Sony UBP-X700 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[m_wilkerson]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

After initially choosing the Panasonic DP-UB150, I switched it out for this player today. It turned out the former didn't have Dolby Vision like my TV does, and the price difference was only about $50. I bought another HDMI cable as well, simply because the player has options for separated audio and video, and my TV's manual seems to suggest it supports that function as well. I don't have a theater system, but since my bedroom is fairly small and my hearing's pretty good anyway, I don't really need one. I'm looking forward to jumping on the 4K bandwagon, but I'm not upgrading my whole collection (that would cost too much and take way too long). So, any recommendations for initial 4K discs? My TV is the Vizio V655-J09; its not high-end, but it gets the job done.

Take a look at this: https://hd-report.com/the-best-4k-blu-rays-of-all-time/

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by m_wilkerson

Take a look at this: https://hd-report.com/the-best-4k-blu-rays-of-all-time/

Thanks for that link. Of that list, the few solo titles I'll probably be getting are Glory, The Lord of the Rings, and Titanic. I also plan to do the same with some of my franchise sets like Mission: Impossible and the MCU, but those will have to wait a while due to the cost involved (especially the latter).

[Necril]

Originally Posted by m_wilkerson

Take a look at this: https://hd-report.com/the-best-4k-blu-rays-of-all-time/

I agree with many of the picks on this list, but the Abyss... I'm not enitrely opposed to the idea of revisionism in blu-ray restoration, but having just watched this, I have to say it looks pretty weird, and no one should judge the format based on that one.

Would also like mention one of my recent favorites, Prospect https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Prosp...lu-ray/290282/. Great movie, and one of the best looking 4ks in my opinion.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by Necril

I agree with many of the picks on this list, but the Abyss... I'm not enitrely opposed to the idea of revisionism in blu-ray restoration, but having just watched this, I have to say it looks pretty weird, and no one should judge the format based on that one.

Would also like mention one of my recent favorites, Prospect https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Prosp...lu-ray/290282/. Great movie, and one of the best looking 4ks in my opinion.

I only saw The Abyss once, because a friend of mine brought the DVD over. It was an okay film, but not something I would call "very good" or "the best" by any stretch of the imagination. Aside from Terminator 2, Titanic, and to a lesser extent True Lies, I can't actually name one James Cameron film I'm a big fan of...unless you count his matte-painting work on Escape From New York. I saw one documentary on a more detailed breakdown of the actual Titanic sinking - it was featured on a recent Blu-Ray release. But to be honest, I got bored less than halfway through - for such a talented director, James really seems to enjoy hearing himself talk more than letting anyone else have input.

Back to the HDReport website list, I looked over it a second time, and here's a few more possible options that stood out for me: Interstellar (I've never seen it), Arrival (looks mildly interesting), and Ready Player One (mostly because I loved video games as a kid). Everything else they listed was either part of a franchise I'm already planning to upgrade, or just didn't appeal to me.

[stvn1974]

Originally Posted by m_wilkerson

Take a look at this: https://hd-report.com/the-best-4k-blu-rays-of-all-time/

The writer of the article needs to see an eye doctor if they think the Lord Of The Rings discs look great.

[ArtistADC]

Gonna be dipping my toes into 4K with this player soon, expecting a region free unit in from 220 Electronics tomorrow.

Cautiously excited! I probably should have read up on it more but I’ve had good experiences with Sonys in the past. My current BD player wasn’t the fanciest or most favored either (the BDP S1700, I believe), but it’s served me well.

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

The writer of the article needs to see an eye doctor if they think the Lord Of The Rings discs look great.

Why? The trilogy looks great in 4K and i do wear glasses

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

The writer of the article needs to see an eye doctor if they think the Lord Of The Rings discs look great.

I read the on-site review, and the video score was pretty good...but they did say that Peter Jackson opted to upscale the VFX instead of re-rendering them properly. I know that was probably WB wanting to save money, but what really struck me as a downer was the collection having no extras. Even the extended Blu-Rays ported the Appendices over from the DVDs, and the studio could've simply done it again for the 4K release. I doubt it would have affected the price very much for customers, either.

