New UHD Blu-ray Players for 2025

[OneBigJedi]

Since there were no new players since last year, is there any new players coming in 2025? LG has stopped! Seems like only Sony and Panasonic are the only two main players left. I have Sony 700 and 800 series players and they have trouble playing some 4k discs, they skip or even lock up. And, they have real trouble playing BD-100 discs. I think anything over 62gig is a no no.

I am really hoping that one or both Sony and Panasonic support the media with some NEW Great Players! Does anyone have knowledge about what they may release or not at CES next month?

[apollo828]

Probably not. They don't have a real incentive to design a brand new player. So long as they can source the necessary parts for current models, or at least do minor design tweaks if certain parts are no longer available, why should they? There's no guarantee that they'll make money off of new players. Selling old designs is, generally speaking, pure profit. Maybe not a ton of profit but profit nonetheless.

[JokkeJarre]

Originally Posted by apollo828

Probably not. They don't have a real incentive to design a brand new player. So long as they can source the necessary parts for current models, or at least do minor design tweaks if certain parts are no longer available, why should they? There's no guarantee that they'll make money off of new players. Selling old designs is, generally speaking, pure profit. Maybe not a ton of profit but profit nonetheless.

No incentive from a business point of view, unfortunately. Big incentive to launch an updated player that has better UI, or app-installation integration like the Apple TV or Play Store so built-in versions of apps or media players don't die after a few years. Basically just update the UI of the player to be up-to-standard and not look like something from the 90's. I was shocked at the UI from the Panasonic DP-UB820 when my sister bought it, I felt like going back to the 70's or so. I really hope so, but it looks like we're out of luck.

In the US, Panasonic DID finally release the DP-UB450. Not sure if it's a new version of that player, as it was already available in Europe around 2020, but it shows that they are at least still somewhat looking into it. It's completely sold out so it's clear there is definitly a demand for it. I'm sure, however, that these big companies are now seeing people running into dead-ends waiting for new players as the older ones are riddled with issues, which allow them to gain the biggest revenue from the remaining stock, while simultaneously pushing that final wave of people over the edge to just ditch physical and go streaming (which would be horrible, horrible and horrible). I already stopped my subscription on Disney+ because we literally watched only three movies or so in a year versus Netflix, and even there it's a stretch.

[OneBigJedi]

I am still holding out hope that Sony will come out with a new player that address all the bugs with 4k play back. But, the big one is on the limit on playing BD-100 discs used for long run time movies. It really sucks not being able to play those movies. Panasonic. still has the $1,000 9000, but even it is a few years old. it seems to be the only player that everyone says that it will play everything. I guess we will have to wait and see if anything pops up at CES on the 7th. I have my fingers crossed!

[Deadend45]

Sure is different from the regular blu-ray player days when there were many manufacturers to choose from and seemingly new models coming out every other year with the prices decreasing instead of increasing..

[HDTV1080P]

The year 2017 Sony UBP-X800 works perfectly fine for some family members when playing back BD-100 discs even discs that are in the 90GB+ range.

I am hoping for in the year 2026-2028 time frame new native 8K Blu-ray players from Sony and Panasonic to start a new 10 year cycle. But that is all speculation.

[Deadend45]

Lol! There wont be native 8K players. Maybe upscalers.

[OneBigJedi]

Yes, the Sony UBP-800M2 came out 8 years ago Jan. 2017 come late next month. Panasonic 9000 series unit is also 8 years old. I am really now hoping with this long into the build cycle they will both see the need for a nex-gen player. If nothing else, they would fix firmware issues and upgrade some of the chips!

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Deadend45

Lol! There wont be native 8K players. Maybe upscalers.

I could see some sort of download/streaming box one day, basically like Kaleidescape, Sony's high bitrate service (I forget the name offhand), etc. All the players will need something to sell you that's brand new and has all the whiz-bang stuff your current setup doesn't.

