Sony's Round 4k Media Player Announced

[Jack9909090]

$699? You can get one that dose 1080p content with a decent upconverter for $100.

[ronjones]

Originally Posted by Jack9909090

$699? You can get one that dose 1080p content with a decent upconverter for $100.

Not really. These are not streaming video players. Rather they are a player for 4K movies that have been downloaded on to the unit's internal 1 TB drive. They also come preloaded with then 4K movies that are probably valued at a few hundred dollars. Upconversion from 1080p to 4K is built into virtually all 4K UHD TVs and projectors, so there is really no need to have upconverting 1080p players, AVRs, etc., especially since the upconversion capabilities of these units (at least so far) are subpar as compared to that built into the better brands of UHD TVs. By your logic why pay extra for a Blu-ray player and Blu-ray discs, instead just save your money and buy DVDs and an upconverting DVD player

[Canada]

Originally Posted by Jack9909090

$699? You can get one that dose 1080p content with a decent upconverter for $100.

The best upconverter that I've heard about is the one in the Oppo BD 103 or 105 it's apparently better than the upconverter in the $ 25,000 Sony TV. Nothing will ever beat native 4K content though.

[raygendreau]

"Sony today launched the Video Unlimited 4K service, the world’s first and only 4K Ultra HD video download service, with access to an expanding library of native 4K Ultra HD feature films and TV shows.

Beginning with a selection of more than 70 full length native 4K Ultra HD feature films and TV shows from Sony Pictures Entertainment and other notable production houses, Video Unlimited 4K will offer customers the option to rent and purchase content for download on Sony’s 4K Ultra HD Media Player (FMP-X1) for playback on Sony 4K Ultra HD televisions."

http://blog.sony.com/press/sony-laun...ra-hd-tv-line/

Makes me wonder if there will be 4K disk media in the future.

Review from an early adopter:

"Being an early adopter of technology can be a challenge. Very few tech-support employees at Sony knew much about the whole 4K launch--even fewer understood the ensuing problems. I received mixed advice from Sony but not Crutchfield. Crutchfield hung in there and did give the best advice--which never varied. I purchased one of the first 4K Sony TVs which then required a new interface board to be installed in the HDMI4 slot before it would work with the FMP-X1. Sony paid for this via a white-glove visit to my home. You'll also have to hardwire the FMP-X1 to the same router providing wireless to the 4K TV. Sony reps also brought powerline adapters to accomplish this at my house because my router is not located anywhere near the home theater setup. Whew, poor Sony is probably still trying to recover from this clumsy start. Nevertheless, the FMP-X1 comes loaded with some Native 4K movies and short subjects. The later are simply breath taking in their detail. Absolutely pixel free even at close distance. This weekend I used Sony's new 4K unlimited video service which is up and running with new content being added weekly. I downloaded "Body Double" using Charter Cable's medium internet speed and it took about 2 hours. Worked flawlessly and looks really great. I'm glad I purchased both 4K products. "

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZBAKE3X...ny-FMP-X1.html

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

Makes me wonder if there will be 4K disk media in the future....

How so?

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

How so?

Why bother? At this early date, only $30 to purchase and $8 to rent. That is reasonable and will come down. For the studios, copy protection is less of an issue than it is with disk media. Ultraviolet is available, so storage wont be an issue. Downloads can be done overnight.

If this catches on with the rest of the industry, we may never see disk media.

[Geoff D]

That's on Sony's hardware and Sony's platform using Sony's content though, so it's hardly a harbinger for the end of movie watching on physical media. Even if the idea does catch on (as the PS4 will bring the 4K service to all users, unlike the bespoke Sony-TV-only cake tin) not every studio will want to route their stuff thru the Big S, which means competing services.

There are IMO far too many subscription-based video streaming sites as it is, and adding separate 4K offerings into that mix will kill 4K on video before it's even got out of the blocks. It'd practically be a mini format war, and people wouldn't touch 4K BD with a bargepole after that.

If the studios have any sense they'll let Sony play out their hand, and then put as much effort into 4K BD as humanly possible.

[raygendreau]

World's first look at video unlimited 4k - YouTube

[Geoff D]

Oh, shit. Looks like I spoke too soon about competing 4K streaming services.

