At long last, Sony has stepped up to the plate and unveiled its first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player. However, there is one significant caveat involved, making this nowhere as attractive of an offering as it could have been.
Indeed, with the UBP-X1000ES, Sony finally has a 4K Blu-ray player, one capable of spinning virtually any other kind of optical disc. However, don't expect to find this product on shelves anytime soon, if ever. Because it is one of part of Sony's ES line of A/V receivers, it will only be available through custom installers for U.S. buyers.
To be fair to Sony, however, the UBP-X1000ES is a solid 4K player — albeit a late one.
Just like the premium 1080p UHP-H1 player released earlier this year, the X1000ES can stream from Amazon Video and YouTube; however, it goes one step further by being able to play 4K discs. What's more, it features a 32-bit processing DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and support for high-resolution audio, including LPCM (at up to 192 kHz) and streaming native DSD (up to 11.2 MHz).
Unfortunately, it's difficult to be optimistic.
Under normal circumstances, the coming of a brand-new 4K HD Blu-ray player from Sony would be a cause for celebration. Not only is the company the most popular manufacturer of Blu-ray players, but it was one of the first companies to produce 4K Blu-ray discs — two things that should have allowed Sony to dominate the market by now, had the company cared to enter it.
However, in reality, this player is little more than a disappointment. Sure, Sony finally has 4K HD Blu-ray player to its name, but not only is it not one that most had expected, but it's also incredibly late. For reference, both Samsung and Philips already have Ultra HD Blu-ray players of their own, and Microsoft has one via the Xbox One S game console — all of which have models that can be found on shelves.
Considering that Sony has made it a habit to popularize disk formats by enabling native support on its game consoles — DVD on the PS2 and Blu-ray on the PS3 — the expectation was that Sony would include 4K Blu-ray in the recently announced PlayStation 4 Pro. And, as you likely already know, all it can do is 4K streaming.
Instead, we're left with an inconvenient method to get their 4K Blu-ray player, as ES components are only available through custom installers in the United States. And with the X1000ES described as being "specifically designed to deliver the highest quality video and audio possible and will excite the most demanding A/V enthusiasts," it does little for the average consumer who likely just wants to buy a Sony brand 4K Blu-ray player right off the rack.
Hopefully Sony will announce, and later release, a companion player around the same time as the X1000ES that doesn't cost a pretty penny.
In the meantime, the UBP-X1000ES will start shipping in spring 2017 at an undetermined price.
