartridge, then 250 GB will be used for additional parity information and the storage capacity of the server will increase by 500 GB. If you add another 750 GB Disk Cartridge, no additional parity information is needed and the storage capacity of the server will increase by the full 750 GB.

The hot spare on a 3U Server must be able to replace any disk cartridge in the array, and so the hot spare must not be smaller than any other disk drive in the array. For example, a 3U Server with eight 750 GB Disk Cartridges has one 750 GB Disk Cartridge for parity information and one 750 GB Disk Cartridge reserved as the hot spare. If you add a 2 TB (2,000 GB) Disk Cartridge, then the 750 GB hot spare will be added to the array, and the storage capacity of the server will increase by 750 GB. The new 2 TB Disk Cartridge will now be the hot spare. If you add another 2 TB Disk Cartridge, then 1,250 GB of it will be used for parity information and the capacity of the server will increase by 750 GB. A 2 TB Disk Cartridge will still be the hot spare. If a third 2 TB Disk Cartridge is added, no additional parity information is required and the storage capacity of the server will increase by 2 TB.

Although Kaleidescape uses high quality hard disk drives, occasionally, drives do fail. On average, drives in Kaleidescape Systems fail at a rate of one or two percent per year. To prevent loss of information from a drive failure, every Kaleidescape server uses RAID-K to store parity information. In addition, the 3U Server features a hot spare disk cartridge as an added measure of data protection.

If a disk drive fails, the indicator on the disk cartridge with the failed drive changes from blue to amber (or does not light up at all) and Kaleidescape automatically receives an alarm message through the Internet. Kaleidescape then notifies the customer's dealer. The customer will see a message on the onscreen display and browser interface saying "Disk is missing or damaged" or "Disk has failed; please phone your dealer". The Kaleidescape System continues to operate and the customer can still enjoy all the movies and music in their library, but the server can longer import CDs or DVDs.

A 3U Server with a hot spare disk cartridge immediately begins rebuilding the information on a failed disk drive onto the hot spare. The rebuild status is shown in the System Status window of the browser interface. After the information is rebuilt, the server can once again import CDs and DVDs. A disk cartridge with a failed drive should be replaced as soon as possible.

If a drive fails in a Mini System, 1U Server, or 5U Server, the front panel glow of the server changes from blue to amber. The server becomes vulnerable to losing data if a second drive should fail. Therefore, it is very important to replace a failed drive in a Mini System, 1U Server, or 5U Server as soon as possible. As soon as the disk cartridge is replaced, the information on the failed disk drive is rebuilt onto the new disk cartridge.

Disk cartridges can be replaced easily by the customer or the dealer while the system is operating.

The following audio and video outputs and formats are supported by Kaleidescape players:

KPLAYER-M500 M500 Player

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (RCA), S-Video (mini-DIN), and Composite (RCA)
Video Formats: 1080p60/50/24; 1080i60/50; 720p60/50; NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (RCA), Digital Optical (TosLink), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Bitstream pass-through of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; Dolby Digital; DTS; MPEG Audio; PCM

KPLAYER-M300 M300 Player

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (RCA), and Composite (RCA)
Video Formats: 1080p60/50/24; 1080i60/50; 720p60/50; NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (RCA, Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Bitstream pass-through of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; Dolby Digital; DTS; MPEG Audio; PCM

KSYSTEM-120 Mini System
Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (BNC), S-Video (mini-DIN), and Composite (BNC)
Video Formats: NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p; High-Definition 720p, 1080i and 1080p at 50 and 60 Hz
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (BNC), Digital Optical (TosLink), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG Audio, PCM
Two Additional Audio Zones with Analog Stereo Outputs (RCA) and PCM Support

KPLAYER-6000 1080p Player

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (BNC), S-Video (mini-DIN), and Composite (BNC)
Video Formats: NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p; High-Definition 720p, 1080i and 1080p at 50 and 60 Hz
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (BNC), Digital Optical (TosLink), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG Audio, PCM

KPLAYER-300 1080p Mini Player

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (BNC), and Composite (BNC)
Video Formats: NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p; High-Definition 720p, 1080i and 1080p at 50 and 60 Hz
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (BNC), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG Audio, PCM

