12/30/2025
12/12/2025
I Ditched Spotify and Apple Music on CarPlay for These Free Apps (from howtogeek.com)
Spotify and Apple Music are great music apps that support CarPlay, but they cost money (excluding Spotify's mediocre free tier). For some, it’s worth paying that price, but that money can add up. Plus, you might not be using most of the features that you’re paying for.
If you're using Spotify or Apple Music for podcasts, audiobooks, or discovering new music, know that there are plenty of free alternatives that still work with CarPlay, so you can continue jamming without draining your wallet.
iHeart Radio
Sometimes, I want to listen to the classic radio so I don't have to think about what to play. In these cases, I go with iHeart Radio. While most cars still have FM radio, iHeart works with cellular data, so you can listen without the static noise. And like FM radio, iHeart is free.
Link: https://www.iheart.com/
You can also listen to any radio station in any city without having to be there. That way, I can keep up with my favorite station in my hometown while living 800 miles away. It's also great if you're listening to a station with commercials, as you can switch to one actively playing music. With CarPlay, iHeart Radio allows you to save your favorite stations so you can quickly navigate between them.
Aside from the traditional radio stations, iHeart also has curated playlists similar to those on Spotify. You can listen to newly released songs, a specific genre, or music from any decade with ease. I find the playlists more diverse and exciting than Spotify, making it a great alternative.
Pandora
Pandora is a name that brings nostalgia to many, as it was once the most popular music streaming app. In fact, many are surprised to learn that Pandora still exists and is refreshingly simple.
As the years went by, Spotify and Apple Music took over, while Pandora remained largely unchanged. When Spotify got rid of its radio feature, I re-downloaded Pandora to see if it was as good as I remembered. Thankfully, it was even better. As I continued to use Pandora, I found that many of the stations are, again, better than Spotify.
Link: https://www.pandora.com/
While Spotify does have artist radio, Pandora Radio does a better job of surfacing new music. For example, Pandora will learn your music taste based off your skips and likes and also give you stations based on decades, sub-genres, and moods. Pandora also hides songs you don't like, so they don't come up again.
Comparatively, Spotify's radio plays songs by the artist you select and closely related artists. There will be a lot of overlap, and likes and skips also do not help tailor the radio to suit you. If you want a sub-genre station or a station based on moods, you have to listen to a user-made playlist, which can be hit or miss.
Pandora is also still free, with limited skips—but I’ve found that I rarely need to skip, as the stations are good, rarely have repeat songs, and even include lesser-known artists. Pandora is also better than Apple Music and Spotify at listening to stand-up comedy, if that’s your thing.
For me, the best feature of Pandora is that you can change the stations with your voice. This makes it a great driving companion. After all, Spotify and Apple Music don’t support that unless you use Siri (or Spotify's AI DJ), and it isn't as well integrated as Pandora's voice control.
TuneIn
Typically, sports fans don’t use Spotify or Apple Music, as there isn’t much for them. However, if you’re ditching one of those apps anyway and want to have something they don’t offer, you should consider TuneIn.
Link: https://tunein.com/
TuneIn is essentially a live sports radio app. It might be the only reliable one that you don't have to pay for. Whether you love the MLB or the NFL, you can listen to sports anytime, anywhere. If you have a favorite team, you can also listen to their live games, as well as pregame and postgame commentary.
TuneIn also features music and podcasts. Although it doesn't have as extensive a library as other apps, you can still enjoy music while listening to sports, and it has a better radio feature than Spotify. TuneIn also features news radio, political commentary, and investigative journalism, which replaces the need for most traditional news podcasts found on Spotify and Apple.
Overcast
Many people use Spotify for listening to podcasts, as it has every major show and even provides video for some. While Spotify allows free users to listen to podcasts, it tacks on extra ads on top of the traditional podcast ads. This is why many podcast fans are switching to Overcast. Overcast launched over a decade ago, and it continues to be user-friendly and free. Many users love how, over the years, the app has just improved without taking away features or making you listen to more advertisements.
Link: https://overcast.fm/
When I re-downloaded Overcast, I was surprised at how similar and nostalgic it felt. When you download an app like Overcast, you start to see how apps like Apple Music and Spotify add a lot of unnecessary features. Personally, while driving, I prefer to keep my phone screen clutter-free and easily access podcasts when I'm safely stopped.
If you find yourself not able to ditch Spotify out of fear of missing your favorite podcast episode, consider downloading Overcast. After all, if you're paying for Spotify just for podcasts, you are overpaying. And if you're listening to podcasts for free on Spotify, you're getting unnecessary ads.
