Sony launches new version of the best cheap 4K Blu-ray player that drops the streaming tech – but the price looks odd
- Sony UBP-X700K is a stripped back version of the UBP-X700
- No Wi-Fi and no streaming features
- Japanese pricing suggests a price hike
We think that the Sony UBP-X700 is the best cheap 4K Blu-Ray player. And now there’s a new version – the first new Sony Blu-Ray player since 2019 – with some changes that make total sense to me, and potentially some that don’t.
Based on its product listings (via FlatpanelsHD.com), the new UBP-X700K drops some of the features from the current model – but the price, in Japan at least, is 25% higher than the street price of the current one.
More money, fewer features? That seems strange, so we’ve put in a request to Sony asking for pricing and availability details. We’ll let you know if we get confirmation.
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Sony UBP-X700K: what’s different to the UBP-X700
According to the Japanese publication Monohika, the new player is effectively a scaled-down eversion of the UBP-X700 and there are a few key differences.
The big difference is that there are no wireless networking features, and that in turn means no video streaming apps, no Spotify Connect and no screen mirroring. The Video & TV SideView app is also gone, Monohika reports.
Removing streaming features to make a more streamlined budget Blu-ray player sounds like a smart move to me in the age of smart TVs – it’s just not something that too many buyers today will want from their disc player. But you’d expect it to come with a lower price made to attract people to the world of physical media, and 4K Blu-ray’s benefits over streaming.
The player is a typically black Sony block, and round the back there’s an Ethernet port, two HDMI ports (one audio-only) and a coaxial digital out. There’s support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision (no HDR10+, as with the regular model), Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio, and it works with UHD Blu-Ray, standard Blu-Ray and DVDs.
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 under $199 / £199 / AU$369.