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

Scott Merryfield

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I havent had any freezing issues.

Mine has frozen exactly three times -- the last time was a few days ago when watching the UHD of Dunkirk. The first two times, the only way I could "unfreeze" the player was to pull the power plug. This last time, though, the open/close drawer button on my remote still worked, so I ejected the disc, examined it for blemishes (it was clean), and re-inserted it. I was given the option to resume playback from the same spot, which I selected, and the player froze again. I repeated the eject cycle again, started the film from the beginning, and fast forwarded to the spot where it froze. This time the disc played without further incident.

My X-800 has never froze when playing a BD, DVD, SACD or DVD-Audio -- it's only happened with UHD discs, and cannot be repeated with the same disc. Others have reported the same issue, so it is most likely a firmware problem. There have been no firmware updates for the player in awhile, so hopefully Sony has one coming soon to address the issue. Since it's happened infrequently in my case, it has been more of an annoyance than a major issue, but I still would like it fixed.
 

gadgtfreek

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Prob not a coincidence when you compare noted issues with playback

Sony and Oppo use MediaTek
Oppo 203 uses a Sony laser
 

TonyD

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Still not freezing but I am having issues with the apps.

The Youtube app rarely opens and the MLB app needs to get an update to the most recent version.
 

TonyD

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May have found a fix from someone over on AVS Forum

Quote:
Originally Posted by aflorida
Great news!
I said to myself let me try first on my 800 player:
Setup > Resetting > Initialize Personal Information
There are (2) choices to be found here:
(1) choice will RESET TO FACTORY DEFAULT SETTINGS
and (1) choice will just INITIALIZE PERSONAL INFORMATION
BEFORE I attempt the dreaded RE-setting of all my setttings BACK to FACTORY DEFAULT and re-entering all my settings (a pain!!!) I said let me choose to INITIALIZE PERSONAL INFORMATION first to see if that works to restore YOU TUBE on my 800
Because I believe all I had to do is get back to re-starting my YOU TUBE app with the code it gives you to sign on with my laptop to activate your YOU TUBE acct.
And it worked!
YOU TUBE is back on my 800 WITHOUT the dreaded re-setting of all my settings/restoring it to FACTORY DEFAULTS.
All my settings remained and YOU TUBE is back!!!
The only thing I noticed I have the "older" YOU TUBE version (I had a newer YOU TUBE version that I was just getting familiar with when this dreaded fiasco appeared this week)...now I have YOU TUBE back but the "earlier" version.
 

Matt Hough

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Yeah, Sony's internet connections went offline for about a day and a half. Even my regular Sony Blu-ray player wouldn't connect to the net. It's fine now, but it was a bizarre day or so to be sure!
 

TonyD

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I'm not sure that was the issue.

All the apps except for YT work.

Unless you're saying YT needs Sony's internets to work.

It's really too bad Sony doesn't allow some way to add apps in a way similar to what a Roku does.
 

Todd Erwin

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Mine has frozen exactly three times -- the last time was a few days ago when watching the UHD of Dunkirk. The first two times, the only way I could "unfreeze" the player was to pull the power plug. This last time, though, the open/close drawer button on my remote still worked, so I ejected the disc, examined it for blemishes (it was clean), and re-inserted it. I was given the option to resume playback from the same spot, which I selected, and the player froze again. I repeated the eject cycle again, started the film from the beginning, and fast forwarded to the spot where it froze. This time the disc played without further incident.

My X-800 has never froze when playing a BD, DVD, SACD or DVD-Audio -- it's only happened with UHD discs, and cannot be repeated with the same disc. Others have reported the same issue, so it is most likely a firmware problem. There have been no firmware updates for the player in awhile, so hopefully Sony has one coming soon to address the issue. Since it's happened infrequently in my case, it has been more of an annoyance than a major issue, but I still would like it fixed.
The unit I have in the living room froze twice over the weekend while watching The Last Jedi with friends. I had to unplug and replug the unit the first time, the second time corrected itself within a few seconds. The disc was clean. This same player froze earlier in the week while watching Netflix.

As a test, I have inserted a small USB drive in the player in my office (where I screen most of my reviews), and so far it has not locked up. There has been a theory that is is a memory buffer issue causing the lockup, hence the unplug/replug solution. I'm about ready to write a letter to the CEO of Sony Electronics America regarding this player - it's a great unit when it works, but these sporadic random lockups are a pain, and to have Sony support reps continually say it is not a known issue is utter hogwash.
 

B-ROLL

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The unit I have in the living room froze twice over the weekend while watching The Last Jedi with friends. I had to unplug and replug the unit the first time, the second time corrected itself within a few seconds. The disc was clean. This same player froze earlier in the week while watching Netflix.

As a test, I have inserted a small USB drive in the player in my office (where I screen most of my reviews), and so far it has not locked up. There has been a theory that is is a memory buffer issue causing the lockup, hence the unplug/replug solution. I'm about ready to write a letter to the CEO of Sony Electronics America regarding this player - it's a great unit when it works, but these sporadic random lockups are a pain, and to have Sony support reps continually say it is not a known issue is utter hogwash.

I automatically place a usb drive in any new Blu-Ray/UHD player and it still has had the issue ... I may have had a defective copy of Coco (I cleaned the disc and it played more of the parts that it didn't but not all ... I haven't had a chance to check it in another 4k UHD player ...
 

TonyD

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A follow up to my YouTube issue. The fix I posted worked and I have YouTube back
 

Hollywoodaholic

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Does anyone know whether I can hack or program an older Sony blu-ray player (bdp-6690) to be region free? I see some instructions on the web, but I don't know if that applies to my model. Thanks. If there's another thread for this, let me know.
 

