Kaleidescape, which has been embroiled in a years-long battle with the entertainment industry over the legality of its core products, is making a step toward attracting a wider audience with the release of a $4,000 media server, dubbed the Cinema One. The device lets consumers store and instantly access up to 100 Blu-ray or 600 DVD-quality movies in the highest audio and video quality available. With this new form factor and price ($4,000), Kaleidescape hopes that its product will no longer be limited to just high-end custom installations. Until now, an entry-level Kaleidescape system cost around $15,000.

Cinema One lets viewers watch their Blu-ray and DVD movies without the delays of previews, menus or ads. Through a user interface, viewers can browse through hundreds of movies in a snap. What's more, Cinema One connects to any home automation system. So when you press Play, the lights go down, the masking is set, and the movie starts instantly. And with the CinemaScape video-processing mode, Cinema One is the best source device available for a 2.35 home theater.



A second Cinema One can be added to double the storage capacity and enable viewing of the combined library on a second television.

With Cinema One, viewers can download movies directly from the Kaleidescape Store, which offers movie downloads with the same audio/video fidelity of Blu-ray discs. Downloads include all special features, audio tracks and extra content otherwise available only on the physical disc.

Cinema One is now available to experience and purchase in all of the Magnolia Design Centers. It can also be purchased from any of Kaleidescape's dealers worldwide or directly from store.kaleidescape.com (US only).

The device is backed by a three-year standard limited warranty.

Kaleidescape has faced legal problems stem from the fact that its devices extract digital copies of movies from DVDs. Studios now allow it if it's done according to the dictates of UltraViolet.

Kaleidescape plans to implement more of UltraViolet's features. When users buy a title from Kaleidescape's download store that comes with an UltraViolet token, they automatically earn the right to stream that title through UltraViolet-compliant services to compatible devices. The Kaleidescape store also offers the ability to upgrade stored DVDs to Blu-ray quality files with UltraViolet rights for $7 per title.

The next step would be to offer the ability to convert a Blu-ray disc into a stored digital file that can be played without having to insert the disc. This feature of UltraViolet is likely to carry a fee too.