KPLAYER-5000 Movie Player 2

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (BNC), S-Video (mini-DIN), and Composite (BNC)
Video Formats: NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p; High-Definition 720p, 1080i at 50 and 60 Hz
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (BNC), Digital Optical (TosLink), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG Audio, PCM

KPLAYER-2500 Movie Player

Video Outputs: HDMI w/HDCP, Component YPbPr (BNC), S-Video (mini-DIN), and Composite (BNC)
Video Formats: NTSC 480i, 480p; PAL 576i, 576p; High-Definition 720p, 1080i at 50 and 60 Hz
Audio Outputs: HDMI, Digital Coaxial (BNC), Digital Optical (TosLink), Analog Stereo (RCA)
Audio Formats: Dolby Digital, DTS, MPEG Audio, PCM

KMUSIC-4000 Music Player
Audio Outputs: Four Digital Coaxial (RCA), four Digital Optical (TosLink), four Analog Stereo (RCA)

Yes. Kaleidescape movie players support HDMI (and therefore also DVI). HDMI and DVI displays must support HDCP to view copy-controlled DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.

No. The DVD CCA License does not permit the use of RGBHV video output during DVD playback. Kaleidescape players support both HDMI and component video (YPbPr) for high-quality video output.

Some manufacturers advertise "DVD/Blu-ray Media Servers" that can store DVDs and Blu-ray Discs on hard disk. These discs use copy control technologies called CSS and AACS. It is our understanding that CSS and AACS must be licensed by the manufacturer of DVD/Blu-ray Disc playback device. We have been informed that the manufacturers of various unlicensed "DVD/Blu-ray Media Servers" advise their dealers and customers that "if you want to load media that is protected you likely will need to install additional decryption software" in order to play or copy such discs. This unlicensed decryption software may be available from third parties. It is our understanding that the use of such unlicensed software to break the copy protection on discs is generally illegal in the USA and could constitute a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "DMCA"). Violations of the DMCA are criminal offenses subject to fines of up to $500,000 and up to 5 years in jail. Based on its current knowledge, Kaleidescape believes that the installation of these "DVD/Blu-ray Media Servers", including obtaining the third-party software to get them working as advertised, would result in dealers and/or their customers in the USA committing criminal acts and risking heavy fines or jail time.

Kaleidescape manufactures and sells only properly licensed products. Kaleidescape has licenses from technology licensing bodies that include: DVD Copy Control Association, Inc.; Advanced Access Content System License Administrator LLC; BD+ Technologies, LLC; Blu-ray Disc Association; DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation; Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation; Rovi Corporation; HDMI Licensing LLC; Digital Content Protection, LLC (HDCP); MPEG LA, LLC; Nissim Corporation; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (acting for three different patent pools); Toshiba Corporation (on behalf of the DVD Patent Licensing Group); Thomson Licensing, and many others.

The SACD and DVD-Audio formats are not supported by the Kaleidescape System at this time. It is unlikely that we will support SACD or DVD-Audio due to the tepid market acceptance and declining sales of these audio formats.

Kaleidescape provides dealers with control modules and touch panel templates suitable for a variety of control devices, using both RS-232 and TCP/IP. These include: modules and sample code for Crestron 2-Series Processors and templates for the wide variety of Crestron touch panels and keypads; a module and sample code for AMX NetLinx Processors and templates for the wide variety of AMX touch panels; and ProntoScript modules with integrated templates for Philips Pronto controllers. These modules can control both movies and music from Kaleidescape movie players and music from a Kaleidescape Music Player. The Kaleidescape System can also be controlled from a Java-enabled web browser, allowing almost any computer to control any player. Kaleidescape provides a setup program so that any Windows web tablet can be turned into a dedicated Kaleidescape controller. Kaleidescape provides IR codes and templates to support a variety of remote control devices including the Elan Home Systems VIA! Valet touch panel, Universal Remote Control Home Theater Master and Professional series, Philips Pronto IR-only remotes, Logitech Harmony Universal Remotes, and RTI Universal Controllers. Kaleidescape provides a generic IR command set for use with any PC-programmable IR remote. For more details on all of these options, see the Control Systems section of the Kaleidescape Support site.

