I’m looking at the X800 too but as a back up, not a replacement , for my Cambridge CXU. These universal players don’t last forever and want coverage in case the CXU packs it in
My current biggest frustration with the X800 is that it does not support Dolby Digital Plus (DDP) audio files. A note from Sony Support (a term I use very lightly) said that they have no plans to issue a firmware update to add the capability. I suspect that the X800M2 will be similarly hindered. Regardless, I still maintain that the Sony X800 is a great piece of gear, providing perfect picture and audio quality (of the formats that it handles), at a super price (when on sale.)
I bought an x800 the third month it was available. I compared it to my Oppo 105 and then sold the oppo. I don’t listen to CD’s very often... more like never. So music wasn’t much of a criteria for me. However I wanted to point something out. Unless your purchase is about music and not movies, I would just buy an old Oppo DVD player for SACD and CD. For movies... 5.1 is really really old news. More and more movies are mixed for Atmos or other immersion formats. If you haven’t heard immersion, you’re missing out. It’s awesome. Done right it’s a game changer for watching movies. So if most of you buy a player for movies... the DAC’s or analog outs no longer matter. It has to be HDMI. it also will not be decoding the signal for audio. It’s just going to be a transport and bitstream the info to your tv or receiver. I fought and held out for analog inputs for a long time... but with movies and immersion available I embraced HDMI and separated two channel completely.
jeffreybh - The only 5” monitor I’m seeing on Amazon for around $19 has an RCA input, not HDMI. Does the monitor pictured have an RCA input or HDMI input?
So I got an X800M2 to play with and I found that too determine if the disc has Dolby Vision encoding you should enable Dolby Vision output on the player, then start the disc. Once the disc starts you press the "Display" button on the remote and the player will tell you if the disc has Dolby Vision encoding or just HDR, and that the player is outputting Dolby Vision to your TV. Doing it the other way - leaving Dolby Vision off and pressing the "Display" button will tell you the disc has HDR encoding and that the playing is outputting HDR - it does not tell you if there is the disc is Dolby Vision encoded. This is what it looks like when play Blade Runner 4K which is only in HDR when the Dolby Vision output is ON. You would want to turn Dolby Vision off so the correct HDR mapping is used. This is Spiderman Homecoming 4K when Dolby Vision is on, the top area says the movie is encoded in Dolby Vision and the bottom are says it's being output in Dolby Vision. This is the optimal output for this disc. This is Spiderman Homecoming 4K when Dolby Vision is OFF and HDR is ON, the top area says the movie is encoded in HDR (which it is)n and the bottom are says it's being output in HDR. This output will be fine, but from this state you can't tell if the disc has Dolby Vision. I also tested Multi-channel SACD and it passed DSD to my Pioneer receiver. DVD Multi-channel audio is output as MCH PCM as expected. The build quality of the X800M2 is pretty nice - but it does NOT have an on-device display.
At least a prove that current Dolby Vision discs are not 12 bit encoded. The fact that the output is at 12 bit doesn't mean anything about Dolby Vision decoding, most UHD BD players output a 12 bit video signal as this is the standard for HDMI. 10 bit video can be output by HDMI but this is a deviation from the standard but works most of the times.
From Wiki: "Dolby Digital Plus is seeing increasing use in digital television systems, particular in cable and satellite systems, as a replacement for Dolby Digital. Many such applications don't take advantage of its higher channel count or ability to support multiple independent programs; instead it is used as a higher-efficiency codec than AC-3."
In the grand scheme of things do you “really” see much of any difference between HDR and DV? First understand DV is HDR. It’s just when the industry says HDR, they use it to “mean” HDR without DV. In reality other than “some” CGI and gaming the difference is just about non existent. And when it is detectable, it’s a really small difference. This makes me laugh cause the same people upset about DV not being at the forefront are the same people streaming over physical content.... if you really want things to look their best, physical disk with HDR will always look better than streamed content. Heck, great source 1080p is better that the very best streamed “4K” content. So if you’re really in a tizzy over DV... why not buy the 4K disk for an even better improvement. Another issue is your TV, player and AVR all have to be set just right to benefit from DV. I’m at the point where I just don’t care anymore. I’ll watch streamed, I’ll watch 4K disc.. it all looks great. The reality is my Sony XBR65X930E is going to look great. In another generation or two I’ll replace it and at that time none of these conversations will matter. It will likely be Standard with DV. 8k will be the (useless) buzz. In truth the next 2-3 years will be interesting because the standard won’t be a 50” TV. 100”plus sizes are coming down in price and short throw up close projectors are getting better and better. Tech is always evolving. I’m content for now. I buy most of my Movies on ultra 4K discs. I stream as much HD as I can get, the rest is up inverted really well. I don’t have the time or energy to fret over the remaining differences that are so small it’s ridiculous.
