Sony UBP-X800 UHD Player 2/23 Release

Coming in at $299, the new UBP-X800 Sony Ultra HD Blu-ray player is impressively responsive, delivers a very nice picture, and will also process HDR (High Dynamic Range) content for maximum effect on SDR (Standard Dynamic Range; aka everything else) TVs. The effect was noticeable, with greater detail in dark and light areas, though I saw a limited amount of content.

The UBP-X800 chassis is quite heavy, which might not be good in a cell phone, but is generally considered a good thing for isolating vibration when playing any type of disc. Audio and videophiles generally appreciate heft in equipment; especially here in earthquake country (or is that Oklahoma now?). The other news is that unlike some of last year's players, the Sony is firmware upgradeable to support Dolby Vision. Dolby Vision made a big splash at CES this year, with a host of new vendors climbing onboard.

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After a lot of careful research, we did find one format that wasn’t supported: Dolby Vision HDR. This is one of the four HDR standards that are available on the market. The others are HDR10, HLG, and Advanced HDR. The differences between these formats is, for the most part, minute. But Dolby requires special hardware and a software license that manufacturers have to pay to use. Your TV has to be Dolby HDR certified, as do your media players. You won’t be able to stream Dolby HRD content from a computer.

Should Sony support this video format? Unfortunately, there is no clear answer. But there is a solution. Sony has all of the necessary hardware to support Dolby HDR, and they’ve stated that they’ll be watching the market. If this becomes a prominent standard in the marketplace, they’ll offer a firmware update to allow this content to be played back. For now, there is not much content available, so we don’t think you’ll miss it. But if you have already paid for a Dolby HDR television, you might want to consider a player that can support the format.

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• Its quick
• Handshake is WAY less quirky than my 900
• Same menus as other players have had lately (no SBM anymore)
• FW M36.R.0046, no update found
• Connected to my 5ghz radio fine
• Ramps up to 16,000 mbps on Netflix quick
• Ultra HD, HDR and 5.1 all show in Netflix App
• Netflix app still has debug info popup many machines have lost
• Netflix HDR and HDR disc are 4k/24 2020 12 bit, as shown in pics below
• Amazon app is not active yet
• 1080p blu us 4k/24 444 12 bits, as show below
• Pretty much all video settings left as "Auto"
• PQ looks great to me on UHD discs and Netflix HDR