Sony UBP-X800 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player

While this player does everything as advertised, I do have a few complaints. The lack of a front-panel display, as noted by other reviewers, just seems cheap and annoying. Ditto the remote, which has no direct-access numeric keys. The remote control for my old Sony Blu-ray player--which can operate this new player and vice versa--included a direct-access keypad. Just seems like a cheap omission on a player that costs considerably more. Oh, and for some unfathomable reason, Sony decided to switch the placement of JUST the skip and scan buttons on the remote. Otherwise, the placement of every other button is identical. So I'm constantly skipping when I want to scan and scanning when I want to skip. This improvement brought to you by the let's-screw-with-your-head-for-being-a-loyal-customer department at Sony. Now maybe it's my TV--which is a 4K, HDR capable set--but none of the several 4K UHD disks I have played on this machine look noticeably superior to a good Blu-ray of the same material. In fact the colors on one, my 2001: A Space Odyssey 4K disc, look decidedly less vivid. I don't see any significant difference in resolution. I would have chalked it up to being unobservant or that my TV isn't up to the task, except that I can definitely see the difference between 4K UHD steaming materials and regular HD streamings on Netflix or Amazon using the same TV. My other complaint is that it appears to be more finicky about playing damaged or compromised optical disks than my old player (which cost about a third what this one does). Refused to play some of my older CD-R discs, which are starting to deteriorate, I guess. The pros: Appears to be a very well made piece of equipment--certainly if weight is anything to go by It's practically silent Love the additional HDMI audio only output Plays a huge variety of disc formats--including SACDs! Wonderful audio quality for music discs and video soundtracks I had none of the problems performing the firmware update reported by some of the other reviewers. I assume those problems have now been corrected. Cons: Somewhat slow to turn on. Even slower to turn off! No front panel display except for a single green power light Very hard to see the front-panel's only two buttons: eject and power. Constantly pressing the wrong button Remote has no direct-access numerical keypad. Also, keys do not light. Very cheap remote. Could not read a couple of damaged CDs and DVDs that my old Sony Bluray player has no trouble playing

We purchased our LG OLED TV when we did our remodel of our house back in late 2015 but chose the EF9500 as it could handle UHD both streaming and via an external blueray player where the other models at the time couldn't. We never purchased a blueray player since then as the Samsung came out first and it didn't get great reviews (but if you HAD to be the first one with a 4K blueray player your options were very limited other than one that upscales). We chose to wait. A lot of people were thinking that 4K was a flash in the pan and would be like 3D on LED tv's where people snapped them up but then realized they never used the 3D feature. Fast forward about a year and a half. In the last 6-8 months, there are now more choices for 4K blueray players and a lot more content in 4K both on disc and streaming. We have this setup paired with our Marantz SR7010 and a nicely appointed Def Tech surround system with 2 powerful subs and ATMOS up firing speakers. I have recently prior to purchasing this player streamed some movies in 4K and it's a great picture (how could it not be on an OLED screen). But, watching on this Sony X800 player is an upgrade over the quality of steaming in 4K. First off, even the audio is amazing. Normally you hear things above and behind you but this player combined with an action paced 4K blueray is AMAZING. Really, it's like being at the theater in my family room. Picture is great, brightness levels are great. Now, one other thing we DID have done was a tech come out and set the ISF level standard when we first purchased this TV. If you aren't aware of what this is just Google ISF tuning. Now, I have read reviews on the OPPO 203 and it might be slightly better and have more fine tuning features but for us it was not worth twice the price. Some people have commented on the lack of a display on the front of the unit. I am using mine with a Harmony Elite remote (which is EXCELLENT by the way) and all you have to do is push INFO button and it's displayed on screen. I like the way the whole front door opens (like the Panasonic 900) as it's a clean looking machine. Some reviews have complained that there isn't a display on the front of the player. This really isn't a problem as it does display time/information on the tv screen. I actually never even opened up the factory Sony remote (went straight with the Harmony). The only thing I would say that could possibly be a negative (which it really isn't too bad) was that there are a LOT of options in the setup screen and you need to know which ones to adjust and which ones to just leave on AUTO. Like for instance, the 4K Upscale setting to Auto 1 or Auto 2 depending if you want it to upscale ALL discs to 4K (then Auto 2 should be selected). By default, it comes on Auto 1 assuming you are hooking it up to a Sony TV. Also, the BD Audio Mix setting needs to be addressed---this is to change the way the audio is handled. In ON, both primary and secondary audio handled by disc player. In OFF, primary by disc player and secondary audio all handled by the audio player (receiver). All in all, this player is a bargain for the $300 price. It even feels like it's constructed very well. It doesn't include an HDMI cable but you will want to buy a high quality one capable of high speed to go along with this machine. I personally went with the Audioquest Cinnamon. Not sure if it makes a difference but I am using the same cables for my tv hookup to my Marantz receiver and they seem to work well. I also purchased the Square Trade extended warranty as for 3 years it's only about $25 and this warranty company has come through for us a few times over the years. Hope this review is helpful to those on the fence about whether to purchase or not.

