SONY UBP-X700 & STR-DH790

Sony knows a thing or two about the movies, having Sony Pictures on the one hand, while Sony the electronics company has long led the market in bringing them to our homes via first tape, then DVD, then Blu-ray, and now the ultimate presentation of movies in the home, Ultra High Definition Blu-ray, with 4K pictures suitable for 4K TVs — which are another strength for Sony, with one of its premium OLED models winning Sound+Image’s 2018 Television of the Year.

But what about the sound? UHD Blu-ray also ups the audio ante considerably, delivering uncompressed multichannel sound formats like never before, including the immersive likes of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Many homes fail to enjoy this, using the TV speakers or a soundbar or pair of stereo speakers. We think it deserves more — a proper surround sound set-up to service this new paradigm of home entertainment.

There’s almost no limit to what you might pay for a custom-installed home cinema, of course, but Sony has something rather more economical on offer here, with its X700 UHD