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

but they did say that Peter Jackson opted to upscale the VFX instead of re-rendering them properly.

The entire thing was upscaled.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

The entire thing was upscaled.

Can't forget the excessive DNR on top of pre-baked DNR and the horrid revisionist desaturation/fogging on the out-of-timeline scenes in TTT and ROTK. The best I can say for it is that HDR is nice and the Atmos mix is a banger, aside from the glaring sound effect omission at the end of the Gandalf vs Saruman sequence.

[bhampton]

I think I still have the Blus .... hmmm Would that be better >?

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I think I still have the Blus .... hmmm Would that be better >?

BD is better for the latter two, I'd say, but only for the extended cuts. The negative aspects are less pronounced on FOTR and the extended BD has that nasty green tint, so in that case 4K wins. The old theatrical blus are pretty bad, far too compressed.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

The entire thing was upscaled.

Well that just sucks. Combined with the fact that the extended Blu-Rays have the extras from the previous DVD release, I think I'll just stick with what I have. The WB execs seem to be getting very stingy and outright paranoid these days.

[Farerb]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

BD is better for the latter two, I'd say, but only for the extended cuts. The negative aspects are less pronounced on FOTR and the extended BD has that nasty green tint, so in that case 4K wins. The old theatrical blus are pretty bad, far too compressed.

Fellowship of the Ring has less DNR on the remastered Blu-ray:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&...56523&i=13&l=1

My preference is
Fellowship of the Ring: remastered Blu-ray.
The Two Towers: old Blu-ray.
Return of the King: old Blu-ray.

[Moviefan2k4]

I was still having the brief freezing problem with this player, so I did some searching, and came across this video on YouTube. The host suggested turning the player's built-in upscaler off, and switch what's called a Cinema Conversion Mode to the "video" option. His stated reasoning is that when playing a native 4K disc, the upscaler probably treats it like a 1080p Blu-Ray and gets confused. He also said that Sony's upscalers don't have the best history with 1080p discs to begin with, so if you have a 4K TV its best to allow the display to handle all that extra work. I changed the settings as he suggested, so maybe I'll try another movie later and see how it goes. Here's hoping!

Sony 4K Player Freezing & Skipping? Try These Settings | Back to Basics #5 - YouTube

[weberrygt]

It seems like my player can work great for a bunch of movies and then suddenly start freezing. So frustrating. I’ve tried all the tricks too. Disconnect WiFi. I’ve always had player not upscale.

Maybe with sony taking over Disney distribution (right?) that Sony will revisit their players???? Firmware updates? Better options? One can dream.

[sapiendut]

“Sony 4K players skipping or freezing?”

Sony fans be like: “you have to turn off every feature on the player to make the player works”

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

“Sony 4K players skipping or freezing?”

Sony fans be like: “you have to turn off every feature on the player to make the player works”

This is actually only my second 4K player. The first was a Panasonic, but I exchanged it before using when I learned it didn't match my TV's Dolby Vision setup. I've only watched two films on it, and its briefly frozen both times. But after changing the settings per that video, I'll probably try again tomorrow and see what the result is.

[Nosferatu31]

This player has been great to me. Never froze once during the 6 or so years I've owned it.

[Telemachus]

Turning off those settings to stop freezes is snake oil, it does not work. If someone says it works and completely fixes freezing they are lying. Every year some Youtuber thinks they have new settings to defeat freezing. The reason the Sony freezes is simple: heat buildup. It has a bad design. This was my first UHD player and I still have it, it will freeze on every 100gb disc like a clock. There is only one place on the back with small square vents, if you put a silent exhaust fan back there to suck the air out like this it shouldn't ever freeze again:



I've yet to open mine up but I may put some thermal pads on the chips or drill some tactical air holes in the case.