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NEW Cambridge CXUHD 4K Dolby Vision Blu-ray Player (Owner's Thread)

156K views 631 replies 117 participants last post by  oouoou 
#1 ·


https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/cx/cxuhd

To those wondering why this Cambridge (unlike like similar players, i.e. OPPO 203) stripped out a quality DAC, I found this quote online:

'Many amplifiers and AV Receivers now feature their own DACs,' explains UK Cambridge rep. 'Therefore, uniquely for a UHD player, Cambridge Audio have designed out all internal DACs and their associated digital circuitry. This decreases interference to the signal, significantly reducing noise and improving both audio and picture quality.'

Under the lid, the CXUHD uses Mediatek's MTK8591 chipset, with video output settings then 'professionally calibrated' by Cambridge Audio engineers. 'Whatever you’re watching, you’ll find the dynamic range has been optimised, bringing natural colours and a film-like fluidity that you have never seen before.'
Which makes sense for me, after buying a Pioneer SC-LX502 receiver today which includes a 32-bit/768kH AKM AK4458 DAC.

First impressions: the Cambridge CXUHD is built like a tank. More thoughts to come, for now enjoy the pics:









 
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#6 ·
Not 100% sure about Dolby Vision (My TV doesn't support it and not going to replace it if that means I will loose 3D support). But it should be already working according to the menu options and comments from Cambridge.

Playing CDs and normal Blurays works great. Music is mostly dependent on the DAC in the AMP, obviously.
Picture quality is nicer than my previous player (Cambridge 752BD). But not by much. (Expect better quality with Ultra HDs when I get a few).

Got mine hooked up to a Cambridge CXR200 with a set of Dali speakers. The result is really nice.
 
#7 ·
Just got this one a short while ago this morning.

setup was simple, but it is not wanting to connect to the server to check for a firmware update. Is anyone else having this problem?

The internet connection check on the unit shows successful.

Thanks.
 
#13 ·
After one week of use, I really love the picture quality. Have only had two discs out of 11 that had playback issues. That is incredibly much better than the Oppo 203 I returned in January. Can't really agree with others that have said they are the same unit.
 
#14 ·
I haven't encountered any discs yet with playback issues myself and have run quite a few through it already.
Which discs did you have issues with and are the fully scratch-free?

I am also not missing the DAC either as the ampifier (CXR200) can easily process the data and have not had any issues with the combination.
 
#21 ·
Received my unit yesterday. Really simple to set up, a wealth of options to choose from for both video and audio to get the best possible picture and sound from whatever hardware is connected, excellent build quality, aesthetically very pleasing to the eye and whisper quiet in operation. Paired with the LG OLED55E6V the resulting picture is superb and far superior in colour depth, dynamic range and clarity over the LG UP970 it has replaced. So far I have not found any problems playing UHD or HD blu ray content and certainly no freezing, stuttering or sound issues.

I also connected my Apple TV (not the 4k version) through the HDMI input port and I have to say the results really surprised me. Picture quality for the HD films has improved significantly, so much so that it has breathed new life into my Apple TV content. This was an unexpected yet extremely pleasant surprise and I am currently watching many of the films I have not seen for a while🙂

The unit is expensive of course but I for one am very happy with what I have seen and heard so far.👍
 
#22 ·
Received my unit yesterday. Really simple to set up, a wealth of options to choose from for both video and audio to get the best possible picture and sound from whatever hardware is connected, excellent build quality, aesthetically very pleasing to the eye and whisper quiet in operation. Paired with the LG OLED55E6V the resulting picture is superb and far superior in colour depth, dynamic range and clarity over the LG UP970 it has replaced. So far I have not found any problems playing UHD or HD blu ray content and certainly no freezing, stuttering or sound issues.
What soundsystem do you use?

I also connected my Apple TV (not the 4k version) through the HDMI input port and I have to say the results really surprised me. Picture quality for the HD films has improved significantly, so much so that it has breathed new life into my Apple TV content. This was an unexpected yet extremely pleasant surprise and I am currently watching many of the films I have not seen for a while🙂

The unit is expensive of course but I for one am very happy with what I have seen and heard so far.👍
I feel it is worth the price, how do you feel about it?
 
#24 ·
When I checked at blu-ray.com for the specifications of all the UHD discs that have had problems for me during playback, I noticed that ALL of them are BD-100 discs. I have not seen any problems when playing BD-66 discs (UHD) and BD-50 (HD) discs.

So, I think this player has problems reading BD-100 discs. Anyone else seen this issue?

Thanks.
 
#25 ·
A very quick check found that most of my newer discs are DB-50.
If BD-100 is only for UHD, than I am certain that I don't have any in my collection yet.

Is there an easy way to find out by looking at the case and/or disc without checking every item seperately on that website?

