Video on Demand
With an every busier lifestyle, we can no longer fit our lives around our favourite programming. For most, Sky+ or using a HDD recorder was the solution, but this would rely on a greater level of organisation and knowing that the program of choice was on. Now when someone at work, the gym or nursery says “did you watch…” we now have the option of catching it via one of the many Video on Demand Services and not having to patiently wait for a repeat.
Paid for VoD services such as Netflix (with 48 million global subscribers) and LoveFilm (now owned by Amazon) are gaining greater popularity and are your best bet to reduce you exposure to time wasting adverts. They have a wide range of movies and TV series and can be streamed to your TV, laptop and tablet. Both services are £5.99 each a month, but allow unlimited streaming to multiple devices. Each provider have slightly differing content, so I would recommend avid movie and series watchers subscribing to both if you can afford it.
Netflix are now offering 4K aka UltraHD streaming compatible with the latest TVs from Samsung. Season 2 of the highly acclaimed series House of Cards can be now seen in 4K. This service does need a reliable fibre broadband connection, so if you live in the sticks you may need to wait a while… See this BBC interview with CEO of netflix.
The latest movie releases can be rented or bought from iTunes to be played on your Apple TV. The films are similar to that of a Bluray, but with the convenience of being a click away.
In order for the above VoD services to reliably stream video and surround sound to your homes it has to undergo high levels of compression, that ultimately reduces the quality. While this reduction in quality is likely to go unnoticed on your kitchen, bedroom, and the smaller lounge TV’s, for those fortunate enough to own a dedicated home cinema room, the video or audio quality does not compare to a Bluray. When on a larger 65inch+ LED/LCD screen or a projector based home cinema, you will be able to notice digital artifacts (blockiness in fast action or scences containing fire, water or trees), plus the detail in darker scenes will lose clarity.
Kaliedescape known for their uncompressed audio, DVD and Bluray storage system enabling the highest quality streaming to every TV in the house. They now offer a movie download service. As these are 1:1 copied Blurays and can be up to 50GB, we recommend a good internet connection, although can be downloaded overnight for those without the luxury of fibre broadband. If you are serious about movies and have a dedicated cinema, then this is the option for you. See what bluray films can be currently download from the Kaleidescape Store here.
Finite Solutions now integrate the most appropriate VoD services all new home cinema and multiroom video systems.
