Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

It's almost like the Oppo 203 versus the 205, US list price.

As I have been predicting...

[giomania]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

I was invited to a private off site meeting by Panasonic BD engineering management. They showed me the UB420, UB820 and a mock-up of the UB9000. That's where I took the picture of the Tone Mapping Optimizer chart.

At that time they were considering the UB420 for the USA, but that changed a couple weeks ago and now we're getting the UB820 by the end of July and September-October for the UB9000. Not sure about Canada, South America, the EU or Asia, but for the USA it's the UB820 and UB9000.

Thank you for the clarification.

[unknownuser0001]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

We'll have to wait until we get some credible reviews. However, it's more or less looking like it's just the UB900 HDR adjustment with a few tweaks. I'm feeling less optimistic about it.

Oh I thought that Robert already checked this out. This feature could be handy with Sony TVs which are not well optimized for 4000-nit mastered movies

[giomania]

Originally Posted by Wobulater

The 820 manual shows the available audio formats:

https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/bd/...N_TQBS0213.pdf

Thanks for the link to the manual.

I am very curious about the Panasonic DP-UB820 capabilities concerning playback of 4KUHD backups, and looked through the manual accordingly.

For others interested in playing 4K from a USB flash drive or a FAT32/NTFS formatted HDD in a USB 3.0 enclosure), it looks like 4KUHD backups can be played back via the USB 3.0 port on the rear of the player, as it is stated on page 7: "For playback of 4K videos...".

Playback via the network appears to be more restrictive, and may not support the lossless audio formats (see page 44). Below are the specific pages from the manual where I found information; I typed in some of the information, since the PDF is secured. If interested please look to see if I am interpreting this correctly.

I am trying to decide between this player and the OPPO UDP-203 (I have one, unopened), and the decision is based upon a multitude of factors, not just picture quality.

Page 6
It supports USB devices, and will play the following file types: AVCHD, AVCHD 3D, MKV, MP4, MPEG2, JPEG, MPO, AAC, AIFF, ALAC, DSD (DFF, DSF), FLAC, MP3, WAV, WMA

Page 7
USB device: For playback of 4K videos stored on a USB device, use USB 3.0 port on rear of the unit and USB device conforming to USB 3.0.

Page 23-24
Network playback instructions.

Page 33
Network Drive Connection: This unit can access a hard disk shared folder on a network and play back videos, still pictures, and music.

Page 42
Specifications, File Format: For MKV, it is stated: Resolution up to 3840 x 2160 25p/30p, 4096 x 2160 24p. The video file and subtitles text are inside the same folder, and the file names are the same except for the file extensions. Some MKV files may not be played back correctly, depending on the video resolution, frame rate condition, subtitle format and so on.

Page 44
Supported format for Network Contents Playback:

Container: MKV
Video codec: H.264 HEVC
Audio codec: AAC, PCM, Vorbis, FLAC

Container: AVCHD
Video codec: H.264
Audio codec: Dolby Digital

[wesslan]

That doesn't sound so fun. Was hoping for better support over network since that is important to me.

[HDTV1080P]

My 2010 Panasonic Blu-ray player can play exFAT file system when using a SDXC card. However the USB port on this new Panasonic DP-UB824 does not mention any support for the exFAT file system (just FAT12,FAT16,FAT32, and NTFS). In the ideal world Panasonic should add exFAT file support which the latest OPPO and Sony Blu-ray players offer.

No built in 1GB storage for BD-LIVE with this Panasonic, therefore a USB stick 1GB or larger needs to be used for the BD-LIVE feature. Page 7 of manual mentions the optical discs that are not supported, like SACD and DVD-Audio.

There is no mention of a source direct feature for video output on this Panasonic . I hope that the new Panasonic UB9000 well offer a source direct feature like what is found on OPPO players.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by wesslan

That doesn't sound so fun. Was hoping for better support over network since that is important to me.

Just FYI Panny players don't do lossless DTS/Dolby audio formats over USB/network file playback.

[Geoff D]

A look at the UB9000 from a show in München:

http://www.areadvd.de/tests/high-end...-fuer-999-eur/

Looks like an absolute beast of a player. I bet the 480i playback is still ****ed though.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by unknownuser0001

Oh I thought that Robert already checked this out. This feature could be handy with Sony TVs which are not well optimized for 4000-nit mastered movies

I'd like to see a real deep dive on it but especially how it would compare to my Arve tool curves for my JVC. However, I will probably have to rely on a couple of people over at AVS for this since it's such a specific use case/situation. Sony projection owners could be in the same boat as well since Arve works with them too.

[JJLong]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I bet the 480i playback is still ****ed though.

This is the biggest question that I have when it comes to the UB820, how is the 480i playback?

[evan201]

I'm interested to see how this thing handles with the Epson 5040ub projector. Currently using a Philips BDP7501. You guys think the 820 would be a noticeable upgrade?

[Robert Zohn]

@evan201, thanks for joining Blu-ray.com.

I have an UB820 engineering sample and it's performing beautifully on all of the Sony, Samsung, LG TVs and Epson's 5040UB and Sony's VW5000ES projectors.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

@evan201, thanks for joining Blu-ray.com.

I have an UB820 engineering sample and it's performing beautifully on all of the Sony, Samsung, LG TVs and Epson's 5040UB and Sony's VW5000ES projectors.

Robert, does it have the subtitle shift and luminence settings like the 900? The undocumented feature of the 900...

[evan201]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

@evan201, thanks for joining Blu-ray.com.

I have an UB820 engineering sample and it's performing beautifully on all of the Sony, Samsung, LG TVs and Epson's 5040UB and Sony's VW5000ES projectors.

Cant wait to see this "Projector HDR" setting.

[DJJez]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Just FYI Panny players don't do lossless DTS/Dolby audio formats over USB/network file playback.

this is why the oppo 203 is king for me

if the UB9000 can do it i will probaly buy one

[Geoff D]

I kinda doubt that Jezza. Not you buying one, as you seem to be richer than Croesus, but the whole 'lossless audio on file playback' thing.

[Robert Zohn]

Originally Posted by evan201

Cant wait to see this "Projector HDR" setting.

[elwaylite]

I love the concept. Tone map everything down internally, and then send to display, letss display has to do and some dont tone map well.

[Geoff D]

The concept is fine. That it's been delivered with a rather woolly grasp on what levels should be aimed for, along with even more parameters to fudge with, means that perhaps it's not quite the panacea that people were expecting/hoping for.

[elwaylite]

They have to keep it simple stupid for many buyers. It’s more simple for the movie to use that. A nit slider? How man know what nit their tv is? I get why they are doing it.

I also trust their math. Their hdr to sdr has been working for 2 years, Oppo still hasn’t gotten it right.