--
Joost
 
#27 ·
You are not far off. Since the menus are very similar and the externals too, it may just have some tweaks and changes (like the external RCA jacks and lack of DACs). The end result seems to be the same, since I see the same complaints listed on the Oppo 203 forum--- problems with disc playback, and interestingly also with the BD-100 titles from Warner, like the first four Harry Potter films and the Westworld release.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Sorry, have not posted since original post. I've been out of town on business, finally back!

Unfortunately, after watching a few Dolby Vision titles (specifically Spider-man Homecoming, but others as well) I've noticed a very obvious lip sync issue. The actors lips on the screen are moving about a second after the audio plays. I should stress this only happens on DV titles, I have not run into this issue with HDR or 1080p Blu-rays.

There is a new firmware that came out while I was out of town, and after downloading it just now I will watch the same DV movies again this week and see if anything has changed. *crossing my fingers*

As far as overall impressions, I LOVE the build quality on this. Its built like a tank. The loading is whisper quiet, and feels high quality. It loads movies slightly faster than my previous OPPO 203 and my current Panasonic UB900. I wish I still had my OPPO 203 to do a true A-B comparison, but alas I returned it back to OPPO.

As for picture quality, it looks great. Very natural colors. Although I feel the OPPO 203 seemed sharper? Cant tell if its some sharpening filter action going on with the OPPO but anyway, it seems more natural on the Cambridge. The colors however look better on the Panasonic UB900, no doubt. If Panasonic ever came out with a 4K Dolby Vision player and kept everything from the UB900 internal processing the same, that would be my next and probably final 4K player purchase.:D

As for the audio quality (using HDMI out) the SACD titles I've played sounded very good. FYI my current receiver is a Pioneer Elite SC-LX502 which uses an AK4458 768 kHz/32-bit DAC (there is no DAC in the Cambridge itself). I'm using a very affordable set of Pioneer Elite ATMOS 5.1.2 speakers (designed by Andrew Jones, formerly designed the TAD $80,000 Reference One speakers), take it for what its worth. But it makes me happy to hear SACD and regular CDs sounding about as good as I can expect from my modest Pio speaker setup. Color me impressed.:cool:

I'll post more impressions as time passes on. But for now, I'm keeping the CXUHD. It does all I need, (Dolby Vision, impressive SACD playback, and built like a tank). The Cambridge name/reputation doesn't hurt either. This is one player I feel will last me awhile. And I'm also keeping it because there is nothing currently out there that is perfect. The OPPO has its chroma issue, the Panny doesn't play DV, and the LG (while able to play DV) is too cheaply made in my opinion. I want something that will last awhile, and not give me disc transport issues after 3-4 years. So until Panasonic makes a 4K Dolby Vision player and has a Chroma processor like the UB900, I will stay with the CXUHD.
 
#34 ·
firmware update ? often?

HI
how often do they update the firmware? Is it almost at the same time of Oppo 203?
 
#35 ·
I know someone who just bought this and let me see and hear it. It is an awesome player. Even when he plays CD's in it, it sounds amazing. Mind you he has is hooked up to his CXR200 AVR. The picture quality is amazing for UHD blu-rays as well. A thing to mention about it not having a DAC, if you are going to be mainly using it for Blu-Rays than you will be fine hooking it up to any good AVR, as most have DACS that are good enough to handle movie soundtracks. But if you want to use it as a CD player and have a really good set of speakers, then you would want to make sure you have a really good AVR that has a really good DAC to get the best possible sound for your music. This is why it matches well with Cambridges AVR's because they use really good DAC's in their AVR's. I think that's the way they intended it. You then end up with a really good CD transport as well.
 
#36 ·
Cambridge CXUHD region mod?

I currently own the Oppo UDP-203
I own a lot of import titles from the US on DVD and Blu Ray, so i have the region mod that plugs into the motherboard.

Does The cambridge have a mod? Or better would that mod be usable on the Cambridge since its the same Motherboard?
 
#37 ·
I currently own the Oppo UDP-203
I own a lot of import titles from the US on DVD and Blu Ray, so i have the region mod that plugs into the motherboard.

Does The cambridge have a mod? Or better would that mod be usable on the Cambridge since its the same Motherboard?
I'd be very interested in knowing this also. Looks like the plug is there...

Martin
 

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#38 ·
I recently just bought one! It's been fantastic so far, except for 2 minor issues. I had a UHD freeze on me during playback and required stopping and restarting the disc to fix and I had a different UHD disc experience a handshake issue which required ejecting and reinserting the disc for it to recognize it. Have any other owners seen similar issues?
 
#47 ·
Hi everyone .. Anyone has detailed info on Hdr Sdr signal conversion
 
#48 ·
I can get this for the same price as the oppo 203. As a result I am considering this as I don't care for the integrated DAC of the oppo and the potential of longer FW support seems promising. Does anyone know if the AVCHD folder "backup feature" that is found on the oppo is the same on the Cambridge CXUHD?
 
#49 ·
Choose the HDR track?