Libby
If you like audiobooks, you probably know about Libby. In fact, Libby is a great app to help you read more. It continues to add new titles and improve its interface, and the developers even resolved the app's former CarPlay issues, making it the best free audiobook app.
Link: https://libbyapp.com/interview/welcome#doYouHaveACard
For those who don’t know, Libby is essentially a free public library app where you can borrow audiobooks. This was a turnoff for some, as Spotify and Audible let you listen to audiobooks without a time limit. They also typically had more titles and no limits on how long you could access the audiobooks. However, the process is more streamlined on Libby than it used to be, making it easier than ever to listen to a free audiobook. With Libby adding more titles and improving its interface, it's worth considering.
Although I have limited time to listen to audiobooks before they need to be returned, I find myself enjoying this feature. Primarily, it helps me finish an audiobook without putting it off. I don't listen to audiobooks often, but when I do, I prefer not to pay $10 for a book. Instead, Libby offers every book I’ve wanted to listen to for free.
For CarPlay users, Spotify and Apple Music are the typical choices, but they don't have everything. Both Apple Music and Spotify are missing essential features, and they are subscription-based. This might be worth it to some, but I think you should give these free apps a try—you'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/best-free-spotify-apple-music-carplay-alternatives
12/10/2025
HQ Internet Radio Directory Lists
For fans of free Internet Radio, there are lots of options available. Below is a partial list. Enjoy.
https://www.internet-radio.com/
https://www.radio.net/
https://live365.com/station/HQ-FM-a86974
https://www.hiresaudio.online/cd-quality-internet-radio/
https://rock101.com/
And below is a directory from www.tenorshare.com
The chat below lists almost all the online radio stations followed by a brief introduction for the top radio stations.
The audio recording software free download is available here. Just click the free trial button to download it to your computer.
Brief Info for Best Online Radio Stations
1. Art International Radio
AIR is one of the most smartly curated arts stations on the planet. All music, interviews, documentaries and experimental pieces are also available here.
2. WFMU
WFMU is the longest-running freeform radio station in the US. It's a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 (at 90.1 as WMFU, and at 91.9 as W219DQ) MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format.
3. SKY.FM Radio
SKY.FM Radio features a wide variety of free streaming radio channels. Find your favorites among the best of each class. It also has apps for different mobile operating system.
4. Jango
Jango offers you abundant music and songs. With it, you can listen to hundreds of genre stations or create your own with your favorite music.
5. 8 tracks
8tracks internet radio provides listeners with a huge array of user-curated playlists, taking in everything from workout music to Mad Men-themed Sixties jams. It allows you to sync it with Facebook and Google Plus.
6. Shuffler.FM
This online radio station provides you many ways to catch with the latest music trend. This useful website collates recommendations from a huge range of such sources and serves them up as a series of radio streams, organised by genre.
7. andHow.FM
This eclectic, ad-free station has been broadcasting since 1998. You will find a lot of surprises in this world-class, commercial-free, eclectic, alternative, modern, retro & indie rock radio station if you are a music fan.
8. Soundtracktoyour.com
Soundtracktoyour positions itself as the world's first free, lifestyle based music discovery and streaming service. This music streaming service allows you to listen to playlists curated by celebrities without creating an account.
9. WRUV
If you are hungry for music, WRUV will never let you down. This community–run station from the University of Vermont is a regular springer of surprises, thanks to its "free form" policy.
10. CBC Music
CBC Music is Canada's free digital music service, a creative and forward-thinking operation that deserves more international recognition. You have to register to listen to its music radio output online.
11. Deezer
Deezer gives you the opportunity to enjoy more than 30 million tracks, create your own playlists, and share your favorite tracks you're your friends. With a beautifully clean interface, the online radio station offers free signup, multi million track library, option to pay monthly for ad-free and mobile listening.
12. Cambridge 105
Cambridge Radio Station, Cambridge 105, is the volunteer based, community owned Community Radio Station for the city of Cambridge. It offers a varied selection of programs, covering everything from old 78 records to local authors to roots reggae and rock.
13. Live365
Live365 is a great place to listen to thousands of internet radio stations featuring online music in every style, including hip hop, jazz, new age, rock, classical, oldies, and more.
14. Broadway World
Broadway World is a theatre resource featuring news, message boards, video previews, show information, photos and biographies.
15. Moscow FM
This friendly, Moscow–based English language station works hard to bridge that gap with an upbeat mixture of music, news and information on cultural events in the capital.
16. DFM
DFM is an independent internet, webradio based, multimedia station by international artists.
17. Ancient FM
Tired of the modern world with all its bleeps, blips and pushy commercials? Ancient FM would be a great place to go. This charming little radio station only plays music from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, which will surely give you a break from the modern world.