Scott Merryfield

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There is a new firmware update for the Sony X-800:

UPDATE 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Firmware Update

This utility upgrades the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc™ Player firmware to version M36.R.0238 and provides the following benefits:

Information about this download

Benefits and improvements from the previous update:

Resolves an issue related to playing some Blu-ray titles

Previous benefits and improvements:

Extends compatibility with Ultra HD Blu-ray format (Japan and North America)
Improves the stability of the network service
Resolves possible disk playback problems
Improved color rendering when playing HDR content
Improved compatibility with OLED televisions of other brands
Supports other network services (YouTube, Spotify Connect)
Extends the availability of 4K UHD content on some TVs
User interface (background). has been modified
It supports some network services
Enhance compatibility with Ultra HD Blu-ray discs

Release Date 6/20/2018 Version M36.R.0238 File Size 152.89 MB

https://esupport.sony.com/US/p/mode...te_id=1&region_id=1&tab=download#/downloadTab
 

Scott Merryfield

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The unit I have in the living room froze twice over the weekend while watching The Last Jedi with friends. I had to unplug and replug the unit the first time, the second time corrected itself within a few seconds. The disc was clean. This same player froze earlier in the week while watching Netflix.

As a test, I have inserted a small USB drive in the player in my office (where I screen most of my reviews), and so far it has not locked up. There has been a theory that is is a memory buffer issue causing the lockup, hence the unplug/replug solution. I'm about ready to write a letter to the CEO of Sony Electronics America regarding this player - it's a great unit when it works, but these sporadic random lockups are a pain, and to have Sony support reps continually say it is not a known issue is utter hogwash.

As a follow-up to the freezing issue, there was a theory proposed on another forum that it may be a software bug related to background network activity during playback. The suggestion was to turn off most of the settings related to network activity. I did this a few months ago, and have not experienced a player freeze since then. However, since my freeze issue occurred only during playback of UHD discs (not BDs or DVDs), I cannot guarantee this is a fix. I play more BDs and DVDs than UHD discs on the player, simply because I own a lot more of those formats. I do not use the player for streaming, as I have an Apple TV 4K and a very buggy Roku Ultra for that purpose.

I turned off the following network features, all under the Setup menu:
  • Under Network Settings, turned OFF Auto Home Network Access
  • Under Network Settings, turned OFF Remote Start
  • Under System Settings, turned OFF Software Update Notification (you can still check manually)
 

TonyD

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I guess I'm the only lucky one who doesn't have a freezing player.
 

Todd Erwin

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Both units locked up again last week. The living room locked up while watching a movie on Netflix, then again a few days later while watching Ready Player One on 4K UHD Blu-ray during Family Movie Night. My office unit also locked up during Ready Player One, but at a different part of the disc. Sony still denies there are any "known" lockup issues on this player.
 

Ted Todorov

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What makes the X800 better than the X700? (if anything). I am choosing between the two, and to me the biggest advantage of the X700 is it's smaller size (15" vs 17" width) (And speaking of width, Amazon gives a larger size than Sony for the same devices - I'm figuring I should trust Sony on its own devices - should I?)

Any info/suggestions welcome - thank you!
 

Matt Hough

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Most people who prefer the X800 like its solid construction and heavier build as opposed to the lighter and more plastic feel of the X700. That has never mattered to me; performance is what I'm after, and I need Dolby Vision capability, so the X800 is out. The new model of the X800 to be released later this year will offer Dolby Vision, but unless the X700 starts acting up for me (I've had no problems at all with mine), I see no need to upgrade.
 

Todd Erwin

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What makes the X800 better than the X700? (if anything). I am choosing between the two, and to me the biggest advantage of the X700 is it's smaller size (15" vs 17" width) (And speaking of width, Amazon gives a larger size than Sony for the same devices - I'm figuring I should trust Sony on its own devices - should I?)

Any info/suggestions welcome - thank you!
The X800 was released alongside the X1000 one year prior to the X700. Sony released the X700 as a more budget-friendly UHD player, but was able to add Dolby Vision because it uses a newer and less expensive video chipset that allows for DV via a firmware update. The video chipset inside the X800 and X1000 are older and are unable to offer DV even through a firmware update (despite what some Sony reps were saying prior to the launch of their first two players). The X700 lacks DVD-Audio and bluetooth headphone capability. The yet-to-be-released X800M2 has, from what I've been reading, similar specs to the current X800, but adds Dolby Vision HDR capability.
 

Ted Todorov

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OK, so the answer is, the X700, because it has Dolby Vision, which my TV certainly does (and I have greatly enjoyed from Netflix & iTunes via my AppleTV 4K). Plus it is smaller, which is also good for me. Thank you!

P.S. do they ship with HDMI cables or do you have to buy one separately?
 

Matt Hough

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Buy separately. At least, I had to. Maybe if they sold a model at Costco or Sam's Club, they might come with a cable, but otherwise no. And be sure to get a certified premium HDMI cable specifically for UHD transmission.
 

Dave Moritz

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I am holding out for the new 800M2 that is coming out this year that will offer Dolby Vision compatibility. This will go well with my Marantz SR-8012 and be a nice match to my Sony XBR55A9F 4K OLED. While physical media is the king in my home theater and will remain the centerpoint. I did just add a 4K Apple TV 64GB streaming box to my home theater. But I can not wait to upgrade my Samsung 4K blu-ray player to the new Sony! My first blu-ray player was a Sony and my first HDTV was a Sony! I still have my Sony DVP-S9000ES dvd player. But Sony has come home to the Moritz Home Theater.

IMG_2519a.jpg

IMG_2327a.jpg
 

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