CEDIA 2016

Sony only announced a few new products at its CEDIA 2016 press conference, but the ones it did roll out are significant. A highlight of the event was the unveiling of the company’s first Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X1000ES.

Sony plans to have the UBP-X1000ES certified with Control4, Crestron, and other home control and automation companies when it becomes available as an exclusive to the custom installer channel in spring 2017 — a likely reason why they are launching it at CEDIA. Other custom installation-friendly features the UBP-X1000ES will provide include RS-232C and IR input ports, a web browser interface, and support for ihiji cloud network management.

A/V-centric features announced by Sony for its new Ultra HD player include SACD, DVD-Audio, and 3D Blu-ray support, as well as compatibility with native DSD and up to 192kHz High-res LPCM audio files. It will also stream Ultra HD content from sources including Sony’s own Ultra 4K Movies & TV service. Pricing for the player is still TBD.