Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Geoff D]

Pronounced mo-beel, one assumes?

[elwaylite]

Yup

[elwaylite]

Observations:

• Its quick
• Handshake is WAY less quirky than my 900
• Same menus as other players have had lately (no SBM anymore)
• FW M36.R.0046, no update found
• Connected to my 5ghz radio fine
• Ramps up to 16,000 mbps on Netflix quick
• Ultra HD, HDR and 5.1 all show in Netflix App
• Netflix app still has debug info popup many machines have lost
• Netflix HDR and HDR disc are 4k/24 2020 12 bit, as shown in pics below
• Amazon app is not active yet
• 1080p blu us 4k/24 444 12 bits, as show below
• Pretty much all video settings left as "Auto"
• PQ looks great to me on UHD discs and Netflix HDR

[Pieter V]

@Elwaylite: does Sony still force 60 frames on .mkv files? And is the player silent in operation?

[elwaylite]

Not sure on that one.

[DJJez]

PQ compared to UB900 THX Reference?

[elwaylite]

Watched some familiar content and test patterns, nothing stood out so far.

[DJR662]

PQ should be identical to other players, I expect nothing less.

Funny though it's still 12 bit output, are there actually any UHD players that will output 10 bit?

[elwaylite]

Just the Oppo and Samsung. Not sure what the 12 bit infatuation is.

[DJJez]

Originally Posted by DJR662

PQ should be identical to other players, I expect nothing less.

Funny though it's still 12 bit output, are there actually any UHD players that will output 10 bit?

no blu ray player is identical in blu ray quality to another. they all look different

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by elwaylite

Just the Oppo and Samsung. Not sure what the 12 bit infatuation is.

If the TV has to dumb the signal back down to 10 bits, you can add artifacts like banding that wasn't originally there.

The only way, that I know of, to get true 12 bit video off UHD disc is through Dolby Vision. The DV software then converts it to 10 bit via a pro dithering tool if the display cannot process 12 bit video sources.

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by DJJez

no blu ray player is identical in blu ray quality to another. they all look different

I agree.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

I agree.

Not all players work correctly. The Samsung has issues, for instance. Others have had output errors as well. This has happened with DVD, Blu-ray, and now UHD Blu-ray.

[elwaylite]

Sony has had a very good bit for bit track record for many years, just like Oppo and Panasonic. Samsungs have been known for doing things wrong, and so did LG's.

I have faith the Sony will do a good job once I get to watch some flicks.

[MarcinL]

So far so good. Few observations

1) very heavy and sturdy unlike past Sony bluray players and Samsung UHD player

2) much faster user interface than Samsung UHD

3) handshake issue with John Wick. Resolved by turning deep color off just like in Samsung UHD

4) Amazon app and Vudu app does not work. States it will after firmware update. Outside of Netflix app it really doesn't have anything else. It's barebones to put it mildly

5) standard Sony remote that is very similar to other Sony bluray remotes

6) like the side option and being able to customize additional picture settings such as Direct, Auto, Custom 1 and Custom 2 which can add to your TV settings.

Overall I'm impressed with the build quality, amount of settings and picture quality although mostly for more customization than anything else. Not sure if it's a worthy update if you already have a Samsung, I have both and my Samsung is staying in my man cave with the 65 inch KS8500 and this is going into my game/workout room with Sony 850C

Edit: The bluray movies look much better on this Sony than Samsung. Very nice. Might not be upgrading all my movies to 4K now. Blutooth option is very nice as well

[PCFan]

Does this Sony player support 4k HDR and 24p in it's Netflix app? I'm right now using a Roku Ultra for Netflix and Vudu but it does not support 24p and I don't want to buy the BDP-S6700 since I think I will be buying a 4k TV later this year. I'm looking for a device that will support 24p with 4k/HDR support in Netflix and Vudu and auto swtich to that refresh rate when detecting a video with a 23.976 fps signal.

[MarcinL]

No. It doesn't even play HDR. I tried house of cards in Ultra HD and it never found HDR Video. It stayed on Custom input that I have selected for HDMI 1. After switching to HDR Video manually it actually messed up the colors since it switched to WCG. Sad to say between this and lack of any other apps, this is going back to Best Buy tomorrow. This pairing of Sony 800X with 850C is very disappointing. I'm going to wait for Samsung 9500 UHD player. At least my Samsung KS8500 and UHD 8500 work together really well and Netflix House of Cards defaults to HDR and looks gorgeous. Also I was wrong about upscaling of blu-rays. After playing few non Mastered 4K blurays they look worse on this Sony then they did on Samsung. Mastered in 4K look just as good.

Again very disappointed in this. Cant believe Sony would actually release a product half ready. I love the chassis and build but that's about it. Is it a nice UHD player...Yes. Is it worth $299.99? NOPE. It's barely a $179 tops.

[HDTV1080P]

I thought the Roku boxes were suppose to support 24fps output for 4K Ultra HD and 1080P movie source material. The problem is that the Roku does not mention on its onscreen menu the frame rate its using. Also many displays only tell consumers the incoming resolution and not the incoming frame rate. So some consumers end up guessing by visually looking on the screen to see if they see 3:2 pulldown judder issues, the problem with doing that is that some displays video circuits automatically detect 3:2 pulldown 60Hz for film based material and then the display will do a reverse 3:2 pulldown.

I have not personally tried the Sony UBP-X800 (might buy one in the future). Perhaps someone can test the Netflix function for you to see if it outputs Netflix in 24fps (24Hz).This streaming 24fps issue has been going on for 7 years where consumers have to struggle to find out what equipment does or does not support 24fps. It all comes down to the programmers for the Netflix and VUDU apps either making their products 60Hz only or offering 24Hz on select rare equipment.

[HDTV1080P]

Maybe by the end of the year we might see a professional review from Widescreen Review or Sound and Vision magazine on the new Sony UBP-X800.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Not all players work correctly. The Samsung has issues, for instance. Others have had output errors as well. This has happened with DVD, Blu-ray, and now UHD Blu-ray.

Yes but shouldn't every player be able to output a signal completely untouched without any processing going on? That way the signal that's being output should be identical whether you play it on a Sony or Panasonic player?