Sony UBP-X700 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[unberechenbar]

I had serious problems with playing the UK Westworld Season 1 UHD, but it turns out that it was probably due to a film on the surface of the discs. The first disc froze on the last episode so I chalked it up to the layer change but the second disc stuttered multiple times, necessitating taking out the disc many times. I knew something was up with the third disc as soon as the menu came up since it wasn't even playing the menu scenes properly. I gave it a thorough wiping down and lo and behold, didn't have a single playback issue after that. The UHD was new and I'd never encountered anything that bad before.

[Coryp81]

Ugh..I have had these issues with 2 separate 4k players. Different brands. It keeps me from getting any more discs and attempting to watch any more.

[grayskale]

For those whose x700 players lock-up and freeze or skip intermittently, i've had the same issues when i installed the player in a room with only a ceiling fan (i'm in the tropics). When it got a bit warm, BD-100s would freeze and i would need to power cycle the player.

I don't have such issues anymore (unless the disc is defective to begin with) since moving it to an air conditioned room with sufficient air circulation around the x700.

No freezes/skips from beginning to end for long 3-4 hr movies on UHD like LOTR Trilogy, The Last Emperor, Schindler's List (UK), Braveheart (German pressing).

[MacinMan]

Hey all,
Was curious if anyone else has experienced this issue with their X700 (latest firmware.)

First off, what exactly does the X700's "Auto" setting for "output resolution" do?
When I play any video that is 24p at lower resolutions than 4K (such as standard blu-ray), I get no, or stuttering audio out of HDMI 2 when splitting Audio and video connections.

The way I have found to fix this are a couple ways:
1. Set the player to a fixed resolution, such as 4k, or 1080p.
2. Turn off 24p (if leaving output set to auto)
3. set 4k upscale to auto2 if leaving output set to auto, and 24p set to auto.

Apparently the problem doesn't occur if the HDMI 1 is used for both audio / video. However, in my setup to get full quality audio, it's best to separate audio and video between the TV and sound bar.

I was mainly curious if anyone else has run into this issue with their X700. Like I said it's only non 4k 24p content with the player's resolution output set to auto vs a fixed output that triggers the problem. I've purchased a Panasonic UB420 to replace the Sony as my main player, and therefore no longer have the issue.

However, it was testing and comparing the Sony to the Panasonic as a secondary player I saw these issues come up.

I'm not too concerned at this point since the Panasonic is a better player overall. Just tossing this out there for feedback.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

[MacinMan]

Hello,
i have been able to confirm that that above issues only occur when using HDMI 2 out for audio. I switched to only one cable (HDMI 1) and all the above issues were gone.

I do have a question for those with electronics repair experience since no one on these threads has ever mentioned it regarding disc skipping / freezing, etc. Has anyone ever opened the drive in their X700 to see if there is a laser adjustment screw? I am surprised no on hasn't tried adjusting the alignment and intensity of the laser to correct playback issues, if the usual heat related and other software settings don't work.

I would have expected anyone with experience with repair to have suggested this, but no one has, that I've seen, on any of the x700 threads that I've read. So, that's why I asked.

[Feiereisel]

Originally Posted by MacinMan

Hello,
i have been able to confirm that that above issues only occur when using HDMI 2 out for audio. I switched to only one cable (HDMI 1) and all the above issues were gone.

I know you mentioned using another player to solve the issue, but there is a player setting that allows you to toggle which HDMI out the audio defaults to when using two cables. It can be found in the ”System Settings” menu.

[MacinMan]

Originally Posted by Feiereisel

I know you mentioned using another player to solve the issue, but there is a player setting that allows you to toggle which HDMI out the audio defaults to when using two cables. It can be found in the ”System Settings” menu.

I did get a Panasonic player, but that wasn't to solve this issue. It was to solve the freezing / skipping issues on 4K discs. I only mentioned it here because that Player just works, while the Sony can have fits in certain situations.

Yes, to your suggestion, I did try changing the audio out from auto to HDMI 2. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was 24p output on anything below 4k when the output resolution was set to "Auto" and HDMI 2 was used for audio out. Read my post above again to see what I did in that setup to resolve it.

