Is that an unmodified/unfixed UP970?a bit noisy during playback. It's on a par with the UP970 that I have at home.....on quieter content I was often aware of the player
As that is now released, will you be updating the review to cover DV playback at some point?the Dolby Vision update hasn't been released yet. So I wasn't able to test that aspect of the Sony's performance
Since the build quality is rather plastic, the player is fairly clunky when navigating a disc and a bit noisy during playback. It's on a par with the UP970 that I have at home
Thanks Steve, another great Review
I was "lucky" to get one of the later UP970's so normally the player is totally quiet. So now that's two 4K, plastic construction players from two different Manufacturers that tend to have the same noise problem. Is it something at all to do with 4K disc-capable drives working harder than a "regular" Blu-ray drive that naturally produces more vibration? If so, looks like both companies (At least at first) did not take that into account. If not, then poor design or quality control at a basic level must be to blame.
This has model not got DV but it would be added in the future, so don't understand Steve mentions this on the spec, it shouldn't be there until Sony add it.
I'm sure the Sony engineers are smart enough and would be fully aware of any possible small vibrations/noises on their players. They are obviously designing and building these players within a specific budget (affordable) so it cannot be built like a 700 quid tank of a player as they simply wouldn't shift many of them.
The other factor could be poor quality control/assembly at the factory.
I've owned many many dvd, bluray and now 4K players over the years and had a few which made a little noise- but with the player sitting under the telly, the surround sound on and me sitting back anywhere from 6-8 feet from the telly, any small noises are impossible to detect.
The comparison of the noise from this player to a washing machine on full spin above in post 2 above sounds, ahem, a little far fetched.
Seems nowadays if you want to be 100% of a completely silent player you have to buy one of the really expensive high end models- that or buy a more affordable player and hope its 'quiet'.
Just my 2 cents
Just to make sure I understood that right: are you saying that for 1080p and 4K videos on Netflix, if the video is 24Hz, the X700 will automatically switch to 1080p/24 or 4K/24 output when playing them? But that 25 or 50Hz videos on Netflix are incorrectly played at 60Hz?Steve Withers said:The X700 supports 4K HDR video services from the likes of Netflix and Amazon, and the performance was impressive, with the player dynamically adjusting the output signal based on the framerate of the content. So a 24/23.976 frames per second (fps) series or movie will be sent at 24Hz and anything at 30 fps at 60Hz, resulting in playback that was smooth and film-like. Unfortunately Sony players aren't able to do this with 25 or 50 frames per second material, so content on UK catch-up services isn't displayed optimally, although u=it still looked very watchable.
This has been covered in the X700 owners thread amongst other places. The X700 offers the mainstream version of DV as well as the bastardised version required for Sony TVs. So if you have a non Sony TV, you'll be able to use it to view DV UHD BD media.What is not clear to me, but I think is a significant question, is whether this will talk Dolby Vision only to a Sony TV with the Sony version of DV, or to any TV with DV?
Put simply, if I have a DV-encoded disc, and connect the X700 to, say, an LG C8, will I get proper DV on the TV? Or will the X700 version of DV only talk to a Sony TV with its cut-down DV?
Perhaps everyone knows but me! Or perhaps no one knows - yet!
Full DV support. This player plays DV just fine with my LG E7.What is not clear to me, but I think is a significant question, is whether this will talk Dolby Vision only to a Sony TV with the Sony version of DV, or to any TV with DV?
Put simply, if I have a DV-encoded disc, and connect the X700 to, say, an LG C8, will I get proper DV on the TV? Or will the X700 version of DV only talk to a Sony TV with its cut-down DV?
Perhaps everyone knows but me! Or perhaps no one knows - yet!
Some very valid points. If you're into SACD then it reasonable to expect users will want do all there music/streaming from the one device, so it would be helpful to know what is and is not supported.Just to make sure I understood that right: are you saying that for 1080p and 4K videos on Netflix, if the video is 24Hz, the X700 will automatically switch to 1080p/24 or 4K/24 output when playing them? But that 25 or 50Hz videos on Netflix are incorrectly played at 60Hz?
Other comments:
1) You don't say anything about the player's ability to function as a media streamer (if, indeed, it can do that); in particular, I'd like to know if it can stream a 3D blu-ray rip (frame-packed), and if it can handle DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD audio tracks correctly when streaming.
2) When suggesting alternative products, it seems very odd that you didn't mention the LG UBK90, which is (according to some, anyway) an improvement on the UP970. It's perhaps also a little odd that you didn't mention the Panasonic UB820 - granted, that's significantly more expensive, but it isn't up in the Oppo/Cambridge Audio price bracket. (And yes, okay, it doesn't do DV yet, but it should do fairly soon).
3) Could you update this review now that the Dolby Vision firmware is available?
4) The link at the end ("Read All 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Reviews") jumps to the wrong page! It should go to UHD Blu-ray Player Reviews | AVForums .
Then Steve should have updated this on his review and checked out the DV performance.DV updated was released 31/05/18!
Thanks. So do I understand that the X700 has always come with 'full fat' DV out of the box, but has been waiting simply for the 'half-baked Sony Special' firmware to work with Sony TVs?Full DV support. This player plays DV just fine with my LG E7.
I could hear my UP970 over loud action bits of Transformers...By contrast the X800 is built like a tank and whilst still not exactly silent when playing 4K discs is infinitely superior to the LG. If the X700 is more in line with the UP970 then I'd say avoid at all costs. Unless all you ever watch is Transformers.
Poor ole Steve...give the b**ger a chance, it can’t be easy to churn out these extremely detailed reviews (which he does so well!) and keep on top of everything all the time.Then Steve should have updated this on his review and checked out the DV performance.
No, it came out with no DV of any kind. The recent firmware update has added both varieties.Thanks. So do I understand that the X700 has always come with 'full fat' DV out of the box, but has been waiting simply for the 'half-baked Sony Special' firmware to work with Sony TVs?
For the 970 there are some long threads on various sites about the problem with the early ones, & it seems it was very loud! I have personally had mine get real loud a couple of times which happened if I just hit Play while the tray was open - sounded like a Radio Controlled aircraft about to take off! (I found the trick was to close the tray & THEN hit play!). Some people solved the problem by opening the player up and putting some hard foam inserts around the drive, & this totally solved it.
Of course, the Sony noise problem could be due to something else, but it sounds (no pun intended!) on the surface to be similar to the 970 issue.
If it's not considered off-topic, may I second that!? It's not as if we're personally paying these guys! We're lucky to have such a Forum as this, IMHO.Poor ole Steve...give the b**ger a chance, it can’t be easy to churn out these extremely detailed reviews (which he does so well!) and keep on top of everything all the time.
Personally I applaud his efforts!
It's clearly the disc drive mechanism creating the racket, like it is with all these devices. Even the Oppo 203 was excessively loud at launch, until they released a firmware to slow the disc spin speed down.So many moving parts in these little machines who knows where the racket could be coming from!
1) You don't say anything about the player's ability to function as a media streamer (if, indeed, it can do that); in particular, I'd like to know if it can stream a 3D blu-ray rip (frame-packed), and if it can handle DTS-HD or Dolby TrueHD audio tracks correctly when streaming.
Build quality matters, and no spinner should ever be made of plastic.