- Sony UBP-X700K is a retrospective version of the UBP-X700
- There are no wi-fi transmission characteristics and without transmission
- The Japanese price suggests a price increase
We believe that the Sony UBP-X700 is the best cheap Blu-ray 4K player. And now there is a new version, Sony’s first Blu-ray player since 2019, with some changes that make total sense to me, and potentially some that do not.
Based on its product listings (through Platpanelshd.com), the new UBP-X700K drops some of the characteristics of the current model, but the price, at least in Japan, is 25% higher than the price of the current street.
More money, less characteristics? That seems strange, so we have asked for a request to Sony asking for price and availability details. We will notify you if we get confirmation.
Sony UBP-X700K: What is different from the UBP-X700?
According to the Japanese publication Monahika, the new player is effectively a reduced EVERSion of the UBP-X700 and there are some key differences.
The big difference is that there are no wireless network functions, and that in turn means that there are no video transmission applications, neither spotify Connect and there is no screen reflection. The video and TV SideView application is also gone, Mohika reports.
Eliminating transmission functions to make a more optimized budget Blu-ray player sounds like an intelligent movement for me in the era of intelligent televisions: it is simply not something that many buyers of today will want their record player. But you would expect to come with a lower price to attract people to the world of physical media and the benefits of 4K Blu-ray on transmission.
The player is a typically black Sony block, and around the back there is an Ethernet port, two HDMI ports (only one audio) and a coaxial digital output. There is support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision (without HDR10+, as with the regular model), Dolby Atmos and DTS: X audio, and works with UHD Blu-ray, standard Blu-ray and DVD.
The new Blu-ray player will be available from April or May 2025, hopefully for an attractive price. The current model can be found for less than $ 199 / £ 199 / au $ 369.
