Sony UBP-X700 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[TheHighRoller]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

Auto1 outputs SD and 1080p video at 1080p, Auto2 upscales to 4K before output.

So do you guys recommend setting 1 or 2? I feel like the second option makes most sense, especially for DVDs and Blu-rays.

Originally Posted by ij72

Since you have a Sony TV, Auto1 the TV does the upscaling for HD, Auto2 the x700 does it. If you had a non-Sony TV, Auto1 and Auto2 are basically the same.

From the x700 manual (https://www.sony.com/electronics/sup...6984061M.pdf):

Also, is there a reason why some Blu-rays say HDR and others SDR?

[ij72]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

So do you guys recommend setting 1 or 2? I feel like the second option makes most sense, especially for DVDs and Blu-rays.

It's not the answer you're looking for, but you really do need to try both, as it comes down to which upscaler (TV or player) does a better job. If there's not a noticable difference, I'd probably let the TV handle it (setting 1) as much as possible.

Also, is there a reason why some Blu-rays say HDR and others SDR?

Only UHD discs can have HDR (although a few do not), but if you've got Dolby Vision flipped on (as it does need to be toggled manually on/off on the Sony players), it probably is forcing DV conversion onto things that don't have it natively (non-UHD discs).

[TheHighRoller]

Originally Posted by ij72

It's not the answer you're looking for, but you really do need to try both, as it comes down to which upscaler (TV or player) does a better job. If there's not a noticable difference, I'd probably let the TV handle it (setting 1) as much as possible.

Only UHD discs can have HDR (although a few do not), but if you've got Dolby Vision flipped on (as it does need to be toggled manually on/off on the Sony players), it probably is forcing DV conversion onto things that don't have it natively (non-UHD discs).

If I leave Auto 1 so the TV does the upscaling, doesn't that kind of stress the TV since it's doing a fuction real-time? The 4K Blu-ray player does too with Auto 2 but it's something that doesn't concern me.

Do you think it's fine if I leave Dolby Vision on? Meaning, does it really make a difference? I think I've seen a Blu-ray or two since flipping it on and I think it looked better. Fallen Angels didn't have that weird black/green tracking/ghost effect after I turned it on.

[ij72]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

If I leave Auto 1 so the TV does the upscaling, doesn't that kind of stress the TV since it's doing a fuction real-time?

A 4K TV has to upconvert most of the content sent its way anyways, so it's kind of used to it.

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

Do you think it's fine if I leave Dolby Vision on? Meaning, does it really make a difference?.

I wouldn't personally leave it on all the time, if it were me, since it can mess with the colors on non-DV content. However, I'm not the one who paid for your television!

[EinCB128]

I forget, what if you have a Sony TV that isn't 4K? Leave it on Auto 2? Sorry for asking again.

[ij72]

Originally Posted by EinCB128

I forget, what if you have a Sony TV that isn't 4K? Leave it on Auto 2? Sorry for asking again.

Set it to OFF, I guess, since it's a 4K Upscale setting. I don't know what would happen if you set it to AUTO.

[bookcase]

I believe this is the player I'll be getting for Christmas -- I want DV and it fits in our budget, so I put it on my wish list. I'll keep my UBP-X800 for safety. It's been a great player, except recently it choked on Top Gun: Maverick and Everything Everywhere All at Once. I have a Sony TV, so I like how the player and TV work well together.

[keithr]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

If I leave Auto 1 so the TV does the upscaling, doesn't that kind of stress the TV since it's doing a fuction real-time? The 4K Blu-ray player does too with Auto 2 but it's something that doesn't concern me.

Do you think it's fine if I leave Dolby Vision on? Meaning, does it really make a difference? I think I've seen a Blu-ray or two since flipping it on and I think it looked better. Fallen Angels didn't have that weird black/green tracking/ghost effect after I turned it on.

I would leave the upscaling setting off. If it's on, 24p playback is disabled, and your 4K TV is probably doing a better job upscaling anyway.

