Looking for most inexpensive universal disc player recommendations...NOT SONY!

[Rockin' Robby]

Hello all! I have a Sony UBP-X800M2, and just discovered that it doesnt actually play DVD+R and DVD-R SACDs and DVD-As. Issue Playing Back Burned DVD-Audio Disc on Sony UBP-x800m2
Infuriating.
What are some recommendations for the most inexpensive universal players? I want it to play everything. Ultra HD Blu Ray, multi channel SACD, quad Blu Ray, DVDRs...everything this garbage Sony was SUPPOSED to play.
Thanks so much in advance for your experienced knowledge!

 

[DrKlahn]

A used Oppo is probably your best bet. Though it's not likely to be inexpensive.

It's frustrating, but I would never assume players will support burned media or ripped files. A lot of the manufacturers have business interests that go against supporting this. The Sony is far from garbage. It plays what I expected it too. I know that some indie studios do release product on burned media. In that case I'd probably extract the files and play them back on the Shield.

The aforementioned Oppo would eliminate that. Or something like the new Magnetar player. I'm just not up to paying that for the occasional disc that the Sony would refuse to play.

 

[Rockin' Robby]

A used Oppo is probably your best bet. Though it's not likely to be inexpensive.

It's frustrating, but I would never assume players will support burned media or ripped files. A lot of the manufacturers have business interests that go against supporting this. The Sony is far from garbage. It plays what I expected it too. I know that some indie studios do release product on burned media. In that case I'd probably extract the files and play them back on the Shield.

The aforementioned Oppo would eliminate that. Or something like the new Magnetar player. I'm just not up to paying that for the occasional disc that the Sony would refuse to play.

My last Sony Blu-Ray played these discs, it just wasn't UHD. And it also wouldn't play my Black Sabbath quadio disc due to a glitch that Sony never addressed. Thank you for the response!

 

[DrKlahn]

My last Sony Blu-Ray played these discs, it just wasn't UHD. And it also wouldn't play my Black Sabbath quadio disc due to a glitch that Sony never addressed. Thank you for the response!

The reality is that all this region coding, encryption, etc really only impacts those consumers trying to play by the rules in the first place. Thus far anything they've come up with, someone has circumvented. Really any disc player should just play whatever we want them to and the studios would probably have more money in the end by not bothering to invent, implement and maintain these schemes.

But that's not the world we live in. I'm just giving the Sony a pass for doing what it does at the price it costs.

 

[Francis Drake]

It's frustrating, but I would never assume players will support burned media or ripped files. A lot of the manufacturers have business interests that go against supporting this.

Have to totally agree, it's unrealistic to expect manufacturers to produce players that will play copies of illegal formatted discs that the company actually licences.

 

[Rockin' Robby]

Have to totally agree, it's unrealistic to expect manufacturers to produce players that will play copies of illegal formatted discs that the company actually licences.

As far as I knew, here in Canada you are allowed to make a copy of an album you own for personal use. Don't list the unit as being able to play DVD+R and DVD-R if it can't play those discs.

 

[François]

AFAIK, the Sony UBP-X800M2 is the last (nearly) universal player that you can still buy new. I don’t think there is any other UHD player that can play SACD and DVD-Audio.

 

[Mark Anderson]

Sony forced Oppo to remove playback of burnt SACD's in a firmware update, cannot remember which models but suspect 90's and after. Never had an issue with DVD-A's except 4 channel discs only playing in stereo. The fix, either add silent center or sub corrected the problems on receivers that did not like 4 channel. I just thru in the towel and rip everything to play thru JRiver. No problem at all.

 

[stoopid]

A used Oppo is probably your best bet. Though it's not likely to be inexpensive.

This is exactly what I do. Sony x800m2 for just about everything and an older, hdmi based Oppo dvd player for anything the Sony can't. I do have some burned media, but most of my frequently listened to collection is legit. Curiously, I don't think I have a single burned SACD, it's all bluray audio, dvd-a or dts based. The Sony does play burned media, I did some tests when I first had it and again when someone here started a thread about it. I don't recall that dvd+r or dvd-r mattered, I think it had more to do with the burned disc's authoring.

 

[stoopid]

AFAIK, the Sony UBP-X800M2 is the last (nearly) universal player that you can still buy new. I don’t think there is any other UHD player that can play SACD and DVD-Audio.

Definitely nothing in the sub-$300 price point, I verified that before buying mine about a year ago.

 

[hafquark]

Sony forced Oppo to remove playback of burnt SACD's in a firmware update, cannot remember which models but suspect 90's and after. Never had an issue with DVD-A's except 4 channel discs only playing in stereo. The fix, either add silent center or sub corrected the problems on receivers that did not like 4 channel. I just thru in the towel and rip everything to play thru JRiver. No problem at all.

It was the 100 series that removed SACD-R playback. My BDP93 and 95 have the last firmware releases installed, and both play burnt SACD discs just fine.

