LG model UP970 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player with support for HDR10 and (via a firmware update) Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) is hitting retail stores now, the company revealed Wednesday.
The LG UP970, which is currently available from Amazon at a $236.99 suggested retail price, was first shown at CES 2017 in January, where it received HD Guru’s Best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player award. It is currently the least expensive Ultra HD Blu-ray player with Dolby Vision support on the market.
The only other Ultra HD Blu-ray players with Dolby Vision are available from Oppo, whose UDP-203 UHD Blu-ray player starts at $549, but it offers a number of additional features not found in the LG player, like SACD and DVD-Audio support, among others.
A spokesman for LG told HD Guru that the promised Dolby Vision firmware update is ready to go now. Dolby Vision, which is a voluntary support inclusion, will be added to select Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs. The player supports the mandated HDR10 profile, which is available out of the box. Any discs carrying Dolby Vision (with dynamic metadata) will also play HDR10 (with static metadata).
Read more about the availability of LG’s UP970 Ultra HD Blu-ray player after the jump:
LG said Dolby Vision offers a superior presentation of HDR by “delivering greater brightness and contrast, as well as a fuller palette of rich colors. Dolby’s deep expertise in bringing advanced technologies from the cinema to the home has led to distinct features that enable Dolby Vision to deliver extraordinary viewing experiences to home consumers.”
In addition to support for the dual HDR profiles, the LG UP970 offers a host of features including support for a variety of advanced lossy and lossless surround sound formats, including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
The “LG UP970 Ultra HD Blu-ray player is a prime example of how we continue to innovate for American consumers,” stated Tim Alessi, head of product marketing at LG Electronics USA. “The LG UP970 demonstrates our dedication to providing unmatched picture quality in the marketplace, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to our award-winning Dolby Vision enabled 4K LG OLED and LG Super UHD TVs.”
Supported discs include: Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, and CD, but not high-resolution SACD and DVD-Audio discs. Supported file include: AVC HD, MP4, M4V, MOV, XVID, MKV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, MP3, and AAC.
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The LG UP970 has two HDMI ports — an HDMI 2.0a port for Ultra HD video output and an HDMI 1.4 for audio output that can connect with legacy home theater devices, such as AVRs and sound bars, which may not be able to pass through an HDR signal. That way, the player can connect to the television via HDMI 2.0a and to the legacy audio component via HDMI 1.4 to provide both picture and sound without having to buy a new AVR.
The LG UP970 player is also equipped with Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections, to enable streaming online content via Netflix and YouTube. A USB port is also added for playback of movies, pictures and music from thumb drives and network attached storage devices.
By Greg Tarr
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