Sony UBP-X700 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by tobz

My Sony X700 has been freezing a lot lately. Interstellar, Jurassic Park (from the new steelbook) and Harry Potter 1 all froze and I had to restart the player to get it back playing.

I assume it’s because these are 100gb discs?

For the old model you can try turning 4K upscaling off, turning off all internet connections, and disable anything else that might interfere. Keep in a non-closed area. Some people have luck with this.


The newer model so far seems nearly perfect. No issues at all outside one single hitching across a couple frames when switching Blown Away 100GB on resume playback. Did not see it on rewind. Haven't had any issues since yet anyway. I am sure a speck of dust or the player itself might hitch on another disc, but still it rocks so far.

[tobz]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyGnome

For the old model you can try turning 4K upscaling off, turning off all internet connections, and disable anything else that might interfere. Keep in a non-closed area. Some people have luck with this.


The newer model so far seems perfect. No issues at all not one single freeze SO FAR.

I've tried those settings changes a while ago and they worked for a bit. I've seen other comments in this thread that suggest the player could be overheating as this is common? The player just seems to be a bit flakey tbh, kinda given up on it and might get a new player to replace it. Probably go for a Panasonic since those seem to have less issues.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by tobz

I've tried those settings changes a while ago and they worked for a bit. I've seen other comments in this thread that suggest the player could be overheating as this is common? The player just seems to be a bit flakey tbh, kinda given up on it and might get a new player to replace it. Probably go for a Panasonic since those seem to have less issues.

Funny, I have 2 Panasonic 420s that both give me issues (pixel jitter/skipping and eventually freezing), and is why I've been watching this thread for any news on the latest "U" model. I'd say it happens maybe 20-25% of the time, and almost exclusively with UHD titles, but random and not limited to 100GB discs. I've had 2 blu-rays skip/freeze, but they were older discs that I haven't exactly taken care of.

[Necril]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyGnome

I have played 10 so far watched 5 of them. Just haven't had the time atm. No issues at all. I am pretty particular too so discs get wiped by MagicFiber cloth and I try to keep the inside as clean as possible. Might watch another one tonight IDK. If people are worried might want to wait a bit lol because we all know how this goes. But yes it's been a very nice player so far. Just watch out for fingerprints on the shiny plastic because they ain't coming out.

Sounds fairly convincing. It's true some and perhaps even most of the old X700s worked without issues, but I have yet to hear any reports of the newer model freezing, so it's looking pretty good so far. I'm almost certain that Sony was aware of the issue, and it's also likely that they would try to fix it, even if they will never acknowledge the matter in public.

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by Necril

Sounds fairly convincing. It's true some and perhaps even most of the old X700s worked without issues, but I have yet to hear any reports of the newer model freezing, so it's looking pretty good so far. I'm almost certain that Sony was aware of the issue, and it's also likely that they would try to fix it, even if they will never acknowledge the matter in public.

Oh for sure. Sony is well known to do this for issues on PS5, e.g., the VRR stutter issue they fixed recently. They don't release patch notes often for any of these things.


I wouldn't suddenly expect this player to start freezing for no reason. Unless people treat their stuff badly and allow loads of dust, grime, and dirt from discs and the environment inside, it seems like a pretty decent player to me.

I mean IMHO if there is no freezing, it's the best player in this price range by a landslide. I'd much rather have this than the Panny, which is old as hell and does not support SACD. This also has upscaling as well if anybody wanted that.

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by tobz

I've tried those settings changes a while ago and they worked for a bit. I've seen other comments in this thread that suggest the player could be overheating as this is common? The player just seems to be a bit flakey tbh, kinda given up on it and might get a new player to replace it. Probably go for a Panasonic since those seem to have less issues.

There were a lot of chips in this era that overheated when pressed too far. Chips in modems, GPUs, and a lot of other stuff. It's very possible with all the apps and background processes that the chip was just being used for things it wasn't supposed to be used for.

Sony can also update the boards and whatever else to go along with their main processing chips to better accommodate things. But as I said so far this thing is whisper quiet and does nothing but play back discs flawlessly.

