Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[jack_of_america]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Have you tried the top menu trick? That’ll get most region B discs to play.

I tried that and unfortunately no luck. Thank you for bringing it up.

[Bob Loblaw]

Hello,

user of a JVC DLA-X5000 projector and a Panasonic DMP-UB700 4K player. The issue I'm having with some (I'd estimate probably half) 4K discs is that the picture is simply way too dark, making it look vastly inferior to regular Blu-ray.

Would this player be my best hope in optimizing the picture for 4K discs?

[gto35830]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Have you tried the top menu trick? That’ll get most region B discs to play.

If I may ask...What is the top menu trick? Thanks for the info.

[eChopper]

When u get the screen message that your movie if from another region...

Press stop and then immediately Top menu

Works on some movies only

[fullclipfink]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

If you have DTM then there's no need to use the Optimiser IMO.

Originally Posted by gates70

Do not use the 820 optimizer with the JVC DTM. Let the JVC handle it.

That was my thought as well, but wanted to get thoughts from other JVC projector owners as I'm new to the projector game after a lifetime of CRT/LCD/plasma/OLED. I'll make sure the HDR optimizer is off for my next viewing and see if I notice a difference.

Thanks both.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by jack_of_america

Has anybody successfully used RegionFreedom for the UB820?

I'm not sure that many people have, it seems far too convoluted when it should just be a straight purchase:

A contribution can either be something we consider useful for our development work or a monetary donation. If you want to contribute by monetary donation, leave this field blank.

It's ridiculous. List a fair price and people will pay, otherwise you're just going to go round the houses with rejections for low payments.

You also need to "top up" your firmware when Panasonic release a newer version.

[jack_of_america]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Have you tried the top menu trick? That’ll get most region B discs to play.

After six attempts, I got it to work on Escape from NY. It really didn’t want to let me through to that menu

[gto35830]

Originally Posted by eChopper

When u get the screen message that your movie if from another region...

Press stop and then immediately Top menu

Works on some movies only

Thanks for the info.

[blakeyamc]

Originally Posted by Bob Loblaw

Hello,

user of a JVC DLA-X5000 projector and a Panasonic DMP-UB700 4K player. The issue I'm having with some (I'd estimate probably half) 4K discs is that the picture is simply way too dark, making it look vastly inferior to regular Blu-ray.

Would this player be my best hope in optimizing the picture for 4K discs?

As a projector owner myself, I understand the struggle finding the right balance when watching 4k HDR content.

I did find this in a review for your specific projector, "As mentioned more times than I want to think – if you are going to watch 4K content from Blu-ray UHD, then the default color needs some real work. The good news is JVC has since provided specific recommendations which we have included a link to, on the JVC site. I highly recommend using those recommendations for all 4K content with HDR (High Dynamic Range). I found the saturation still needed some tweaking, but that’s easy to get looking good.

Without the JVC updates, depending on gamma (I used Gamma B with the default settings) you get washed out (B) or if you use D, it’s ridiculously dark, crushing everything!

"On their website they have settings recommendations for when using HDR, so I naturally put them into one of the JVC modes and – Eureka! Huge improvement. With those settings changes, colors were still off, but by comparison only slightly – a more customized calibration, though should handle that." https://www.projectorreviews.com/jvc...eview-summary/

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Bob Loblaw

Hello,

user of a JVC DLA-X5000 projector and a Panasonic DMP-UB700 4K player. The issue I'm having with some (I'd estimate probably half) 4K discs is that the picture is simply way too dark, making it look vastly inferior to regular Blu-ray.

Would this player be my best hope in optimizing the picture for 4K discs?

Yes, but on the 820, you need to use SDR 2020 with a calibrated 2.4 gamma on your JVC. (Proper, real calibration important). Likely high lamp and iris wide open to get as much light output as possible. You set SDR 2020 on the 820 with the Optimizer On. Use the luminance slider accordingly.

I have yet to find a UHD disc too dark yet. Some are not as bright as others (which is normal), but nothing objectionable or odd. A couple of clicks of the slider either way can adjust for a particular movie as well.

[evanft]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Yes, but on the 820, you need to use SDR 2020 with a calibrated 2.4 gamma on your JVC. (Proper, real calibration important). Likely high lamp and iris wide open to get as much light output as possible. You set SDR 2020 on the 820 with the Optimizer On. Use the luminance slider accordingly.

I have yet to find a UHD disc too dark yet. Some are not as bright as others (which is normal), but nothing objectionable or odd. A couple of clicks of the slider either way can adjust for a particular movie as well.

Bingo. This is exactly what I do with my RS-520.

[kevers7290]

Is there a way to save a lower subtitle luminance setting as default (on the UB820)? I like to turn down the luminance to around -6 but I have to do it every time I put on a movie and it's pretty obnoxious.

