Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[WutDaFunk]

Hi, I'm in the market for a 4K player with Dolby Vision support to complement my LG C8 OLED TV, and I was wondering if this UB820 player is the best choice for me. $500 is a lot to spend on a disc player for me, but from my understanding, the options are very limited at the moment, so I'm willing to spend if it means it will last a long time. I'll be plugging it into a Denon X4400H receiver if it matters. My questions are:

Will the HDR Optimizer feature of the player go well with the dynamic tone mapping of the LG C8? Would it be better than the TV's handling of HDR, or is it kind of unnecessary in this setup? If it's not a noticeable improvement, are there any new players coming out soon that might be a better investment?

I've been waiting since November to buy a player, but I'm starting to get impatient with a bunch of 4K discs in front of me haha.

[DVD Josh]

Originally Posted by WutDaFunk

Hi, I'm in the market for a 4K player with Dolby Vision support to complement my LG C8 OLED TV, and I was wondering if this UB820 player is the best choice for me. $500 is a lot to spend on a disc player for me, but from my understanding, the options are very limited at the moment, so I'm willing to spend if it means it will last a long time. I'll be plugging it into a Denon X4400H receiver if it matters. My questions are:

Will the HDR Optimizer feature of the player go well with the dynamic tone mapping of the LG C8? Would it be better than the TV's handling of HDR, or is it kind of unnecessary in this setup? If it's not a noticeable improvement, are there any new players coming out soon that might be a better investment?

I've been waiting since November to buy a player, but I'm starting to get impatient with a bunch of 4K discs in front of me haha.

If you want Dolby Vision support then not only is the UB820 NOT the best choice for you it's not a choice at all.

Also, did you read the thread, since there are several mentions of the C8/UB820 interaction.

[sapiendut]

DV of this player is slightly elevated on this player. But for regular HDR10, the HDR Optimizer work wonders with any TV.

[nachoju95]

Hello, I wanted to know if the UB820/UB9000 can play external subs from USB while you watch UHD Disks?? Thanks!!

[eddievanhalen]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

Why do you think that the movie played in HDR10+ when hooked up directly to the TV? There's certainly no way of knowing if it did, since the UI of the KU/KS series doesn't differentiate between the different HDR flavors (be it HDR10, HLG, etc.)

HDR10+ was promised to the KU/KS sets, but Samsung failed to live up to that promise. Those sets never got the firmware update for HDR10+. This has been well known for over a year.

True, KU series only states HDR regardless if it's playing HDR10 or HLG. But there was quite a difference between the UHD BD remux played by the Sony X-800 and directly by the TV's player, picture quality improved by playing the movie directly from the T.V.

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

True, KU series only states HDR regardless if it's playing HDR10 or HLG. But there was quite a difference between the UHD BD remux played by the Sony X-800 and directly by the TV's player, picture quality improved by playing the movie directly from the T.V.

Might be due to a difference between the TV's internal player and the X800. Or maybe just placebo. The KU series doesn't support HDR10+.

[terminal33]

After further review, I decided to use some tax return money and get the Panny 820 to go with my Epson 5040. I've been using the Philips 7501 for the past 2+ years and have always been itching and wondering about the 820 ever since I read about it. I seem to always tinker with my settings and use various settings from users on forums, so I'm excited to see how the Panny does when it arrives tomorrow. (Of course, the pessimist in my tells me that the improvement won't be worth the $500.) Anyway, I guess we'll see!

[Robert Zohn]

Very good decision.

When you set-up your new UB820 just go into the HDMI user menu and select HDR Optimizer and activate the "Projector" tone mapping and hit the back button. Before you leave the user menu activate on the HDR Optimizer and then get ready to enjoy your favorite Blu-ray discs and HDR streaming apps with more of the HDR dynamic tonal range for your new home cinema system.

[LettuceJUMP]

Considering picking up this player. I had an LG B6 65” Oled with a 2018 lg player but the tv was too small for my living room. I recently setup a 75” sony x900f and have not been happy with any hdr between the lg player and sony tv. Wondering if this panny player will optomize hdr better. Everything is dark and lifeless currently. Or do I wait for the x800m2 coming next month with dolby vision? Thanks for any advice. I have read back about 5 pages and see the dolby vision issues but seems the hdr is top notch.
Thanks

[cartload]

Originally Posted by LettuceJUMP

Considering picking up this player. I had an LG B6 65” Oled with a 2018 lg player but the tv was too small for my living room. I recently setup a 75” sony x900f and have not been happy with any hdr between the lg player and sony tv. Wondering if this panny player will optomize hdr better. Everything is dark and lifeless currently. Or do I wait for the x800m2 coming next month with dolby vision? Thanks for any advice. I have read back about 5 pages and see the dolby vision issues but seems the hdr is top notch.
Thanks

This may be a general question to everyone, but how many studios are consistently putting Dolby Vision on their 4K UHD Blu-ray discs? Seems like everything I bought lately (Sony, Fox, Disney) does not have a Dolby Vision option.

For disc playback, I would go with the player that has the best HDR10 performance, which seems to be the Panny.

You can buy a Roku, an Apple TV, or use your TV's app for streaming Dolby Vision.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by cartload

This may be a general question to everyone, but how many studios are consistently putting Dolby Vision on their 4K UHD Blu-ray discs? Seems like everything I bought lately (Sony, Fox, Disney) does not have a Dolby Vision option.

see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=276448

[sapiendut]

HDR10 is included in all disc as it is part of the UHD standard. For HDR10, Panasonics are the kings amongst any player available today and in the past.

[terminal33]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Very good decision.

When you set-up your new UB820 just go into the HDMI user menu and select HDR Optimizer and activate the "Projector" tone mapping and hit the back button. Before you leave the user menu activate on the HDR Optimizer and then get ready to enjoy your favorite Blu-ray discs and HDR streaming apps with more of the HDR dynamic tonal range for your new home cinema system.

Thanks for the tips!

[WutDaFunk]

With the DV issue, do the dark scenes look noticeably brighter as well, to the point where it looks gray? I think I can live with the colors being slightly overblown, but if it affects blacks enough to prevent "true" inky blacks, then I'll wait and see how the X800M2 turns out.

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=276448

I counted roughly 140 DV titles (138)

[terminal33]

Hey all, I just set up the 820 last night with my Epson 5040 set to output HDR2020 and Projector tone mapping. I was definitely impressed with the picture and with being able to adjust the HDR Optimizer. However, am I right that some would say I should be setting the output of the 820 to SDR2020, and then adjust the dynamic range slider from there?

Also, I noticed that when there was a bright scene (with an explosion), turning the Optimizer off made it a little brighter. I know brighter doesn't always mean better, but I was wondering why that was so. Thanks!

[DVD Josh]

Will the 820 upscale 3D discs to 4K?

[Geoff D]

No.

[eddievanhalen]

Is it true that if audio output is set to PCM the 420 can play DTS-HD Master Audio by outputting them as PCM by its HDMI outs? I've read this somewhere but I don't know if this is true.
If an MKV file has DTS-HD Master Audio as Panasonic players are said not to play lossless audio, can at least play the DTS core?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

Is it true that if audio output is set to PCM the 420 can play DTS-HD Master Audio by outputting them as PCM by its HDMI outs? I've read this somewhere but I don't know if this is true.

What, on file playback? No.

If an MKV file has DTS-HD Master Audio as Panasonic players are said not to play lossless audio, can at least play the DTS core?

No, it ignores the whole packet of data. You have to re-encode with FLAC (as I said) or with lossy DD/DTS prior to playing it back on the Panny. There really is no easy way of getting around it.