Sony Unveils 'World's First' Dolby Vision Capable UHD BD Player and 4K HDR OBA Receiver (1 Viewer)

[Martin Dew]

Martin Dew

Sony Unveils Dolby Vision Capable UHD BD Player and 4K HDR OBA Receiver

Sony Electonics continues its announcements today to include further CES showstoppers in the form of the company's first 4K Dolby Vision capable UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700, and the 4K HDR 7.2 channel receiver, the STR-DH790.

The UBP-X700 player will support Dolby Vision and HDR10 (both via firmware update in the summer of 2018) to deliver what the company claims will be 'ground-breaking detail, color and brightness', and will offer 4K streaming services from content providers, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. The UBP-X700 will also support video and music formats, such as MP4, DSD, FLAC, and others.

Meanwhile, the STR-DH790 receiver will be capable of passing through Dolby Vision and HDR10 'without any loss'. The 7.2 channel receiver will also support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X in a 5.1.2 setup, adding immersive audio thrills to the menu.

[caption id="attachment_10003" align="alignnone" width="300"]

The Sony STR-DH790 completely envelops the audience in sound with Dolby Atmos® and DTS:X™ support. (PRNewsfoto/Sony Electronics)[/caption]

Sony has been taking some strides to enhancing the lifestyle credentials of its products, in terms of both design and ergonomics, and these two additions are expected to be no exception. The UBP-X700 and STR-DH790 will sport 'thinner and more compact' bodies 'that will seamlessly fit into any home'. Designed with 'the average living room in mind', the new receiver will include the Advanced D.C.A.C. (Digital Cinema Auto Calibration) speaker setup system. Like the embedded Audyssey systems of competitors' models, a plug-in microphone is used in conjunction with a series of test tones to achieve appropriate speaker levels, based on their placement and the room's attendant acoustical properties.

The UBP-X700 will be available later this month, while the STR-DH790 should hit store shelves in the spring, and all products in the new line (which includes the STR-DH790, STR-DH590 and STR-DH190 receivers), can be ordered from Sony authorized retailers, as well as Amazon and Best Buy. Pricing on all units is yet to be announced.

If you're going to CES, Sony Electronics can be found on Booth #17300, and more information on the company's show offerings can be accessed at www.sony.com/ces. Please let us know here on the forum if you get a chance to stop by the Sony exhibits - the Dolby Vision performance will hopefully be something to whet appetites.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sony Electonics continues its announcements today to include further CES showstoppers in the form of the world's first 4K Dolby Vision capable UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700, and the 4K HDR 7.2 channel receiver, the STR-DH790.

It's not the world's first UHD player with Dolby Vision. Oppo's had Dolby Vision support for many months.

Supposedly this player will not have DV support upon release, but will get it via a future firmware update. At this point in the product cycle, that's pretty lame, IMO. I wouldn't buy one until the firmware is actually released and has been in the field for awhile to vet out the bugs.

Edit: According to the full specs, this new model supports SACD, but there is no mention of DVD-Audio.

 

[dpippel]

Yep, that's some pure BS from Sony's marketing department.

 

[Martin Dew]

Yes, agreed, and also why I put 'world's first' in quotes. You're quite right, Scott, that the DV update is via firmware - I should add that...

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's not the world's first UHD player with Dolby Vision. Oppo's had Dolby Vision support for many months.

Supposedly this player will not have DV support upon release, but will get it via a future firmware update. At this point in the product cycle, that's pretty lame, IMO. I wouldn't buy one until the firmware is actually released and has been in the field for awhile to vet out the bugs.

Edit: According to the full specs, this new model supports SACD, but there is no mention of DVD-Audio.

At least my Oppo 203 supports Dolby Vision.

 

[Todd Erwin]

And still no mention of Vudu in 4k.... What is with this pissing war between Vudu and Sony?

I so wish I could have made it to CES this year, because that is something I would discuss in their booth.

 

[Todd Erwin]

It's not the world's first UHD player with Dolby Vision. Oppo's had Dolby Vision support for many months.

Supposedly this player will not have DV support upon release, but will get it via a future firmware update. At this point in the product cycle, that's pretty lame, IMO. I wouldn't buy one until the firmware is actually released and has been in the field for awhile to vet out the bugs.

Edit: According to the full specs, this new model supports SACD, but there is no mention of DVD-Audio.

At least it supports 3D, which the most recent player from Samsung doesn't.

 

[Kyrsten Brad]

Brad here. I was a little excited to see this release but I think I'll stick to my incoming Oppo. Which I'll order up once our move is complete later this month.

Plus one more month's worth of points on my CC and I can buy it for free.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

At least my Oppo 203 supports Dolby Vision.

I may save up my Amazon credit card points during 2018 and apply them late in the year towards an Oppo, as well. We'll see if any other purchase attracts my gaze between now and then.

I would still want to keep my old Oppo 980H DVD player in the same rack. I think Oppo supports multiple IR remote codes. My other option would be the new Panasonic player, but it lacks SACD and DVD-Audio support and will not have Dolby Vision upon initial release, but instead added later via a firmware update (just like the Sony). Panasonic does support multiple IR remote codes with its players, so I could leave my exiting Panny BD player in the same rack, as well. Sony players do not support multiple IR codes.

In case anyone wonders why I keep an old BD and DVD player in my main equipment rack, I usually have current TV shows we are watching loaded in them and use the UHD player for movies of all formats that we watch. That way I do not need to swap out discs as much. Right now the Oppo DVD player has a Married... With Children disc loaded, while the Panny BD player has a Firefly disc. I have the space in the rack, and already own the players, so why not use them?

 

[Alberto_D]

Yes, agreed, and also why I put 'world's first' in quotes. You're quite right, Scott, that the DV update is via firmware - I should add that...