18. London Fields Radio
Based in a small cafe on a backstreet in Hackney, East London, this remarkable little radio station is a hive of activity, with a huge variety of shows by dozens of local residents, artists and DJs. You can come here for radio shows, events and news from east London's micro radio revolution.
19. BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a place to listen to live BBC news or catch up on the last 7 days of BBC programs.
20. iHerat Radio
iHeart Radio has the best music and talk stations for you.
21. Streema
Streema is a free online radio tuner to discover, share, and listen to radio stations with your friends. Listen to more than 70,000 radio stations and watch more than 10,000 TV stations here at the Streema directory.
22. World Radio Network
World Radio Network brings together programs from public broadcasters across the planet and weaves them into a single stream. You can taste all the international radio, where in a single spell you might hear news from the Vatican, political analysis from Seoul and sports features from Africa.
23. Yahoo! Music Radio
Yahoo! Music radio is a sub part of Yahoo.com. It serves as other internet radio service with clear channel communication.
24. Grooveshark
Grooveshark is a subsidiary of Escape Media Group and is an online music radio streaming service based in the United States. This online radio station has its own search engine, streaming service, and recommendation application.
25. Last.fm
Last.fm is a music discovery service that gives you personalised recommendations based on the music you listen to. This radio station is pretty much like Jango.
26. Slacker
Slacker allows users to create and share customized music stations. Users will be able to customize one of their programmed stations (for instance, Top hits) or start with music similar to an artist or song, and then customize that.
27. Radioio
RadioIO (pronounced "radio eye-oh") is a New York-based internet radio and streaming media service owned by RadioIO, Inc. (RAIO) started in 1998.
28. Digitally Imported
Digitally Imported is a multi-channel online internet radio service that focuses exclusively on Electronic Music and heavey metal music.
29. AccuRadio
AccuRadio is free customizable online radio with unlimited skips. Over 900 free Internet radio stations: Rock, Pop, Classical, Country, Jazz, Oldies, Broadway ...
30. Musicovery
Musicovery is an interactive and customised webradio service. Listeners rate songs, resulting in a personalized programme.[1] Reviewers have commented that unlike services that are governed by the user's choice of artist or genre, this method results in more discovery of artists to which the user might not otherwise have been exposed.
31. SHOUTcast
SHOUTcast is cross-platform proprietary software for streaming media over the Internet. The software, developed by Nullsoft, allows digital audio content primarily in MP3 or HE-AAC format, to be broadcast to and from media player software, enabling the creation of Internet radio "stations".
32. Stitcher Radio
If you want to get the freshest episodes of your favorite podcasts and shows in internet radio Stitcher Radio may be perfect solution for you. They streamed directly to your iPad or smart phones. No need to download anything.
33. Rhapsody
With infinite skips and no ads, Rhapsody is a wonderful internet radio station that lets you stream music online, download songs and listen offline, and play personalized radio stations.
34. AOL Radio
AOL Radio features 200+ free music stations including pop, hip-hop, R&B, country, classical, electronic/dance, indie, jazz, oldies and rock.
35. Double J
Double J makes it super easy to enjoy listening music online, on your TV, or on digital radio. This radio station brings you a big and various mixes of the best new music from Australia and other countries.
36. Radio Paradise
Radio Paradise is a special blend of styles and genres of the best selected music. You'll hear modern and classic rock, world music, even a bit of classical and jazz.
37. Eyepartner
As a leader in the Video Software industry, EyePartner provides not only live audio Streaming Software, but also Broadcasting, IPTV Solutions and other Corporate Video Solutions.
38. Groovera
Groovera (Groovera New Modern Radio) is an independent, multi-channel, commercial-free, and listener-supported Internet-only radio station dedicated to "chill-out music". Specifically, Groovera featured mixes of downtempo, future lounge, nu-jazz (aka. "future jazz"), ambient pop, trip hop, psybient and neo-soul, as well as other related and contributing genres.
39. Goom Radio
Goom Radio is a mobile Internet radio service. The Goom Radio Factory allows online broadcasters to create custom online radio brands.
40. The Scope (radio)
The Scope at Ryerson is an internet radio station owned and operated by Radio Ryerson Incorporated at Ryerson University in Toronto. It's a great place for Hip hop and politics.
41. WXB102
WXB102 (formerly under the call sign and frequency DWXB-FM at 102.7 MHz, a frequency now used by Star FM) is a former Metro Manila FM radio station and current Internet radio station that plays New Wave, punk rock, synthpop, electronic music, dance-punk, post-punk, classic alternative rock and more from the UK, US, Philippines and the rest of the world.
42. Kube Radio
Broadcasting 24/7 during term time, KUBE Radio offers a comprehensive schedule of shows including a range of music, discussion and sports.
