Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[JeffUSA]

Originally Posted by Leterface

I think you should be able to change settings on the player how to show DVDs (pillarboxed or stretched).

I figured out the problem. It seems there are no settings for pillarbox or stretched on this player or my tv. The problem ended up being the DVD Blade Runner: The Director's Cut.

I ended trying some of my other old DVD's like Predator and they played fine. Predator is one awesome film and I'm hoping a UHD release is in the cards.

[reewinder]

I'm about to get one of these X800 players that has been modded to be region free. Have wanted a region free player for the longest time but prices on a 4K region free have been pretty steep so I negotiated with a seller for a bit and got a pretty good price. After it arrives just curious if there's any tips for setting it up at the start? I'm sure it will need an update out of the box. I plan on watching mostly 3D blu rays and some of the 4K titles I have and it will be hooked up to a Sony 4K television (XBR55X900C). Thanks for any tips or suggestions. I'll try and catch up on the 125 pages of posts in the meantime.

[Leterface]

Today I got my X800 player delivered to my nearest post pickup kiosk, seems the protective outer box was so big it didn't have room in the local shops post lockers. Well happy to drive a few minutes instead of a poorer packacking.

Took some time to get my equipment rack cleaned fron some dust finally.This time I tried to connect the X800 directly to my Denon AVR-X2200 without the 2nd HDMI for sound that I had to use with my first UHD player, the Samsung UBD-K8500 inorder to get the HDR handswitch working properly to my Samsung KS8000 (EU model KS7005). Immediately after turning on the X800 I thought now I wouldn't need those frustating switchings of cables to get it synch properly, and dear lord I was right about it. So happy!

I had read of several users who had problems getting the X800 to update via Wifi, but even this I had barely problems with, as the update (from version M36.R.0175 to version M36.R.0178) was successful at the second trying.

Also pleased with the Sony's build quality compared to the Samsung - the X800 surely feels quite a lot heavier and its look is just so much more nice than the curved banana look of the K8500. Also I like a lot more the "sandwitch finish" of the X800 though the K8500 finish wasn't that bad at all for non-metal finish.

The X800 sounded more quiet than the K8500 though I hadn't problems with the operating sound before, I felt the X800 sounded like more convincing, if you can understand what I mean.

The menu on the X800 is quite similar that in the K8500 so it was ok for me, though I believe the X800 had lesser options to modify, not sure if that is a good thing or not, as I'm only just starting to seek little closer to the optimal settings. Sorry if this has been asked before, but have some reputable member or other reviewer shared theire player settings in this thread or perhaps elsewhere?

[cochon]

Originally Posted by JeffUSA

I figured out the problem. It seems there are no settings for pillarbox or stretched on this player or my tv. The problem ended up being the DVD Blade Runner: The Director's Cut.

I ended trying some of my other old DVD's like Predator and they played fine. Predator is one awesome film and I'm hoping a UHD release is in the cards.

Generally the most effective settings for that would be on the TV. Among the maze of menus on the player there is one that is FULL but it may I am not sure it will change the bars. I'd say if they bother you check the TV settings you should surely be able to change that.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by Kenbar

On my 2016 Oled "C" it is under the "picture" setting..."Aspect Ratio". ..then at the bottom it has "Just Scan" on/off. Not sure if it will solve your issue. But might be worth a shot, if it is in the off position.

I checked my TV and it was set to "16:9" with Just Scan on. Turning it off definitely zooms in the picture a little bit, which is a no-go for me.

I have seen two quick white line flashes at the top edge of the screen again tonight. Wish I could snap a pic, but there is no way to predict when it will happen.

Should I bother going to Target to exchange the player, or is this most likely some kind of handshake issue or cable issue and not the player?

Thanks again for any and all legitimate insights :-)

[sonyfanboy]

It it possible to put a mini flash drive with the front panel closed?

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by Leterface

Today I got my X800 player delivered to my nearest post pickup kiosk, seems the protective outer box was so big it didn't have room in the local shops post lockers. Well happy to drive a few minutes instead of a poorer packacking.

Took some time to get my equipment rack cleaned fron some dust finally.This time I tried to connect the X800 directly to my Denon AVR-X2200 without the 2nd HDMI for sound that I had to use with my first UHD player, the Samsung UBD-K8500 inorder to get the HDR handswitch working properly to my Samsung KS8000 (EU model KS7005). Immediately after turning on the X800 I thought now I wouldn't need those frustating switchings of cables to get it synch properly, and dear lord I was right about it. So happy!

I had read of several users who had problems getting the X800 to update via Wifi, but even this I had barely problems with, as the update (from version M36.R.0175 to version M36.R.0178) was successful at the second trying.