Mr Martin, may I ask 1minute of your wisdom?

Despite the HDTV and and 4K technologies, and the HDR, I notice a strange thing in terms of image contrast, about of pleasant feeling of lustrous image, and not thing like contrast ratio itself.

Do you remamber when DVD arrive, got more popular, and the good editions started with new transfer in progressive scans, from good hi end telecine machines, better color correction than the usual TV tapes of movies we were used ?
It looked very nice on good CRT TVs, like sony trinitron flat screen. It was great for the time. But when the first PC DVD kits arrive, using Power DVD, and we noticed that the image on computer CRT monitor did never looked like on TV in terms of contrast. It lloked faded, dark in shadows, and no matter what adjust setting we tried on Power DVD, like contrast, brightness, saturation, the image never looked good like in a CRT TV, cause the brightness adjust made the image whitish (like airbrushed transparent paint over), without density, and the contrast adjust would just create clipped highlights and crushed shadows. There was no way to get a pleasant contrast from a DVD played of a CRT TV, by using a computer CRT monitor in a PC DVD kit.

Later someone told me there was a difference from a CRT computer monitor compared to a CRT TV, like one was designd for high contrast signal, and the other designed to high contrast signal. So a TV and a computer monitor, in the CRT era (before LCD start to domain market) would never be look like, one to anotehr, for watch good quality DVD films.

But today, since LCD TVs and LCD computer monitor dominated the market, this difference is not more like before. I try the best image from a DVD or Blu ray on a computer LCD monitor and in a LCD TV, and both have the same limitations, very similar contrast, after trying the best settings for both.
The LCD TVs got many of the negative aspects from the PC DVD kit watched on PC monitor had. It get fadded unless you push contrast and kill highlights and shadows details. For me this its really very sad, and I have no patiece for watching LCD TVs, prefering a CRT despite be 480 resolution.
How and why this happened, this "homologation of contrast standart" between computer screen and TV screens ? Why they choosed a contrast standart that would create problems for watrching films on TV, causing the killing of dynamic range by destroying highlifgts and shadow details, while CRT TVs did not destroyed like that ?

For me this is so evident... I don't know why people did not complained...
Now they created the HDR... but for me HDR mostly just tries to fix a problem that was created while introducing LCD TVs with a contrast standart thay lead highklights and shadows details to be killed. The industry tried to create video transfer more glossy, to try compensate the faded basic look of LCD TV. But even so all LCD TVs have very poor dynamic, unless we adjusted it to have faded look, or unless you have HDR.

All this and people stay silent... Why peole are so tolerant with the loss of good contrast and good dynamic from CRT times?
I bet even OLED TVs have some this problem, due the new contrast standart, result from the homologation of standarts between computer monitors and TVs. But all OLED models I saw on stores was running HDR videos, so I need to see it again, running a non HDR video, to be sure.

 

[DaveF]

What’s an “OBA Receiver”?

 

[DaveF]

Mr Martin, may I ask 1minute of your wisdom?

Despite the HDTV and and 4K technologies, and the HDR, I notice a strange thing

You’ve got two threads on this already. Stop trolling other threads, especially product announcements.

 

[Alberto_D]

You moderator can delete my post that looks repeated.
Sorry for the posts if you find it annoying. In other the other thread I promissed to be more positive to deserve a fine debate in this friendly educaetd forum atmosphere.
I'm not a troll, and I will proove, with better posts.

But I was really very curious if the standart of contrast was changed or not.

I will get better for this comunity, I promisse.

You’ve got two threads on this already. Stop trolling other threads, especially product announcements.

 

[DaveF]

Still wondering what an OBA Receiver is?

And why is Sony’s numbering going backwards from last year’s x800 to the new x700?

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Still wondering what an OBA Receiver is?

And why is Sony’s numbering going backwards from last year’s x800 to the new x700?

Don't know what OBA stands for, but I assume the backwards numbering for this model is because of the inferior construction of the new X700. It's more in line with Sony's inexpensive, disposable BD players they came with later in that technology run. Maybe they will eventually announce a higher end box to replace the X800 -- or they could just be abandoning the higher end market already.

 

[dpippel]

Mr Martin, may I ask 1minute of your wisdom?

Come on man, really????

 

[Martin Dew]

Sorry for the late reply, Dave F and Scott: 'OBA' means 'object based audio', as opposed to channel-based audio, and is the encompassing term for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (or Auro-3D). I thought it was common parlance on the forum, but will refrain from using it in headlines moving forward.

 

[David Willow]

In case anyone wonders why I keep an old BD and DVD player in my main equipment rack, I usually have current TV shows we are watching loaded in them and use the UHD player for movies of all formats that we watch. That way I do not need to swap out discs as much. Right now the Oppo DVD player has a Married... With Children disc loaded, while the Panny BD player has a Firefly disc. I have the space in the rack, and already own the players, so why not use them?

Off topic but this is the main reason I started using Plex a few years ago. I get the DVD and put it on my server. Then I can watch what I want and feel free to change my mind 10 minutes later without getting off the couch.

 

[dpippel]

Yep, what Dave said.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I have owned a number of piece from Sony and have loved what I have owned, from a flagship ES dvd/SACD/CD player to a 3 chip LCD HDTV and a blu-ray player and a few other things over the years. And while I am looking to upgrade my PIoneer Elite SC-05 to something updated with 4K switching and decoding like Dolby Atmos and DTS-X. Over the years I am just not impressed with the receivers Sony has offered. I like the minimalist clean look of the Sony but that for me is where it stops. Oh sure it is nice to have 8 Ethernet ports on the back but not really necessary in my honest opinion. Not a big fan of there surround fields and have not been crazy about the amp section. At this time I do not see a Sony receiver being the heart of my home theater.