There are two modes for controlling the Kaleidescape System: the onscreen display (OSD) mode and the stand-alone touch panel (SATP) mode. The OSD mode is supported on controllers and touch panels that operate in conjunction with an onscreen display. The SATP mode is supported on controllers and touch panels for music-only zones that operate without an onscreen display.

In order to support all features of Blu-ray Discs, you will need to update your controller. Modules and templates are available at www.kaleidescape.com/support/control-systems. All of the control systems modules and templates available in the support section of the Kaleidescape website have been updated for M-Class players and the playback of Blu-ray Discs. These include AMX, Control4, Crestron, Elan, Philips Pronto, RTI, and URC.

Yes, you can use an in-wall keypad to control music. This is useful for listening zones that have no video display and no touch panel. Kaleidescape's very simple keypad interface includes button presets for playing specific albums, mix albums, artists, genres, collections, including user-defined music collections. You can cycle through any collection by using next and previous buttons, and you can press-and-hold a button to set it to the now playing list. With some compatible keypads, you can even determine the status of the system through selective lighting of buttons. For example, if Preset 1 is currently playing, the lights on the "Play" and "Preset 1" buttons may be active.

Yes. Your music library can be browsed, selected, and played back using a controller or a stand-alone interactive touch panel. You can view information about your music on these controllers or touch panels, navigate lists, and select music to play, all without the use of the onscreen display. The bi-directional Kaleidescape Control System Protocol can supply music information fields to a controller or touch panel or other devices with data display capabilities. A touch panel video feed is not required to display music information such as artist, album, track, genre, cover art, playback time, and progress information.

You can control a music zone with any control device that you use to control your Kaleidescape System. You can control music using the onscreen display, the browser interface or a Control panel. Any controller, touch panel or keypad can control a music zone: an onscreen display is not required to display music information such as artist, album, track, genre, cover art, playback time, and progress information.

Yes. Any controller or touch panel can be programmed to control multiple movie or music zones. This is useful for wireless controllers or touch panels that roam between different rooms in the home, or for installations in which the Kaleidescape System is centrally located for distribution using an audio/video switcher.

The DVD CCA does not provide any certification, testing or approval service.

Yes. You must activate each of your systems at https://www.kaleidescape.com/activate by entering your personal information and one of the component serial numbers of the system, and agreeing to the Kaleidescape Service & License Agreement.

No. Most commercial DVDs are protected by the Content Scramble System ("CSS"), a method used to encrypt the video and audio data. Manufacturers of legitimate DVD playback products must obtain a license from the DVD Copy Control Association (the "DVD CCA") to remove CSS encryption. Kaleidescape has obtained such a license, and Kaleidescape scrupulously adheres to its required procedures and restrictions. For example, when playing back DVD content, the Kaleidescape System only allows the audio and video outputs permitted by the CSS License Agreement. The Kaleidescape System's analog video outputs are further protected by certain Macrovision technology, which was obtained pursuant to a separate license from Macrovision Corporation. The CSS License Agreement does not prohibit the copying of CSS-protected DVD data into memory or onto a hard disk. However, in order to comply with the CSS License Agreement, any such copying must be done without exposing certain types of DVD data (keys or unscrambled audio/video data) on "user-accessible buses," such as the PCI bus in a personal computer. The Kaleidescape System complies with this restriction by virtue of being a closed system comprised of proprietary hardware and software that Kaleidescape designed from the ground up with content security as a major design objective.

Macrovision is a copy protection technology that applies to the analog video outputs of DVD players. Kaleidescape has a Macrovision license and our products have been tested and approved by Macrovision Corporation. That license and certification enable Kaleidescape to apply the Macrovision copy protection technology to a movie player's analog video outputs. This has nothing to do with making a digital copy of the information on a DVD disc.

The Kaleidescape System complies with all applicable licensing requirements, including those of the DVD FLLC, the DVD CCA, and Macrovision. The specifics of how we comply with each license are proprietary and confidential, and not available to the public.

Kaleidescape plans to implement this feature for music. However, such a feature would not be practical for movies for many years due to the enormous amount of data involved and the relatively slow uplink speeds of most broadband Internet connections.

Kaleidescape does provide a small amount of pre-loaded high-definition video content on every movie server that is sold. We plan to provide more in the future as we obtain appropriate licenses from the content owners.

