Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Blu Balls]

Originally Posted by slimdude

You may have the HDMI audio out from the blu-ray player connected to the wrong HDMI input on the receiver, and if so, switch the HDMI input tp another source on the receiver. If you have the HDMI from the blu-ray player connected to the HDCP port, that's the wrong one.

I switched the video HDMI to a different port on my tv while troubleshooting. That seems to be what was causing the error. Thanks for the advice though.

[jibucha]

i have two of the Sony UBP-X800 :: no complaints
an excellent player, excellent picture quality, remote works unusually well (point in any direction and it works which is highly unusual), my perspective is that it is built unusually well; especially at this price

for what it's worth :: i have had most 2016/2017 players (4K) :: this was easily the most satisfying to own/use

disappointments? :: no back lighting remote :: no Dolby Vision

note :: due to the lack of Dolby Vision support (i also have the LG UP-970 with the Dolby Vision firmware update 8/2017) :: although very happy with it as well, it's not of the build quality of the Sony and it has a terrible remote (range/angle) performance limitation :: while i did receive my original unit with the notorious drive noise, this replacement is acceptable in that regard :: Dolby Vision? (the best picture quality that i have experienced - breathtaking)

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I am pretty much done with the noisy LG player and I am strongly considering this Sony player to pair with my LG OLED.

Are there any major flaws or complaints I should be aware of before I settle on the SONY?

Also, is $150 the best price for now, or are there upcoming Black Friday deals online (I am not going into any store on Black Friday no matter how cheap things are)?

Any better alternatives? Buying an OPPO or the more expensive Sony is not possible at this time.

[ChiefSequatchie]

Originally Posted by randian

Not only are the BD player manufacturers super cheap for no longer including some flash storage with their players (it used to be common at least for mid-grade and up players), but they have idiots designing them so they put the USB ports in the front rather than in the back where they belong.

I like having a USB slot on the front. If I have a flash drive with pics, videos or music that I downloaded from the net and want to play them through my player its easier to pop it in and out. Especially if you have it in cabinet etc.. where its hard to get to the back.

[ChiefSequatchie]

So before I pull the trigger should I go with the Sony 800 for overall quality or take a chance on the LG 970 just for the Dolby Vision even though its had a history of problems, noise etc..

[cochon]

Originally Posted by ChiefSequatchie

I like having a USB slot on the front. If I have a flash drive with pics, videos or music that I downloaded from the net and want to play them through my player its easier to pop it in and out. Especially if you have it in cabinet etc.. where its hard to get to the back.

I think thats the whole idea behind it but the complains about the lack of one at the rear or analogue audio outputs are quite justifiable. I have grown accustomed at manufacturers only providing half baked products and when they offer you an alternative it's missing some of the options you get on the other one. I'll just buy whatever is the least inconvenient as long as its priced according to what they give you.

I bought the 800 plus a really good dolby vision sony tv (no update yet) I would like to have it on the player but I wanted to enjoy the 4K NOW! So I went ahead with the 800 because anyway at the moment few movies have it and probably I will stick to my current projector which is not HDR. So I don't see DV as a must but a solid player was a must for me and this one while not ideal it has not disappointed me. When I decide the time is right I'll get a DV compatible player because unlike the TV, players generally aren't that expensive.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by ChiefSequatchie

So before I pull the trigger should I go with the Sony 800 for overall quality or take a chance on the LG 970 just for the Dolby Vision even though its had a history of problems, noise etc..

The LG UHD player is a NIGHTMARE. I have had to send it back to LG numerous times and I am in the process of hopefully getting a refund from them due to the awful "whirring" sound that just will not go away when playing 4K discs. I got the SONY yesterday and I am not looking back. While I would like to have Dolby Vision (especially since I have an equipped LG OLED), it is not worth the headaches of the LG and (IMO) DV is a relatively minor upgrade in picture quality to shell out the big bucks for the almighty OPPO alternative. The Sony player hits the sweet spot right now at $149.99.

[Member-167298]

On day 2 of my SONY test run. So far I am a fan. Easy to use, quality is good, and most importantly it is QUIET.

The only issue I have come across is that when I click on "software update" it says "Connecting to the network. Please wait." for about 15-30 seconds and then says "Connection status cannot be confirmed. Cannot communicate with server. Please try again later." It has said that since I first fired up the machine last night.

Has this happened to anyone else?

I don't have internet at home so whenever I need to download an update I use my phone as a hot spot rather than "real" wireless. I have never had an issue with this when connecting using other players or my TV. I chose my iPhone as the wireless option and entered in my password and the SONY says that is connected. I can get on YouTube and other internet based things, yet it doesn't connect for the software update.

What could be the issue? Does anyone have any tips for how to address this?

[cochon]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

What could be the issue? Does anyone have any tips for how to address this?

Some people have had problems getting updates through the Internet, it could be Sony servers not working properly. I have done my update through a USB stick, I have never connected it to the net.

[gambit64]

Originally Posted by cochon

Some people have had problems getting updates through the Internet, it could be Sony servers not working properly. I have done my update through a USB stick, I have never connected it to the net.

I received my player today and had the same trouble trying to get the update over home wireless. I finally succeeded using a USB. On a side note, I also don't have a 4K TV yet so I tried changing the setting from auto to playing 1080p only - I can play the 4K disc (albeit 1080p) so I also get the atmos sound not included on the blu-ray. Regardless, the picture looks great! Will watch our first movie on the player in a matter of minutes!

