Ignacy Giżyński
When we talk about cinematic quality in the comfort of your home, one brand regularly comes up in professionals' conversations – Kaleidescape. The company known for delivering reference movie players has just announced that it is entering the world of 8K.
What is Kaleidescape?
Kaleidescape is a brand well known in the home theater world for its high-quality hardware and services for movie playback. Their products are not just ordinary players – they are devices that download full versions of movies in reference quality, with lossless sound and Dolby Vision images, intended for the most demanding users. Instead of streaming, like on Netflix, everything is stored locally on a disk, which guarantees smoothness and no loss of quality.
Kaleidescape and 8K – a move towards the future?
The company announced that it is joining the 8K Association (8KA), whose members include Samsung and Hisense. This is a clear signal that it sees a future for 8K resolution, at least in the premium segment. Currently, Kaleidescape does not yet offer any 8K players or content, but joining the 8KA shows the direction in which the company wants to develop. Kaleidescape's CEO, Tayloe Stansbury, emphasizes that the growing interest in large screens and a more immersive experience means that 8K will become increasingly desirable in home theaters.
Although Kaleidescape offers a quality that most can only dream of, it must be said openly – this equipment is for a fraction of users. The prices of their devices can reach tens of thousands. These are solutions designed for people who are building full-sized home theaters and expect absolutely reference-quality image and sound.
Where is 8K today?
The 8K market is still in its infancy – very few people have such a television, and even fewer have content in this resolution. It's a classic chicken-and-egg problem: there are no 8K movies because there is no one to make them for, and there is no one because no one has an 8K TV. Sony and LG have recently pulled back from developing new models, but Samsung and Chinese brands like Konka are still trying. If Kaleidescape manages to provide content in 8K, it could be the impetus that stimulates the entire premium segment. For now, however – it is more a signal of ambition than a promise of revolution.