That said, yes, the idea of an 8K optical player is thoroughly ridiculous. If some billionaire out there wants to flush their fortune down the drain, have fun. I won't count on this, though.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by OneBigJedi

Yes, the Sony UBP-800M2 came out 8 years ago Jan. 2017 come late next month. Panasonic 9000 series unit is also 8 years old. I am really now hoping with this long into the build cycle they will both see the need for a nex-gen player. If nothing else, they would fix firmware issues and upgrade some of the chips!

The Sony UBP-X800M2 came out on May 11th 2019 and added manual Dolby Vision HDR. The older no longer in production Sony UBP-X800 without manual Dolby Vision HDR came out on Feb 6th 2017.

[Hombre1]

Don't forget the PlayStation and Magnatar players....

[Deadend45]

Originally Posted by Hombre1

Don't forget the PlayStation and Magnatar players....

I am trying to.

[OneBigJedi]

The Sony UBP-800 was introduced at CES in Jan. 2017, pre-orders started on Feb 6, 2017.

The last firmware update for the Sony UBP-X800M2 was on May 30, 2022, and was version M45.R.0058. The file size was 187 MB.

That shows me that a lot of the bugs that have popped up with newer disc tech. have not been addressed by Sony.

While not all of the bugs can be addressed with software programming, some of them truly could. The blu-ray player they use in the UBP-X800M2 appears to have a focusing issue on triple layer discs. They could make a mirror update to the player by replacing the drive, updating some chips, and firmware.

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by OneBigJedi

The Sony UBP-800 was introduced at CES in Jan. 2017, pre-orders started on Feb 6, 2017.

The last firmware update for the Sony UBP-X800M2 was on May 30, 2022, and was version M45.R.0058. The file size was 187 MB.

That shows me that a lot of the bugs that have popped up with newer disc tech. have not been addressed by Sony.

While not all of the bugs can be addressed with software programming, some of them truly could. The blu-ray player they use in the UBP-X800M2 appears to have a focusing issue on triple layer discs. They could make a mirror update to the player by replacing the drive, updating some chips, and firmware.

The dates I provided are when Amazon listed the players on their website for sell. Even though the year 2019 Sony UBP-X800M2 is a second-generation 4K Blu-ray player, it was my understanding that the BD-ROM drive is basically the same in the UBP-X800 and UBP-X800M2. While there might be some small chip changes and slight BD-ROM drive differences, the only reason why my family members did not upgrade to the UBP-X800M2 in 2019 was because none of their displays currently support Dolby Vision HDR. And in the future if I do buy a Dolby Vision HDR projector or flat panel display, I would rather have the Magnetar 4K Blu-ray player since the Sony is only manual Dolby Vision HDR, and while Panasonic does auto Dolby Vision HDR, Panasonic does not playback SACD’s and DVD-Audio discs.

But it sounds like you feel there is more problems with the Sony UBP-X800M2 when compared to the old Sony UBP-X800. It is true that certain players with Dolby Vision HDR and certain studios that make 4K Blu-ray discs with Dolby Vision HDR sometimes has more glitches. On my year 2016 OPPO UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player over the years I have noticed that Dolby Vision HDR discs from certain studios has more playback problems when compared to HDR10 discs. But in general, those software glitches with 4K Blu-ray players and 4K Blu-ray discs was fixed with a firmware updates over the years.

4K Blu-ray players handle 2K Blu-ray discs very well and better then 2K Blu-ray players. If new native 8K Blu-ray players are released in 2026-2028 then the laser mechanism should playback 4K Blu-ray discs with the same reliability as 2K Blu-ray discs. The improved laser in 4K Blu-ray players have made 2K Blu-ray disc playback close to perfect 100% of the time. If people really want better 4K Blu-ray disc playback, then 8K BD-ROM drives are the solution with the start of a new 10 year cycle.

