We’re in a challenging market for 4K Blu-ray players. In today’s streaming-dominant world, the demand for physical media has dropped sharply, leaving minimal competition for 4K hardware. Most players are old and expensive.
Thankfully, the Sony UBP-X700U stands out as an excellent choice. The player is reliable, quick to operate, relatively quiet, and supports Dolby Vision. It’s also new hardware when most rival alternatives originate from 2019 or earlier. There are a few annoyances, primarily around manual settings adjustments, build quality, and a dated user interface. But with a relatively affordable $300 or less price point, the X700U’s offers excellent value. It’s my default recommendation for most people who want to enjoy 4K Blu-rays at home.
Reliability is my number one priority given widespread quality control problems with 4K Blu-ray players. Checking Reddit, online forums, and professional reviewers like The Wirecutter, there are many complaints about players that lock up, freeze, or otherwise refuse to play 4K discs. Some complain that Panasonic players struggle with discs that have scratches or blemishes. However, most of the ire has been directed at Sony players, especially the UBP-X700, the X700U’s predecessor from seven years ago. That feedback was my biggest hesitation on buying the X700U, given its specs are so similar to the previous version.
Thankfully, while I can’t speak yet to long term durability, the X700U has been relatively flawless so far. Over the past few months I’ve run the X700U through over fifty Blu-rays without a single lockup, skip, or freeze. I’ve watched ten movies from start to finish, mostly triple layer 4K Blu-rays (BD-100) that are the standard for new 4K physical releases. I also watched a few older HD Blu-rays, and a 4K Blu-ray on a dual layer disc (BD-66).
I also ran spot checks on the remaining forty Blu-rays from my library, mostly a mixture of triple and dual layer 4K Blu-rays. For each I played several minutes from different chapters to verify compatibility. I never encountered any bugs or problems. I paid special attention to two problem spots from two triple layer discs — 2001: A Space Odyssey and Jaws — that repeatedly froze on my Xbox Series X. Both played on the X700U without issue.
The X700U also supports Dolby Vision HDR (high dynamic range), a feature rarely seen in sub-$400 players. Dolby Vision can provide richer blacks and a more dynamic color range than the older HDR10 format, offering a subtle but noticeable improvement in picture quality. HDR is arguably the most biggest visual visual leap of 4K Blu-rays over their HD counterparts, and Dolby Vision has broad support across 4K TVs and UHD Blu-rays.
The X700U also includes a few small conveniences not available on similarly priced Panasonics. You can choose whether the player or your 4K TV should handle 4K upscaling. If you’re fortunate enough to have a TV that upscales well (my Sony Bravia 7 does), this can give a small image quality boost to HD Blu-rays. The display interface also lists full audio and subtitle details (e.g. “DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1”, “Commentary”) instead of vague labels like “Audio 1”, helpful when making adjustments. It even shows live video and audio bit rates, a nice touch for enthusiasts.
While the X700U’s Dolby Vision support is rock solid, it requires users to manually toggle the setting on or off. Forgetting to leave Dolby Vision on HDR10-only or SDR discs leads to ugly, overly saturated visuals. To avoid this problem, you’ll have to check if a disc has Dolby Vision support, and then manually enable or disable the setting on the X700U before playback. Higher end Sony players and all Panasonic players with Dolby Vision avoid this step through auto detection.
There’s an additional hassle for Sonos soundbar owners, given the Sonos Beam, Arc, and Arc Ultra natively decode lossless Dolby audio but not DTS. On a per disc basis, Sonos users have to toggle the X700U’s Digital Audio Out setting depending on the disc’s supported audio codec — ‘PCM’ for DTS-HD Master Audio and ‘Auto’ for Dolby Atmos or TrueHD — to maintain proper sound. Panasonic players avoid this by offering separate Dolby and DTS digital audio settings.
I also dislike X700U’s cheap and poorly designed remote. Its buttons feel squishy and lack feedback. Their tight spacing makes it easy to tap the wrong button by accident. Still, it’s functional, and most will adapt to its limitations over time.
The X700U’s system interface is also ugly and bare bones. Text and overlays are low resolution and take up too much screen space during playback.The whole UI feels like it was designed a decade ago and lazily copied over to newer hardware.
Among online reviewers and enthusiast forums, the Panasonic UB820 is the most widely recommended player. It adds auto Dolby Vision and HDR10+ HDR detection, a better upscaler for DVDs and Blu-rays, and an HDR optimizer for better performance on select TVs. If you’re happy to spend $400 to $500 on a player, the UB820 is a great, well tested option.
However, that price range overlaps with iPads, gaming consoles, and premium Bluetooth headphones. That’s a high price point for most, especially for newcomers to physical media. Assuming the X700U remains reliable over the long run, it delivers a better value at a slightly more impulsive $250 or $300 price point.
If you already own a PS5 or Xbox Series X, those consoles can also play 4K Blu-rays. I’ve watched many movies over the past two years on my Series X — from ten year old Blu-rays to brand new 4K UHDs — with generally good results. It’s a great starting point for gamers who want to watch more physical media. It also means one less device to deal with on your home theater setup.
However, once you start building a collection, a dedicated player makes sense. The PS5 and Series X are noisier during playback, especially with 4K discs, and lack Dolby Vision support. Also, general operation speed, from boot up to menu navigation, is slower. You also have to navigate using a game controller unless you buy a dedicated media remote. The X700U, by comparison, is quiet, fast, and purpose-built for movie watching.