Also pleased with the Sony's build quality compared to the Samsung - the X800 surely feels quite a lot heavier and its look is just so much more nice than the curved banana look of the K8500. Also I like a lot more the "sandwitch finish" of the X800 though the K8500 finish wasn't that bad at all for non-metal finish.

The X800 sounded more quiet than the K8500 though I hadn't problems with the operating sound before, I felt the X800 sounded like more convincing, if you can understand what I mean.

The menu on the X800 is quite similar that in the K8500 so it was ok for me, though I believe the X800 had lesser options to modify, not sure if that is a good thing or not, as I'm only just starting to seek little closer to the optimal settings. Sorry if this has been asked before, but have some reputable member or other reviewer shared theire player settings in this thread or perhaps elsewhere?

In my opinion, you made the wrong choice, especially given the TV you have.

I owned the Sony X800, but after swearing to never purchase another Samsung player, since the K8500 was such trash, I bit the bullet and bought the M9500 because it supports HDR10+. I'm pairing it with my KS9800, and the picture quality from both disc playback and streaming is not only a huge upgrade over the K8500, but it's an upgrade over the Sony X800, too. Your TV will support HDR10+ as well, so the M9500, or the cheaper M8500, would have been perfect for you.

I have an Oppo that I pair with my LG C6 for Dolby Vision content, but I compared the Oppo and the M9500 on the same TV and the M9500 more than held its own.

Great player.

[XGEEKEDGERX]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I checked my TV and it was set to "16:9" with Just Scan on. Turning it off definitely zooms in the picture a little bit, which is a no-go for me.

I have seen two quick white line flashes at the top edge of the screen again tonight. Wish I could snap a pic, but there is no way to predict when it will happen.

Should I bother going to Target to exchange the player, or is this most likely some kind of handshake issue or cable issue and not the player?

Thanks again for any and all legitimate insights :-)

If you've got the ability to check the player with another brand 4K TV then i'd suggest seeing if the issue occurs, that way if it doesn't then you know it's not the player as such. I'd also try a few different cables to see if that might help. You said it happens when watching regular blu's right? Try turning off HDMI deep colour on the input you're using on the LG and try a few regular blu's and see what happens. At this point, from reading through some AV forums there is a known issue between the x800 and the 2017 line-up of LG OLED'S where the players menu screen doesn't display at all, not sure if any 2016 models have this same problem but i've definitely had some flickering when the units power up. Anyway, try these and let us know it it helps any

[cochon]

Originally Posted by sonyfanboy

It it possible to put a mini flash drive with the front panel closed?

No ,matter how small it is unlikely to fit, there isn't much room at all to have something protruding.

[Leterface]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

In my opinion, you made the wrong choice, especially given the TV you have.

I owned the Sony X800, but after swearing to never purchase another Samsung player, since the K8500 was such trash, I bit the bullet and bought the M9500 because it supports HDR10+. I'm pairing it with my KS9800, and the picture quality from both disc playback and streaming is not only a huge upgrade over the K8500, but it's an upgrade over the Sony X800, too. Your TV will support HDR10+ as well, so the M9500, or the cheaper M8500, would have been perfect for you.

I have an Oppo that I pair with my LG C6 for Dolby Vision content, but I compared the Oppo and the M9500 on the same TV and the M9500 more than held its own.

Great player.

Where there any other reasons why you swapped your X800 to a M9500? What other reasons beside the HDR+ makes it an upgrade over the Sony X800? Just curious as haven't heard so much of it, though this might be the wrong thread to discuss about it..

Yeah I could have thought of HDR+ but for now I am good without it, lets see how HDR+ becomes available on the UHD discs, could however be good in the long run for us consumers to have competion between HDR+ and Dolby Vision..

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by Leterface

Where there any other reasons why you swapped your X800 to a M9500? What other reasons beside the HDR+ makes it an upgrade over the Sony X800? Just curious as haven't heard so much of it, though this might be the wrong thread to discuss about it..

Yeah I could have thought of HDR+ but for now I am good without it, lets see how HDR+ becomes available on the UHD discs, could however be good in the long run for us consumers to have competion between HDR+ and Dolby Vision..

I was having issues with the X800 freezing.

The M9500 produces better picture quality than the X800 for both disc playback and streaming. I found myself rewatching numerous UHD titles because the improved picture quality made it feel like I was experiencing them for the first time. Shadow detail is one area where I immediately noticed improvement. Colors also looked more vivid without looking unnatural.

Don't get me wrong, the X800 is a good player, but the M9500 has it beat. The M8500 is a less expensive option that offers identical performance to the M9500, except it only has one HDMI out.

[Brahby]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

I was having issues with the X800 freezing.

The M9500 produces better picture quality than the X800 for both disc playback and streaming. I found myself rewatching numerous UHD titles because the improved picture quality made it feel like I was experiencing them for the first time. Shadow detail is one area where I immediately noticed improvement. Colors also looked more vivid without looking unnatural.