43. Penwith Radio
Penwith Community Radio is a voluntary community radio station based in Penzance, Cornwall, England. It contains a combination of local news, weather, music and talk.
44. Soma FM
Based in a converted warehouse in San Francisco, Soma FM is funded by its listeners and therefore maintains a completely ad-free schedule. It broadcasts over 20 wonderfully varied channels, covering everything from folk to ambient music inspired by the Nasa space program.
45. P2
P2 is a classical, folk and world music networks. It's an intelligent, beautifully scheduled affair – and is the finest alternative to Radio 3 that I've come upon.
46. Irish Pub Radio
This rather lovely little station was set up to cater for the thousands of Irish pubs scattered around the world, allowing them to connect and stream a rolling playlist of well-known music from the emerald isle.
47. Audiobook Radio
Audiobook Radio offers a rich and often brilliantly read selection of material – from Annie Proulx short stories to full Shakespeare plays and poems by Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde.
48. LifeJive Radio
LifeJive Radio is an online radio community of various radio stations broadcasting all over the world. The stations range from classical rock to European chill and soft music.
49. Radio23
Radio23.org is a non-commercial, freeform radio station dedicated to providing an international artistic platform for innovative and creative home broadcasters.
50. Afterhours.FM
Afterhours.FM (AH or Afterhours) is an Internet radio broadcaster that plays trance and progressive dance music shows from DJs around the world. Afterhours.FM specializes in electronic dance music and provides live broadcasts from electronic music events worldwide.
Source: https://www.tenorshare.com/streaming-audio/top-50-internet-radio-stations.html
We'll add new radio stations to this list if we discover new ones. Click to listen to the online radios from the best internet radio stations. Or you can bookmark this page so that you can find the radio station any time you like.
11/17/2025
HD Audio Formats for 2025 and beyond - Blu-ray vs. SACD vs. XRCD (chatgpt)
For those seeking HD audio today, the amount of source material can be a determining factor. In my search for HD audio, I've found more current blu-ray audio releases than any other format. Check out the selection at Elusive Disc and Amazon. https://elusivedisc.com/music/digital/blu-ray-audio/
Recent super deluxe releases from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, and others are providing HD music content. And many are offering lossless FLAC downloads as well. Those downloads can be played on blu-ray players via the USB port or burned to disks on DVDs and Blu-rays.
When it comes to high-fidelity audio formats, Blu-ray Audio, SACD (Super Audio CD), and XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc) each have their own characteristics and advantages. Here's a breakdown to compare them:
1. Blu-ray Audio
Audio Quality: Blu-ray Audio can offer very high audio quality, as it supports up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution. This is significantly higher than standard CDs (16-bit/44.1kHz). Blu-ray discs are capable of lossless formats like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation).
Capacity: Blu-ray discs have a much higher data capacity compared to CDs and SACDs. A standard Blu-ray disc can hold 25GB or more, which allows for high-resolution audio tracks along with additional content (like music videos or album artwork).
Surround Sound: Blu-ray Audio supports multi-channel audio formats, meaning it can handle 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, providing an immersive experience for home theater enthusiasts.
Compatibility: You'll need a Blu-ray player or a compatible device that supports Blu-ray Audio discs. However, not all Blu-ray players are equipped to output the highest-quality audio formats.
Popularity: While the audio quality is top-notch, Blu-ray Audio discs haven't seen as much widespread adoption as other formats like SACD or vinyl, partly due to the cost and the fact that most people use Blu-ray for video, not audio.
2. SACD (Super Audio CD)
Audio Quality: SACD uses DSD (Direct Stream Digital) encoding, which is a very high-quality format known for its natural, analog-like sound. SACDs can offer up to 5.1 surround sound in high resolution (up to 24-bit/176.4kHz or DSD64).
Capacity: SACDs are typically single-layer discs (or hybrid with both SACD and CD layers). The disc capacity for SACD is about 4.7GB, which allows for high-quality stereo and surround tracks.
Surround Sound: SACD supports multi-channel audio (typically 5.1 surround), and the DSD format is often praised for its transparency and dynamic range in stereo and multi-channel formats.
Compatibility: SACDs require a specialized SACD player to fully appreciate the format. Many standard CD players won't be able to read SACD discs, although hybrid SACDs will include a CD layer that can be played on regular players.
Popularity: SACD was developed as a premium audio format by Sony and Philips, and it has a dedicated following among audiophiles. However, it has not seen widespread mainstream adoption. Many of the best SACDs are classical, jazz, and high-end audiophile releases.
