Which budget 4K player?

[Bobrizz718]

I recently bought a 4K tv. (Sony 75x950h). I’m looking to purchase a decent 4K UHD player to mate with it. I was very surprised at the dearth of choices that are currently available. I know more and more people are streaming 4K content from Netflix and other apps, but really? Aren’t 4K disks still being sold and new titles being released? What are people supposed to play them on? Besides, isn’t a physical disc still the best way to view a 4K movie? I realize it’s not nearly as convenient as using a streaming app, but I’d rather not deal with the potential issues related to buffering, enough broadband speed, and whether or not a particular app streams with features like HDR/Dolby vision intact! It is what it is, I guess, so can someone please help me select from the few budget options currently available. For the record, I would have gladly purchased an OPPO player at retail, had I owned a 4K tv a year or two ago and known that OPPO was about to stop producing them! Perhaps I should’ve seen this coming, but I’m not about to pay double (or more) for one now, even knowing that they were (and still are) a top performing player. Which brings me to my current situation. I’ve narrowed it down to maybe 3 choices: LG-UBK90, Sony UBP-x700 and Sony UBP-x800m2. After researching all of them , I’m aware that all of them had user reported issues at one time or another. Assuming that these were just niggling issues or that they have since been addressed and corrected, is there a best choice among these? And feel free to suggest one not listed here. My budget is $200 (ish). I can maybe stretch to $250-300, but prefer to stay around 200. Feature wise, I’m mainly interested in Dolby Vision and above average audio/video playback. Number of streaming apps not a priority or even a requirement, as the tv I just purchased can handle all that. Regarding the three choices mentioned above, I’ve read user complaints such as noisy operation, freezing issues, and, with the Sonys in particular, poor implementation of Dolby vision. Except for the freezing issues, I can probably live with the other two. After all, what can one expect from a budget model. Please fill me in if there are still other issues with these units that I failed to mention. Thank you for any and all input. Bob

 

[goingoingong]

I recently bought a 4K tv. (Sony 75x950h). I’m looking to purchase a decent 4K UHD player to mate with it. I was very surprised at the dearth of choices that are currently available. I know more and more people are streaming 4K content from Netflix and other apps, but really? Aren’t 4K disks still being sold and new titles being released? What are people supposed to play them on? Besides, isn’t a physical disc still the best way to view a 4K movie? I realize it’s not nearly as convenient as using a streaming app, but I’d rather not deal with the potential issues related to buffering, enough broadband speed, and whether or not a particular app streams with features like HDR/Dolby vision intact! It is what it is, I guess, so can someone please help me select from the few budget options currently available. For the record, I would have gladly purchased an OPPO player at retail, had I owned a 4K tv a year or two ago and known that OPPO was about to stop producing them! Perhaps I should’ve seen this coming, but I’m not about to pay double (or more) for one now, even knowing that they were (and still are) a top performing player. Which brings me to my current situation. I’ve narrowed it down to maybe 3 choices: LG-UBK90, Sony UBP-x700 and Sony UBP-x800m2. After researching all of them , I’m aware that all of them had user reported issues at one time or another. Assuming that these were just niggling issues or that they have since been addressed and corrected, is there a best choice among these? And feel free to suggest one not listed here. My budget is $200 (ish). I can maybe stretch to $250-300, but prefer to stay around 200. Feature wise, I’m mainly interested in Dolby Vision and above average audio/video playback. Number of streaming apps not a priority or even a requirement, as the tv I just purchased can handle all that. Regarding the three choices mentioned above, I’ve read user complaints such as noisy operation, freezing issues, and, with the Sonys in particular, poor implementation of Dolby vision. Except for the freezing issues, I can probably live with the other two. After all, what can one expect from a budget model. Please fill me in if there are still other issues with these units that I failed to mention. Thank you for any and all input. Bob

Add the Panasonic UB450 and UB820 to your shopping list and drop the LG UBK90.
Panasonic don't have the con of having to manually select between HDR10 or DOlby Vision.

 

[Bobrizz718]

Great suggestions from “going going gone”. I looked at the Pannys, and they truly do check all the right boxes for me. Problem is they’re still priced at around $400 or more in my neck of the woods, and my intent was to keep it at $250 or less. I read many of the favorable reviews. Wasn’t the one knock against the “820” that it didn’t upscale sub - 4K content very well? Not really a dealbreaker, (I don’t think). I just have to convince the wife! Ha ha

Add the Panasonic UB450 and UB820 to your shopping list and drop the LG UBK90.
Panasonic don't have the con of having to manually select between HDR10 or DOlby Vision.

Again, thank you to GOING GOING GONE for suggesting the Panasonics, but if I was willing to accept the annoying quirk of having to select/deselect the DV option on either of the Sony units, is there a clear cut winner between the x700 and the X800M2? Right now, only a $50 difference. I’ve seen the latter on line for as low as $248 and the former is currently being offered just about everywhere for $180-$190. The X700, though it gets generally positive reviews, looks so cheap, due to its size whereas the X800M2 actually looks like an audio component and likely has better build quality. Thoughts? Thx

 

[goingoingong]

Again, thank you to GOING GOING GONE for suggesting the Panasonics, but if I was willing to accept the annoying quirk of having to select/deselect the DV option on either of the Sony units, is there a clear cut winner between the x700 and the X800M2? Right now, only a $50 difference. I’ve seen the latter on line for as low as $248 and the former is currently being offered just about everywhere for $180-$190. The X700, though it gets generally positive reviews, looks so cheap, due to its size whereas the X800M2 actually looks like an audio component and likely has better build quality. Thoughts? Thx

I've got both X700 and X800M2. The X800M2 is definitely in a better case although I've read the internals are much the same. PQ wise there is not any diffence between them (or if there is it's not big enough to notice).

I'll add I got the X800M2 as I got fed up with how cheap the X700 felt. I've in the past described it as being like like something free in a packet of cornflakes if you are of an age old enough to remember when toys were given away inside packets of breakfast cereals. For the extra $50 I'd get an X800M2.

 

[Bobrizz718]

I've got both X700 and X800M2. The X800M2 is definitely in a better case although I've read the internals are much the same. PQ wise there is not any diffence between them (or if there is it's not big enough to notice).

I'll add I got the X800M2 as I got fed up with how cheap the X700 felt. I've in the past described it as being like like something free in a packet of cornflakes if you are of an age old enough to remember when toys were given away inside packets of breakfast cereals. For the extra $50 I'd get an X800M2.

Definitely old enough to remember as I was one of those kids trying to convince mom to buy that particular cereal! Ha ha. As for the player choice, I couldn’t agree more. It’s the direction I was leaning anyway. Have you had any of the reported problems that some users have encountered? And thanks so much for your response!

 

[goingoingong]

Definitely old enough to remember as I was one of those kids trying to convince mom to buy that particular cereal! Ha ha. As for the player choice, I couldn’t agree more. It’s the direction I was leaning anyway. Have you had any of the reported problems that some users have encountered? And thanks so much for your response!

Both my X700 and X800M2 have been pretty much free of the reported playback problems.

 

[Bobrizz718]

Thanks, my friend. I’m seriously considering pulling the trigger on this one real soon!