4 Of The Least Reliable 4K Blu-Ray Players, According To Cinephiles

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Most discerning cinephiles will be pleased to give you a crash course on how physical media is superior to streaming. With 4K HDR leading the charge for modern AV fidelity, physical media devotees are right to champion 4K Blu-ray players for their performance and reliability. Instead of relying on an internet connection to stream a 4K movie or show from a platform like Netflix, a UHD player scans a UHD disc to gather picture and sound data — no network required. That picture and sound data is then instantly transferred to your TV and/or audio system via HDMI.

More often than not, the result is uncompromised visuals that make the most of a 4K TV or projector. Unfortunately, not all 4K Blu-ray players are created equal, and there's less hardware to choose from than ever before. If you're in the market for a new UHD player, we previously reported on the best 4K Blu-ray players that cinephiles recommend; now we're going to focus on four of the worst 4K players you should avoid.

This isn't to say that buying and connecting one of these 4K machines will immediately result in disappointment. Some of the products on our list didn't start throwing red flags until users inserted a specific Blu-ray disc, while others didn't become problematic until after a few months of use. Regardless of the how and when, though, all four of the 4K Blu-ray players in this roundup are prone to glitches in one way or another. We also took on the challenge of tracking down the five worst 4K Blu-ray movies you should avoid.

A quick look at the Sony UBP-X700U's Amazon product page shows nothing to be alarmed about: Scoring a 4.5 out of 5 stars, based on over 200 reviews, it would seem most folks love this 4K Blu-ray player. It even has dual HDMI outputs for separating audio and video channels (just make sure you're connecting the right HDMI cables), as well as Dolby Vision and HDR10 support. But peel back the curtain, and you'll see that things start falling apart when it comes time to play dual and triple-layer discs.

One Amazon user said the X700U worked fine for some 4K discs, but started locking up and skipping when playing others. Another reviewer mentioned their disappointment that the X700U wouldn't work with a lot of their newer 4K Blu-rays. We've also read reports of picture with no sound (and vice versa), and some reviewers were unpleasantly surprised by the player's lack of Wi-Fi connectivity.

The Sony UBP-X700U isn't budget-friendly by any means, either. A price point of $300 is a lot to ask for a 4K player, even if it can also play 1080p Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs.

Panasonic and Sony are the two major horses left in the 4K player race, and the former is one of the only companies still selling a premium UHD model (the $1,000+ BDP-UB9000). But if you're not looking for cutting-edge picture upscaling or 7.1 analog audio outputs, you may be inclined to think the less-expensive Panasonic DP-UB450 is a solid option — but you would be incorrect.

Scoring a 4.2 out of 5 stars on Amazon, based on over 340 reviews, many users reported issues with basic playback. A few individuals had to repeatedly open and close the disc tray before the UB450 registered the inserted 4K Blu-ray, while another reported a dead UB450 after less than 90 days of owning the player. We also read numerous complaints of the player skipping and not being able to read 4K Blu-rays at all.

Your $240 also won't buy you a Wi-Fi-compatible player. Should you choose to update the firmware at any point, you'll first need to run an Ethernet cable from your player to your router.

Owning a multi-region player gives you the ability to watch Blu-rays and DVDs from all over the world. While there aren't too many region-free 4K players on the market, the $449 LG UBKM9 is still a viable option. That said, it does look like Amazon is one of the last options left for buying this 4K player brand-new; otherwise, you'll be tasked with finding a used one on eBay or another third-party site.

While it's hailed as a "multi-region" player, the UBKM9 gave one reviewer a hard time when attempting to play Region B movies. Other Amazon customers had similar issues with the player being locked out of certain regions, while others reported that the UBKM9 doesn't even include instructions. We also read complaints of the player not being able to recognize 4K Blu-rays or properly eject discs.

When one spends nearly $500 on a 4K Blu-ray player, the open-close function should work every time. We can see how having to fiddle with a temperamental player can be frustrating, especially when less-expensive models don't get stuck on the basics.

The Magnavox MBP6700 is another 4K player that's been on the market for a minute, and is getting increasingly more challenging to come by — even on eBay and other third-party outlets. With an overall score of 59 out of 100 at Consumer Reports, the MBP6700 received poor marks for ease of use and useful features. Over at Amazon, the player scored a 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on over 180 reviews.

The MBP6700 is another 4K machine that struggles with the basics. A few Amazon reviews mentioned playback issues with multiple formats, while others complained that the player stopped working after just a few months. People also despise the remote that comes with the MBP6700, with most of the hate aimed at its small size.

While most Blu-ray player manufacturers have stopped producing hardware altogether, Magnavox isn't a brand we'd recommend going with — even with the lack of options out there.

We here at BGR want to ensure our readers are only buying products from reliable manufacturers. $250+ is far too much to spend on an AV component that doesn't work perfectly, and we made it our mission to pinpoint the chief offenders of the 4K Blu-ray universe. We also lean on trustworthy user feedback and professional reviews to help spotlight products with the most issues and complaints.