For just about two decades Kaledeiscape has set the bar for home theater home entertainment with releases like its impressive Terra Prime media server, and now–the subject of today’s review–its Strato V player.
Once upon a time the product line lived in the domain of affluent, well-heeled consumers. With the release of its new Strato V player, the Calif.-based manufacturer is bringing the same level of performance that has built its reputation as go-to source material provider to a new wider level of consumers.
Priced at $3,995 or about the same prices as an audiophile or videophile disc player, the compact home entertainment solution provides the same level of picture quality and audio immersiveness that are the hallmarks of the company’s more expensive and in-demand systems.
Sending me a Strato V to try for myself for a review, I was able to hook up the component in my system–including my network–in minutes. Later I was able to add a companion Terra Server just as quickly to enjoy uncompromising performance.
The Strato V is a standalone player that stores a small library of uncompressed 4K movies with HDR and immersive audio options. The player’s storage can be expanded upon with the addition of a Kaleidescape Terra Server, and the half RU component is compatible with third-party control systems to support its integration into modern smart home systems.
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CE Pro Features
The Strato V works as a standalone unit or as part of a larger system
Like other Kaleidescape products, the Strato V delivers lossless audio, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
The Strato V produces uncompressed 4K in SDR, as well as HDR10 and Dolby Vision in bitrates as high as 100Mbps with 60fps
Kaldeidescape states the Strato V integrates into third-party control systems
The Strato V fits in a half RU space and two players fit in 1RU spaces
MSRP is $3,995
As I had just noted at the start of this review, setup of the Strato V and then the addition of a Terra Server couldn’t be any easier.
Starting with the Strato V unit, once I had unboxed the player all I needed to do was connect an HDMI cable to my Integra AVR, I then connected a Cat-6 cable from my Access Networks system to the player, and I finished the connections by plugging the Strato V into a TRENDnet PDU. With those connections completed the gear was integrated into my system that also includes a Digital Projection E-Vision projector, a Screen Innovations screen, and speakers from GoldenEar and Aerial Acoustics.
Finishing the setup, I downloaded the Kaleidescape app onto my iPhone 15 and all I needed to do was “discover” the system and that was the entire installation. Later, when I added a companion Terra Server, the setup process was somewhat similar.
After I had unboxed the Terra Server, I ran a Cat-6 cable from my network to the server and I plugged the server into the PDU. I then went to the Strato V’s webpage and scrolled down the page about halfway to find, “Add a Terra Movie Server.” Clicking the button, a new dialog box pops up asking if you would like to add a component. Clicking “yes,” that pretty much wrapped up the addition of the server. Confirming that I successfully added the server, I looked at my network and typed in the server’s IP address and I was able to see the server and all the movies that are currently stored on the product.
I will add for transparency, my first attempt to add the server failed due to a bad Ethernet cable. Once I had replaced the cable the server just like the Strato V took just a few minutes to setup. Walking me through the situation I was able to speak with Andre Floyd who took me step-by-step through the troubleshooting process to quickly address the problem.
One more thing I would like to point out that Kaleidescape is doing to help make the Strato V as turnkey as possible, the company is stepping up to include THX certified HDMI cables to take the inclusion of OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cables up a notch.
Kaleidescape’s Strato V movie player ships with a THX Interconnect 2-meter high cable designed in partnership with Pixelgen. The THX Interconnect HDMI 2.1b cables are built to deliver 100% uncompressed high-speed signals up to 8K-10K of up to 48Gbps. Integrators interested in longer lengths of the THX Interconnect cables the cables range in size from 0.5 meters (1.64 ft) up to 15 meters (49.2 ft). For sizes starting at 7.6 meters and longer, the cables utilize PXLGLASS Hybrid Fiber/Copper technology to add robustness and flexibility. Retail prices range from $39 to $399.
It’s no secret that I think Kaleidescape’s product line is the best source component solution to hit the home entertainment market. One of the things I was looking to see during this review was if the Strato V could perform at the same level as the company’s traditional systems.
To answer that question let me state it simply—Yes. I could discern no difference between the new standalone Kaleidescape product and the company’s traditional systems. Watching the latest Tom Cruise movie on the Strato V, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One I did not notice any sort of compression artifacts, processing issues, lags or anything that would indicate that video performance was compromised. The same was true with audio; I could not tell the audio sounded anything less than cinema quality.
According to Kaleidescape, the Strato V utilizes improved processing technologies when compared to its previous generation of standalone player solutions. From my experience with the unit, I can’t tell any differences, and with the addition of a Terra Server the look and user experience are identical to the company’s traditional systems.
Watching content such as Gladiator, 300, and the first John Wick movie, I was seeing these movies in ways I have never experienced before. Powering the audio playback of Gladiator, even though the movie plays with a DTS-HD soundtrack, the audio experience was more immersive. The Battle of Carthage chapter with the action of the fight swirling around Russell Crowe and company was more involving than I remember hearing it before. For the first time I was able to see how the production of 300 was designed to mimic the look of the Frank Miller graphic novels, which inspired the movie. I think this was due to the HDR capabilities the Strato V and Terra Server delivers. Lastly, as a martial arts fan the image clarity, HDR capabilities and system processing allowed me to clearly see John Wick execute Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) mount techniques, Judo throws, and Aikido throws. The action of the John Wick movies is fast and difficult to keep up with but, I was able to keep pace with the Kaleidescape components.
The Strato V like Kaleidescape’s other products provides access to the Kaleidescape Store. I was able to quickly access and download the just available Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes movie using the app. This is the first time I’ve tried downloading from the app and using it to add content to the Terra Server was just as easy as accessing the store from my web browser. The 2 hour, 24-minute movie in 4K with HDR10 and Dolby Atmos did not take long to download, and the entire process was arguably easier than using a browser because once I ordered the movie, I set my phone aside and started to get back to work without thinking about it.
With the release of the Strato V and the flexibility the product offers with Terra Server storage options provides more luxury homeowners and AV enthusiasts a more affordable means to get into Kaleidescape’s high-performance solutions. This wider accessibility can’t help but to fuel increased growth into higher performing home theater and multimedia systems, and I’ll add that I think once consumers who are conditioned by the limitations of streaming media will be pleasantly surprised just how much of a difference Kaleidescape can make to their entertainment experiences.
CE Pro and Cons
Pros
Like other Kaleidescape systems, the Strato V delivers the highest levels of performance available in the home AV market
The price point allows homeowners considering a high-end disc player to step into the Kaleidescape ecosystem
In addition to its small footprint, the Strato V enables homeowners to use the unit as a standalone solution and then later add more storage via a Terra Server
Cons
This isn’t a “con,” but it is recommended that homeowners have a network capable of supporting true, high-speed downloads to help maximize a Kaleidescape system including the ability to download content
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