Robert Schaffer
Plays 4k blurays nicely, but this player is not without its faults. First, the good: The streaming capabilities are expansive (Wow there are a lot of apps!). Netflix and Amazon apps play in full 4K with HDR. There is a second HDMI output, so that if you have a receiver that doesnt pass 4K or HDR, you can plug one into your TV for full video performance and the other HDMI into your receiver for full audio (see "the bad" for limitations on this). Has video adjustments on the player to help "fine tune" the re-mapping of HDR content to your displays capabilities. Now, the bad: if you are using the second HDMI output for audio to your receiver, the second HDMI will only output the audio in its native format from discs. If you select "Bitstream" output for audio (the only format which will output whatever is on the disc without downgrading it in any way) you will only get 2-channel audio (which your receiver will probably process as Dolby Pro-logic) from the second HDMI output from any of the apps. If you switch the players audio to PCM you will get 5.1 from streaming apps (if the movie or show you watch has 5.1 sound to offer). Unfortunately, this setting will also convert whatever audio is on any disc to 5.1 multi-channel PCM, though. If you use ONLY the main HDMI output (for both audio and video), you can select "Bitstream" and get the best audio and video all from both discs and apps. Also note that the video adjustments can only be made while the machine is playing a disc. They will apply to apps, once made, but the adjustments cannot be made unless a disc is playing at the time you make the adjustment. Very inconvenient, but still usable. Another issue is lip sync.The audio is ALWAYS behind the picture, so you will need to use the lip sync function on the player to get picture and sound in sync. One thing Ive noticed, though, is that if a program being streamed from and app is in Dolby Digital Plus, the audio delay will be different than a program with just Dolby Digital audio. One delay setting wont sync up everything. The player can not be set to output video in the programs native format either. You must chose ONE format that ALL programs will be up-converted or down-converted to. On some apps which come in at 1080P, the player displays 4x3 images stretched out to 16x9. If the player is set to output in 4K, many TVs will not let the image be reformatted to 4x3. You must switch the players output to 1080P to view from many sites in 4x3, and must then switch the output of the player back to 4K to view 4K material. Lastly in the negative, though, is the terrible remote. This player comes with the worst remote I have ever seen on a consumer product of its type. It is too tiny, too weak, and the battery is of the roughly quarter sized disc type that will be harder to find than the typical. Its amazing that most of these issues are not reported in reviews of the product, even though they are all over the place in discussion groups across the net. But I will admit that as a 4K bluray disc player alone, it is a nice machine. If thats all you will need it for, the negative issues, aside from the remote, will probably not trouble you.