Don't get me wrong, the X800 is a good player, but the M9500 has it beat. The M8500 is a less expensive option that offers identical performance to the M9500, except it only has one HDMI out.

Doesn't the M9500 not support 3d?

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by Brahby

Doesn't the M9500 not support 3d?

It doesn't. I don't know how many people still care about 3D anymore, though.

[Brahby]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

It doesn't. I don't know how many people still care about 3D anymore, though.

Probably a lot more than these companies think. I think its a bad move to not include it in the player. I cant imagine how much more it would cost to have included it. Including it wouldnt lose them any sales, not including it did. I know I am but one person but I am one potential sale they lost to a competitor that offered it when they didnt

[reewinder]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

It doesn't. I don't know how many people still care about 3D anymore, though.

Originally Posted by Brahby

Probably a lot more than these companies think. I think its a bad move to not include it in the player. I cant imagine how much more it would cost to have included it. Including it wouldnt lose them any sales, not including it did. I know I am but one person but I am one potential sale they lost to a competitor that offered it when they didnt

There's a dedicated 3D forum here on this site you know lol. Why would they remove 3D functionality? Why not eliminate DVD support too? How many DVD's are people really doing to watch via a 4K player on a 4K television? I for one watch a lot of 3D movies on my 4K passive Sony and it looks incredible. I would never buy a player that couldn't play every major format that's out there and while these 3D blu rays are still being bought and sold in stores.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

In my opinion, you made the wrong choice, especially given the TV you have.

I owned the Sony X800, but after swearing to never purchase another Samsung player, since the K8500 was such trash, I bit the bullet and bought the M9500 because it supports HDR10+. I'm pairing it with my KS9800, and the picture quality from both disc playback and streaming is not only a huge upgrade over the K8500, but it's an upgrade over the Sony X800, too. Your TV will support HDR10+ as well, so the M9500, or the cheaper M8500, would have been perfect for you.

I have an Oppo that I pair with my LG C6 for Dolby Vision content, but I compared the Oppo and the M9500 on the same TV and the M9500 more than held its own.

Great player.

No 3D on the Samsungs make it worthless for my needs. How hard is it to support 3D playback instead of screwing their customers? It costs nothing to offer 3D playback support. The X800 does.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

It doesn't. I don't know how many people still care about 3D anymore, though.

More than some companies seem to think. I don't see many people in love with motion smoothing/interpolation, yet I don't see them dropping that feature off of TVs.

Originally Posted by reewinder

There's a dedicated 3D forum here on this site you know lol. Why would they remove 3D functionality? Why not eliminate DVD support too? How many DVD's are people really doing to watch via a 4K player on a 4K television? I for one watch a lot of 3D movies on my 4K passive Sony and it looks incredible. I would never buy a player that couldn't play every major format that's out there and while these 3D blu rays are still being bought and sold in stores.

Indeed. One thing that's great about the x800 is the ability to play so many formats, from CD to DVD to SACD to DVD-audio to 3D. If it wasn't for the freezing issues I hear about and lack of Dolby Vision, I'd go for this player. for sure. There is literally no reason why Samsung should have dropped 3D from their players. It's just an agenda to kill 3D entirely so that they can continue to push UHD full forward. Which makes no sense because if you're buying a UHD player, you're already sold on UHD. It seems they aren't happy with us liking 2 different formats - they have to actually kill 3D.

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by sonyfanboy

It it possible to put a mini flash drive with the front panel closed?

No, and this is one of the things that annoys the hell out of me with the Sony. Sony decided to remove the additional USB from the back of the player, for some people that would not be an issue but for some like me, it is. I always like to attach a permanent USB drive on the back of the player for resume playback purposes as a lot of older BD's requires external memory in order to resume playback and save bookmarks.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Cortiz

No, and this is one of the things that annoys the hell out of me with the Sony. Sony decided to remove the additional USB from the back of the player, for some people that would not be an issue but for some like me, it is. I always like to attach a permanent USB drive on the back of the player for resume playback purposes as a lot of older BD's requires external memory in order to resume playback and save bookmarks.

Agreed. I'm sick of these penny-saving feature cuts to these premium players. Next year watch - they'll drop the 2nd HDMI port, making it a requirement to have a 4k A/V receiver. They already dropped the front display instead of just giving us a menu option to dim or turn it off as desired. And no buttons on the player itself. Lots of cheap penny-saving cuts that people would gladly pay another $20 for.

All UHD players should have both front and back USB ports. Back for the very purpose you described - permanent data storage, and front to easily plug in a thumb drive for file playback.

[cochon]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Lots of cheap penny-saving cuts that people would gladly pay another $20 for.

Apparently not because it won't take much effort to find posters on this board that just keep complaining about spending money.