12.01.2007 — Escient has finally added DVD storage to its line of media servers. In the past, the company—which pioneered CD music streaming—stuck to legally safe ground by managing DVD collections in a disc changer, but not supporting DVD ripping.

That changed recently, when the company debuted an entirely new media management solution that allows users to rip both CDs and DVDs onto a hard drive and deliver the content (along with photos) to remote rooms of the house.

“We’re taking the leap,” says Escient general manager Bill Carson. “It builds on the core Fireball middleware developed over the last five years.” Fireball is Escient’s flagship brand of hard-drive media servers.

The new series, called Vision, is anchored by the VS-100 ($4,000) and VS-200 ($6,000) integrated servers/players. They offer 500 GB and 1 TB of storage, respectively—both with RAID 1 redundancy.

The units have four HDMI inputs for connecting compatible DVD changers, and there is a switcher built in. An HD connection to the big screen allows clients to view cover art in its full glory. “It really does make a difference to see the details on CD and DVD covers,” Carson says.

Another product in the Vision line is the VC-1 ($2,000), a networked A/V zone player that acts as a client to stream content from VS servers to remote rooms. Rounding out the line is a large capacity media server called the VX-600 ($8,000), featuring four 1 TB drives in a RAID 5 configuration and unlimited expandability. The VX-600 provides advanced early detection monitoring systems for reliable installations and subsequent diagnostics.

“It’s monitoring the system all the time,” says Carson. If a drive is on the brink of failure, the system could alert the integrator.

In addition to serving as a music and video server, the system also features a complete photo viewing service, including the ability to select transitions and to accompany slide shows with a sound track.
Out of the box, the Vision system is compatible with Rhapsody, allowing direct access to 120 online radio stations.

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VS-100 and VS-200

KEY FEATURES:

• Plays DVDs
• Plays CDs
• Rips DVDs (unencrypted)
• Rips CDs
• Automatic disc recognition
• High Definition user interface
• Dual internal 500GB or 1TB hard drives
• Reliable RAID 1 data mirroring
• Stores digital video, audio, and photos on the internal hard drive
• External Changer Support for encrypted DVDs (and CDs)
• Rhapsody Unlimited Music Service
• Video up conversion to 720p or 1080i
• Streams audio and video to Vision VC-1 networked clients
• HDMI 1.3 In/Out
• Gigabit Ethernet
• External Control via Ethernet or RS-232 adapter
• USB Mouse and Keyboard support

BACK PANEL CONNECTIONS:

• IR Input
• HDMI In (x4)
• HDMI Out
• Component Video Out
• S-Video Out
• Composite Video Out
• Digital Optical Out
• Digital Coax Out
• Analog Audio Out
• Gigabit Ethernet
• USB (x2)

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• TV or other video display device

DIMENSIONS:

• 17.375” (W) x 11.875” (D) x 4.625” (H)

AUDIO FORMATS:

• ENCODE: MP3 | FLAC | WAV
• DECODE: MP3 | FLAC | AAC | WMA | WAV Dolby Digital | DTS

VIDEO FORMATS:

• MPEG-2 | MPEG-4

SUPPORTED CHANGERS:

• Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 disc DVD/CD changers (requires Escient HDMI converter and RS-232 to USB adapter kit)

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VC-1

KEY FEATURES:

• Plays DVDs
• Plays CDs
• Rips DVDs (unencrypted) to VS and VX servers
• Rips CDs to VS and VX servers
• Automatic disc recognition
• High Definition user interface
• Accesses digital video, audio, and photos from VS and VX servers
• Rhapsody Unlimited Music Service
• Video up conversion to 720p or 1080i
• HDMI 1.3
• Gigabit Ethernet
• External Control via Ethernet or RS-232 adapter
• USB Mouse and Keyboard support

BACK PANEL CONNECTIONS:

• IR Input
• HDMI Out
• Component Video Out
• S-Video Out
• Composite Video Out
• Digital Optical Out
• Digital Coax Out
• Analog Audio Out
• Gigabit Ethernet
• USB (x2)

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• TV or other video display device

DIMENSIONS:

• 15.313” (W) x 13.25” (D) x 2.25” (H)

AUDIO FORMATS:

• ENCODE: MP3 | FLAC | WAV
• DECODE: MP3 | FLAC | AAC | WMA | WAV | Dolby Digital | DTS

VIDEO FORMATS:

• MPEG-2 | MPEG-4

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VX-600

KEY FEATURES:

• Expandable network storage for digital video, audio, and photos
• Deliver multiple simultaneous audio and video streams to VS and VC clients
• 4 Terabytes of storage
• Gigabit Ethernet
• CIFS File Sharing
• Built-in rack mount ears
• Reliable RAID 5 data redundancy
• Hot swapable drives
• Built-in web interface for remote administration and monitoring
• EEDM - Escient Early Detection Monitoring

BACK PANEL CONNECTIONS:

• Gigabit Ethernet
• USB (x2)

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• TV or other video display device
• VS-100, VS-200, or VC-1 for media playback

DIMENSIONS:

• 18.1” (W) x 16.5” (D) x 1.8” (H)