"NanoTech Entertainment has confirmed product availability of their Nuvola NP-1 4K player that claims to be compatible with all UHDTVs regardless of brand, as opposed to the proprietary player/TV pairing setup Sony has done with their current 4K media player (FMP-X1) and their UHDTVs/4K Projectors, which limits their 4K media player connectivity to only Sony UHDTVs/4K Projectors.
The other 4K player competitor, the $1750 Red Ray 4K player, has been unavailable for over a year after their “reserve your unit” announcement in late 2012 with an original price of $1400+. According to an email I received from the manufacturer last week: “The unit is available on our website with an estimated ship date of 2 – 3 weeks… and we are not distributing units for review at this time”. I still hope they are going to deliver a player as promised and that it will be successful, as well as Odemax, their 4K content provider partner, because the 4K market needs more content and players to play it, not just UHDTVs.
When considering the three 4K player options the Sony 4K player is the only one that is available for purchase on stores, if the Nuvola NP-1 will actually be made available as announced (being announced since May 29, 2013) it appears to be the best deal in price and compatibility, for now, and it was honored recently with a Storage Visions® 2014 Visionary Product Award in the Home Entertainment"