Sony Blu-ray megachanger
I didn’t manage to get any pictures of the new Sony Blu-ray Disc mega-changer at CEDIA Expo, but Engadget has a series of photographs.
The changer holds and catalogs up to 400 movies, which makes this a much more economical way to store Blu-ray movies than using a hard drive based server. Escient and Control4 are already working with Sony to control this changer with their systems. Both of these companies have used the previous Sony 400-disc DVD changer (now discontinued). Escient’s Vision system will manage up to four of these changers in one on-screen interface, along side iPod music, internet radio, Rhapsody and music loaded on your PC.
Aside from holding a butt-load of movies, it features RS-232 control, BD-Live capabilities, and can even be used to prop a door open in a jam. It looks like it will also be in the ES line, giving it a high-quality build and a 5-year warranty. It should be available in spring 2009.
To store 400 dual-layer Blu-ray movies on hard drives, you would need approximately 16,000GB of storage. It might actually make more sense to use a changer than a server. However, you won’t have the elegance or ease of distribution as you would have with a Kaleidescape-type system.