3. XRCD (Extended Resolution Compact Disc)
Audio Quality: XRCD is a mastering process, not a physical format. It's designed to extract the best possible sound quality from standard CDs. The technique involves careful mastering using higher-quality analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs) to improve the clarity and detail of the final product. The resulting CDs are still standard 16-bit/44.1kHz in terms of the audio data format.
Capacity: XRCD discs are regular CDs in terms of storage capacity (about 700MB), but the enhanced mastering results in a more detailed sound than a standard CD.
Surround Sound: XRCD is a stereo-only format. It does not support multi-channel audio or surround sound.
Compatibility: XRCDs are playable on any standard CD player, as they follow the same physical format as regular CDs.
Popularity: XRCD is less well-known than SACD or Blu-ray Audio but is respected among audiophiles for its sound quality improvements over standard CDs. It’s often used for classical, jazz, and other high-fidelity releases.
Which is Best for You?
Blu-ray Audio is the top choice if you're looking for the best in terms of audio resolution and surround sound, but it requires specific hardware and hasn't been widely adopted for audio-only purposes.
SACD is ideal for audiophiles who want the highest quality in terms of stereo and surround sound, particularly in DSD format, but you'll need an SACD player.
XRCD offers an improvement over regular CDs in terms of mastering quality, but it’s still limited to standard CD quality and doesn't support surround sound.
If you're not invested in a home theater system and want excellent stereo sound, SACD or XRCD might be your best options. However, if you're after something that supports both high-quality audio and a variety of formats, Blu-ray Audio could be the way to go—just be prepared for the higher cost and the specialized equipment needed.
Source: chatgpt
Blu Ray 4K Players: The New Audio Standard
Blu Ray 4K UHD players are my new standard for playing audio. The below 3 models from LG, Samsung, and Sony offer UHD 4K video upscaling, 24-bit/192kHz resolution audio DAC, USB input, and Wi-Fi streaming from Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube. They also offer superior cable connections via HDMI ports. They are readily available on Amazon and eBay. Put your library of FLAC audio and HD video on a 256GB USB drive, and you can listen and watch your entertainment library for days.
You can also find older similar models that have the same features. Samsung had the K8500. LG had the UBK8 series and UBK9 series. In side by side listening tests, I found the LG blu ray players had better sound, being more open and dynamic, with fuller bass. The Samsung sounded bright, bass was well defined, but thinner sounding.
In terms of audio technology, the 4K UHD blu ray player will have an updated DAC, able to handle all of today's music formats. Some may look for older CD or blu ray players players, but these are certified for UHD PCM audio files up to 24-bit and 192 khz resolution. The Sony also supports SACD audio CDs.
Managing a music library is getting more challenging with physical CDs taking up more and more room. So storing & burning FLAC files on DVDs, Blu Ray discs, or a file server, is more efficient. Look at FLAC files for preserving your music collection and you have a lossless music collection! Although I am reluctant on parting with my precious physical CDs like a lot of folks. What to do?
Below are some 4K UHD Blu Ray players that I have and can recommend: Enjoy.
LG UBK90 Streaming 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray Player with Dolby Vision
Ultra
HD Premium, Multi-HDR, 4K Blu-Ray Disc Playback, 3D Blu-Ray/ DVD
Playback, 4K Streaming Content, Built-in dual band WiFi, USB media input
Get the best out of your 4K TV
Since
I upgraded to my LG OLED 4K TV, everything I watch looks better. But I
geek out the most over shows and movies in true 4K. They just seem to
pop off the screen. And the LG UBK90 4K Blu-ray player will play Ultra
HD Blu-ray discs with Dolby Vision — the absolute best-quality video
source available today.
Ready for the best HDR formats
Ultra
HD Blu-ray discs with HDR (High Dynamic Range) allow compatible TVs to
display extremely bright and dark black picture content together within
the same image. HDR content makes for serious eye candy on my new OLED
TV — it stands out even among other, stellar-looking 4K videos.
And
this player supports the required HDR 10 format, and the more
sophisticated Dolby Vision format. Dolby Vision is one of the reasons I
ended up going with the LG OLED. Dolby's dynamic system can adjust
brightness and color levels on a scene-by-scene basis.
Netflix
has a bunch of shows in Dolby Vision, and some of them look so realistic
and vibrant that it actually adds to the storytelling. Take the brutal
Western show Godless: the beautiful yet nightmarish landscape is
practically one of the characters. Watching sunlight peek over a
mountain and spill over the dusty terrain with true-to-life shading is
truly a sight to see.
Top movie sound formats and flexible connections
This
player has built-in support for the highest-quality surround sound
formats, like Dolby® TrueHD and DTS Master Audio™. It also plays Dolby
Atmos®-encoded discs. You simply set the HDMI audio output to
"bitstream" when connected to an Atmos-capable receiver.
