The best streaming alternative to 4K Blu-rays just got a whole lot cheaper – and now supports Dolby Vision
Kaleidescape has a reputation for high-quality movie players, devices that rival the very best 4K Blu-ray players and the best streaming devices. The Terra Prime Solid State Movie Server is perhaps the very best movie system you can buy, but it’s also alarmingly expensive at almost $14K (around £11,000 / AU$21,000) for the server and movie player. If that’s a little over your budget, the new Strato V Movie Player is a more affordable option. It’s still a premium product, but it costs less than a third of the price.
The new player works as a standalone device and as part of a wider Kaleidescape system, and can store around 10 reference-quality 4K movies on its internal SSD. There’s a streamlined new version of the company’s interface (see below), which we’ve previously praised; this version has been refined to make it more suitable for smaller libraries rather than entire movie servers. And it has Dolby Vision and lossless audio for a truly immersive home theater experience.
Kaleidescape Strato V Movie Player: Key Features and Price
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As we said in our review of the Terra Prime system, “Kaleidescape setups are found in the home theaters of the rich and famous, but they’re also perfectly suited to modest installations… it’s a truly unique system and its performance, design, and features are unmatched by anything else on the market.” With the Strato V, the cost of entry has now been significantly reduced.
The Strato V has gigabit ethernet that is capable of downloading a Kaleidescape 4K movie in 10 minutes during playback with no performance penalty, and downloads can be set to automatically delete 48 hours after playback so you don’t run out of SSD space. You can group one or more Strato Vs with Terra movie servers.
Kaleidescape says each signal has been meticulously upgraded for higher quality and better robustness, and the player connects to the Kaleidescape Movie Store for 4K and HD movies with lossless multi-channel and object-based audio in both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. There are over 100 Dolby Vision titles available now, with more on the way.
There are two versions of the Strato: the Strato V, which is aimed at new customers, and the Strato C, which is designed to connect to existing Kaleidescape systems. The recommended retail price for the Strato V is $3,995 (around £3,100 / AU$5,900). You can find out more on the Kaleidescape website.
