Sony FMP-X1 580

Yesterday, Sony announced its FMP-X1UHD Media player will be on store shelves by July 15th. First unveiled at the January 2013 CES, the player is the one and only source of 3840 x 2160 resolution feature movies announced for 2013. It is priced at $699 but will have an introductory price of $499 for owners of Sony UHDTV X900A series models.

All the details are after the break.

The Sony FMP-X1 4K Ultra HD Media Player is currently available and shipping from Amazon and comes preloaded with 10 Sony UHD movies. The titles are:

The Amazing Spider-Man, Salt, The Karate Kid,The Other Guys, Battle: Los Angeles, That’s My Boy, Bad Teacher, Total Recall 2012,Taxi Driver, The Bridge on the River Kwai

Sony’s new player will permit downloads from Sony’s new Video Unlimited 4K service, which will open early this fall. It will give Sony customers access to many feature films, TV episodes and a variety of short-form videos, all in UHD 3840 x 2160 resolution.

Customers will be able to choose between a 24 hour rental at $7.99 or purchase for $29.99 per feature film title.

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Into the Fine Details

According to a Sony representative, the FMP-X1UD must be activated on-site by a Sony technician. The player will only be activated if it’s attached to a Sony X900A UHD TV series model which include a 55-Inch , 65-Inch
and 84-Inch display. Other brand UHDTVs such as the currently available Seiki SE50UY04 50-Inch  (review), the LG 84-inch 84LM9600 and the Samsung 85-inch UN85S9, neither the upcoming Toshiba, LG and Sharp UHDTV models will be activated so there is no reason for non-Sony UHD TV owners to buy a FMP-X1UD.

The FMP-X1UD has a 2TB hard drive and includes a USB port that will permit attachment of an external hard drive for larger capacity. Sony will not disclose the maximum transfer rate , however the faster it is the better the UHD picture quality (all other factors being equal).

The representative estimated a 4x download time with a 10Mbps Internet connection, meaning it will take about 8 hours to download a 2 hour UHD movie.

The Sony $200 discount on the purchase of the FMP-X1UD requires a voucher which is available for current owners of the 55X900A and the 65X900A. The link is here.

Owners of the 55X900A and 65X900A and the FMP-X1UD can learn if they need to schedule  free activation of a the player by clicking here. The activation is only necessary for X900As with certain serial numbers.

Folks that already bought the 84″ 84X900A will have their UHD server swapped for the player when the Video Unlimited 4K service launches in the fall.

 

 

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