Anyway just using HDMI 1 for both video / audio resolves the issues in the above post. With that said, people on AVSForum, where I got the suggestion about the Panasonic player that I got told me to keep at least one of the Sony players I had, for stuff like SACD support, if I ever got any.

I'm considering if the X700 continues to give me issues, and the Panasonic continues to work well, I may just replace the X700 with a BDP-6700 for SACD support as that will be the same and it will just be a standard Blu-ray player for backup. I'll just wait and see, since both seem to be working OK now.

[Feiereisel]

Originally Posted by MacinMan

[Show spoiler]I did get a Panasonic player, but that wasn't to solve this issue. It was to solve the freezing / skipping issues on 4K discs. I only mentioned it here because that Player just works, while the Sony can have fits in certain situations.

Yes, to your suggestion, I did try changing the audio out from auto to HDMI 2. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was 24p output on anything below 4k when the output resolution was set to "Auto" and HDMI 2 was used for audio out. Read my post above again to see what I did in that setup to resolve it.

Anyway just using HDMI 1 for both video / audio resolves the issues in the above post. With that said, people on AVSForum, where I got the suggestion about the Panasonic player that I got told me to keep at least one of the Sony players I had, for stuff like SACD support, if I ever got any.

I'm considering if the X700 continues to give me issues, and the Panasonic continues to work well, I may just replace the X700 with a BDP-6700 for SACD support as that will be the same and it will just be a standard Blu-ray player for backup. I'll just wait and see, since both seem to be working OK now.

Ah, I see. Thank you for the clarification. Glad things are working again!

[Okiephile]

Just wanted to let everyone know. Like most people I have problems with certain 100 gb discs freezing. After lots of research bought a 4” Infinity usb fan. I have my unit 1” elevated and placed the fan behind blowing to the back. I have watched 5 problem discs. Tenet, The Green Mile, John Wick 2 and 3 and 1917. All 5 played freeze free. I watched John Wick 3 and 1917 back to back. I can’t say it will work for everyone, but it seems to have worked for me. I will post if I have a freeze, good luck!

Edit: last 3 , 3:10 to Yuma, Braveheart and Scarface, all freeze free.

[MacinMan]

Originally Posted by Okiephile

Just wanted to let everyone know. Like most people I have problems with certain 100 gb discs freezing. After lots of research bought a 4” Infinity usb fan. I have my unit 1” elevated and placed the fan behind blowing to the back. I have watched 5 problem discs. Tenet, The Green Mile, John Wick 2 and 3 and 1917. All 5 played freeze free. I watched John Wick 3 and 1917 back to back. I can’t say it will work for everyone, but it seems to have worked for me. I will post if I have a freeze, good luck!

I think at this point, I'm sticking with the Panasonic UB420. It seems to correct the problems the Sony has automatically, simply by it's design. I still use the Sony X700 at times to compare things, but the more I do, the more frequent I see problems with the Sony in certain situations. Especially UHD disc playback.

I started my Blu-ray journey with Panasonic, looks like I'm going to finish with Panasonic at this point. Since I'm mainly planing on keeping the Sony for SACD support, might roll back to a regular BDP from them without UHD support as the standard BDPs also support SACD.

[Okiephile]

Originally Posted by MacinMan

I think at this point, I'm sticking with the Panasonic UB420. It seems to correct the problems the Sony has automatically, simply by it's design. I still use the Sony X700 at times to compare things, but the more I do, the more frequent I see problems with the Sony in certain situations. Especially UHD disc playback.

I started my Blu-ray journey with Panasonic, looks like I'm going to finish with Panasonic at this point. Since I'm mainly planing on keeping the Sony for SACD support, might roll back to a regular BDP from them without UHD support as the standard BDPs also support SACD.

My suggestion isn’t to dump your Panny and get a Sony and a fan. Some of us are stuck with what we purchased.

[MacinMan]

Originally Posted by Okiephile

My suggestion isn’t to dump your Panny and get a Sony and a fan. Some of us are stuck with what we purchased.