[hallowdrew]

There are ten reviews on Amazon for the new U version, and one mentions that it froze late on their Dune II disc.

[mx77]

Originally Posted by hallowdrew

There are ten reviews on Amazon for the new U version, and one mentions that it froze late on their Dune II disc.

And another user wrote about problems with several 4k discs, the player didn't recognize those. I really wanted to buy this model as a 3rd player for me, but seems like Sony hasn't been able to identify and fix the bugs.

[Necril]

Originally Posted by hallowdrew

There are ten reviews on Amazon for the new U version, and one mentions that it froze late on their Dune II disc.

Well, that's not good. Of course, in this case it could be a disc issue, lack of proper airflow around the player, etc., but seeing any complaints from the early buyers certainly doesn't look great.

[Cortiz]

I've always owned Sony players since the DVD era. They have always been solid, reliable players for me. I currently own the X1100ES and never had any major issues with it but I'm aware of all the freezing issues that has plagued their 4K players. Based on my experience with the Sony's, i don't think the freezing issues has anything to do with any of the mythical fixes posted on these forums over the years. IMO it's just a firmware/software issue that Sony have simply not bothered to fix. Same with the manual DV toggle. For a company like Sony, those issues should be an easy fix, but with the declined of physical media and the 4K format being a niche market, there's really not enough incentive for Sony to do anything about it.

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by tobz

My Sony X700 has been freezing a lot lately. Interstellar, Jurassic Park (from the new steelbook) and Harry Potter 1 all froze and I had to restart the player to get it back playing.

I assume it’s because these are 100gb discs?

Interstellar always froze on my Sony too, yes it's 100gb. I couldn't even play it right till I got my Panny. It is heat to some extent, after a disc freezes eject it as quick as you can after the restart and you'll notice the disc is very warm, at least from my experience. It could freeze much less depending on how cool you can keep the player, an external USB fan could help a lot, trouble is the x700 only has like one small vent in the back.

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyGnome

There were a lot of chips in this era that overheated when pressed too far.

Sony uses an MT8581 as its SOC, while Oppo utilized a custom version, the MT8591, as its SOC. In other words, the same basic design.

Oppo UHD players, while not without the hiccups associated with the format, have certainly proved to be far more reliable.

Specific to the SOC, it might be Oppo requested a larger (and more expensive) cache which prevented the type of disc errors found in the Sony range of products.

Specific to the overall design, there's no question that the Oppo used a larger and better ventilated enclosure.

As far as specific parts, one would have to believe the Oppo is of superior quality, which may also provide an answer.

Originally Posted by Cortiz

Based on my experience with the Sony's, i don't think the freezing issues has anything to do with any of the mythical fixes posted on these forums over the years.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Cortiz

IMO it's just a firmware/software issue that Sony have simply not bothered to fix. Same with the manual DV toggle. For a company like Sony, those issues should be an easy fix, but with the declined (sic) of physical media and the 4K format being a niche market, there's really not enough incentive for Sony to do anything about it.

Agree that money is part of the dynamic, the cost to fix the underlying issues in the face of declining sales or an inability to raise prices to recoup the investment. It always is, isn't it?

But it may also be that MediaTek has moved on, and is not interested in any additional work specific to the SOC other than manufacturing the existing design, which for all we know has been farmed out, or is using existing stock.

Their symbiotic relationship was purported to be one of the reasons Oppo exited the business, i.e., MediaTek no longer dedicating resources to maintain/develop a line of SOCs dedicated to physical media playback.

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by Necril

Well, that's not good. Of course, in this case it could be a disc issue, lack of proper airflow around the player, etc., but seeing any complaints from the early buyers certainly doesn't look great.

I'll test Dune 2 out I guess, but I don't want to watch the whole thing either. Easily could have been an issue with dirt, dust, heat, or any number of things. I will definitely update when or if I get a freeze on anything.

I'm not too worried atm. Personally, I feel it is heat issues and that running those apps in the background was just too much, so there should be a lot less of that this time. But it might not be perfect obviously.


"While watching Dune2, it got stuck towards the end before Paul’s fight."

I can probably run this and see if it sticks, not sure quite where he had an issue but could get it close.