We are not confident that the fair-use provisions of the Copyright Act give us the right to do pre-loading of commercial DVDs or CDs without permission from the content owners. However, we are confident that our customers have the fair-use right to import (or have imported) DVDs and CDs into their Kaleidescape movie servers without such permission.

A Kaleidescape customer has a fair-use right to make copies of DVDs and CDs that he or she owns onto the Kaleidescape movie server's hard disk drives. No license is required provided the copies will only be used for that customer's personal home video entertainment.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) does not issue licenses of any kind. The MPAA is a domestic trade association of the American film industry that serves as "the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries."

The Kaleidescape movie server is manufactured and sold pursuant to licenses from a number of technology licensing bodies, including the DVD Copy Control Association, Inc., the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation, Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation, Macrovision Solutions Corporation, HDMI Licensing LLC, Digital Content Protection, LLC (HDCP), MPEG LA, LLC, Nissim Corporation, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (acting for three different patent pools), Toshiba Corporation (on behalf of the DVD Patent Licensing Group), Thomson Licensing, and many others.

Copyright is a property right that gives the copyright owner of an original work certain exclusive rights which includes the right to authorize or prohibit the public performance or display of that work. You can assume that every DVD and CD that you purchase or rent is copyrighted.

Section 101 of the Copyright Act defines Public Performance as follows:

To perform or display a work "publicly" means —

1. to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or

2. to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.

Section 110 of the Copyright Act contains a substantial limitation on the copyright holder's right to prohibit public performances and displays for certain teaching activities.

Note that if the place is public (open to the public) or the work is transmitted to the public then it makes no difference how many people attend. If the place is not open to the public (such as your home, your dorm room, a rented home where the public can be excluded), and most everyone there is in your circle of family and social acquaintances (no matter how many), the performance would most likely not be considered to be public. Also note that it doesn't matter whether there is a charge for viewing the performance.

Kaleidescape will certainly sell you a Kaleidescape movie server for use in such a shared theater.

If you have questions about the legality of your contemplated use of the Kaleidescape movie server, we encourage you to consult an attorney because Kaleidescape cannot provide legal advice, and the specific facts of your situation may be significant. However, we believe that viewing videos in this type of shared theater would most likely not be considered a "public performance," assuming that the theater is never open to the public and there are never a substantial number of persons in attendance outside of the normal circle of family and social acquaintances of the owner who booked the theater. If the DVDs imported into the Kaleidescape movie server are purchased by the condominium complex or by the individual owners, and they are not used for anything else, then the shared use of these DVDs would be analogous to loaning some DVDs to a friend, which to our knowledge is perfectly legal.

KEAOS is an acronym for Kaleidescape Entertainment Appliance Operating System, a proprietary software operating system developed by Kaleidescape specifically for the Kaleidescape movie server.

We distribute a new release of KEAOS approximately twice a year.

Prior to general release, each new version if KEAOS goes through QA testing, Alpha testing, and Beta testing. Then we do a gradual staged general release over 30 days or more. As a result of such thorough testing as well as our excellent software development practices, we have never experienced a regression software defect in any released version of the software. KEAOS has been very stable since we started shipping in August of 2003, and it is very rare for a customer to report a software defect of any kind.

KEAOS 4.0 is required for M-Class players. When you order an M-Class player, your system will be updated with KEAOS 4.0. Over the coming months, all Kaleidescape Systems will be updated with KEAOS 4.0, which provides support for M-Class players. The KEAOS 4.0 update is free-of-charge for all Kaleidescape Systems.

Kaleidescape distributes each KEAOS software update through the Internet directly to every Kaleidescape System using a secure protocol. The Kaleidescape Systems in the field automatically install each new KEAOS release without requiring the installer to go on-site. Customers may then immediately benefit from new and enhanced features.

There is nothing to do except ensure that your Kaleidescape System is connected to the Internet. Your Kaleidescape System will automatically download each KEAOS software update from Kaleidescape over the Internet, and your system will automatically install the latest software update when it reboots, which will happen automatically (when an update is available) once the system is idle for four hours.