 

[ubertrout]

As I understand it disabling playback of ripped discs is a requirement of the patent license to play discs, you won't find a recent commercial player that does it.

While in Canada you are allowed to make copies for personal use, circumventing copy protection to do so isn't permitted. More info: What the New Copyright Law Means For You - Michael Geist

 

[Rockin' Robby]

As I understand it disabling playback of ripped discs is a requirement of the patent license to play discs, you won't find a recent commercial player that does it.

While in Canada you are allowed to make copies for personal use, circumventing copy protection to do so isn't permitted. More info: What the New Copyright Law Means For You - Michael Geist

Sure, but recording an old quad record or 8-track and then playing back should be fine.

The issue here is buying a unit based on the manufacturer claiming that it plays DVD+R and DVD-R...only to find out that was complete B.S.

 

[Francis Drake]

The issue here is buying a unit based on the manufacturer claiming that it plays DVD+R and DVD-R...only to find out that was complete B.S.

It does seem to be a fine line between playback of 'copied material', which the music companies are worried about, and the legal playback of ones own produced discs containing 'legacy' material that the music companies have ignorred for some fiftyy years.

It has been quite obvious for quite some time, at least since the advent of 'DVD-Audio', that the equipment manufacurers are completely dissinterested in what 'the customer' may want to do with the equipment purchased, and that commercial interests will always over ride the desires of the ,paying, customer.

It's near the end of 2023, the companies are giant multi-nationals, and change they won't. Time to stop the pointless, tireless complaining, and just accept...... we've been screwed.

 

[knifeman]

A used Oppo is probably your best bet. Though it's not likely to be inexpensive.

It's frustrating, but I would never assume players will support burned media or ripped files. A lot of the manufacturers have business interests that go against supporting this. The Sony is far from garbage. It plays what I expected it too. I know that some indie studios do release product on burned media. In that case I'd probably extract the files and play them back on the Shield.

The aforementioned Oppo would eliminate that. Or something like the new Magnetar player. I'm just not up to paying that for the occasional disc that the Sony would refuse to play.

I have no complaints with my X800M2. That being said, I'm planning on buying a Magnetar when I upgrade my system in the (hopefully) near future. Magnetar seems to be the new Oppo.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

@knifeman

Given you're based in the USA, you're probably better off buying a used OPPO UDP-20x player, then sending it to OPPO for their flat-fee service...

 

[JediJoker]

My last Sony Blu-Ray played these discs, it just wasn't UHD. And it also wouldn't play my Black Sabbath quadio disc due to a glitch that Sony never addressed. Thank you for the response!

Is your previous player broken? Why not simply continue to use it for those discs? When I upgraded to 4K UHD, I specifically chose a player that doesn't do SACD or DVD-A, but has superior video quality for DVD-V, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD Blu-ray (Panasonic DP-UB820-K). For other formats, I continue to use my older player that supports them (Oppo BDP-103D). I don't find having two different players set up to be a hardship.

 

[Rockin' Robby]

Is your previous player broken? Why not simply continue to use it for those discs? When I upgraded to 4K UHD, I specifically chose a player that doesn't do SACD or DVD-A, but has superior video quality for DVD-V, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD Blu-ray (Panasonic DP-UB820-K). For other formats, I continue to use my older player that supports them (Oppo BDP-103D). I don't find having two different players set up to be a hardship.

That older player is being used as the CD/SACD player in my upstairs audio 2 channel system. The new 4k player is the one used for video and surround music in my other theatre system. It's busy!

 

[Rockin' Robby]

It does seem to be a fine line between playback of 'copied material', which the music companies are worried about, and the legal playback of ones own produced discs containing 'legacy' material that the music companies have ignorred for some fiftyy years.

It has been quite obvious for quite some time, at least since the advent of 'DVD-Audio', that the equipment manufacurers are completely dissinterested in what 'the customer' may want to do with the equipment purchased, and that commercial interests will always over ride the desires of the ,paying, customer.

It's near the end of 2023, the companies are giant multi-nationals, and change they won't. Time to stop the pointless, tireless complaining, and just accept...... we've been screwed.

Stopping complaining about some obvious immoral BS isn't my style.

I just got off the phone with Sony's highest level of customer relations. They are sending a bunch of feedback direct to Sony's engineering department. I told them sales descriptions need to be changed, that there is much documentation online stating that NOBODY can play these discs using this unit, despite them working on other units. There needs to be a firmware update to correct this. I recommend everybody else who has the time to call Sony assistance and escalate this to the highest to send these same concerns to the engineering department and demand a firmware update to correct this. I am also exchanging this defective unit in case another one works to the description, and will review on the Amazon listings so other potential buyers are aware of the incorrect descriptions.

I doubt a firmware update will happen, but the more people that give this feedback to Sony, the better the chances.

 

[Atomic Punk]

I have no complaints with my X800M2. That being said, I'm planning on buying a Magnetar when I upgrade my system in the (hopefully) near future. Magnetar seems to be the new Oppo.

specs look great...but 1600$ and that's for their "cheap" model