Kaleidescape is in the PUC; however, there is a very reasonably priced alternative: the Tvix 6500A. This is also in the PUC and is a fraction of the cost.

I guess the difference is, with Kaleidescape you stay legal, with Tvix and other's you'r not really.

Not that this seem to matter much these days .....

I would look at MacMini since there is an B&O STB and then take a look at Plex or Boxee. Noted both are in some sort of development stage but I use Boxee for about a year now on my ATV and for basic video watching it works OK.

JK

I especially like the way the Kaleidescape rips DVD's en CD's "for you"....

Any other device who can do that also?

handbrake.fr will do the DVD on a mac, for pc as well .... boxee and plex will automatically find metadata for you ... for CDs I use Itunes ...

If you mean "is there a box that can hold my digital media?" the answer is Yes. There are many alternatives. 

If you mean "is there an alternative that provides anything close to the performance and ease of use of the Kaleidescape at any price-point?" the answer is No. There is nothing on the market quite like it. 

Out of the many products I've installed at home, my wife will only use the BeoSound 5 and the Kaleidescape. The user interface, flexibility, etc. is like nothing else in that it doesn't feel like you're effing with an uncooperative computer. That's been the charm of the BeoSound 5 from what I've seen. Most other boxes take a lot of fidgeting on a computer of some sort (somebody mentioned Handbrake which made me chuckle. I think I'd rather sit in bumper to bumper traffic!). They are very labor intensive (ripping, finding album covers, sticking to draconian naming conventions, skirting copyright laws, dragging, dropping, mapping drives, contemplating offing yourself, drinking to excess), and all that just to get a pale imitation of what K-scape does automatically. 

If the Kaleidescape is out of your price-range, I personally like the Mac Mini as an stb (but don't expect the Mrs. to be on board!). I wish there was a more elegant program than Boxee or XBMC, but both are serviceable and then you can access online services like Netflix, Hulu, etc. It also has a disc drive to boot. 

Still, though. If you've got the resources, the K-scape is the Rolls Royce of media servers. You won't regret it!

Agree that Kaleidescape is the Rolls Royce. 

For me the handbrake solution works OK and I am mr lazy when it comes to maintaining my library with digital content.  I pop in the DVD, pick my file name and import. 98% of the times that works OK. I then copy the file to my NAS where Boxee sees it.

Few seconds later it will show up with cover art and description.

Note that Boxee will introduce a reworked Beta version at CES in January. 

The draconian file name rules apply only to TV episodes.  In fact I watch mine within boxee but do not use the auto recognition.

Big difference is, Kaleidescape will import the entire DVD with all subtitles and extras. Handbrake extracts typically only the main feature and compresses the file based on your preference.

With a larger budget, I would certainly consider Kaleidescape but with current pricing it's way out of my league.

I believe Apple TV is a lost cause at this point, undersized, struggles with Hulu and Netflix on demand doesn't work at all on it.

Personally I don't understand the hype around the Tvix player .... Hacked Apple TV or if budget allows the Mac Mini gives you so much more.

Actually, a recent appellate court ruling has hit a huge blow at Kaleidescape's exception of legality.

 I agree with Trip, Kaleidescape is the only solution that works like an A/V devices and not a computer. And operation is bullet proofed.

All other solution need serious knowledge to get it up an running, always a computer is involved. 

The downside with Kaleidescape is the current legal sitation (for more information look at http://www.kscapeowners.com/forums/index.php ) and if HD video will ever work (e.g. BluRay).

If you go for the mini system please have in mind that it works with 2.5 inch disks with limited capacity.

Thank you all for the response!

I really am looking for the "low labour intensive" solution of the Kaleidescape.

Price compared with a BS5 isn't really that much!

Convincing the wife we need this product wil be the biggest challenge.....