If you import a DVD or CD for which information is not yet in the Kaleidescape Movie and Muic Guide databases, you can still watch the movie or listen to the music. If you enter the DVD's or CD's UPC code (barcode) using the browser interface or onscreen display, Kaleidescape will attempt to obtain information about that movie or album and automatically update your Kaleidescape System. We successfully obtain information for about 90% of all DVD UPCs entered and 35% of all CD UPCs entered.

If you send the DVD or CD to Kaleidescape, then we will capture additional data such as the video bookmarks that make it possible to play the movie without navigating the DVD menu. Your DVD or CD will be returned within a few days and the updated Movie or Music Guide information will automatically appear on your Kaleidescape System as soon as the data capture is complete. The processing time for DVDs is typically five business days; and for CDs, about ten business days. Please send DVDs or CDs in the original packaging — without this, Kaleidescape will be unable to add the DVDs and CDs to our database. For complete details, please refer to http://www.kaleidescape.com/go/loan.

Note that Kaleidescape does not retain a copy of any loaned DVDs or CDs — only information about the DVDs and CDs, such as the video bookmarks, is retained.

Yes. Once a DVD or CD is recognized by the Movie or Music Guide Service, you can edit any of the information about the DVD or CD (except the artist name for a CD) — for example, you can assign different parental control ratings to a DVD or different genres to a CD. Any information that you edit will not be overwritten by updates to the Kaleidescape Movie or Music Guide. You can however, at any time, revert to the Kaleidescape Movie Guide information.

The Kaleidescape Movie Guide database has information on more than 135,000 DVDs.

The Kaleidescape Movie Guide contains information on over 3,000 Blu-ray Discs. The Movie Guide contains the title of the movie, director, cast, year of release, rating (and reasons for the rating), genres, synopsis, running time, country of origin, aspect ratio, high-resolution cover art, and video bookmarks.

We do not purchase adult film titles, but we will process titles that are loaned to us by customers. However, we reserve the right to not process titles that we find offensive or that we believe are illegal.

Yes. If you import a CD or DVD that is not recognized by the Kaleidescape Movie Guide or Music Guide Services, then you can add your own guide information. For an unrecognized DVD, such as a home movie, you can list the cast and director, assign genres, write a synopsis and upload cover art. For an unrecognized CD, such as a recorded home performance, you can list the artist, release date, and track names, assign genres, write a review, and upload cover art. You can also overwrite the information provided by the Kaleidescape Music and Movie Guide Service for CDs or DVDs that are recognized.

Currently we have over 45,000 DVDs that are not Region 1 in the Movie Guide database.

Over 1,000,000.

About 95 percent of DVDs imported in the USA (not counting personal home video DVDs) are already in the Kaleidescape Movie Guide database at the time of import. About 86 percent of DVDs imported outside the United States are already in the Movie Guide. If the customer enters the UPC for an unrecognized DVD, then we will add most of the missing information about that DVD to the Movie Guide within two business days. These UPCs have helped us raise our coverage to 96 percent of the DVDs in Kaleidescape Systems in the USA and 92 percent of the DVDs in Kaleidescape Systems outside the USA.

Typically, a Kaleidescape System will download approximately 500 MB of data per month to keep the Kaleidescape Movie Guide and Music Guide current. Upload varies, depending on the number of players and other factors, but should be approximately 300 MB per month. Kaleidescape releases KEAOS upgrades a few times per year; a KEAOS release is less than 50 MB and is downloaded automatically by your Kaleidescape System.

Wireless LANs generally do not provide the reliability or the bandwidth required to support high quality video streams such as those provided by a Kaleidescape server. The burst data rate for a DVD data stream can reach 11 megabits per second, which exceeds the practical capacity of 802.11a and 802.11b, and even some configurations of 802.11g. (However, we have received reports from customers that are successfully using 802.11g to connect a player to a server.) The data rate for some of the high-definition movies included with every Kaleidescape System is 35 megabits per second, which is far in excess of what today's wireless networks provide. Kaleidescape strongly recommends the use of Ethernet cabling between components. While wireless connections work well for providing Internet access to the Kaleidescape System, for connecting control systems, and for accessing the browser interface from a PC — Ethernet cables should be used for connecting the Kaleidescape components to each other.