There
are two HDMI outputs: one for sending audio to your home theater
receiver and one for video directly to your TV. That means you can still
play sound through receivers that don't have a free HDMI input that's
HDCP 2.2 compatible. You can also use an optical digital connection to
get surround sound from the player to your receiver.
Dual-band Wi-Fi means smooth 4K video streaming
Along
with playing discs, you can use the UBK90 to stream Netflix® and
YouTube. These are the two video services that offer the most 4K
content available right now. And this player's dual-band Wi-Fi gives you
the strong connection needed for streaming 4K. (We recommend having an
internet speed of 20Mbps or faster for 4K streaming.)
Product highlights:
Plays Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, 3D and standard Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CDs and rewriteable discs
full 4K resolution video for use with Ultra HD TVs
4K video upscaling for standard Blu-ray and DVDs
HDR (High Dynamic Range) for extended picture contrast and brightness on compatible TVs
supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision
Dolby Vision adjusts brightness dynamically for premium shading and depth
supports lower resolutions when used with non-4K TVs
plays Region A Blu-ray discs and Region 1 DVDs
Wireless Features and Technical Specs:
-Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi for smooth wireless streaming from Netflix and other video streaming apps
-HEVC for watching streamed 4K content from Netflix (requires internet speed of at least 20Mbps)
-Selectable video resolution up to 3840 x 2160 pixels
-Built-in audio decoding for Dolby® Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS®, and DTS-HD
Master Audio
-Can pass Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks when HDMI output is set to "bitstream" for decoding by a compatible receiver
-Plays high-resolution digital music files via USB storage device; PCM files up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution
-BD-Live and BonusView support for added bonus features with compatible discs (requires external USB storage device)
Connections and General Info:
Front-panel USB port to play music, movies, and images from external hard drives, thumb drives, or Android phones
2 HDMI outputs for separating audio and video signals
HDMI 1 output is HDMI 2.0a (connected 4K TV and/or receiver must have
an HDCP 2.2-compatible HDMI input, and must have HDMI 2.0a to support
HDR)
HDMI 2 input does not output video signal (audio only)
optical digital audio output
dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Ethernet port for downloading firmware updates
remote control
16-15/16"W x 1-13/16"H x 9-3/8"D
warranty: 1 year
Source: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-XFqSaCjdYa1/p_689UBK90/LG-UBK90.html
4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc playback provides the ultimate in audio/video
quality with a stunning 4K picture and state-of-the-art audio. Pop in a
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc and prepare to be transported
4K streaming
content - this internet-ready LG device is capable of delivering an
uncompromising Ultra HD 4K streaming experience. (Additional
subscriptions services may be required)
High pressure audio playback - this UHD Blu-ray DVD player Supports high Resolution audio
HDR
playback - this LG Blu-ray Disc player is HDR compatible with Dolby
Vision and HDR10. (HDR/Dolby Vision TV sold separately and required for
Dolby Vision playback)
Blu-ray & DVD backward compatible - this
LG UHD Blu-ray Disc player is backward compatible supporting both of
these popular legacy standards.
Samsung UBD-M8500 4K Blu Ray Player
If your new 4K TV just arrived, you're probably chomping at the bit to see its best picture. Place an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc into the Samsung UBD-M500 4K Blu-ray player's tray, and savor your movies in true 4K resolution — a staggering 3840 x 2160 pixels. This player delivers an incredibly sharp, realistic picture, even when you sit up close.
The Samsung UBD-M8500 features a sturdy disc drive to prevent vibration.
Beautiful, lifelike picture contrast
I think High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the most exciting aspect of Ultra HD Blu-ray. It allows compatible TVs to display extremely bright and dark black picture content together within the same image. (Think tiny stars peeking through the pitch-black night sky.)
This also has Hollywood buzzing. It's given directors a brilliant visual palette to play with — subtle, delicate lighting, sparks of brightness, and true-to-life shading and shadows.
Samsung gives you more 4K viewing options — yep, including Netflix®
Have you ever seen the vibrant Colombian landscapes of Narcos in 4K? It is really something else. And the deeper shading and detail make scenes in small cafés feel even more claustrophobic.
When you connect this player to your home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, you get several 4K streaming options including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and M-Go. Plus, you can watch 4K video clips on YouTube.
Don't throw out your old discs!
You can still enjoy all your old standard Blu-rays and DVDs on this player. Samsung made 4K upconversion a top priority for the UBD-M8500. Their UHD Upscaling automatically upconverts any signal to 4K resolution. All of your movies and shows will look better than ever.
