Dolby Says Dolby Vision 2 Can Reach Existing 4K Blu-ray Players by Firmware Alone — Sony Has Already Said It Won't Ship One

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Aug 17, 2026· updated Aug 19, 2026

Dolby Says Dolby Vision 2 Can Reach Existing 4K Blu-ray Players by Firmware Alone — Sony Has Already Said It Won't Ship One

Dolby has confirmed that its next-generation HDR format, Dolby Vision 2, could technically arrive on existing Ultra HD Blu-ray players through nothing more than a firmware update — but whether any given player actually gets one is entirely up to its manufacturer, and Sony has already said it won't be doing it for its current lineup.

The disclosure comes from TechRadar's interview with Dolby Laboratories, which then put the question to the major 4K Blu-ray player manufacturers. That reporting has since been picked up by both What Hi-Fi? and ecoustics, but the original statements — from Dolby and from Sony — trace back to TechRadar.

Why a firmware update is enough

The reason no new hardware is required comes down to a division of labour between the player and the television. As ecoustics explains, most of the actual image processing for Dolby Vision 2 happens inside a compatible TV, not the disc player. The player's job is simply to recognise the Dolby Vision 2 data on a disc, format it correctly, and pass it over HDMI to the television. A firmware update can teach an existing player how to do that final step without touching the player's underlying hardware.

That doesn't mean it's trivial. ecoustics notes the work still involves real engineering: HDMI validation and firmware development on each manufacturer's part, not just a checkbox being flipped on. Dolby's confirmation is about technical feasibility, not about what any company has committed to build.

Sony has already said no

Asked directly whether it would update its current 4K Blu-ray players, Sony gave TechRadar an unambiguous answer, quoted by What Hi-Fi?: "We do not plan to provide a software/firmware update to support Dolby Vision 2 on the current Blu-ray player lineup."

That statement covers Sony's existing players, including the UBP-X700U (quoted around $328 by ecoustics). Panasonic and Magnetar, meanwhile, had not responded to TechRadar's questions at the time of publication. That's worth being precise about: a non-response is not a refusal, and neither company has ruled anything out. The players ecoustics names as the installed base potentially affected include Panasonic's DP-UB820 (around $549) and DP-UB9000, and Magnetar's UDP800 MKII and UDP900 MKII.

The bigger catch: discs need it too

Even if every manufacturer shipped a firmware update tomorrow, there's a second requirement that's arguably more limiting than the manufacturer question: the Dolby Vision 2 data has to be encoded onto the 4K Blu-ray disc itself. That means the format could only appear on new releases mastered with it going forward. Discs already sitting on shelves or in collections won't retroactively gain Dolby Vision 2 no matter what happens on the player or TV side.

Dolby does offer one piece of reassurance for owners of compatible TVs, as reported by What Hi-Fi?: even without any player-side update, a viewer watching on a Dolby Vision 2-compatible television should still see some benefit from the format's improved HDR processing. That's Dolby's own claim, and What Hi-Fi? frames it with the caveat "so Dolby says, anyway."

Which TVs actually support it right now

Dolby Vision 2 isn't just a firmware question on the television side either — it requires newer processing hardware that only recent TVs have. As of now, ecoustics reports that only select Hisense televisions are compatible, and Hisense has announced software updates for select 2026 models to bring the format online.

For context, Dolby Vision 2 is built around three main additions, per What Hi-Fi?: a new image engine, a content recognition system meant to render pictures closer to the original creative intent, and an intensity slider designed to compensate for contrast lost to viewing angle or screen reflections.

Competing formats and the state of physical media players

Dolby Vision 2 isn't arriving in a vacuum. Samsung's rival format, HDR10+ Advanced, is set to land this month, though initially only on select Samsung TVs streaming Amazon Prime Video — a narrower rollout in its own right.

The broader backdrop here is the state of the 4K Blu-ray player market itself. What Hi-Fi? points out that Sony hasn't released a genuinely new Blu-ray player in years, aside from a minor update to an existing model last year, and describes it as "all but confirmed" that the upcoming PS6 will ship without a 4K Blu-ray drive at all. That's What Hi-Fi?'s characterisation rather than a Sony confirmation, but it underlines why Sony's answer on firmware support lands the way it does: the company's hardware attention in this space appears to be elsewhere. It's also worth remembering that 4K Blu-ray discs remain the physical carrier for lossless Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks, though that's unrelated to this particular HDR announcement.

For now, the practical picture is this: Dolby Vision 2 support on any given 4K Blu-ray player depends on that manufacturer choosing to build and ship firmware, on a compatible television being in the room, and on studios actually encoding new discs with the format. None of the sources here give a timeline for when — or whether — that alignment happens.

Frequently asked questions

Can existing 4K Blu-ray players support Dolby Vision 2?

Dolby has confirmed to TechRadar that existing Ultra HD Blu-ray players can support Dolby Vision 2 through a firmware update alone, without new hardware, because the television handles most of the image processing while the player only needs to recognise and pass the data over HDMI. Whether any manufacturer actually ships that firmware is a separate decision.

Will Sony update its 4K Blu-ray players for Dolby Vision 2?

Sony told TechRadar: "We do not plan to provide a software/firmware update to support Dolby Vision 2 on the current Blu-ray player lineup." This statement applies to Sony's existing players, including the UBP-X700U, and is the only manufacturer response on record ruling out an update.

Have Panasonic or Magnetar said whether they'll support Dolby Vision 2?

Panasonic and Magnetar had not responded to TechRadar's questions about Dolby Vision 2 firmware support at the time of publication. That is a non-response rather than a refusal, and neither company has stated whether players like the Panasonic DP-UB820, DP-UB9000, or Magnetar UDP800/UDP900 MKII will be updated.

Will my existing 4K Blu-ray discs gain Dolby Vision 2?

No. Dolby Vision 2 data must be encoded onto the 4K Blu-ray disc itself, so only new releases mastered with the format will carry it. Even if every player manufacturer shipped firmware updates immediately, discs already produced would not retroactively gain Dolby Vision 2 support.

Which TVs currently support Dolby Vision 2?

As of the reporting, only select Hisense televisions support Dolby Vision 2, since the format requires processing hardware found only in newer TVs. Hisense has announced software updates for select 2026 models to enable compatibility, according to ecoustics.