No. However, Kaleidescape dealers have reported good results with:

• Dell PowerConnect Series Gigabit Ethernet switches (2708, 2808, 2716, 2816, 2724, 2824, 5324, 6248)
  
• Cisco Small Business Managed Gigabit Switches (SRW2008, SRW2016, SRW2024)
  
• Pakedge Gigabit Switches (SW8-GBP, SW8-GBM and SW24-GB)
  

These devices may or may not be approved by the FCC, or offered for sale by their manufacturer, for use in a residential environment. Operation of unapproved devices is likely to cause harmful interference in a residential environment.

All Kaleidescape components must reside in the same broadcast domain, and be connected to a 100Base-TX or 100/1000Base-T switched Ethernet LAN. We recommend that you have a DHCP server in your LAN so that each Kaleidescape component can automatically obtain an IP address, although, with care, an IP address can also be assigned manually. Access to the Kaleidescape Alerts, Software Update, Movie Guide, and Music Guide Services require that the Internet be accessible from the LAN to which the Kaleidescape System is connected. This capability is normally provided by a cable or DSL modem. If the Internet connection is unavailable for some period of time, the Kaleidescape System will continue to operate, giving you full access to your library, but you will not receive updates of the Movie Guide and Music Guide information or KEAOS software updates until Internet service is restored.

For more information, see Network Requirements and Troubleshooting Technical Note.

Your Kaleidescape System must be connected to the Internet to receive updates of Movie Guide and Music Guide information, and to receive KEAOS software updates. Some systems — notably those installed in yachts — go for days or weeks without being attached to the Internet, and they continue to work correctly during these periods. However, we strongly recommend that you keep your system powered on and connected to the Internet whenever practical so that your KEAOS software and Movie Guide and Music Guide information don't get too out-of-date. Even more important, when your Kaleidescape System is connected to the Internet, Kaleidescape can notify your dealer when we receive an alert that service is needed — for example, if a disk is about to fail or if the Server is too hot.

Yes, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to gain secure remote access to the browser interface of your Kaleidescape System. Once you are authenticated on a VPN, you effectively join the local network, with any data you send across the Internet within the VPN encrypted for security. We recommend that you do not instead enable port forwarding on your router so that your router can block devices inside your network from outside attempts to access them.

Yes. All of our products except the Speed Reader have power supplies that automatically sense whether the AC power is 110 V or 220 V. When connecting the Speed Reader to AC power, avoid damage by carefully setting the input voltage selection switch to the correct value (see details at Kaleidescape Speed Reader User Guide). Power fluctuations such as voltage spikes can substantially impact product reliability. Kaleidescape strongly recommends that you use a good power conditioner for every Kaleidescape component, especially servers.

No. The only way to import DVDs and CDs to a Kaleidescape System is with a Kaleidescape product. The only way to import DVDs or CDs in bulk is with the new Kaleidescape Speed Reader or the (discontinued) Bulk Loader.

The Kaleidescape Entertainment Appliance Operating System (KEAOS) was designed and developed by Kaleidescape. All of the major components, including the file system, RAID-K, the process structure, the networking architecture, security architecture and video management software are proprietary to Kaleidescape, Inc.

M-Class players can be used with any Kaleidescape System, including the Mini System. 5U Servers with model number KSERVER-2000 can stream only one Blu-ray movie at once. (5U Servers with model number KSERVER-2500 support playback of 5 simultaneous Blu-ray movies.) M500 Players must be used with a Kaleidescape server, they cannot be used as a stand-alone player.

The power requirements for the Kaleidescape products are specified in Installing the Kaleidescape System. See also [K000069] for more information.

A Kaleidescape System includes Kaleidescape hardware components (disk cartridges, servers, players, and Mini Systems), licenses to Kaleidescape software (including KEAOS, the Kaleidescape Entertainment Appliance Operating System), and access to the Kaleidescape Service (including the Kaleidescape Movie Guide, Music Guide, Alerts, and Software Update Services).

A basic Kaleidescape System consists of a Kaleidescape Mini System with two disk cartridges. Additional disk cartridges, servers (1U Server or 3U Server), Mini Systems, M500 Players, M300 Players and Music Players can expand the storage capacity, increase the number of movie and music playback zones, and ease the import of discs.

The Kaleidescape System hardware was designed by Kaleidescape. We do not generally disclose the details of which chipsets we use in these designs. However the 1080p Player and Mini Player use the Sigma Designs (Gennum) VXP video processor chip.

