What's new

Sony Introduces Exciting new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player (1 Viewer)

Colin Jacobson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2000
Messages
13,303
If you don't need Dolby Vision, the X800 is great.

My TV does feature DV and I'm hoping the Sony eventually offers it as an update.

If they don't, though, life goes on. Can't imagine DV is worth the extra $250+, honestly - especially given how few DV titles exist...
 

Matt Hough

Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
26,131
Location
Charlotte, NC
Real Name
Matt Hough
I saw Dolby Vision on one streaming program - season two of Bosch from Amazon, and while it was wonderfully effective, I didn't find it head and shoulders better than HDR10. But that was only on one program. The third season used HDR10, and to my eyes looked just as good.

Disc-based media might turn out to be more impressive than streaming applications, but I agree that there isn't (so far) $250 worth of difference to warrant an update. But I keep my eyes open and keep reading reviews and comparisons. We'll eventually get some definitive comparisons to help settle the question once and for all.
 

revgen

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
1,272
Location
Southern California
Real Name
Dan
It really comes down to who is mastering the content. Amazon's series, The Man in the High Castle looks great in HDR10.

The main argument in favor of DV is that the process is used from the beginning of principal photography all the way to the final master, making it easier for content creators to avoid any pitfalls or mistakes. I'm not involved in the industry, so I can't verify how accurate this claim is.
 

gadgtfreek

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 13, 2014
Messages
856
Real Name
Jason
Where I think DV makes more sense is the HDR is worked on each frame independently, instead of saying the movie has a high nit of X, and a low nit of Y, and applying that to the entire movie in a static form.
 

PaulGo

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
85
Location
Maryland
Real Name
Paul
Some TVs such as the current high end Sony models have circuitry that analyzes each frame of the HDR signal and adjusts the picture to display optimal HDR. It appears to give a result similar to DV.
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
My X800 has stopped recognizing UHD discs. After about a minute attempting to read a UHD disc, the player displays an error message stating it cannot read the inserted disc. I have tried several UHD discs, and get the same error each time. The Sony will still play BD and DVDs, though. The device must have either a separate laser for reading UHDs or at least some separate circuity for that disc format.

I called Sony Service, and they are sending me a new player. It will be 7-10 business days after they receive my defective unit before the new one arrives, though so I will be without UHD capabilities for a few weeks. Sony is playing for all the shipping, so it will not cost me any money. I guess it's back to my Panasonic BD player until then.
 

Matt Hough

Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
26,131
Location
Charlotte, NC
Real Name
Matt Hough
This is the kind of nightmare scenario that all of us AV home theater enthusiasts simply dread: that necessary piece of equipment that goes on the fritz for no good reason. It's happened to me mostly with receivers that just die long before they should, but a UHD player (most of us have only one if we have one at all, not like with Blu-ray where I have a couple in the stack and a couple of others not in use at the moment) would be REALLY infuriating because it promptly eliminates one entire segment of our viewing ability. I feel for you!
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
It's not that big of a deal to me, Matt -- it's more of an inconvenience. Sony is covering the shipping costs both ways and is sending me a brand new player. I couldn't ask for more from them. I only have two unwatched UHD titles (I only own 22 titles in total), and have plenty of BD's that I can watch on my old Panasonic BD player until the replacement Sony arrives. Luckily, I still had the Panny installed in my equipment rack and programmed on my Harmony universal remote, so I do not have anything to install or configure. I also have a Roku Ultra for streaming, so I do not need the Sony for that function, either.

Amazon probably experienced as much of a hassle as I did. I originally assumed the UHD of The Fifth Element that I recently purchased was defective, as it was the first disc I had issues with this week. I initiated a return the same night I had problems playing that disc, and the new one from Amazon will be here tomorrow. It wasn't until after I had sent the disc back that I discovered the issue was with my other UHD discs, as well.

Another person on AVS Forum is reporting the exact same issue with his player arose this week, too, so there may be a bad batch of them out there. He and I both purchased our players soon after they were available.
 

PaulGo

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
85
Location
Maryland
Real Name
Paul
I was on the Costco web site and according to the reviews posted purchasers of the Costco version were able to get the two free 4K discs.
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
I was on the Costco web site and according to the reviews posted purchasers of the Costco version were able to get the two free 4K discs.

That offer is available to anyone. The selection of films to pick from wasn't that great when I purchased my player from Best Buy at the end of February. I ended up selecting The Shallows and Underworld as my two freebies. I understand that Sony has added more titles to select from since then.
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
My replacement X800 is scheduled to arrive at my home tomorrow. I shipped it to Sony on 7/27, and it arrived at their location in Texas on 8/1. That was pretty fast turnaround time -- quicker than they promised. I'm looking forward to getting the player back in my system.
 

