Sony is taking on the 4K Ultra HDTV marketplace in a big way behind its multifaceted lens-to-living room corporate strategy.
So it is perhaps little surprise that the 4K Ultra HD media player (FMP-X10) was recognized as being among the first devices to enable delivery of native 4K Ultra HD content services to the home.
The device is Sony’s second-generation of Ultra HD media player, and is designed to connect to 2013 or 2014 Sony 4K Ultra HD TVs.
The FMP-X10 comes preloaded with over 50 free titles in 4K: short films, documentaries, music videos and sports videos. The unit includes a built-in 1TB hard drive, enabling the ability to download full-length movies and shows from Sony’s 4K Unlimited Store, with one of the largest collections of 4K Ultra HD content available.
The service provides both purchase and 24- hour rental options on most titles, and a USB connection is provided to add on an external USB hard drive for additional storage requirements.
Sony billed the $699-suggested-retail FMPX10 as the first Ultra HD media player to include HEVC decoding to support playback of content transmitted using next-generation H.265 digital compression, such as streamed 4K Netflix content.
“The 4K Ultra HD media player offers consumers the most 4K content in a non-compressed, download format and also provides 4K streaming services like Netflix,” said Taka Fujita, Sony home entertainment operations sales/marketing VP. “Sony’s 4K products are a standout this year because we are focused on providing the best consumer experience.”