A Mini System, M500 Player, or M300 Player is the best choice if the listening zone has a video display and you wish to sometimes browse and select your music with the onscreen display.

A music zone from a Music Player or a Mini System is an excellent choice if there is no display in the listening zone or if you wish to always control your music using a stand-alone touch panel (with no video feed), an in-wall keypad, or the browser interface. Each Music Player has four independent listening zones through digital and analog audio outputs. Each Mini System has two independent listening zones through analog audio outputs, in addition to the primary movies/music zone, which has both digital and analog audio outputs.

The M500 Player copies Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, and CDs onto a server. The imported content can be played back by M500 and M300 Players.

Even without importing a CD, a Mini System (primary zone only) or M500 Player can play it back and display its details including cover art, album review, and track names. The Music Player, Mini System, and M500 Player, but not the M300 Player, can import CDs and DVDs.

The various Kaleidescape components are designed from the ground up for their specific purposes. They are not repackaged PCs. We use different processors, from different manufacturers, in these various products.

When shopping for movies, the Kaleidescape App helps you decide whether or not you want to buy a movie by 1) telling you whether you already own the movie as a DVD or a Blu-ray Disc, and 2) showing you a synopsis and details such as director, actors, genre, year of release and rating.

Simply scan the DVD or Blu-ray Disc barcode, and the app does the rest. If the movie has been imported into your Kaleidescape System, the app tells you that you already own the movie. A synopsis and details about the film are provided by the Kaleidescape Movie Guide.

No, the Kaleidescape App communicates with the Kaleidescape Service, which means that the app works provided your iPhone has access to the Internet (either a cellular network or a Wi-Fi connection). If you don't have an Internet connection when you scan, the app will store the UPC in its History List so you can search again when you are connected.

No, the Kaleidescape App communicates with the Kaleidescape Service. However, if your system has been offline for an extended period, our servers might not have current information about what is in your movie library.

Your Kaleidescape dealer can look up your email address in the Kaleidescape Dealer Extranet. You can also contact Kaleidescape Support for help. Remember, you need a component serial number when you call Support.

For automatic activation, your Wi-Fi network must be on the same network as your Kaleidescape System. In addition, your network must allow broadcast traffic on UDP ports 1443 and 5353. As an alternative, you can activate the app by using your email address.

There are several reasons why this could happen.

1. You might have a movie, or version of a movie, that is not recognized by the Kaleidescape Movie Guide. Use the browser interface to find out. Open your web browser, go to http://my-kaleidescape (or http://my-kaleidescape.local on a Mac), select the Movies tab, and then select "Unrecognized Movies" from the Collection drop-down menu. If the movie appears on the list, select the movie, then enter the UPC information.
   
2. Your system has not been online since you imported the movie.
   
3. You have another Kaleidescape System registered under a different end user name. The app searches the systems owned by a single end user.
   
4. The movie you scanned was imported in the last 24 hours. It can take up to 24 hours for the Kaleidescape Service to be updated with this new information.
   
5. You scanned a box set containing several movies. The individual movies have to be scanned.
   
6. The movie information might be incorrect in our database. Use the Feedback page in the app to let us know.

The app works anywhere in the world as long as your iPhone has access to the internet. However, the UPC/EAN barcode coverage of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs distributed outside the United States is limited. As a result, discs distributed outside the US are less likely to be recognized.

The app works on the iPhone 3G but does not work on the original iPhone because the original model does not support iOS 4.0 and above. Kaleidescape recommends using the iPhone 3GS and later for better scanning performance. The iPhone 3GS and later have better built-in cameras and can focus better at close distances.

The app works on the iPhone 3G but does not work on the original iPhone because the original model does not support iOS 4.0 and above Kaleidescape recommends using the iPhone 3GS and later for better scanning performance. The iPhone 3GS and later have better built-in cameras and can focus better at close distances.

1. Hold the phone over the movie, approximately 4 inches away.
2. Line up the UPC barcode in the center of the shot.
3. Be sure the barcode is lit uniformly and has no glare or shadows.
4. Keeping the barcode centered, slowly bring the phone and barcode closer together.
5. Depending on the size of the barcode, the sweet spot for acquiring the scan is between 2 and 3 inches.

