Sony has released the promised firmware to enable Dolby Vision playback on its UBP-X700 UHD Blu-ray player. With it, X700 has become the first Blu-ray player to be compatible with Sony’s Dolby Vision TVs.

Dolby Vision on Sony X700
Earlier this year, Sony started rolling out Dolby Vision for select 2016 and 2017 TV models. It also recently released the update for its 2018 TVs.

The Japanese company has now started pushing out a firmware update for its UBD-X700 UHD Blu-ray player to make it compatible with discs in Dolby Vision format.

With the firmware update, X700 becomes the first UHD Blu-ray player to incorporate the latest Dolby Vision profile to ensure compatibility to with Sony’s TVs. Oppo and others have yet to release firmware updates, which effectively means that their players work with Dolby Vision-enabled TVs from LG, Loewe, Vizio, and a few others but not yet Sony's TVs. Apple TV 4K also supports the new profile. More on the mess here.



We do not yet have access to the Sony X700 so we cannot check at this moment but Forbes is reporting that the update seemingly fixes the problem with ”raised blacks” during Dolby Vision playback. On the other hand, Dolby Vision currently has to be activated manually for UHD Blu-ray discs, Netflix, and Vudu – and manually deactivated to enjoy video in 3D or HDR10.

Firmware version M43.R.0175 is now available to download in the US (link) and Europe (link).

Sony’s path to Dolby Vision has been long, bumpy and frustrating. The company is expected to add additional high-end TVs to the line-up in the second half of 2018 and since it has now released firmware updates for its existing products, we hope that ”Dolby Vision support” listed on the specs sheet with an asterix is a thing of the past.

- Source: Sony, Forbes