SonyUBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Home Theater Streaming Blu-Ray Player

I’m a huge movie guy from Chaplin to the present day..I’d say a large portion of my film collection are movies in B&W very few of which were ever transferred to Blu-ray, but looked totally the same on my Sony 42 WEGA till 08, When I attained my first 1080P set, and Blu-ray player...The upscaling via HDMI the Films from early Hollywood, to the 90s..I saw The upscaling in older color films (Streaming wasn’t available like it has been seven years after 08) The contrast and sharpness were a bit compromised but there was only slightly more clarity, when my cable provider gave me a 1080p Cable Box...The last month I had to catch up on many fancy terms, and resolution research.I needed a new set...and though these Sets give a picture that’s unbelievable if I think back to most of home entertainment systems since 1080p was mainstreamed...there longevity is not close to the last of the 300lbs Flat Screen SD TVs that were prevalent with the from 90-2010...I have a friend that watches his DVDs still on a WEGA, and is on his third panel set(he buys high end) since 01.Last year maybe because of the black Bars for SD DVDs, a linear black line driving me nuts, be it cables, Blu-ray, streaming....then it became clear that the colors on my 1080p 11 years in on a ragged diagonal was dull and flat and not crisp and colorful like the lower..so time to upgrade to something that’s an upgrade but I wasn’t spending 1550 plus..or going above 55...Room anything larger I’d have to install like a gym hanging from my ceiling.After research that all DVDs are 480i, they’re own upscaling on a Blu-ray via HDMI will boost them to 1080p on a 4K set...they’ll be over pixelated, and the same for anything under 1080P also known as 2K.I knew at this point hard to find a 1080 set, but I knew HDR, and 120Hz is what I needed...in terms of all this crap I read of OLED vs QLED...and what’s available in 4K native format...I don’t need HDR10 Plus...Dolby Digital 5.1 is fine, I don’t need Atmos...I find myself a well respected 55 Samsung, swipe my second generation Firebox for a 4K stick...If you stream the difference from UHD streaming and 1080 is not worth paying 25 over 15..The fastest mbps isn’t relevant the highest UHD streaming is in actuality similar to the resolution on the Mini 4 or what I nicknamed 3K for simplicity.The processor on a good set will do the best job it can upscaling 1080p whether streamed directly or by a 4K stick(streaming via the stick, it’s faster than most TVs and apps..there’s not a model that offers apps like Amazon, Apple and Roku).Upon attaining my 4K set...whether one has cable, FiOS, os Satellite 1080p is the best you’ll get..and the delivery of the signals is highly digitalized and looks over pixelated. So E.G. NHL playoffs come around I watched them on the NBCSN app, not the cable station....it was like being on the ice.I put CNN on, eh...I stream CNN what happened. So in my experience you have 120Hz or more HDR or higher...you’ll be streaming everything.Now comes to 5 stars...THE UHD 4K Blu Ray player...I don’t stream through it for the same reason I stream via the 4K stick...this is ideal regardless of the clarity the viewer prefers, because one can control the definition in a customized fashion.Before I attained this my film Noire late 30- mid 50s DVDs looked horrid on my old Blu-ray upscaled to 4K by the TV...to take 480i...and upscale to 4K...ugh...I look at streaming tittles and many films that were upped to 1080p aren’t available and maybe 5 old ones that I’ll spend the 10 dollars..but then I attain this and I can manually set my screen to 480i and turn off 4 K upscaling the Maltese Falcon never looked better...I put in Donnie Brosco extended Blu-Ray leave HDR on, turn off 4K upscaling, and leave 24p..Compared to 1080p streaming (it on prime 1080p)...When streaming the TV upscales, On the player you may upscale in which case it’s a close call streaming or playing a BluRay...but without upscaling maybe the HDR by itself makes the 1080p mind blowing...Yesterday I attained 3 tittles(being there aren’t many) on ULTRA 4K HD Blu Ray...The 2 that were in theaters at 4K (The theater till 2016 had 4K digital projection once film was replaced..and stored in 1080p Archives...so movies made prior to 2016 will be expertly restored on a 4K Disc depending on the film, and studio. Since 2018 99% of films in theaters are 8K and being stored at 4K...very much like the 4K were being stored on 1080p/2K. I put on the Avengers..my first UHD 4K disc..I was dumb enough to buy UHD streaming WHICH IS 3K ...when I put this film in I read up on UHD streaming...The point is that it’s an effects movie, not a tear jerker....The CGI..was for the first time In a room in my house...Mind blowing without 3D glasses in an IMAX getting nauseous.So this player is ideal..for any format...Your Blu-ray will look much crisper, I imagine with a HDR 10 set and QLED or OLED...sometimes upscaling does too good of a job, and you may want to know that you have the option for the resolution without having to rebuild your library...My Blu-ray rays without upscaling and HDR tech, are the crispest I seen..my Edward G Robinson films in 480i...people that saw it in the theater in 1935...would think it’s Epcot center and is crisper than streaming from TCM app, or Amazon in 1080p..