QLED TV
Find out how great the picture is on your new QLED TV (sold separately) with the Samsung UBD-M8500
Impressive sound and music options
Along with the state-of-the-art picture, your movies will sound amazing too. The Samsung UBD-M8500 has built-in support for the highest-quality surround sound formats, like Dolby® TrueHD and DTS Master Audio™. It also plays Dolby Atmos®-encoded discs (just set the HDMI audio output to "bitstream" when connected to an Atmos-capable receiver).
This Ultra HD player's no slouch when it comes to music, either. You can play music from a CD or stream tunes from services like Pandora® or Spotify®. You can even wirelessly connect to a compatible networked PC via DLNA technology and play songs from your computer.
Samsung's smart hub is smarter than most
This player's brain is a super-speedy eight-core processor — the same found in Samsung's latest high-end TVs, Galaxy phones, and tablets. It lets you do serious multitasking. You can browse the web without having to interrupt your movie, or use one app while downloading another. Plus Samsung's on-board selection of apps is pretty stacked — streaming video, sports leagues, music, games, you name it.
Project images to your screen
While newer phones are getting harder to cram into pockets, sometimes the screens still aren't large enough for certain tasks. Maybe you want to share a video or picture with a group of people. Wirelessly "push" the display to your TV's big screen through the Samsung UBD-M8500. Allshare™, Samsung's take on Miracast™ technology, mirrors the screen of your compatible mobile device, tablet, or computer screen for everyone to see.
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Product highlights:
Plays Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, standard Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CDs and rewriteable discs (no 3D playback)
full 4K resolution video for use with Ultra HD TVs
4K video upscaling for standard Blu-ray and DVDs
supports lower resolutions when used with non-4K TVs
HDR (High Dynamic Range)-ready for extended picture contrast and brightness on compatible TVs
supports HDR10 format
plays high-resolution digital music files via USB storage device; PCM files up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution
this player accepts Region A Blu-ray discs and Region 1 DVDs
Wireless Features:
Dual-band Wi-Fi for streaming video and music (subscriptions required for some services)
streaming video services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Vudu, and more
streaming music services: Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn
HEVC for watching streamed 4K content from sources like Netflix, Amazon Instant, or YouTube (requires Internet speed of at least 20Mbps)
Samsung's Smart Hub lets you scroll through apps and menu while you watch a disc
AllShare lets you stream content and mirror screens from compatible Samsung smartphones and tablets
Multiroom Link for syncing wirelessly with Samsung Shape wireless speakers
on-board web browser
Technical Specs and General Info:
Selectable video resolution up to 3840 x 2160 pixels
built-in audio decoding for Dolby® Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS®, and DTS-HD Master Audio
can pass Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks when HDMI output is set to "bitstream"
plays AAC, AIFF, ALAC, , FLAC, MP3, WMA, and WAV audio file formats
front-panel USB port for use with external storage devices
1 HDMI output
HDMI 2.0a (connected 4K TV and/or receiver must have an HDCP 2.2-compatible HDMI input, and must have HDMI 2.0a to support HDR)
Anynet+ simplifies control of compatible Samsung components via "MAIN" HDMI connection (HDMI-CEC)
optical digital audio output
remote control
Ethernet port for wired network connection
16"W x 1-7/8"H x 8-15/16"D
warranty: 1 year
Source: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-tNRdn7lQC2L/p_305UBDM85K/Samsung-UBD-M8500.html
Sony UBP-X700 review: More 4K HDR Blu-ray goodness for less money-CNET
4K Blu-ray is growing up. Current players offer better performance and cheaper prices than their predecessors. The latest batch of UHD players are available for between $100 and $200 and offer things the early adopters couldn't, including compatibility with Dolby Vision discs.
The Good
The Sony UBP-X700 is a compact powerhouse that offers similar performance and better features than the X800 for a $50 discount. The player includes a host of streaming options, and Dolby Vision support is forthcoming.The time it takes for the player to load Netflix is insanely fast.
The Bad
Only supports streaming 4K HDR from YouTube. Both cheaper competitors and Sony's own X800 offer better DVD performance.
The Bottom Line
The Sony UBP-X700 is at the cutting edge of 4K Blu-ray technology and rewards with a solid performance at a reasonable price.
With a software update available later this year, the Sony X700 will work with Dolby Vision-encoded discs, lending owners of DV-equipped TVs a sense of future-proofing.
Unlike the cheaper LG UP870 and the Oppo UBP-203, which are strictly disc players, the Sony UBP-X700 offers the best of both disc media and streaming. It's relatively fast, offers all of the apps you need, and its picture quality is top notch.
"But what about the Sony X800?", you might say, especially as that one's not going away. Performance-wise it's a wash between the two Sony players -- the main benefit to the more expensive model is a nicer-looking box and marginally better DVD performance. At a $50 saving and with the promise of Dolby Vision in the future, there's no real reason not to buy the X700. Don't need streaming, though? Save some money and get the equally impressive LG UP870.