Your response also doesn't make sense. You said "My suggestion isn't to dump your penny, and get a Sony with a fan"

My post was the exact opposite, I said I was solving the shortcomings my Sony developed with the Panasonic UB420, as it seems to correct Sony's design flaws in a much more stable player. Since I don't own, or plan to own (any time soon) a Dolby Vision compatible TV, the 420 is the unit people from AVS Forum suggested I get when I mentioned the freezing and skipping I was having with the Sony. I put felt feet on the Sony, and raised it up, and it still doesn't completely fix the stability problems. Plus People also suggested the Panasonic for me, because even without Dolby Vision support my unit still has the HDR optimize, which I've been testing to see what improvements it makes to the picture.

I already got rid of my UBP-X800, as it was just getting worse with hard freezes that required a power cycle, and that was even with doing something simple like loading a disc for the first time, and even after a clean factory reset.

Thankfully the X700 hasn't gotten that bad, but I wasn't going to wait for it to. Since both Sony players were several years old as they were purchased within several months of release. They had probably just had enough. I had used both of them for several years and then after I moved, they just exhibited more problems.

By the way, the person who made the recommendation to me, also had this Sony player as well, I believe.

[CtrlCtrlFast]

Originally Posted by Okiephile

Just wanted to let everyone know. Like most people I have problems with certain 100 gb discs freezing. After lots of research bought a 4” Infinity usb fan. I have my unit 1” elevated and placed the fan behind blowing to the back. I have watched 5 problem discs. Tenet, The Green Mile, John Wick 2 and 3 and 1917. All 5 played freeze free. I watched John Wick 3 and 1917 back to back. I can’t say it will work for everyone, but it seems to have worked for me. I will post if I have a freeze, good luck!

please tell me more about this. not necessarily about the fan, itself but how you have it set up.

[Okiephile]

Originally Posted by CtrlCtrlFast

please tell me more about this. not necessarily about the fan, itself but how you have it set up.

Simple, I have the unit elevated about 1” so space below unit. The fan is placed behind facing to the back so it is actually pulling air under and over the player. It’s usb so I have it plugged into my receiver. It’s important that your unit is outside any cabinet and not stacked with other equipment so it stays as cool as possible. Anyway so far it’s worked for me.

[stvn1974]

I decided to watch the first two Godfather film today. Of course the UHD locks up, good thing I kept my BDs, at least they work correctly.

[Okiephile]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

I decided to watch the first two Godfather film today. Of course the UHD locks up, good thing I kept my BDs, at least they work correctly.

I feel your pain. A repeat offender or first time watch? I have the first two, steelbooks and both played without incident.

[stvn1974]

Originally Posted by Okiephile

I feel your pain. A repeat offender or first time watch? I have the first two, steelbooks and both played without incident.

I have the box set with all four films and they have always locked up. Not the first time I have had problems with titles. BDs still work. My neighbor has a Panasonic (not sure which model) and he couldn't get them to play on his player either. I have had problems with all three Back To The Future and Lord Of The Rings Extended films. Jaws, The Shining, Citizen Kane, Bubba Ho-Tep, Suspiria and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

[Okiephile]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

I have the box set with all four films and they have always locked up. Not the first time I have had problems with titles. BDs still work. My neighbor has a Panasonic (not sure which model) and he couldn't get them to play on his player either. I have had problems with all three Back To The Future and Lord Of The Rings Extended films. Jaws, The Shining, Citizen Kane, Bubba Ho-Tep, Suspiria and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

Do they lock up same spot or different? When they lock up in the same spot, probably the disc, if in slightly different spots, maybe the player, if the player try a fan to cool the unit. Good luck!

[HDTV1080P]

Make sure the optical disc is cleaned from fingerprints, dust, dirt, etc. If one owns two different brands of 4K Blu-ray players, place the disc in each player and if one player locks up and the other does not, it’s a player problem. However if there is a lockup or freeze in the exact same spot on two different players, it’s a optical disc problem. Optical disc problems are rare but they do occur in the stamping process (maybe 1 bad disc out of 10,000+). Most 4K Blu-ray players will freeze for a few seconds at the bad spot and then auto advance a few seconds to get past the few second bad spot on the disc. Bad discs can be exchanged. Bad Blu-ray players can be exchanged if under warranty or repaired.

[Okiephile]

Just received and watched Bridge of Spies on Blu-ray, it was only $6 on Amazon. Why do I bring this up ? It was really nice to watch a movie all the way through and not once have to worry about freezing up.