Best bang for your buck player with Dolby Vision?

[Count Orlok]

I'm planning on getting a 4K player in the next month or so, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or recommendations for a player with Dolby Vision capabilities that won't break the bank. It's not replacing my current player, but will be used strictly for UHD discs and nothing else.

Any help is really appreciated!

[DAT_JB]

Panasonic UB450

[hariseldon]

Panasonic would be my take esp with it's workaround Top Menu ability which makes it at least partially Region Free for BD

[Gthms Rckn]

I really like my Sony x-700. It usually goes on sale for under $200

[Zoland2020]

LG UBK90 or Sony UBP-X700.

[unberechenbar]

Sony UBP-X700 if you don't mind enabling/disabling Dolby Vision.

[Panson]

Originally Posted by Count Orlok

I'm planning on getting a 4K player in the next month or so, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or recommendations for a player with Dolby Vision capabilities that won't break the bank. It's not replacing my current player, but will be used strictly for UHD discs and nothing else.

Any help is really appreciated!

Sony X800M2, manual selection of HDR Dolby Vision, better build than Panasonic UB450, UB820, Sony X700. MSRP $299.99.

[tcripe]

If you’re not interested in turning DV on/off all the time and prefer a player that auto switches depending on the disk then I’d go with the LG UBK90

[teddyballgame]

The UB820 has been good to me. I like that it autodetects dolbyvision discs.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by tcripe

If you’re not interested in turning DV on/off all the time and prefer a player that auto switches depending on the disk then I’d go with the LG UBK90

The LG UBK90 is not compatible with 2020 and earlier Sony TVs for Dolby vision.

[Wormicide]

How does the Sony DolbyVision compare to Panasonic’s? I know it has to be toggled. I heard the LG UBK90 has CEC that can’t be turned off.

[danny24]

Seeing you already own a Panasonic BD player and like it the UB820 makes the most sense for you if it's on sale or you can find a good deal on it used or new. However the Sony doesn't have auto DV you have to turn it on but the X800M2 is a good option and you can put your Panasonic BD player on top of it because it's pretty well built. Likely have to buy one used they are cheaper used.

I would say the UB820 though because you like Panasonic just try eBay or check for a good price used. If you want a small UHD player though to put on top of your Panasonic the Sony X700 is small and plays UHD's and supports DV. Maybe that is a good choice.

[Count Orlok]

I'm thinking about settling on the Sony UBP-X800M2. It has what I'm looking for plus two HDMI outputs. My Onkyo can't passthrough a 4K signal, so I'm hoping with this player, that I can have my plasma (or the player settings) downsample the 4K information down to 1080p until I'm able to get a 4K TV. I won't be able to take advantage of the increased resolution, HDR or DV, but at least I'll still be able to get lossless audio thanks to the two HDMI outs.

Does any of this seem logical at all, or is this just poor future -proofing? I don't plan on replacing my AVR anytime soon as it's still going strong.

[vjo81]

Originally Posted by teddyballgame

The UB820 has been good to me. I like that it autodetects dolbyvision discs.

In addition, the UB820 has Panasonic's HDR Optimizer that can help to better match HDR10 sources to the brightness levels of your TV. It doesn't work wonders but, in some cases, it can tone down bright highlights that tend to get blown out. The 820 had dropped to around $450 a few months ago but it's back up to $500. It is an excellent disc spinner for HDR10 and Dolby Vision discs so there's still some pretty good bang for the buck. It's downside, if this matters to you, is that it's more limited in what kind of videos and audio it can play from USB storage devices than the Sony probably is and nowhere near what the Oppo 203/205s can do. Personally, it's almost bizarre that Sony, to this day, has not added auto-detection of HDR10 and DV discs to their otherwise very good players. It's a showstopper for me.

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by Count Orlok

I'm thinking about settling on the Sony UBP-X800M2. It has what I'm looking for plus two HDMI outputs. My Onkyo can't passthrough a 4K signal, so I'm hoping with this player, that I can have my plasma (or the player settings) downsample the 4K information down to 1080p until I'm able to get a 4K TV. I won't be able to take advantage of the increased resolution, HDR or DV, but at least I'll still be able to get lossless audio thanks to the two HDMI outs.

Does any of this seem logical at all, or is this just poor future -proofing? I don't plan on replacing my AVR anytime soon as it's still going strong.

That sounds reasonable. Sony just released an update for its players a few days ago so hopefully they'll continue supporting them for the near future.

[yanksno1]

I've became a big fan of the LG UBK90. Has the dual HDMI's if you need that. I think it has a slightly better picture then my since sold Oppo 203 player when I had it. I tried the Sony UBP-X800M2 (testing out discs cause my Oppo's optical drive was bad) for a few days and while a nice player, kinda a pain to switch back and forth between DV and HDR. Real nice player besides that. I've been shopping for a LG UBK90 for my bedroom and maybe my living room too (the one I have there now is from another residence I'm using here now). But for that one I think I'll wait till a sale is going on for the Panasonic UB820 (for my living room). I know the LG UBK90 were had for much cheaper before, and I'm kicking myself for not picking one of those up. eBay's prices aren't that enticing. I'd rather pick one up at the $246.99 price it is right now new.

[Wormicide]

Originally Posted by yanksno1

I've became a big fan of the LG UBK90. Has the dual HDMI's if you need that. I think it has a slightly better picture then my since sold Oppo 203 player when I had it. I tried the Sony UBP-X800M2 (testing out discs cause my Oppo's optical drive was bad) for a few days and while a nice player, kinda a pain to switch back and forth between DV and HDR. Real nice player besides that. I've been shopping for a LG UBK90 for my bedroom and maybe my living room too (the one I have there now is from another residence I'm using here now). But for that one I think I'll wait till a sale is going on for the Panasonic UB820 (for my living room). I know the LG UBK90 were had for much cheaper before, and I'm kicking myself for not picking one of those up. eBay's prices aren't that enticing. I'd rather pick one up at the $246.99 price it is right now new.

If you go to Walmart the UBKM9 is their LG version of the UBK90 and it’s always $174.99

[yanksno1]

Originally Posted by Wormicide

If you go to Walmart the UBKM9 is their LG version of the UBK90 and it’s always $174.99

Awesome, thank you! Didn't know Walmart had their own variant of it. Good to know. Think I'll pick one (or 2) up!

[danny24]

Maybe the UBKM9 for $175 is a good option for them the Sony though is good to especially the X1100ES which has a front display but it seems to be out of production however used ones can be had cheaper.

[Vriess]

I thought LG players were pretty notorious for problems updating their players causing problems with discs? Not sure I would trust them for a future proof UHD player