The search result tells you if you have the movie on any of your systems.

The app does not currently support CD searches.

Start the Kaleidescape App, press the More tab in the lower right-hand corner, and press "Settings" at the end of the list.

No. However, we are careful about the dealers that we appoint and set high standards. We don't care if one Kaleidescape dealer is across the street from another, but we do insist that all Kaleidescape dealers do quality installations, provide good service, and conduct their business in a professional manner.

The DVDs in Kaleidescape DVD Collections will be shipped in original sealed DVD cases. If you purchase Kaleidescape servers or disk cartridges with Kaleidescape DVD Collections, the DVDs will not be pre-loaded onto the servers or disk cartridges. If a title is unavailable or backordered, or if you order several DVD Collections that include some of the same titles, those duplicates may be removed, an appropriate substitution may be made and the price may be adjusted accordingly.

Prices decline quickly on commoditized products such as PCs, cell phones, digital cameras and plasma displays. With most of these products there is little or no differentiation between brands. However, Kaleidescape products are far from commoditized. Kaleidescape products include a substantial amount of proprietary technology that cannot be found in any other products in the market. In other words, the value that Kaleidescape provides to its customers is unique. Our products deliver the reliability, scalability, performance and ease-of-use that our customers want.

The uniqueness of Kaleidescape products rests on our appliance architecture and the company's proprietary operating system software, KEAOS, which provides features, performance, reliability and ease of use that go far beyond any alternative. The Kaleidescape user interface is intuitive and fun for all audiences. Kaleidescape has released 17 updates to KEAOS over the past four years, several of them loaded with new features. These were automatically installed on all existing Kaleidescape Systems. What other company offers continuous innovation and improvements to a product you already own?

As the old sayings go, you get what you pay for, and quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

Yes. Please see http://www.kaleidescape.com/buy/ for a list of Kaleidescape dealers around the world. The export of Kaleidescape products is subject to regulation by the U.S. government and its agencies, which prohibit export or diversion of some products to certain countries and individuals.

None to date. We believe that every customer that has installed a Kaleidescape System continues to be a satisfied customer!

Since August 2003, Kaleidescape has shipped around 30,000 products (not counting disk cartridges).

There is no volume-based discount on extended warranties.

An extended warranty can be purchased at the time of purchase, or at any time before the existing warranty (initial or extended) expires.

Kaleidescape offers a twenty-four (24) month limited warranty to the first purchaser of hardware products except the Mini System, Mini Disk Cartridge, Kaleidescape Remote, and Speed Reader. The Mini System, Mini Disk Cartridge, Kaleidescape Remote, and Speed Reader carry a twelve (12) month limited warranty. The terms of the limited warranty are described in the Kaleidescape Service & License Agreement at http://www.kaleidescape.com/go/sla.

There is no discount on an extended limited warranty for purchasing it in advance. There is also no penalty for buying it later, but you must purchase it before the existing limited warranty expires. The price of the extended limited warranty may change if you delay purchasing it.

An extended limited warranty can be purchased to extend the standard limited warranty by one, two or three years to provide limited warranty coverage for up to a total of five years. An extended limited warranty can be purchased only if the product is currently under limited warranty. The terms and conditions of the extended limited warranty are the same as those of the standard limited warranty. No extended limited warranty is available for the Bulk Loader.

No. The warranty does not apply to installation, integration, or control programming related to your Kaleidescape System, even if such services are provided to you by your dealer in connection with a warranty repair or replacement. The warranty does enable you to obtain service from Kaleidescape for any defects in workmanship and material in your Kaleidescape products.

For more details, please see the Limited Warranty section of the Kaleidescape Service & License Agreement at http://www.kaleidescape.com/sla.

Kaleidescape offers two service programs for repair and replacement of Kaleidescape products that are no longer covered under limited warranty or under an extended limited warranty. The Exchange Program enables dealers to replace eligible products that fail under normal use and service by returning the out-of-warranty component to Kaleidescape. The Minor Repair Program provides a more economical alternative for products requiring power supply, fan or DVD drive replacements. Kaleidescape, at its discretion, may change or cancel these programs at any time. Dealers can refer to the Kaleidescape Extranet for complete details, pricing, and terms and conditions.