(July 26, 2017) My UBP-X800 just arrived from Amazon last week. I couldn't wait to hook it up and see how well it works. The two previous versions of Sony 4K upscaling players would freeze on Dr. Who Series 5 (dual layer discs) and would not recover unless power was cycled on and off. So, I sent those Sony 4K upscale players back and kept my older player that worked fine but wasn’t 4K. I'm happy to say this player passed that test but am wondering about another problem. It has firmware revision M36.R.0173 which right now is the most currently available version. All streaming Internet content seems to function fine. Wired internet connection status shows OK The only problem I've had so far is: When I went to verify Sony network connection I went to the "Setup" then "Software Update”, then "Update Via Internet" where it attempts to connect to Sony network for firmware but fails with the message, "Connection status cannot be confirmed. Cannot communicate with server. Please try again later." I expected to see something along the lines of, "Hey checked the Sony network and your player firmware is already update to date." I have verified IP address, Subnet Mask, and DNS. Sony chat support had me do settings reset and power cycle with no differing results other than removing my personal settings. After several days of trying I am wondering..... Is this a firmware bug or perhaps my modem is somehow filtering / blocking the Sony network? Anyone know what port that would be? I’ve tried temporarily stopping modem filtering firewall. Note: I cannot verify 4K yet or HDR due to my current TV setup. Most all the other things work properly for me. I posted this on the Sony Community support page but somehow am unable to log back in again and respond to anyone. I’ve tried resetting my password several times…. The only other thing I could have wanted in this is that the green power L.E.D. be a more modern blue colour and a USB port in the back for BD content data. I mean who wants the drive to stick out in the front all the time and bloody mess up the looks of such beautiful machine? Why Sony? Why? 7-28-2018 Update: The Sony player stated that it had a firmware update ready so just to be sure the firmware update over the internet firmware bug was still there I attempted update over internet. Yes, again it said it could not update over the internet because it could not connect to Sony network! So, with this latest update, M36.R.0238, once again I downloaded it to a flash drive to update this player. After this update like each before it I attempted to see if the bug had been fixed by the firmware update. Holy crap on a cracker! FINALLY, after a whole year after I bought this thing it now updates over the internet! A whole year’s wait to get a player that actually does what it says it does. Why Sony bloody why?! Now it is finally 100%.