Hi guys
I have an LG OLED with the notorious Dolby Vision raised blacks bug.


Is there any way that you know of, that makes the CXUHD choose a standard HDR10 track over the Dolby Vision track in a 4K Bluray? Yesterday I tried to watch the new Matrix in DV, but it looks like complete washed out crap on my otherwise wonderful TV.



In the meanwhile I just downloaded the video from a dubious source and watched it in 4K HDR10 from my pc, which looked great, but that's not really the best solution. ;)


If there's some shortcut to choose the right HDR track, that would be really helpful. But I can't find it. Anyone?
 
#50 ·
Hi guys
I have an LG OLED with the notorious Dolby Vision raised blacks bug.


Is there any way that you know of, that makes the CXUHD choose a standard HDR10 track over the Dolby Vision track in a 4K Bluray? Yesterday I tried to watch the new Matrix in DV, but it looks like complete washed out crap on my otherwise wonderful TV.



In the meanwhile I just downloaded the video from a dubious source and watched it in 4K HDR10 from my pc, which looked great, but that's not really the best solution. ;)


If there's some shortcut to choose the right HDR track, that would be really helpful. But I can't find it. Anyone?
Since the CXUHD has a HDR = Forced, try changing to that without media, reboot, and try again. Be curious to see if it works or not.

Forced – If the video content supports HDR, the player will always output video with HDR enabled regardless of whether or not the TV or projector indicates that HDR is supported. This may result in image abnormalities if the connected display does not support HDR.
 
#51 ·
I use to own a Cambridge audio Blu ray player and I thought it was fantastic except control. It didn't have discrete power ON and power OFF commands which was annoying.
Does the this player have IP control?

I'm in the market for a HDR Dolby Vision blu ray player and it seems that a quality player is hard to find. I like the Oppo 203 but since they are out fo business for blu ray players, it makes me slightly nervous trying to buy one. I know they are supporting it for now but who knows how long that will last.
So anyway great thread and I might just grab one.
 
#52 ·
I use to own a Cambridge audio Blu ray player and I thought it was fantastic except control. It didn't have discrete power ON and power OFF commands which was annoying.
Does the this player have IP control?

I'm in the market for a HDR Dolby Vision blu ray player and it seems that a quality player is hard to find. I like the Oppo 203 but since they are out fo business for blu ray players, it makes me slightly nervous trying to buy one. I know they are supporting it for now but who knows how long that will last.
So anyway great thread and I might just grab one.
I would believe support for the CXUHD would have the same timeframe as the Oppo 203. As posted earlier in this thread Cambridge Audio works with Oppo on firmware updates.

Oppo have pledged to maintain long-term support for their products and we will continue to work with them to ensure that CXUHD customers continue to benefit from their expertise.

https://techsupport.cambridgeaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000641645-CXUHD-Oppo-Digital

Bill
 
#55 ·
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to ask, if the video output settings should be EXACTLY the same as the input settings of an UHD HDR movie?

For example: When I watch a HDR10 UHD 4K Blu-ray, can I leave color space and color depth on automatic in the video output settings of the Cambridge or should they be the same as the UHD Blu-ray input settings?
If I choose automatic for example the UHD Blu-ray has 10 bit and YCbCr 4:2:0 BUT the video output is in 12 bit with YCbCr 4:4:4.

Thanks in advance!
Daniel
 
#56 ·
You are fine with that.

You might see if you can change the output Color Space to YCbCr 4:2:2. You can get 4K/60 4:2:2 12b on the HDMI output, but the current HDMI specs limit you to 8-bit for 4K/60 4:4:4. This only matters when playing content which gets output at /60 -- which would include 1080i/60 Blu-ray discs, and NTSC SD-DVDs. It also includes at least one UHD disc -- "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk", UHD -- which is almost unique in that it is actually on disc as 4K/60.

The YCbCr 4:2:0 format used for the content on the UHD disc is only legal for output on HDMI in precisely two combos: 4K/60 4:2:0 and 4K/50 4:2:0. For example you can not get 4K/24 4:2:0, or even 1080p/60 4:2:0 on HDMI due to the HDMI specs.

I've written this up here:

Digital Video, OR "Lost in Color Space!"

--Bob
 
#59 ·
Just curious....I saw the above posts about lack of analog outs, but curious why this unit is not a more popular choice? Is it that most of the upper end people are waiting for the Panasonic ub820 and 9000?

Now that the Oppo 203 is no longer available, I would think this unit would be the next best choice?

Anyone know if it has DV that is Sony TV compatible out of the box? (I have an A1E).

I do not think I would ever use the Analog out’s. Debating over the UB820 and this. Thanks.
 
#60 ·
I’m considering this player and have the same question with regards to DV and Sony TV(A1E) compatibility. I heard that Oppo recently announced a FW update to solve this DV issue with Sony TV’s. Anyone know if Cambridge plans to release the same update?
 
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