"Yes, sorry to confirm the news, but K closed their doors today and laid off all workers," wrote Cinelife, noted as a Kaleidescape dealer, on a public forum.
The
poster continued: "Wanted to add that K's leaders have not given up, there is a strong desire to see it recover, and some are working tirelessly to find a buyer or investor that can recognize the value K brings to home entertainment. We'll see!"
The quiet closing of Kaleidescape this past weekend is another weary chapter in the company's history following a 10-year battle with the DVD Copy Control Association over the legality of its DVD-ripping movie server.
Though the two factions settled two years ago, with Kaleidescape agreeing to remove the DVD-ripping capability from its servers, the company had been trying to find safe footing within the movie server channel — including the creation of a high quality movie download server as well as a DVD vault that holds 320 discs for on-demand viewing. Both product offerings stood out for being staggeringly expensive, especially the Kaleidescape Disc Server, which was prices at $14,000 when it launched.
In a recent
interview, company CEO Cheena Srinivasan explained Kaleidescape ran out of funding and is currently looking for a buyer. The fate of its current roster of products has not been disclosed.
Kaleidescape