LG's first-ever 4K Blu-ray player is tricked out for primo picture and sound

There’s a caveat when shopping for a new TV. Just because a TV features 4K Ultra HD resolution and supports HDR doesn’t mean all content will automatically display at those specs — your connected media devices need to support those features, too. That means you’ll need a new Blu-ray player to play those Ultra HD Blue-rays at full resolution — and LG’s new UP970 Blu-ray player, which launched Wednesday, is up to the challenge.

The first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player available from LG, the big feature being touted here is the Blu-ray player’s support for Dolby Vision, Dolby’s proprietary HDR format, which is also present on many of LG’s 4K TVs. Dolby Vision differs from other HDR formats in some subtle but important ways, primarily in the way it transfers color information, and support for higher levels of color and brightness. (You can learn more about the benefits of Dolby Vision by checking out our HDR guide.)

While the inclusion of Dolby Vision is exciting, the UP970 will also support the open source HDR format, HDR10, so it can play just about every HDR-supported Blu-ray out there.

Rounding out the specs are two HDMI ports, including an HDMI 2.0a port for Ultra HD video and HDMI 1.4 for connecting to legacy hi-fi devices and soundbars. Finally, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity and support for streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube is included, allowing yet another way to access 4K HDR content. There is also a USB port for connecting external storage devices to play movies, music, or browse pictures.

Not only will Blu-rays look their best on the UP970, they should also sound great thanks to support for Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master audio formats.

The UP970 has features that will appeal to owners of any 4K UHD TV with HDR, but LG is pushing it as a companion for its own TVs, of course. Tim Alessi, LG Electronics USA’s head of product marketing said, “the LG UP970 demonstrates our dedication to providing unmatched picture quality in the marketplace, and it’s the perfect accompaniment to our award-winning Dolby Vision enabled 4K LG OLED and LG SUPER UHD TVs.”

The LG UP970 is available now for $300, conveniently priced to match competitors like Samsung’s UBD-K8500 4K Blu-ray player. You can find it at local retailers like Best Buy or Fry’s. You can learn more about the UP970 and find a local retail location at LG’s official web page.