Is there NO 4K player that doesn’t have freezing issues?! (2 Viewers)

[English Invader]

My experience is that freezing issues are usually down to the disc rather than the player. I've only been using BR for a couple of years and I've had some of them freeze up on me but I just returned them to the store for a replacement and everything was fine (they don't seem to be any more failure-prone than DVDs). I used HD-DVD for a while with the XBox 360 and the WB discs were a nightmare but I had no problems with discs from other studios.

If the player starts freezing up a lot and starts failing to pick up the occasional disc, that usually means the player is on the way out but I wouldn't suspect the player until then.

My SO has a 4K player (compact Panasonic model) and we haven't had a single disc freeze up in over a year of usage and I'm always putting films on round there (she only has a few 4K discs though - she isn't a HT enthusiast; it was just time to upgrade her TV from a 14" CRT portable and it made sense for her to go 4K).

 

[Jim517]

There are many 1080p players that have freezing issues also.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I own a Panasonic DP-UB9000 and have not had the unit freeze!

 

[Matt Hough]

My inexpensive Philips players (both the 7501 and the 7502) have never had a freeze. I wipe down every disc before I insert it, and I've never had a problem.

 

[cinemel1]

My inexpensive Philips players (both the 7501 and the 7502) have never had a freeze. I wipe down every disc before I insert it, and I've never had a problem.

Oppo-203 has not freezed on me yet. Disappointed that the company is no longer making players.

 

[Doug Pyle]

My two Oppos, including UDP 205, never have frozen, except when it was the disk's fault. And this has been very rare.

Wiping the disk always solved it. I confirmed it was the disk as it froze in exactly the same frame repeatedly, until I cleaned the disk.

Since it is read by basically a beam of light, a dirty disk will cause problems. In that event I use filtered water and microfiber cloth, wiping gently from the center of disk outward to the rim. In the very few instances this was necessary, the dust or smear on the disk was visible and was removed by cleaning. And then played flawlessly.

I don't consider this a player issue, unless it occurs with clean disks. Never experienced that. Only with dirty disks.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Same for my Sony X700 -- only freezes when disc is "dirty" or has some other visible flaw (like scratch).. although it doesn't take much at all.

4K disc playback is definitely more susceptible than regular BDs... plus they do seem at least somewhat more likely to come packaged w/ some dirt/film than regular BDs. I always doublecheck my 4K discs before playback as some suggested, but don't usually bother w/ BDs.

_Man_

 

[English Invader]

My God! Are we returning to the LP days? Should we also hit them with an anti-static gun and use that little clear plastic tone arm with the brush to follow the disc on the side opposite the laser to clean them?

In some ways, records are a lot more durable than disc media. A record might have the odd pop or skip but it'll take a lot of damage before it's unplayable. If a CD/DVD/BR/UHD or whatever gets a tiny scratch in the wrong place, it's ruined.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

In some ways, records are a lot more durable than disc media. A record might have the odd pop or skip but it'll take a lot of damage before it's unplayable. If a CD/DVD/BR/UHD or whatever gets a tiny scratch in the wrong place, it's ruined.

That's mainly because analog formats (a stylus) can be more forgiving than a digital one. That whole thing scared me away from DVD-R for quite awhile.

 

[gerber]

I have an Oppo UDP-205 and it has only frozen when it was the disc. However, The last time this happened I turned off the power and turned it back on, as I would normally. This time my 205 will not get past the HELLO message and does not display. My TV indicates that the 205 is powered on but there is no other indication. When first powered up, the disc can eject in and out, but after a short time there is no response and everything is frozen. The power can be turned off at this point and nothing more. I have tried disconnection everything and leaving it unplugged overnight and just trying to power up the next day without connections, but still, nothing. Any ideas? Oppo service is non existent at this point. At least here in Japan.

 

[John Sparks]

I have a Sammy 8500K and a Panny 420, both 4Kers and never a skipping problem, other than the a problem with the disc.

 

[Malcolm R]

I've been running the Panasonic 420 for more than two months now and never had an issue until today with Warner Archive's blu-ray of Romance on the High Seas. It froze up at two different points for a few seconds. I'm guessing this is the disc though it was a brand new title out of the shrink wrap, as the player has had no other issues over the past two months. I looked it over, but didn't see anything on the disc surface.

 

[David Norman]

I've been running the Panasonic 420 for more than two months now and never had an issue until today with Warner Archive's blu-ray of Romance on the High Seas. It froze up at two different points for a few seconds. I'm guessing this is the disc though it was a brand new title out of the shrink wrap, as the player has had no other issues over the past two months. I looked it over, but didn't see anything on the disc surface.

If you haven't already -- I'd still wash it/clean it and try again. I've had too many discs that looked clean with issues that the issues went away after a wet clean/dry. The offgassing from those plastic cases seems to be an issue even from rather new discs.

 

[usrunnr]

Have the Sony x800 and am well aware of the freezing issue history but after going through dozens and dozens of 4K discs, regular blu rays and dvd I thought the problem was over because it hadn’t happened in a long time.
But just now watching the 4K Godzilla King of the Monsters disc the player completely locked up and had to be unplugged to get it to work again. Is there no player that doesn’t have some history of freezing issues?

This usually happens when you have company and are trying to show off your setup or a particular movie.

 

[John Sparks]

I take that back. On another site a person had their 420 freeze up trying to watch a 4K video from YouTube. I tied it and it froze it up, didn't freeze the 8500 though.

 

[jcroy]

This usually happens when you have company and are trying to show off your setup or a particular movie.

Murphy's Law in action.

 

[Brian W.]

I just got the Sony UBP x700 and straight out of the box it wouldn't play any disc from the 4K Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection without freezing up later in the movie. "Psycho" especially. Tried wiping the discs down, tried turning off the update options that people have recommended... nothing helped. Played standard Blu-Rays and DVDs beautifully. It's going back.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I just got the Sony UBP x700 and straight out of the box it wouldn't play any disc from the 4K Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection without freezing up later in the movie. "Psycho" especially. Tried wiping the discs down, tried turning off the update options that people have recommended... nothing helped. Played standard Blu-Rays and DVDs beautifully. It's going back.

Exchange it for either the Panasonic UB150 or UB420, or the Sony UBP-X800M2.

 

[Brian W.]

Exchange it for either the Panasonic UB150 or UB420, or the Sony UBP-X800M2.

Yeah, the only problem with the Panasonic is it doesn't have Dolby Vision.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yeah, the only problem with the Panasonic is it doesn't have Dolby Vision.

You need to step up to the UB820 for Dolby Vision.