[bobbyh64]

I’m thinking about getting this as my first 4K Blu-ray player. I have a TCL TV and the HDR/DV is too dark (there is no option on my TV to turn it off). Can this player disable HDR when watching a disk? And can it disable HDR/DV on content that is streamed in HDR/DV?

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

I’m thinking about getting this as my first 4K Blu-ray player. I have a TCL TV and the HDR/DV is too dark (there is no option on my TV to turn it off). Can this player disable HDR when watching a disk? And can it disable HDR/DV on content that is streamed in HDR/DV?

It has an HDR optimizer which will probably fix any such issues, just crank that up to the max.

[mysticwaterfall]

Well I now have 2 of these. Got a Region Free modded one off eBay for $159 which seemed like a great price. Haven't had any issues with the other one since I got so I figured why not to have Region Free on more TVs. It's the "M" model which I haven't really been able to find out what's different about.

[mastafishere]

I've been considering getting a dedicated 4k player, instead of using my PS5 or my XSX. The Sony XBP-X700 came up on a list of best players. It's only $180 on Amazon right now so I thought I'd pull the trigger. Picture quality is really important to me. Is it worth the upgrade? And is this a good player? Is it worth going for a more expensive one?

For reference, my tv is an LG OLED65CXPUA and my soundbar is a basic vizio (sound isn't important to me)

[Misioon_Odisea]

Originally Posted by mastafishere

I've been considering getting a dedicated 4k player, instead of using my PS5 or my XSX. The Sony XBP-X700 came up on a list of best players. It's only $180 on Amazon right now so I thought I'd pull the trigger. Picture quality is really important to me. Is it worth the upgrade? And is this a good player? Is it worth going for a more expensive one?

For reference, my tv is an LG OLED65CXPUA and my soundbar is a basic vizio (sound isn't important to me)

Yeah, I think the UBP-X700 is a good start for a dedicated player, in my personal experience (mine purchased December 2019). Picture quality is competent, I wish I had the equipment and the qualities of the pixel-peepers that analitically review the minute technicalities that do separate the different player brands and models from each other, but on a surface level, it's satisfactory for my needs. Also, my unit has been very reliable lately, especially after the firmware updates. Even more, I have taken mine for travel abroad already, and it has worked like a charm! It has even served me tremendously well for YouTube, with flawless 2160p playback and all, it's pretty much second only to a proper PC for this task.

[mastafishere]

Originally Posted by Misioon_Odisea

Yeah, I think the UBP-X700 is a good start for a dedicated player, in my personal experience (mine purchased December 2019). Picture quality is competent, I wish I had the equipment and the qualities of the pixel-peepers that analitically review the minute technicalities that do separate the different player brands and models from each other, but on a surface level, it's satisfactory for my needs. Also, my unit has been very reliable lately, especially after the firmware updates. Even more, I have taken mine for travel abroad already, and it has worked like a charm! It has even served me tremendously well for YouTube, with flawless 2160p playback and all, it's pretty much second only to a proper PC for this task.

Appreciate the feedback, but I'm not looking for something that's just a good start. I have a PS5 and an XBSX already as my good starts. I'm looking for a significant upgrade picture quality wise. What would you recommend for something that's the next level?

[Misioon_Odisea]

Originally Posted by mastafishere

Appreciate the feedback, but I'm not looking for something that's just a good start. I have a PS5 and an XBSX already as my good starts. I'm looking for a significant upgrade picture quality wise. What would you recommend for something that's the next level?

In that case, depending on your budget then Panasonic's line of players may be a better fit for your needs, particularly the UB820 and UB9000. They have Dolby Vision and a unique picture optimizer for HDR10. They apparently also have a better chroma upscaling engine over other players in the market. If the HDR10 optimizer is off however, I wouldn't know how much of a real-world difference they have over the UBP-X700's image quality on HDR10 playback, the pixel-peepers may be able to tell you more about that, but in either case several people do say that the Panasonic players are a significant step-up over consoles in particular. I hope I was able to help.

[Herry Dunston]

I just realized something, and it would be nice to get some corroborating from you guys here.

