Performance-wise, the Sony UBP-X700 is an all-around brilliant player.
The UBP-X700 effectively handles Dolby Atmos soundtracks and has balanced and accurate sound reproduction.
CD playback is also effective.
The Sony UBP-X700’s home page is a little on the plain side
The UBP-X700s interface is easy enough to navigate, although a little on the plain side.
A good number of parameters for video and audio are provided.
The UBP-X700 supports the Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range formats, but not HDR10+.
The Sony UBP-X700 offers a good number of connections, including dual HDMI and coaxial digital audio outputs
There is also support for High-res audio file formats including ALAC, DSD and FLAC.
There is also an Ethernet port and a front USB port.
In terms of performance, navigation was easy enough without any stutter or slowdown.
The Sony UBP-X700’s color display is fantastic, filled with vibrancy as shown here onLa La Land
One frustration I had involved the players Dolby Vision menu setting.
If you regularly switch between 4K and standard Blu-ray/DVDs, thats something worth bearing in mind.
For testing, the UBP-X700 was connected to a Panasonic MZ1500OLEDTV.
The Sony UBP-X700 has short loading times of under 30 seconds from when the disc is inserted to first logos appearing on screen
Starting with 4K Blu-rays, the UBP-X700 demonstrated excellent picture quality.
InLa La Land(HDR10 format) colors were bright and vibrant, with plenty of dynamic punch throughout.
The colors were still accurate and crisp, but its worth noting.
The Sony UBP-X700 has a small, cheap-feeling remote
Shadow detail was also excellent, with details in clothing maintained even in the darkest shots.
Moving onto standard Blu-ray, I used the same scene fromThe Batmanto test the effectiveness of the UBP-X700s upscaling.
Although it was not as good as the Panasonic UB820, the UPBX700 still did an impressive job.
Contrast in the Sony UBP-X700’s picture is also very rich
The UBP-X700 even did a decent upscaling job with a DVD ofThe Amazing Spider-Man, improving textures and colors.
It was more effective here than the Panasonic UB154 but not as effective as the Panasonic UB820.
I also analyzed how much film grain the UBP-X700 left intact with older movies.
The Sony UBP-X700’s settings menu
I also found this to be the case when watching 4K Blu-rays ofThe BatmanandLa La Land.
Film purists may want to make note of this.
For audio, I had no issue playing Dolby Atmos soundtracks through the UBP-X700.
I also tested a CD in the UPB-X700 and found no issues with stutter or load times.
The small supplied remote feels a little dated and cheap.
Should you buy the Sony UBP-X700?
It’s worth the upgrade if you might stretch your budget for the better performance.
I also used a Blu-ray version ofThiefto test the UBP-X700’s film grain accuracy.
I also streamed content via Netflix and BBC iPlayer to test the UBP-X700’s streaming capabilities.