[cochon]

Originally Posted by gambit64

I received my player today and had the same trouble trying to get the update over home wireless. I finally succeeded using a USB. On a side note, I also don't have a 4K TV yet so I tried changing the setting from auto to playing 1080p only - I can play the 4K disc (albeit 1080p) so I also get the atmos sound not included on the blu-ray. Regardless, the picture looks great! Will watch our first movie on the player in a matter of minutes!

Yes you can use either auto or 1080 the player will still send 1080 to your TV just don't set 4k or you will get no image anymore, I am not surprised you like the picture. I do have a 65" 4k tv and while my projector is 1080 I still see a big difference when playing 4k discs vs regular BD Only a couple of discs are not 100% because the lack of HDR capability causes some issues.

This goes to show you that the quality of most regular BDs is below what 1080 can really give you when properly done and without excessive compression.

[MarvinC]

Originally Posted by randian

Not only are the BD player manufacturers super cheap for no longer including some flash storage with their players (it used to be common at least for mid-grade and up players), but they have idiots designing them so they put the USB ports in the front rather than in the back where they belong.

Why would it belong in the back? If you have the unit in an A/V rack, it's easier to use the front ports.

Unfortunately there's no display on the player so you can't find anything on the USB drive so it's kind of useless.

[Member-167298]

Noticing some great image differences when compared to the LG. When I play the Miss Peregrine UHD with the banding issues on my LG, it looks AWFUL during certain scenes. On the Sony it looks almost perfect.

[randian]

Originally Posted by MarvinC

Why would it belong in the back? If you have the unit in an A/V rack, it's easier to use the front ports.

I guess it depends on your use case. I don't use the port for switchable items like photos. I have a thumb drive permanently attached so misauthored discs ( a lot of BD-Live discs are problematic) still work.

[RyanMatthew]

Now I'm having freezing problems. When I get towards the end of a film, it freezes and turns off. Happened with The Force Awakens and Shin Godzilla.

[mar3o]

I really think I need to forget about this player and see what Sony delivers next year. I can live a few more months without UHD. I hear frequent reports of discs freezing, and the player refusing to update over wired connection, and those two things combined with the lack of Dolby Vision support leaves me feeling like I would regret buying this now when next years' model is just around the corner practically.

These companies really need to get on the ball and get their hardware working. Discs freezing is a total deal-breaker for me, full stop. I can't help thinking UHD is still half-baked. It was rushed out before they even had HDR standards properly sorted out, and clearly there are playback issues with all the players (except maybe Oppo?).

[Goldash]

Decided on the UBP-X800 over an Xbox One S (came to around $80 with the
BB reward certs I saved up for Black Friday).

I don't have a DV capable monitor yet so this seemed like the best option for me right now, especially with the discounts. I really wanted an Oppo but it's way out of my price range. Maybe in a few years.

Few surface-level impressions:

Not a fan of the main menu, but nearly everything else is really good value for the price range. No playback glitches apart from a Planet Earth II disc that accidentally fell on the ground. A little cleaning, though, and it was back to normal.

Really impressed with the standard blu-ray upscaling at a distance. Ken Burns's "The Vietnam War" looks (and sounds) awesome given the source material. Though I'm as confused as ever when it comes to the "Type A" and "Type B" upscaling options in the menu. Does anyone know what these mean?

The few UHD Blu's I own also looked and sounded amazing. Starship Troopers, Spider-Man Homecoming and the aforementioned Planet Earth II were awesome to finally see. Rental of Dark Tower was good but not as amazing as I thought PQ wise. All played without a hitch and loaded extremely quickly. You can't say that about a lot of hardware.

Tried playing an SACD copy of Rush's "Hemispheres" and everything sounded crystal clear. It's great to finally have hardware that can play this format.

I'm not sure if I really know how to put it through its paces yet, but the UBP-X800 has been excellent so far. The picture quality speaks for itself, the responsiveness and fast load times are great, the upscaling makes Blu-rays "look 4K" and the audio quality is unbelievable through an Onkyo TX-NR777 receiver. Really great value in spite of the Dolby Vision shaped elephant in the room.

[Mike Flynn]

I don't think this will be in my BF budget this year. I assume this isn't worth getting if I already have a 4K TV (hoping to move and then get a TV and player).

[skads_187]

trying to find some info online, I initially had plans to buy the oppo 203, however, this is going on sale Friday, anyone know if there is a difference in PQ over the Xbox one S? that is what I use now, but find I had issues with discs skipping during playback.

[RyanMatthew]

Disabling the internet connection during playback seems to have solved my freezing issue. I don't see the point of it anyway.

[eddievanhalen]

I had some issues playing the European UHD BDs of Westworld, which are 3 layer discs. I have two other 3 layer discs, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Pacific Rim and never got freezing with these. I think I found out why the Euro discs of Westworld freeze: dirt. The discs looked clean but I had freezing on the 8 episodes I had watched since I clean them. I was about to start watching episode 9 and I thought about cleaning disc 3 (which had a couple of freezing while playing episode 8) with amonia, yes, the one used to clean floors. I poured a bit of amonia on a fibre cloth and cleaned the disc with radial sweeps. Guess what, the fibre cloth ended up BLACK. Amonia if pure cleans well, is not abrasive and eats up grease and doesn't leave any residue. After cleaning disc 3 I played episodes 9 and 10 without any freezing.