It is a beautiful machine and is big and heavy and looks impressive. It was real easy to install and works fine with my 65 inch 4K Samsung TV. I am running it through a Yamaha receiver and using the best HDMI cables. The ATMOS sound is good but I guess you need some speakers that point straight up or put some speakers in your ceiling. I went with DVD in 1999 and had a standard 32 inch TV which meant I was leading edge and the DVD picture was the best ever. I was using a Pioneer receiver and big Ceran Vega speakers and was the cat's meow with my group of friends. In 06 I went to 52 inch 1080p TV and bought a Samsung Blu-ray player and this was while the battle between blu ray and HD TV was still going on and blu ray 1080p was definitely better and probably worth the bucks. I have had 9 DVD players since 1999 and early on the firm ware up dates drove me and everyone else crazy. I replaced a Sony "upscale" machine with this one. If upscale actually did anything it was wasted on me. We installed the new machine last night and watched the movie Sing. It was beautiful but was it way better that regular 1080p blu ray. If it was then it was also wasted on me. I really am a media freak and listen to digital music in the gym and on the road but in the "man's cave" I listen to vinyl. Anyway, to keep this short and sweet--if hyou are going to go full up 4K you will have to replace everything if you have a home theater. Well, you can keep your old speakers. You need a 4K TV, a 4K DVD player (this one is awesome for the bucks) and Stereo receiver that will recognize and process the audio (ATMOS and DTS-X). The upgrade cost me about 3 thousand dollars and then I decided I needed all new Klipsch speakers but that is just me. You could probably go with a 52 inch TV and go full up 4K for 2 thousand but here is my point. If you are on a budget, trying to raise kids then I recommend that you save your money. There may be a difference between 4K and blu-ray 1080p and I am relatively certain that there is a technical difference but I don't think it will WOW your senses like the fist DVD experience or first 1080p blu ray with DTS did and don't think ATMOS sound will blow you away either versus DOLBY 5.1 or DTS 5.1. On the other hand--if you have extra cash or are old and retired like me and looking for things to entertain yourself then maybe 4K is the way to go. When I first ordered this machine I almost re-purchased The Life of Pi in 4K. I already have it blu ray but the visuals in this movie are awesome but am now glad that I did not because I don't believe I would notice the difference. If you need a new player this one has all the bells and whistles but if you are expecting a giant leap forward. Sorry.

UPDATE 11/20/17: Well, the second player didn’t work out and has been returned. It got to a point where the picture was distorted, would blank out, and/or the player would freeze up and only a hard reset would fix the issue. To be clear, yes the HDMI cable was updated and more than capable of handling 4K, the picture would distort when playing both discs (DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K) and apps (Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Vudu), and it wasn’t the TV because I even purchased a new Sony XBR55930E. This player is a piece of junk and is not worth the hassle. Amazon has reduced the price of this player for Thanksgiving; yet, as tempting as that is I still have no interest in dealing with a 3rd player and it’s inevitable issues. I’m just going to wait for a new model to come out. Buyer beware, this is a great player when it works but it is absolutely not worth the time, effort, and frustration. I'm on my second UBP-X800 player, and things don't look any better the second time around. First thing is first: when the player functions as intended, the picture quality is phenomenal! Truly amazing! The images are crisp, action sequences are smooth, and the colors are vivid and vibrant! However, this thing freezes up CONSTANTLY! Player #1: Easy set up, everything loads very quickly, and the control is noticeably heavy, in a good way. We enjoyed this player issue-free for about two weeks, when it started to randomly shut down. The screen would go black, a Sony image would come on, and then it would just shut off. After making sure I had the latest software and performing a hard reset, I contacted Sony and they were no help. They simply told me to do the same thing. So the problem continued, and then I contacted Sony again, at which point they informed me I'd have to go through their warranty services division. Then out of nowhere, the picture become distorted. So back this player went. Player #2: Same easy set-up, same gorgeous picture. However, within 1 week, the player would freeze up when watching Netflix using the auto-play feature. For example, an episode would end, and the countdown to the next episode would begin. But just as the countdown hit the 1 second mark, it freezes up. The only remedy is to do a hard reset (unplug, wait, plug back in.) This is beginning to happen more frequently, and is very frustrating. Considering our entire A/V set-up is Sony, and we've had terrible experiences with Samsung blu-ray players, our choices are very limited in seeking out a 4k Blu-ray player. At this point, it would seem we have to keep returning and purchasing a new one until Sony can get their act together. Therefore, unless you absolutely ~must~ have a 4k blu ray player (we've invested pretty heavily in 4k movies at this point), then I would hold off on this purchase until improvements have been made.

