Movies, Movies Everywhere...

There's no doubt that everyone loves movies. Movies stir up emotions, inducing excitement, sadness, fear, joy, and a plethora of other feelings; bring back memories; and provide, in most instances, some form of cerebral stimulation. And now, with the increasing popularity of DVDs, everyone is starting to collect them. This raises the issue of space. Sure, it's great to have 200, 300, or 400 DVDs, but where to store all of them?

Kaleidescape, Inc., has developed just the solution. With the Kaleidescape 3U server system, you can convert all of your DVDs, as well as CDs, into digital form and store them in fail-safe disk drives-even in the event of a drive failure, no content will be lost. More importantly, while the server can store up to 1,340 DVDs or 15,000 CDs, it only takes up 5.25 inches of rack space. And if your movie collection surpasses the server's capacity, you can simply add additional cartridges.


The system includes one to two base servers (this is determined by the size of your collection); a loader (this is the device that converts your movies into digital form); and as many players as you choose, which allows you to view your movies on any television throughout the house. (And for those extremely extravagant individuals, you can also use the system in your yacht or private jet.)

After uploading all of your DVDs to the server, "it automatically documents and organizes them, and makes them instantaneously available for viewing or listening in every room of your home." In addition to cataloging your entire collection, the system also has features that are not available with other movie systems. Unlike typical competitors that only offer controls like "play," "pause," and "resume," Kaleidescape allows you to bookmark favorite scenes so that you can jump directly to them at a future time, create personalized scripts, and determine which movies each player is allowed to access, providing you the ultimate level of parental control.

Obviously, the Kaleidescape system is the must-have item for any DVD junkie, but what about those individuals who don't have noteworthy collections? Kaleidescape has thought this through as well. In addition to purchasing the server system, customers also have the option of purchasing collections of movies.

Collections you may be interested in buying include the "Academy Award Winners-Best Picture" collection, which includes all winners since 1929, and the "New York Times Best DVDs You've Never Seen, Just Missed or Almost Forgotten" collection, which includes all 470 films mentioned in the book; or you can buy a TV collection such as the "Golden Age" collection, which includes beloved television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, and The Andy Griffith Show.

So how much will this deluxe system cost you? At least $27,000. But "as the old sayings go, you get what you pay for, and quality is remembered long after price is forgotten."