Does this means you have bought it or rented it for that price? Available for re viewing? Are all the seasons episodes available in your price so you can watch even the unaired ones? Kaleidoscape is a wonderful thing if you have the means, but what happens 5 years from now when the company closes down? Are your films and TV still available to watch? Can you back up those hard discs in case of failure? ideally, they would give you simple files in a standard form that could be played on any computer as well. The catch would be a hidden file in each video with your identity on it incase you tried to somehow share it. I would even consider the system if that was the case. (if I had the means, though) A lottery fantasy as the most recent one is beyond a billion big ones. Order up a system from them with multiple huge pieces of storage, then have them fill in every movie and Tv show I could find that I wanted on their site. Can you imagine the video collection then? Some dream of post lotto wins, to call David to help them find a new house, travel, fancy cars. I have AV dreams. Say, editors, there is a good idea. Maybe some of your people could come up with fantasies of home AV systems after a huge money windfall. S&V magazine did that back in an issue in the 90s, time to do it again!
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Yellowstone – Season 5
Yellowstone is back for its fifth season and the issues facing the Dutton family couldn’t be more intense. The patriarch of the family, John (Kevin Costner), has just been elected governor of Montana and his number one priority is ensuring the survival of his ranch. This determination is going to land him in some hot water with constituents and before he knows it, he’s embroiled in a political scandal initiated by a vindictive adversary.
John’s family problems aren’t going away either. His daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) is doing her best to keep the family ranch alive as the modern world encroaches on their ability to keep the operation in the black, but she isn’t one to go down without a fight. Kayce (Luke Grimes), John’s youngest, has family struggles of his own and while he has a lot of loyalty to his father, he has to protect his wife and son. Finally, there’s Jamie (Wes Bentley), the black sheep of the family who has his own aspirations and doesn’t care who he hurts if he gets what he wants.
I didn’t become a fan of the Yellowstone until it had already been on cable for three seasons. I heard nothing but good things about it so I ended up binge-watching those missed seasons on Peacock and quickly discovered why the show is so popular. Now in its fifth season, the show’s popularity has never been higher. The season premiere garnered 12.1 million same-day viewers, making it the No. 1 scripted show on TV, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In fact, the show is so popular that it spawned the prequel series 1883, which streams on Paramount+ and is available on Blu-ray and DVD. Two additional spinoffs are in works: 6666, about a cattle ranch in Texas during the same time period as Yellowstone, and another prequel series, 1923, starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
My Yellowstone journey started with streaming the show on Peacock and, once caught up, I also watched it on cable via the Paramount Network. Neither of those presentations were very good. While the cable feed was an improvement over streaming, banding was still a major issue and the video looked overly compressed. When I heard that Kaleidescape was launching a Season Pass option for current shows, I couldn’t wait to watch Yellowstone in the less compressed format.
The Kaleidescape store gives you two options: UHD for $44.99 or standard HD for $34.99. I opted for UHD to ensure the highest possible quality. Turns out the show is shot on 3.2K Arri Alexa cameras and finished with a 2K digital intermediate, so the 4K version is an upconversion, meaning I could have saved myself $10. Regardless, the show looks fantastic, especially compared with the overly compressed cable and streaming versions. The image is crystal clear and features razor-sharp details in the clothing, facial textures, and beautiful Montana landscapes. Color saturation is excellent with vivid yet accurate primaries, and the black levels are deep and inky.
Audio is presented with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that does a good job of conveying the story, though it has some flaws. At times, dialogue can sound a tad strained and compressed, which isn’t unusual for a TV show. Since I have the series saved on my TiVo, I was able to do a quick comparison with the Dolby Digital version. I heard the same flaws so the issue leads back to how the show was originally captured. Granted, 99% of the time this isn’t a problem, but it does crop-up throughout various episodes and I found it a bit distracting. Another minor quibble is the lack of dynamics in the concert scene during Episode 6, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow and You.”
There are no Kaleidescape Scenes or Supplemental features with the Season Pass, but that’s not a big surprise. The show downloads to your Kaleidescape server as soon as it’s available from Paramount, so the Kaleidescape team has no time to pick out the best scenes and supplemental features have yet to be created for the Blu-ray release, which is still many months away.
Show creator Taylor Sheridan started in Hollywood as an actor but found his true calling as a writer/director with such hits a Sicario, Hell or High Water, and my personal favorite, Wind River, as well as many others. Yellowstone is one of his best and it’s easy to see why the show has become more and more popular with each passing season. If you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Fans will love Kaleidescape’s Season Pass option and I’m sure I’ll be using it again for future offerings.
Studio: Paramount
Aspect Ratio: 2.00:1
Download Size: 210.7GB (4K UHD)
HDR Format: None
Audio Format: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Length: 13 Hours, 41 mins
Directors: Stephen Kay, Guy Ferland, Christina Voros, Taylor Sheridan
Starring: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Houser
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COMMENTS
This system isn't for everyone and isn't meant to be, so complaining about the price doesn't serve any purpose.
Oh, I am not complaining about the price. I fully understand that the companies marketing strategy is aimed at the 1%. Though I find that short sighted, it is their company. My qualms still lay with the eventual hard drive implosion. They all go sooner or later and to not be able to back them up for that eventuality seems like a poor buy in my opinion. Perhaps if the company with the downloads also gave you a Bluray as well.There are options for us peasants to do something similar, though none have the grandeur of the fine interface that the K System employs. Still, I suggest again. It is time to see what the fine minds where you call home to put some thought into a cost no object AV dream system for me to purchase after my impending big 1.4 billion dollar win.
Sounds good my friend. I have been an avid reader of your magazine and the ones before it that preceded it. Have always respected your opinions (mostly!) Please don't use the I Word (IF), thats bad karma. You need to use the word when. Tonights the night! (as Rod Stewert would say)
Sorry to say, my numbers didn't come in. Who'da thought, at 300 Million to one, how could I possibly lose. What can i said, sometimes probability bites ya in the backside when you least expect it. I was looking forward to us getting to know one another as I paid you a small kings ransom for your expert advice. Now all I will be able to do is keep dreaming. You will consider my suggestion, right? Who knows, maybe someone luckier than I is reading this now. We can only hope that the big winner is an avid S&V reader and not only will hire you and your staff, but allow a whole series of articles with lots of photos for the rest of us to gawk at. Maybe you should do an article for the print magazine offering the Maine winner suggesions to get their attention. I think we all might appreciate what you guys consider to be a cost no object end all to beat all set up.
While it may not match the pristine quality of 4K Blu-ray discs, it provides a convenient and high-quality alternative to physical media. Moreover, the extensive movie library, personalized collections, and user-friendly interface make the Kaleidescape system a compelling choice for movie enthusiasts. If you're looking for a game that will test your reflexes and push your limits, look no further than Tunnel Rush. With its challenging gameplay and relentless speed, this game is not for the faint of heart.
When the tables turn and you find yourself on the offensive, unleash a series of house of hazards on your unsuspecting housemates.
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