Colin Jacobson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2000
Messages
13,303
Question for owners of this player:

I have a Marantz SR7010 receiver. I run my Blu-ray player through it but currently run my 4K UHD player straight to the TV, with a separate HDMI cable to the receiver for audio.

Is this really necessary? The specs claim this:

"With 4K Ultra HD 60Hz video, 4:4:4 Pure Color sub-sampling, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 21:9 video, 3D, and BT.2020 pass-through support on every input, the SR7010 is ready for the next generation of Blu-ray disc players, set-top boxes and other 4K Ultra HD sources."

Does this really work? I prefer the convenience of the 4K player run through the receiver, but I don't want to compromise picture quality...
 

Edwin-S

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2000
Messages
10,000
I'm using 4K pass through on my Yamaha A-3060 without any apparent issues. The PQ looks pretty good from K_8500 UHD player to the TV. I did have one issue when I hooked up a PS4 Pro. A message kept popping up saying the TV was only capable of supporting 2K HDR; however, the issue was localized to the PS4 Pro. Once I changed a mode setting in the receiver, the PS4 Pro could pass 4K HDR signals to the set. The upscaled HDR image from Uncharted: The Lost Legacy looks good without any obvious picture deficiencies.

Best bet is to just try it and see which method you prefer: passthrough or direct.
 

Edwin-S

Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2000
Messages
10,000
One other thing, I should have added is is that pass through of Dolby Vision may not be supported, depending on the age of the receiver. My A3060 is last years model. Yamaha announced earlier this year that certain 2016 models of receiver would be getting a firmware update to support pass through of DV in late 2017, but I have heard or seen nothing further on whether that will, in fact, be the case.
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
Similar to Edwin, I am running my Sony UHD player through my Denon X3300 with no issues. The Denon will not pass Dolby Vision until it receives a promised firmware update, but that does not matter with this Sony model anyway, since the player doesn't support DV. 4K video and HDR-10 work fine.

Just make sure you have certified high speed HDMI cables both to the player and the 4K display. Monoprice sells them at a very low price.
 

Colin Jacobson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2000
Messages
13,303
Similar to Edwin, I am running my Sony UHD player through my Denon X3300 with no issues. The Denon will not pass Dolby Vision until it receives a promised firmware update, but that does not matter with this Sony model anyway, since the player doesn't support DV. 4K video and HDR-10 work fine.

Just make sure you have certified high speed HDMI cables both to the player and the 4K display. Monoprice sells them at a very low price.

I do - I bought some specifically for my 4K player!

Thanks for the advice from you and Edwin, I guess I'll run things through the receiver - and blame you two if I have a problem! :D
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
According to this article, Sony has confirmed that the X-800 will not be getting a firmware update for Dolby Vision. It's not that big of a deal for me. I will probably eventually upgrade the player once more affordable options are available and move the X-800 to our bedroom to replace the BD player in there -- the very first BD player I bought, an early generation Sony that is slow to load discs and has no WiFi capability for firmware updates (not that any updates have been issued for the player in a long time).

I just got my first UHD title with Dolby Vision -- The Cabin in the Woods -- and my Denon X3300 AVR has yet to receive its promised DV firmware update -- Denon just recently began rolling out the updates to their 2016 models. So I am in no hurry to have DV support on a UHD player anyway.
 

Robert Crawford

Crawdaddy
Moderator
Patron
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 9, 1998
Messages
67,472
Location
Michigan
Real Name
Robert
According to this article, Sony has confirmed that the X-800 will not be getting a firmware update for Dolby Vision. It's not that big of a deal for me. I will probably eventually upgrade the player once more affordable options are available and move the X-800 to our bedroom to replace the BD player in there -- the very first BD player I bought, an early generation Sony that is slow to load discs and has no WiFi capability for firmware updates (not that any updates have been issued for the player in a long time).
I heard there were people like you, but I didn't know they posted on this forum on a daily basis.;)
 

Scott Merryfield

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 16, 1998
Messages
18,848
Location
Mich. & S. Carolina
Real Name
Scott Merryfield
I heard there were people like you, but I didn't know they posted on this forum on a daily basis.;)
Lol. Nothing that interesting. My wife will occasionally watch discs of material I don't like in our bedroom. The setup is pretty basic -- a 37 inch display, Comcast cable box, Roku and Sony BD player. No external speakers -- audio from the 720p Vizio built-in speakers.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,710
Messages
5,121,133
Members
144,146
Latest member
SaladinNagasawa
Recent bookmarks
0
Top