(The reason again is upscaling a 1080p/2K to 4K, one doubles the resolution so the extent of the upscale is contingent on the set..a black and white DVD with this player some may prefer a 720p projection. On my set when I did that the DVD looked as it did when upscaled on my 1080p set..but if you upscale on 4K...remember you’re stretching an image from its native format DVD 480/540i or SD, or 1080/2K...the player and set via its processor (more key in color) Fills in the gaps, it doesn’t upgrade to 4K it upscales...The fact that this player allows me to get the exact resolution meant for the disc, DVD, Blu-Ray..or 4K Blu-ray and unlike streaming, my 4K set doesn’t upscale the disc without my permission It’s an ideal player to have if your 1080p Set is beginning to die, and you want a new set not a refurbished one..and your pretty much relegated to 4K.I’m not reviewing sets, but I personally don’t think it’s worth to get a top of the line 4 K..the delivery modalities aren’t caught up yet.In 2020....If they made new 1080p, 240Hz, HDR sets..I’d get it..But in 1080p..the best tech was LED, 240Hz...and they’re not making new ones anymore. So those with extensive DVD/Blu-ray collections that need to upgrade their sets, get this player or one like it!!!

Some Background: A couple years ago, I purchased a brand-new Sony UBP-X1100ES for $500.00 here on Amazon. That same player can still be obtained on Amazon, but for two to three times the price I paid a couple years past. That player stuttered, fractured, and froze often, especially during the 4k playback of the raging river/waterfall scene of "1917", Peter Jackson's "King Kong" between 2:26-2:27 where Kong is rampaging through a shoreline tunnel to "save" Ann Darrow from being taken away on a small boat, and invariably freezing during a climactic scene in "Mortal Engines" where Valentine's warmongering is confronted by his daughter Katherine. And there are other movies which froze also, almost always in specific places.Now, you might think you can see where this is going: "Surely, I must simply not be taking care of my discs. I obviously have scratches and/or poor disc cleaning cloths, cleaner, etc." (For the record, I use Zeiss lens cleaner and cloths.)Well, after a couple years of this, it occurred to me that it could be a problem with the UBP-X1100ES itself. (Big scandalous gasp here!) Providentially, I had a Sony UBP-X700 hooked to a Samsung 4k computer monitor on the wall in front of my treadmill. (Side note: I do my treadmill walking to "Pacific Rim" or "Edge of Tomorrow: Live, Die, Repeat" with Beyerdynamic DT 990 (32 Ohm) headphones... total adrenaline rush, and the Sony UBP-X700 nails it every time!)Anyway, I decided to give the UBP-X700 a go in place of the UBP-X1100ES and see what that might tell me. I made all the connections to my LG 55" OLED TV and fired it up. As soon as I spun up the UBP-X700, the clouds parted, the birds started singing, and peace descended over the land! Well, actually what happened was two-fold technological magic:1) The UBP-X700 player had no trouble whatsoever with the "1917" raging river/waterfall scene. As well, the player had zero difficulty with the "Mortal Engines" daughter/father confrontation which my UBP-X1100ES flubbed every time. And, last but not least, the "King Kong" Ann Darrow rampage/rescue scene was rendered flawlessly. What a relief to have the freezing disc playback eliminated!!!2) As a bonus, I immediately noticed the UBP-X700 player had visibly better picture resolution and color on my LG than I had been experiencing with the UBP-X1100ES. This superior rendering was especially true when it came to details such as stitching or abrasions on clothing when watching "Dune, Part 1" and seeing the distinctive markings on the Mirkwood spiders in "The Hobbit, Desolation of Smaug" - which was a bonus, for I cannot recall the spiders' markings catching my attention when using the UBP-X1100ES.Conclusion: After using my previously purchased UBP-X700 to successfully fill the needs of my primary system in the living room, I immediately purchased another UBP-X700 and put it into service in front of my treadmill. All in all, I couldn't be happier!