Recording Personal Video from a Premiere System

Backing Up Personal Content from a Kaleidescape Premiere System

It has always been Kaleidescape’s direction that users should keep their original discs in a safe place after importing content onto their Kaleidescape system.  The original disc is the ultimate backup copy in case of a catastrophic movie server failure.

However, we are aware that, for many possible reasons, original discs used to import content to a Kaleidescape server – and even the files used to create those discs – may have been lost over time.  When that content is unique and precious, such as home movies, relying on a Premiere system, especially an older system, can lead to heartbreak in the case of a catastrophic failure of that system.

If you have the files that were used to create the discs you imported the content from, be sure to make backup copies and store those in a safe place.  If you only have the original discs used to import the content, you should try reading those discs with your computer and, if you are able to read them, back up the files on them to external hard drives and/or thumb drives and store those in a safe place. 

If you no longer have access to the original files or the discs containing your treasured memories, you'll probably want to record those videos onto another device/media before it is too late.  Note that it is not possible to export media files from a Kaleidescape system; the only way to back up personal content is to record the video as it is played from the system.  Unlike commercial content, personal content typically does not include copy protection, so you can record the video output from the system.

Recording Personal Video from a Premiere System

NOTE: Only videos that you have imported to your system that do not have any sort of embedded copy protection, such as HDCP, can be saved using this method.

To record your unprotected personal videos from your Premiere system, you will need a video capture device.  These devices connect via HDMI between your M-class Premiere player and your display and have a USB port where you can connect an external hard disk drive or a large-capacity thumb drive to save the content.

Here are some popular products that are available at a variety of outlets:

https://www.avermedia.com/product-detail/ER330

https://tinyurl.com/4K-HD-Video-Capture-Box-Gen2

https://muxlab.com/product/video-capture-recorder

How to Set It Up

1. Connect the Player: Unplug the HDMI cable running from your Premiere player from your display and plug it into the HDMI Input port of your new capture box.
2. Connect the Display: Run a second HDMI cable from the HDMI Output (Pass-through) port of the capture box straight into your display. This allows you to view the video while it is recorded.
3. Insert USB Storage: Plug a USB flash drive or external SSD into the capture box's USB slot. Ensure the drive is formatted to exFAT or NTFS so it can handle large video files without cutting off the recording.
4. Play and Record: Queue up your home video on the Premiere player. Press the Record button on the capture box (or its remote), and hit Play on your Kaleidescape remote.
5. Stop and Save: When the video reaches the end, press Stop on the capture box. The box will instantly finish writing the MP4 file to your USB drive, making it ready to watch on your computer, tablet, or smart TV.