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Old 03-07-2025, 04:18 PM   #1
rdf8585 rdf8585 is offline
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Question Is it worth buying a backup player right now?

I have a decently sized disc collection, over 300, and the overwhelming majority of it are Blu-Ray discs, with a smattering of 4K titles thrown in.

I have a 5-year-old Sony UBP-X700 and I've been thinking more about getting a backup player, even if only a Blu-Ray player. LG stopped making players, there are concerns about the stock of Sony players, and physical media has an uncertain future.

Wondering if anyone else here recently purchased a backup? I'm considering the Sony BDP-BX370.

A lot of my prized discs are not on streaming services and/or OOP now.
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Old 03-07-2025, 05:28 PM   #2
smithb smithb is online now
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I've seen a fair number on this forum that are all for having backup players and I'm sure you will get plenty of positive response following suit. Personally, I would only do it if there was a specific player or manufacturer I wanted and was fearful of it going away. My primary player is an Oppo BDP-83 that is still going strong after 15 years. It outlasted Oppo the company. I wish I had another Oppo around as a replacement for when mine finally dies.

However, for me, there is no other player/manufacturer that at this time I just have to have. I have 2000 some blu-rays. I also have a media server with 33 TB's of space that I've loaded up with all my multi-channel and stereo music, my HD/SD TV series, and whatever movies I still had on DVD that never came out on blu-ray. Five years ago, I never would have expected things to shift in this direction for me. In another five years I may not need a player at all. What player I get now may not be what I would prefer having 2-3 years from now and is still available.

I can appreciate the stance some are taking, but for me it is still too early to be having this conversation.
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Old 03-07-2025, 07:22 PM   #3
apollo828 apollo828 is offline
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Yeah, if there's a specific player you're worried about disappearing, go ahead. If you're buying just to buy, I'd argue there's a decent chance you'll never even use the player. I'd also recommend the backup route if you have the money to put together a NAS. Discs can and do rot. (Ironically, some of the best drives for that purpose have disappeared, or are at least a lot more difficult to find.)
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Old 03-07-2025, 07:56 PM   #4
rdf8585 rdf8585 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apollo828 View Post
Yeah, if there's a specific player you're worried about disappearing, go ahead. If you're buying just to buy, I'd argue there's a decent chance you'll never even use the player. I'd also recommend the backup route if you have the money to put together a NAS. Discs can and do rot. (Ironically, some of the best drives for that purpose have disappeared, or are at least a lot more difficult to find.)
I'm not worried about a certain player disappearing, but more the general decline of the Blu-ray/physical media market and fewer companies making players. LG, Samsung, and Oppo have already left the market. How long before Sony or Panasonic do? All of the players on Sony's site are out of stock now, or were at last check.

I've had my Sony UBP-X700 hooked up to 2 TVs in the five years I had it. The first TV, it was hooked up to, I had all kinds of problems with it working right and almost returned the player. For some reason, the X700 works fine with my current TV. It seems like the player has an iffy track record looking around online. That doesn't instill a lot of confidence either.

Last edited by rdf8585; 03-07-2025 at 08:18 PM.
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Old 03-07-2025, 08:24 PM   #5
apollo828 apollo828 is offline
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Unfortunately, nobody has true insight into either Sony or Panasonic's plans. Sony appears to have moved towards selling only through authorized dealers. It's hard to say if they're just cutting out direct sales or setting the table for an eventual stoppage, not to mention there's the question of whether the PS6 will have an optical drive at all. (That's ~2.5-3 years out, though, so we won't know for quite awhile.) What I'd recommend is to just poke around and see where you can buy whatever you want. (I'd recommend a Panasonic if only because it seems to handle triple-layer discs better than the average Sony player.) Then, if you need to buy in a hurry, you know where to look. That or buying now with money you don't mind burning on something you may never use, depending on circumstances.
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Old 03-07-2025, 08:58 PM   #6
DKLou DKLou is offline
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I have several backup players, actually. Call it dumb but it makes me feel better. I currently run a two-players system, one for just 4K(Panny 820) and one for just blu-ray(Sony BDP-1700). I have a Panny 420K and a 450 backup player plus a second Sony blu-ray backup. Ohm and an older LG UBK-90. I know, I know. .

I bought a NAS recently and might start ripping some discs to that. Either way, I have an extensive disc collection and being able to play it is paramount to my happiness. Therefore, having backup players makes sense for me. For most folks, one backup player is a good idea and likely enough. There is still a good sized disc market so worst case players will be made by smaller or cottage companies per se. Fine, that works too.
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Old 03-07-2025, 09:46 PM   #7
mdhaus mdhaus is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DKLou View Post
I have several backup players, actually. Call it dumb but it makes me feel better. I currently run a two-players system, one for just 4K(Panny 820) and one for just blu-ray(Sony BDP-1700). I have a Panny 420K and a 450 backup player plus a second Sony blu-ray backup. Ohm and an older LG UBK-90. I know, I know. .