In Spain most free over the air HD networks use Dolby Digital Plus as a audio codec, sound has much improved from the early days when they used MPEG audio as a codec which is still used by some lesser channels which sound is lousy. In addition from being able to encode more channels than plain AC-3 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus is also able to compress a 24 bit signal while Dolby Digital is limited to 16 bit resolution. The biggest private free OTA in Spain, Atresmedia (they own several TV networks, newspapers and book publishers) broadcast on Dolby Digital Plus at 48 Khz/24 bit. Not bad.
I don't think Dolby Vision makes a hell of a difference either, not with mid to high range TV sets able to output at least 1000 nits that don't have to do heavy tone mapping. Even if a set has to tone map an HDR video signal, let's say with movies mastered at 4000 nits like Pacific Rim, many current TV's do a great job at tone mapping and if your TV doesn't do a convincing tone mapping you can always get a Panasonic UHD BD player with its exclusive HDR Optimizer that tailors the HDR signal on the disc to the capabilities of your TV set. I have a mid range 49" Samsung set that can do up to 600 nits and with a Sony X-800 I got a dim picture with some movies or blown out highlites, that's my Samsung set tone mapping. A month ago I got an inexpensive Panasonic DP-UB420 UHD BD plater with the HCX processor that does HDR Optimizer and the picture I get out of my UHD BD collection and Samsung TV is totally different as they are properly tone mapped by the Panasonic player. Dolby Vision and its dinamic metadata is all about doing proper tone mapping IMO. I know it has the potential for 12 bit video but as far as I know no Dolby Vision disc released is 12 bit encoded.
Geez -among a few other quaint things... TV used to mean "son, change it to channel 2!" or dad would ask me to go outside and rotate the antenna some. "OK - stop, right there... no go back a bit, that's it, wait a little more - yes!"
FYI - Crutchfield, Amazon, etc has dropped the price on the X800M2 from $299 to $198. Not sure if this is permanent or for a limited time... Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® at Crutchfield
is possible make it Region Free??? without paying $400 to this guys: Sony UBP-X800M2 Region free 4k UHD Blu-ray Player Multi Region
I don't think so. One piece of advice, get a Panasonic DP820. They're easier to region-mod (some titles don't even need region modding on Panasonic player, just insert the disc and press main menu repeatedly), their Chroma Upsampling literally TROUNCES the one done by Sony players (more life-like colors, cleaner picture, picture has a "pop" Sony players lack) and the exclusive HDR Optimizer that will tone map greatly discs that are mastered at a nit level (some Warner Bros. and most Sony titles) your set can't display without looking burned. With the HDR Optimizer you avoid that and it's a set and forget feature.
My player has got a bit annoying recently noticing it is starting to skip during playback. I think I'm heading for a new universal base unit.
And I forget to say that I own both and I have both on my set up. The Sony X-800 has been relegated to SACD/music files playing and the Panasonic is the one that plays BD's and UHD BD's. I owned the Panasonic DP420 that is an HDMI-only version of the 820 but until now has only been sold in Europe and some Asian countries, but I've been told that a US retailer now sells it as an exclusive. Comparing both on the same set up and TV (a Samsung 49" 4K HDR set) borrowing some discs from a friend so I can have two UHD BD's of the same title to play both at the same time on both players, the Panasonic player clearly shows its picture superiority, even my 75 year old mother said "that one (refering to the Panasonic) looks better, it has better color". That on a 49" TV set, imagine the differences on a bigger and better set.
I'm not sure that it's the X800M2, but I saw a preview for BestBuy's "Black Friday" ad that had a Sony blu-ray player that plays high res audio for $149. Apples and oranges. The Panasonic costs more and does not play dvd-audio or SACD discs.
For $149.99, I’m only seeing a Samsung on sale. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsun...-blu-ray-player-black/5855304.p?skuId=5855304 The Sony X800M2 is selling for $199.99 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-u...-blu-ray-player-black/6336494.p?skuId=6336494 In addition, the Sony UBP-X1100ES is also on sale, normally $599.98, now $499.98 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-u...-blu-ray-player-black/6350351.p?skuId=6350351
Hi all I'm new to this page and new to the above system I'm wondering if anyone can help please? I purchased one of these 4k players about 3 months ago all set up fine ( a few problems such as somethings wont recognise discs and freezes or the disc reader on the tv just spinning) anyhow just finally got around to playing a sacd disc no luck at all either wont read it or the music jumps like every second or so , it's annoying as hell its connected to a receiver also connected to that is a ps4 a switch and a virgin media box (that shouldn't affect it I'm sure) Thanks in advance
OK, connect the Sony UPB-X800II to your AVR/Pre-Pro via HDMI audio output, then, set AVR to the HDMI input you connected to the Sony. That's it. Also, set the Sony for DSD Output Mode (AUTO). In this mode the Sony will output DSD unless your AVR will not accept it, then the Sony will output LPCM.
I don't know how often you use your CXU, but my 752BD, its predecessor, gets played daily and for longer at weekends. Hasn't had a blip yet and it's got hundreds of hours on it. Bought it in late 2014. You should be good for a while yet!.