UPDATE 2: For those of you who are unaware, the resume playback issue appears to be dependent on the disks. BD-Java disks do not support resume unless it's explicitly programmed in no matter the device you use. This includes Disney Blu-rays (I've tested 2 different movies) and the Firefly series. It took me 3 calls to support and a reddit research to figure this out. Hopefully, this review helps out others who were unaware of the different types of blu ray formats. UPDATE: The Sony documentation and tech support were completely incorrect. The USB drive did not fix the resume playback issue with Blu-rays. Until this is fixed, I cannot recommend this player to anyone. Great DVD/Blu-ray/Ultra HD Blu-Ray player. Blu-rays load up just as quickly as DVDs which is great. Keep in mind that Blu-ray resume playback will not work unless you plug in a FAT32/NTFS formatted USB drive to the front. It took me forever to figure this out and there's not a lot of information out there about it. Even Sony support didn't know about this.

It's good to see that this player is finally showing up on the actual store shelves here in Houston. I tried for at least a month to buy one locally without being able to find any place that could actually deliver one. Finally broke down and bought one via an Amazon partner vendor, and I'm happy as can be to have one now. (Coincidentally, they started showing up on the shelves of the Best Buy stores here in Houston about three days before mine was delivered to me...on the bright side, I saved a few bucks by not having to pay Texas sales tax...and delivery was free.) Unfortunately, the player does not come with the cables necessary to get the best picture and sound, so if you order it for delivery, you will need to have the high quality cables on hand when it arrives. That aside, hook up and system set up are very intuitive and I was up and running in a matter of minutes. I'm running the player through a Sony 4K television set and have been generally pleased with the picture and sound quality that I'm getting (also using a Sanyo sound bar system). 4K discs are still relatively limited and relatively expensive when compared to the other types, but prices should begin dropping as soon as the demand rises for the discs, so that will get better. Right now I'm fairly dependent on Netflics and Amazon Prime Video for my 4K content, but I'm also very pleasantly surprised by the high quality video that can be had by playing a standard Blu-Ray disc through the system. Even regular DVDs look better than ever. I did have to do an immediate system update on the player before I could get it to "remember" and connect to my home network without having to do set it up again, but since that was done I have had no problem with the player connecting to the network. The system, it appears, will be updated at least once a month for the time being, so that's something to keep in mind if you don't set your preferences to automatically check for updates. One more tip: the player, believe it or not, actually comes with a physical user's manual...and it is well written. Take a few minutes to go over each of the settings that you can control via your preferences because the system defaults may not be best for your individual needs. It's worth the time, and it makes a huge difference in video and sound quality. Overall, I'm very happy with the system right now and use it several times a week. I've been told that it's state of the art in 4K dvd players, and I can easily believe that based upon what I've seen so far.

As the powers that be shunt us ever more irrevocably into an age where they don’t want you to own anything, just purchase the rights to stream the data, it’s nice to see that Sony is still supporting the physical Blu-ray format in such a robust way. For those of us still clinging to the “old ways” (yeah, Blu-ray is ancient technology eh?), this unit is just what the doctor ordered. From the moment I unboxed it, I was impressed with the heft, the fit and finish, and the appearance. I initially experienced some unstable video reproduction, but all it took was replacing the cable sending the ARC signal to the television. Once that was replaced it was truly plug and play. The video quality is truly spectacular, whether viewing Blu-ray or upscaled DVDs, I haven’t noticed any of the artifacts I have become used to seeing on the regular DVD players, and the audio is absolutely stunning. If I had one complaint, it would be that I would like a full suite of transport controls still physically accessible from the front of the player, it’s a nice backstop should you lose the remote. For the record, this is run through an Onkyo AV processor with a Samsung 7 series UHD TV, and Martin Logan Source speakers. No compatibility issues at all, just awesome hi def movie greatness.