I've owned a Sony UBP X700 4K Blu-ray player for around 4 to 5 years. Lately, I've noticed some intermittent pauses when watching 4K discs—enough to be a little annoying, but I initially thought it was the discs' fault. However, I recently tested one of the discs at a friend's place with their PS5, and it played flawlessly from start to finish. Now, I'm starting to suspect that my Blu-ray player is at fault, especially since the problem seems to have worsened; during the last movie, it actually got stuck for a moment. I could skip back to the same scene, and it played fine then. Oddly, it has no issues with standard Blu-rays or DVDs; only the 4K discs are problematic. Can I do something to fix this, or should I just think about replacing my player?
2 Answers
It sounds like your Sony player might be struggling with layer changes on those 4K Blu-rays. Unlike standard discs, 4K ones often have multiple layers, and not all players handle the switching smoothly. It's possible yours isn't equipped to buffer the video effectively during these transitions. If you feel comfortable doing it, you could try cleaning the lens as dust can hinder the player's ability to sync properly. Be very gentle with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol, just to remove any buildup. I’d also check if there's a firmware update available; sometimes that can help with playback issues. However, if the problem persists, it might be worth considering a replacement.
Cleaning the lens is a solid idea! Just be super careful, as you mentioned. I had a similar experience with my player, and a quick clean made a decent difference.
Cleaning the lens could help, or at least it's worth a try! Sometimes, it’s just a little dust that causes problems during playback. If that doesn’t work, you may need to look into getting a new player if the issues persist.
Yeah, I never connected mine to the internet either, so I'm probably running the original firmware too. Updating it sounds like a good idea! Right after I started watching 'Mission Impossible'—which is a long one—I noticed the pauses, especially since it might have multiple layers. It makes total sense now. Thanks!