I bought a NAS recently and might start ripping some discs to that. Either way, I have an extensive disc collection and being able to play it is paramount to my happiness. Therefore, having backup players makes sense for me. For most folks, one backup player is a good idea and likely enough. There is still a good sized disc market so worst case players will be made by smaller or cottage companies per se. Fine, that works too.
Out of curiosity, what NAS did you purchase? I'm thinking about doing the same thing.
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Old 03-07-2025, 10:23 PM   #8
smithb smithb is online now
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Out of curiosity, what NAS did you purchase? I'm thinking about doing the same thing.
Not that you are asking me, but I just upgraded from a Synology DS215J with 8 TBs of space that I had been running for about 9 years to a Synology DS224+ with 36 TB's of space.
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Old 03-08-2025, 02:46 AM   #9
apollo828 apollo828 is offline
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Synology is more expensive than DIY setups but it's totally fine if you don't want to spend a lot of time assembling your own system. (That and the form factor is pretty nice, IMO.) I recommend a RAID 5 setup when on it, as hard drives can and do fail. I had one go bad, and RAID 5 saved me from terabytes worth of data being lost. So, the extra money for the extra drive paid for itself in time and effort.
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Old 03-08-2025, 02:54 AM   #10
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I have LG players in my bedroom and theater room. I switched my X700 out with the UBKM9 because I was tired of effing with switching Dolby Vision on and off. So my X700 and original Samsung launch player are in my closet. My main TV is going on 4 years old this so either this year or next year I'll probably be buying a new TV and which point I'll probably buy one of those new Pannies I've been reading about and can stash yet another player in my closet for backup.
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Old 03-08-2025, 03:39 AM   #11
Naiera Naiera is offline
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I just bought a UB9000 and will keep my UB824 as a backup.
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Old 03-08-2025, 04:45 AM   #12
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I've got two Oppo 203's and an old-but-still-cookin' Oppo 83, and I keep 'em all active, 'cuz I believe firmly that when it comes to electronics: if you don't use it you lose it.
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Old 03-08-2025, 05:28 AM   #13
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Buy a better player than the x700, keep the Sony as the backup, done
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Old 03-08-2025, 08:10 AM   #14
bhampton bhampton is offline
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I have a backup player.

Also my PS5 plays BD and UHD BD.

I also have an LG UHD BD portable computer drive and a DAS with currently 72TB of storage for easy access to backed up files.
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Old 03-08-2025, 12:33 PM   #15
GODHOOD GODHOOD is offline
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I say buy another backup player, I still have my Oppo 203 I purchased 7 years ago and my backups are a Reavon X100 and a used Oppo 203 I got two months ago.
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Old 03-08-2025, 01:14 PM   #16
TheAnalogkid TheAnalogkid is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rdf8585 View Post
I have a decently sized disc collection, over 300, and the overwhelming majority of it are Blu-Ray discs, with a smattering of 4K titles thrown in.

I have a 5-year-old Sony UBP-X700 and I've been thinking more about getting a backup player, even if only a Blu-Ray player. LG stopped making players, there are concerns about the stock of Sony players, and physical media has an uncertain future.

Wondering if anyone else here recently purchased a backup? I'm considering the Sony BDP-BX370.

A lot of my prized discs are not on streaming services and/or OOP now.
The Panasonic 820 will make all your discs look better. I have my x700 as a 2nd and another x700 in another room. Good player but not even close to the Panny 820!
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Old 03-08-2025, 01:18 PM   #17
smithb smithb is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apollo828 View Post
Synology is more expensive than DIY setups but it's totally fine if you don't want to spend a lot of time assembling your own system. (That and the form factor is pretty nice, IMO.) I recommend a RAID 5 setup when on it, as hard drives can and do fail. I had one go bad, and RAID 5 saved me from terabytes worth of data being lost. So, the extra money for the extra drive paid for itself in time and effort.
I have 70+ TB's of external drives as my primary storage maintaining two copies of all my digital media. Thus, a RAID setup wasn't necessary for me, so I can maximize the space available on the server. However, I agree for those where the server is also your primary storage, RAID can be absolutely necessary. And yes, I do like the form factor and simplicity of the setup.
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Old 03-08-2025, 03:48 PM   #18
MrHT MrHT is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheAnalogkid View Post
The Panasonic 820 will make all your discs look better. I have my x700 as a 2nd and another x700 in another room. Good player but not even close to the Panny 820!
I actually bought the Panny 820 last year and returned it as it was a bit on the glitchy side. Thought it would be a good upgrade over my 420, but surprisingly, I found the 420 to be a much more stable player.
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Old 03-08-2025, 04:08 PM   #19
Anthony P Anthony P is offline
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I have more tan one display I want to be able to watch on and so more than one player. But would I buy a player to keep in its un-opened box in a closet? no. What is the use?
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Old 03-08-2025, 05:54 PM   #20
Naiera Naiera is offline
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To have one if your in-use player dies and there are no players to buy in stores.
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