Also, never trust randoms on Amazon. I have my review on there, but some of these reviews look like they were written by muppets. We have no idea where this player sits, the quality of the disc, et cetera. So many people throw in discs with prints and other stuff on them or just toss the player in a heated environment and then whine on a badly written review. But it will be a good test.

Thing is would the test be complete unless I watched the WHOLE thing straight through. IDK probably not. I will probably just watch another 100GB disc like I have been doing. At times I only make it though half the disc and then watch the other half soon after.

I would never discount experiences, but in my own experience I know fully how stupid some people are with their equipment. There are people who will literally eat a bag of cheetos then grip a disc and throw it in a player that sits in an entertainment center lmao. IT SKIPPED!

Personally, I feel the player won't always be perfect, but as long as it's not all that BS with it completely going blank and requiring pulling the plug I really don't care.

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

Interstellar always froze on my Sony too, yes it's 100gb. I couldn't even play it right till I got my Panny. It is heat to some extent, after a disc freezes eject it as quick as you can after the restart and you'll notice the disc is very warm, at least from my experience. It could freeze much less depending on how cool you can keep the player, an external USB fan could help a lot, trouble is the x700 only has like one small vent in the back.

I can maybe watch this one again in the near future, as I have not actually seen my own 4K disc.

[bhampton]

If the 700U actually works I'm interested in trying it.

I like the 2 HDMI outputs because I use an older Audio Processor. But that would mainly be useful for HDR+ for me at the moment and I don't see it mentioning support for that.

[IlCorvo]

Sound like an issue with the actual disc, not the player.

[red_5ive]

I've been watching this thread as I've been considering the new model as a possible replacement for my Panasonic 420s. So I appreciate everyone's input.

And since it appears some have mentioned they're considering a Pany, I'll give Dune II a try and also Interstellar figuring the 420 is in a comparable price point. I don't recall if I had issues with Dune II since getting the 420s a little over a year ago. I'm watching Dune right now and plan to watch part II a little later. Interstellar I know I haven't watched yet on the 420s, but I'll give it a go sometime over the weekend. Been a while so I'm eager to watch it.

I'll note that 100GB discs aren't generally a problem with the 420s, and the skips/pixelation and freezes I've been getting seem to be random, and it happens with both players. And when it happens (which I'd say maybe 20%-25% of the time), wiping the disc down has not always helped, and I've been more diligent of doing that ahead of time. That percentage was double before I became more diligent about wiping the discs down. What I haven't done yet is, if I have a disc that chokes is immediately trying it in the other 420.

Edit: I just remembered, I bought Superman II a couple of years ago but had not yet watched any of the versions. I popped on the theatrical over the weekend and twice the picture became pixelated, although no pauses/skips/freezes. I did wipe the disc ahead of time even if I hadn't watched it yet. Dust gets into everything.

[WhiskeyGnome]

Originally Posted by bhampton

If the 700U actually works I'm interested in trying it.

I like the 2 HDMI outputs because I use an older Audio Processor. But that would mainly be useful for HDR+ for me at the moment and I don't see it mentioning support for that.

Yeah might be a while before anybody has definitive proof, and even then age can do things. But as I go along here watching more discs we should at least know if it's dogshite at least.

During a film I will try to take it out halfway through to test heat as somebody mentioned that on their old player.

[bhampton]

It doesn't seem to support HDR10+ so I don't have a use for it's dual HDMI outputs so ..... I certainly don't have a reason to try it for now.

As always I wish everyone luck.

[Alister_M]

Dune II seized up around the final fight on my older model, wiped the edge and it was fine. Owners of this model need to stop obsessing over heat levels and player settings and start paying attention to the fact that a large percentage of 4K discs have an oily residue on them and it interferes with playback.

Case in point, newest 007 4K set. Zero playback issues with Dr No, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice. Very slight freeze in From Russia With Love, fixed by wiping very slight amount of grease from the edge of the disc. Then, Thunderball ended up having a crazy amount of that shite on it. It took me several days of wiping and re-wiping to remove it all, disc now has a few hairline scratches but plays perfectly now that all the grease is finally gone.