The Sony UBP-X700 is available for $199, £269 or AU$349.
Design and features
In terms of design, the X700 sits somewhere between the up-market, book-like X800 and compact HD models like the BDP-S3700 The X700 measures a foot across and boasts a two-tone finish, but it lacks a display on the front panel -- all you'll find there are play and eject buttons. To the left of the front panel is a drop-down drawer that hides the disc mechanism.
Apart from the design, what is the difference between the X700 and the $250 X800? Two words: Dolby Vision. No one likes a format war, but Dolby's baby is one of a handful of HDR technologies vying for your attention. While support isn't coming till mid-2018, the X700 also includes the more widespread HDR 10, so you'll have most of the bases covered.
Connectivity is identical to the X800's with two HDMI ports -- one for audio and video and a second for decoding audio from an older, non-4K-sporting AV receiver. The player also comes with a coaxial digital port, which is a bit unusual, as most TVs and sound bars support optical, plus it offers a USB connection.
The menu is sensibly laid out and pretty much identical to the X800's, plus the X700 has most of the apps you can ask for, including Netflix , Amazon Prime Video, Panora, Spotify and Hulu. The player also supports 4K streaming from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, but only the latter in HDR. Lastly, If you somehow still need it the player includes Miracast for streaming your mobile device's screen to your player as well as DLNA.
The remote control is compact and fun with easy access to most of the functions you'll need.
Performance
There's a reason Sony players are so popular -- in our testing they have proven to be consistently good performers -- and the X700 again acquits itself quite well. We found it was equally comfortable with HD discs, 4K Blu-ray and YouTube HDR streams. Compared to the X800 though, the more-expensive player was a little bit better at playing DVDs, with less moire on the edges of the buildings in our Star Trek test disc. The X700 gives you a choice of two different settings for upscaling -- Auto1 (2K) and Auto2 (4K). As Auto1 (2) was better than Auto2 with this test, which indicates that the scaler in our LG OLED TV was taking over the heavy lifting to bring it to 4K. By contrast, we found both the LG UP X870 and Sony X800 to do a better job of reproducing DVDs with less jaggies.
So the X700 put in a good show picture quality-wise and in terms of speed it was equally adept. Most surprising was how quickly the player loaded Netflix -- at only 1.89 seconds it's the fastest a player has ever performed this test. It felt instantaneous. While we would always recommend a dedicated Roku box instead of a Blu-ray as your main streamer the X700 is a very good alternative. That said, the X800 is no slouch either -- since we first looked at the X800, its loading times have also improved, and on the disc side it is now the second-quickest at loading the Batman versus Superman 4K BD.
Loading times
| Load times (s) | LG UP870 | Oppo UDP-203 (discontinued) | Microsoft Xbox One S | Samsung UBD-K8500 | Sony UBP-X700 | Sony UBP-X800 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix (until menu) | N/A | N/A | 10.01 | 7.64 | 1.89 | 4.26 |
| MI:III | player on | disk tray open | 9.36 | 14.81 | 22.87 | 10.00 | 12.56 | 12.41 |
| Batman vs. Superman UHD | player on | 21.2 | 39.3 | 37.69 | 28.78 | 30.72 | 24.05 |
Finally, we watched a number of HDR discs, both in HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. Why Dolby Vision when it's not supported yet? We had some troubles last year with the Xbox One overblowing HDR highlights on the Dolby-sporting Despicable Me 2 test disc and wanted to see if the X700 did the same. The answer is, no; it simply read the HDR 10 layer and relayed it without issue.
Likewise, Mad Max Fury Road looked lovely, with a much more natural palette when played through the LG OLED55C8P TV than we'd seen previously. When you first see the procession of vehicles as they chase the war-truck (Chapter 2 17.00), the ultra-red details of the flaming exhausts and the blind guitarist's velour outfit "pop" but don't look completely unrealistic.
Should you buy it?
For
your extra 50 bucks, what does the X800 give you? The most obvious
answer is a premium build -- while the X700 looks like something you
keep in a motorhome, the X800 more befits a home AV system. The other is
that the X800 is a little faster with 4K load times. But things can
change drastically in 12 months, for while the X800 was the best player
at this time last year, that is no longer the case. In its place we
present two alternatives: for the shttps://www.cnet.com/reviews/sony-ubp-x700-review/treamers, this X700 is the best
option, while for people who strictly want a disc player, the LG UP870
is shaping up to be a budget superstar. Look out for a full review of
the LG player soon.
Source: https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sony-ubp-x700-review/