So here I was, watching Everything Everywhere All at Once with my Denon AVR-X2700h setup. Then I noticed from the AVR that it's encoding the movie in Dolby TrueHD, rather than Atmos. I thought it was strange, because it was encoding in Atmos before. I've been hastily browsing back and forth on solutions, and methods that didn't help with the issue [ie: Digital Audio Output = Auto; BD Secondary Audio = Off; Audio DRC =Off]. It's strange: my AVR can naturally output Atmos through my Apple TV 4K, but not my UHD player. Then I realized WHY, or at least what I assume, my AVR was able to output Atmos from my X700 before.

Under the Sound Mode for the remote, it must've been set on an audio mode below its default [Dolby Atmos + Dolby Surround]. So the Atmos I'm seeing on the AVR display is a reencoding of the existing TrueHD stream. It was a manual selection all along. The UHD player, upon showing the info stats, just shows the default audio as TrueHD, even though the AVR is capable of encoding Atmos. And I don't think I can do anything to make this work automatically.

Also, as an aside, I'm getting annoyed that my X700 likes to overheat out of the blue. It's my 4th consecutive 4K disc, and every play, the movie stops at a random point. Each disc showed no scratches and blemishes, and I always thought they needed a good cleaning; it's the player that's at fault.

I'm beginning to think this player is not a good long-term investment. I should probably look into that $500 Panasonic; at least that can automatically switch between HDR and DV.

[JWgrayhawk]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

I just realized something, and it would be nice to get some corroborating from you guys here.

So here I was, watching Everything Everywhere All at Once with my Denon AVR-X700h setup. Then I noticed from the AVR that it's encoding the movie in Dolby TrueHD, rather than Atmos. I thought it was strange, because it was encoding in Atmos before. I've been hastily browsing back and forth on solutions, and methods that didn't help with the issue [ie: Digital Audio Output = Auto; BD Secondary Audio = Off; Audio DRC =Off]. It's strange: my AVR can naturally output Atmos through my Apple TV 4K, but not my UHD player. Then I realized WHY, or at least what I assume, my AVR was able to output Atmos from my X700 before.

Under the Sound Mode for the remote, it must've been set on an audio mode below its default [Dolby Atmos + Dolby Surround]. So the Atmos I'm seeing on the AVR display is a reencoding of the existing TrueHD stream. It was a manual selection all along. The UHD player, upon showing the info stats, just shows the default audio as TrueHD, even though the AVR is capable of encoding Atmos. And I don't think I can do anything to make this work automatically.

Also, as an aside, I'm getting annoyed that my X700 likes to overheat out of the blue. It's my 4th consecutive 4K disc, and every play, the movie stops at a random point. Each disc showed no scratches and blemishes, and I always thought they needed a good cleaning; it's the player that's at fault.

I'm beginning to think this player is not a good long-term investment. I should probably look into that $500 Panasonic; at least that can automatically switch between HDR and DV.

Make sure you have the audio output set to bitstream. Players don't decode Atmos. If not on bitstream, they will only output 7.1 TruHD. But an AVR will take the bitstream and decode it into Atmos if it's Atmos capable.

Sorry you're having trouble with your 700. My 800 M2 has never frozen. Only glitch I've had is a slight pause, then short skip on 1 disc- same place every time. I'm almost certain it's the disc.

Do you have plenty of ventilation for the player? If not, try improving that; if yes, maybe trying a cheap fan for electronics could provide an easier, cheaper solution than a costly upgrade.

[Herry Dunston]

Originally Posted by JWgrayhawk

Make sure you have the audio output set to bitstream. Players don't decode Atmos. If not on bitstream, they will only output 7.1 TruHD. But an AVR will take the bitstream and decode it into Atmos if it's Atmos capable.

I already tried that. Or rather, the Digital Audio Output has been set to "Auto", which in Sony's words, is its own version of enabling Bitstream. Anything otherwise, I only get a multi-channel PCM setup. Still only recognizes the TrueHD, according to my capable AVR unless I set the sound mode to Atmos.

For visual context:

This is what my Denon AVR's Sound Mode is currently set to:


And this is Sony X700h listing a Dolby Atmos track as Dolby TrueHD.