[wattsndrive90]

People like myself who aren't audio or videophiles like most who walk hand and hand with this hobby of collecting movies, don't typically buy the best. So introducing new players would be a waste considering Panasonic (the brand I use) currently makes 2 "cheap" under $200 dollar players one of which does Dolby Vision.

All this said whenever 8k TV's are the norm or whatever is next, I can see new players coming out to somehow add to that, even if its just upscaling.

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

The dates I provided are when Amazon listed the players on their website for sell. Even though the year 2019 Sony UBP-X800M2 is a second-generation 4K Blu-ray player, it was my understanding that the BD-ROM drive is basically the same in the UBP-X800 and UBP-X800M2. While there might be some small chip changes and slight BD-ROM drive differences, the only reason why my family members did not upgrade to the UBP-X800M2 in 2019 was because none of their displays currently support Dolby Vision HDR. And in the future if I do buy a Dolby Vision HDR projector or flat panel display, I would rather have the Magnetar 4K Blu-ray player since the Sony is only manual Dolby Vision HDR, and while Panasonic does auto Dolby Vision HDR, Panasonic does not playback SACD’s and DVD-Audio discs.

But it sounds like you feel there is more problems with the Sony UBP-X800M2 when compared to the old Sony UBP-X800. It is true that certain players with Dolby Vision HDR and certain studios that make 4K Blu-ray discs with Dolby Vision HDR sometimes has more glitches. On my year 2016 OPPO UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player over the years I have noticed that Dolby Vision HDR discs from certain studios has more playback problems when compared to HDR10 discs. But in general, those software glitches with 4K Blu-ray players and 4K Blu-ray discs was fixed with a firmware updates over the years.

4K Blu-ray players handle 2K Blu-ray discs very well and better then 2K Blu-ray players. If new native 8K Blu-ray players are released in 2026-2028 then the laser mechanism should playback 4K Blu-ray discs with the same reliability as 2K Blu-ray discs. The improved laser in 4K Blu-ray players have made 2K Blu-ray disc playback close to perfect 100% of the time. If people really want better 4K Blu-ray disc playback, then 8K BD-ROM drives are the solution with the start of a new 10 year cycle.

So far, there has not been any new Blu-ray specification beyond the current BD-66 and BD-100. There is the BD-R 128 but there has not even been plans to make a pressed BD-128. For an 8K Blu-ray format to exist they would either have to introduce a new disc type with an even higher density, introduce compression that is enough to fit most movies onto one disc, or have most movies be split onto multiple discs and maybe bring back the disc changer in the process.

I should mention that Panasonic's first Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD10 from 2006, actually did support DVD-Audio. DVD-Audio was supported on many Panasonic DVD machines in the early 2000s including some of their 5-disc changers and DVD DVR units. The DMP-BD10's drive was also capable of reading DVD-RAM discs, and unlike the BDP-S1 from Sony, this machine also read CDs.

[mdhaus]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

So far, there has not been any new Blu-ray specification beyond the current BD-66 and BD-100. There is the BD-R 128 but there has not even been plans to make a pressed BD-128. For an 8K Blu-ray format to exist they would either have to introduce a new disc type with an even higher density, introduce compression that is enough to fit most movies onto one disc, or have most movies be split onto multiple discs and maybe bring back the disc changer in the process.

I should mention that Panasonic's first Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD10 from 2006, actually did support DVD-Audio. DVD-Audio was supported on many Panasonic DVD machines in the early 2000s including some of their 5-disc changers and DVD DVR units. The DMP-BD10's drive was also capable of reading DVD-RAM discs, and unlike the BDP-S1 from Sony, this machine also read CDs.

*shudders to think about how a tiny scratch would affect a BD-128 disc.*

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by mdhaus

*shudders to think about how a tiny scratch would affect a BD-128 disc.*

The BD-R 128 has been made since 2018. The BD-100 is a pressed adaptation of the BD-R 100 and BD-RE 100 that have been out since 2010.