[tommyboy81]

so question on my 820. I feel like a noob but I honestly didn't know since I had it when it came out

Am I supposed to have a HDMI cable capable of 18Gbps for the Audio to get Dolby Atmos? I just turned BD-Video Secondary Audio to off. I had it on this whole time but when playing a movie its saying its still in TrueHD on the player

[chip75]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

so question on my 820. I feel like a noob but I honestly didn't know.

Am I supposed to have a HDMI cable capable of 18Gbps for the Audio to get Dolby Atmos? I just turned BD-Video Secondary Audio to off. I had it on this whole time but when playing a movie its saying its still in TrueHD on the player

It won't say Atmos on the player's output, just your AVR (you might have to cycle through to the option) or sound bar.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by tommyboy81

so question on my 820. I feel like a noob but I honestly didn't know since I had it when it came out

Am I supposed to have a HDMI cable capable of 18Gbps for the Audio to get Dolby Atmos? I just turned BD-Video Secondary Audio to off. I had it on this whole time but when playing a movie its saying its still in TrueHD on the player

No player on the planet will show 'Atmos' in their information screen or display or whatever. They can only 'see' the core 7.1 bitstream. Same with DTS, the player will show DTS-HD 7.1 and not DTS:X.

[everytuesday]

Originally Posted by fullclipfink

I'll make sure the HDR optimizer is off for my next viewing and see if I notice a difference.

Would love to hear what your results were with no HDR optimizer...

I'm in a similar predicament. I can't decide between the 820 or the 9000, but if I don't need the optimizer anymore because of the JVC nx7 DTM, then why spend the extra money on the 9000 for a metal case? My only concern is with movie watching so I wouldn't take advantage of the other features anyways. Maybe I am missing or overlooking something here?

In regards to the meta-data on discs, I've read that the 9000 comes with extra meta-data reading capabilities. Does the NX7 take advantage of that meta-data in rendering a higher quality picture?

Any insight into the tech of either players when paired with the JVC nx7 is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Spencer

[chip75]

Originally Posted by everytuesday

Does the NX7 take advantage of that meta-data in rendering a higher quality picture?

I don't think the screen will make a difference to the output (the Optimizer is doing the work), unless you're using that information to adjust something the JVC's end.

[tama]

Originally Posted by jack_of_america

After six attempts, I got it to work on Escape from NY. It really didn’t want to let me through to that menu

Gave it a try out shot with Region B Wages of Fear. Had I not read your multiple attempts I would have gave up after 1 try. Finally worked on my fourth attempt.

Good info and thanks for bringing this up.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by tama

Gave it a try out shot with Region B Wages of Fear. Had I not read your multiple attempts I would have gave up after 1 try. Finally worked on my fourth attempt.

Good info and thanks for bringing this up.

You could also work your way around this by pressing the stop button and then pressing the menu button as it usually works on one or two tries.

[Bob Loblaw]

Originally Posted by blakeyamc

As a projector owner myself, I understand the struggle finding the right balance when watching 4k HDR content.

I did find this in a review for your specific projector, "As mentioned more times than I want to think – if you are going to watch 4K content from Blu-ray UHD, then the default color needs some real work. The good news is JVC has since provided specific recommendations which we have included a link to, on the JVC site. I highly recommend using those recommendations for all 4K content with HDR (High Dynamic Range). I found the saturation still needed some tweaking, but that’s easy to get looking good.

Without the JVC updates, depending on gamma (I used Gamma B with the default settings) you get washed out (B) or if you use D, it’s ridiculously dark, crushing everything!

"On their website they have settings recommendations for when using HDR, so I naturally put them into one of the JVC modes and – Eureka! Huge improvement. With those settings changes, colors were still off, but by comparison only slightly – a more customized calibration, though should handle that." https://www.projectorreviews.com/jvc...eview-summary/

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Yes, but on the 820, you need to use SDR 2020 with a calibrated 2.4 gamma on your JVC. (Proper, real calibration important). Likely high lamp and iris wide open to get as much light output as possible. You set SDR 2020 on the 820 with the Optimizer On. Use the luminance slider accordingly.

I have yet to find a UHD disc too dark yet. Some are not as bright as others (which is normal), but nothing objectionable or odd. A couple of clicks of the slider either way can adjust for a particular movie as well.

Thank you both! What I ended up doing for now wast to look up JVC's recommended HDR settings (without the calibration software) and apply those to the picture. It may not be much yet, but even now the "really dark" discs now look quite decent. I know, professional calibration would be needed but that's either impossible (I live in a very small city) or very expensive. Also I will continue with my current player because spending 500 € for a new player is not a high priority at the moment.

Of course, if anybody has any settings listed that they use I could give them a try and see how they fare in comparison to JVC's recommendations.