Are these normal readings?

Do you have plenty of ventilation for the player? If not, try improving that; if yes, maybe trying a cheap fan for electronics could provide an easier, cheaper solution than a costly upgrade.

It sits atop the the AVR within a furniture cabinet, with only a plank that the player rests to separate the two, and it's an inch-distance. I thought about moving the plank up a level, but I'm concerned it'll reduce the signal reach from my remote (that was my initial grip from my Apple TV 4K before I moved it to the top outside the cabinets).

I remember having a plug-in fan, and it was resting on top of the old AVR. The problem with that one, though, is that there's no power on/off switch; it just turns on permanently upon plugging it through a socket.

Even if the player isn't having its frozen issues, I still think having a Panasonic would be a convenience for the auto HDR/DV switching.

[UPDATE]

I have no clearance to raise the UHD player further up from the AVR in their own row, so I opted to swap places with it and the CD player from another row, which has more ventilation and the power management box below it doesn't generate heat that much. Theoretically, the overheating of the player should be prevented, but I'll update on further results.

[CtrlCtrlFast]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

[Show spoiler]I already tried that. Or rather, the Digital Audio Output has been set to "Auto", which in Sony's words, is its own version of enabling Bitstream. Anything otherwise, I only get a multi-channel PCM setup. Still only recognizes the TrueHD, according to my capable AVR unless I set the sound mode to Atmos.

For visual context:

This is what my Denon AVR's Sound Mode is currently set to:


And this is Sony X700h listing a Dolby Atmos track as Dolby TrueHD.


Are these are normal readings?

Yes, I beileve this is normal and how it is suppose to work. According to this article on soundandvision, it is in order to maintain backward compatibility with older systems.

https://www.soundandvision.com/conte...y-atmos-differ

[JWgrayhawk]

Originally Posted by Herry Dunston

I already tried that. Or rather, the Digital Audio Output has been set to "Auto", which in Sony's words, is its own version of enabling Bitstream. Anything otherwise, I only get a multi-channel PCM setup. Still only recognizes the TrueHD, according to my capable AVR unless I set the sound mode to Atmos.

It sits atop the the AVR within a furniture cabinet, with only a plank that the player rests to separate the two, and it's an inch-distance. I thought about moving the plank up a level, but I'm concerned it'll reduce the signal reach from my remote (that was my initial grip from my Apple TV 4K before I moved it to the top outside the cabinets).

I remember having a plug-in fan, and it was resting on top of the old AVR. The problem with that one, though, is that there's no power on/off switch; it just turns on permanently upon plugging it through a socket.

Even if the player isn't having its frozen issues, I still think having a Panasonic would be a convenience for the auto HDR/DV switching.

[UPDATE]

I have no clearance to raise the UHD player further up from the AVR in their own row, so I opted to swap places with it and the CD player from another row, which has more ventilation and the power management box below it doesn't generate heat that much. Theoretically, the overheating of the player should be prevented, but I'll update on further results.

Strange that auto is how you select bitstream; maybe the 700 isn't detecting an atmos-capable avr for some reason and is sending just decoded truhd? Do you have a way to display what signal your avr is receiving? Also, not familiar with your avr, but if you choose truhd instead of atmos from the display you show above, what happens? Maybe the atmos choice is for upmixing?

Just guessing now. It sounds frustrating. I'd say call support, but that is often even more frustrating than the problem itself...

As for ventilation, I'd think it would definitely help moving the 700 away from the AVR. But with only 1 inch above your AVR, you're very likely shortening it's lifespan. I've always seen a suggestion of minimum 2" clearance in every direction for AVRs. And that close to the 700 would definitely cause some heat problems. If you don't have any other space available, I'd suggest getting rid of your CD player and using the 700 for CDs, to give your AVR some breathing room.

Good luck!

Edit: Forgot to add- as with anything computer-based (pretty much all electronics these days), always try a reset. Unplug both your 700 and AVR for a couple of minutes. It's amazing the array of problems a reset fixes- that's why it's always the 1st step suggested by support staff.