Originally Posted by raygendreau

Netflix didn't waste any time getting on board:

http://www.ultrahdtv.net/netflix-4k-...-least-15mbps/

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Oh, shit. Looks like I spoke too soon about competing 4K streaming services.

That's pretty when one looks at data from Netflix. There is little high quality HDTV on Netflix, would expect 4K to look even worse. And yes, my ISP has Netflix Open Connect. It is fine on the 32" and the iPad.

[Jimmy Smith]

Does anyone know the average bitrate and what codec is used for these 4k streams. If the images are overcompressed I don't it would be worth it compared to upconverting a Blu-Ray 4k so Im currious on the matter

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith

Does anyone know the average bitrate and what codec is used for these 4k streams. If the images are overcompressed I don't it would be worth it compared to upconverting a Blu-Ray 4k so Im currious on the matter

Sony provides a download service, not streaming.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...y_Lineup/12549

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Smith

Does anyone know the average bitrate and what codec is used for these 4k streams.

The codec is H.264 (MPEG-4). Have not seen any definitive numbers but the file size appears to range from 40 to 60 GB per title. This based upon Sony info (average number of titles on a 2 TB drive). Using 50 GB for a 120 minute movie would be 55.56 Mbps, IOW, not much faster than standard Blu-ray.

[Wendell R. Breland]

From Sony site:

Have been up and running a couple of days now and noticed 4k player was out at about 3am yesterday with 5xxx error message. Seems like you can't play 4k movies if the Sony network is down. 4k player seems to require constant connection with mother ship and will not operate as a stand alone.

Can a actual owner confirm? This sounds like the XBox One when it was announced.

[raygendreau]

Sony notes on the 4K media server:

2. The Sony FMP-X1 4K Ultra Media Player is exclusively compatible with Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs. Ethernet connection required. Fees may apply for Video Unlimited 4K service.

3. 2 Terabytes equals approximately 2000 Gigabytes. Not all memory is user accessible. Storage of 45 movies is based on average movie file size of approximately 38 GB per movie. Individual movie and video file sizes vary.

4. Download times will vary based on internet connection speed and bandwidth. Due to the large file size of videos in 4K Ultra HD, downloads may require several hours for completion. A broadband connection of at least 10Mbps is recommended for the best experience.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

From Sony site:

Can a actual owner confirm? This sounds like the XBox One when it was announced.

Yes, if your internet service goes down while you’re watching a flick….no joy.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Yes, if your internet service goes down while you’re watching a flick….no joy.

Several days ago I was seriously considering buying one till I learned about the internet connection requirement and it only works with select Sony products. That just goes 180° against my grain.

It will be late November before I get to see the Sony VLP-VW600ES so it could be into next year before a purchase could be made IF the unit is deemed worthy of the price.

I just hope the BDA does not drag around with a UHD BD spec, OTOH, hope they don't rush and screw up.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Several days ago I was seriously considering buying one till I learned about the internet connection requirement and it only works with select Sony products. That just goes 180° against my grain.

I can appreciate that. Also, I think that the typical consumer who purchases the puck will find it to be quite challenging to set up and use. It certainly would be much more consumer-friendly to be able to just slide a 4K Blu-ray disc into a 4K player after a simple hook-up.

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

I just hope the BDA does not drag around with a UHD BD spec, OTOH, hope they don't rush and screw up.

Supporting the AVC codec is easy. On the other hand, HEVC is a different matter esp. with unresolved ‘rights’ issues.

[raygendreau]

Some reviews of the product show people are getting around the inconvenience of a direct Ethernet cable connection between router and player by using Netgear powerline adapters. http://www.netgear.com/home/products...line-and-coax/

This review, found on the Sony Store Web Site revealed that the customer initially had his TV wirelessly connected, but not to the same router that he had the Media Player connected to via the Netgear Powerline adapters. Switching his TV wireless connection to the other router cleared the problem.

Sony doesn't seem to have a problem with this approach, either: https://us.en.kb.sony.com/app/answer...k-media-player

This is the user that downloads a 4K movie in 30 minutes with 75 Mbps bandwidth.

." Correct, that is what I am using now. It plugs directly into a regular outlet in your home and you configure it to your main router. In my case my router sits upstairs and my TV is in my living room. I plugged this netgear adapter in and wired it direct into the media player and it works great. No they have no issues with this as it is still an Ethernet connection."

[I KEEL YOU]

LOL @ 4K at 15 mbps.