Sony’s long-awaited FMP-X10 4K Ultra HD Media Player is...

Sony’s long-awaited FMP-X10 4K Ultra HD Media Player is available for pre-order now at $699 and for purchase in July, and consumers who pre-order through July 15 will save $200, Sony said Friday. The player will be able to stream the 4K version of season two of House of Cards from Netflix along with the 200-plus titles available from Sony’s Video Unlimited 4K content library, the company said. Sony said some 50 titles will be available to consumers “at no charge,” but 4K title pricing for top-tier titles remains a mystery. David Berman, operations manager at Stereo East, Frisco, Texas, told us Sony’s 4K movie pricing has been “the best kept secret,” and he likened the situation on the 4K video side to high-res audio downloads. “There’s so much press out there about high-res music,” but sites including JRiver and HDtracks have selections that are “extremely limited,” Berman said. “Much as they did with 3D, I think they're trying to create a buzz for a new era of profitable sales,” he said of Sony, and taking the route of high-res audio and video “is the only way they're going to survive.” Until there’s content to drive high-tech hardware, “it’s a non-issue,” Berman said. At the same time, Berman said Stereo East is remaining “high on Sony” because the company owns a content library. According to a Sony news release, the 4K menu at Video Unlimited includes American Hustle and The Monuments Men, and future offerings will include The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Annie (2014) following their theatrical releases. Episodes of the TV series The Blacklist are also available in 4K, Sony said. The Media Player comes with 1 TB of built-in storage and is compatible with any Sony 4K Ultra HD TV or 4K Ultra HD projector, the company said. Berman said it isn’t clear whether the Sony FMP-X10 will only work with Sony UHD TVs and projectors. Sony didn’t immediately respond to questions.