Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[asacmurr]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

Those work or they don't? I was hoping to grab Knock Off

They don't. I'm currently making a bigger post for these rq

[asacmurr]

Just made this thread. Add any further contributions there please - I own a bunch of discs that I haven't tested yet, so I'll add those eventually.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...7#post22218887

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

So I’ve been popping in various discs since the update and have noticed some nice performance improvements. First and foremost, The Nightmare Before Christmas UHD finally plays without issue on my unit. Before now the image would stutter and break up into a pixelated mess around the 20 minute mark. Very glad that this was addressed by Panny, especially since Disney made it clear they wouldn’t be issuing replacements.

Beyond that, all of the low-nit HDR10 titles from Disney now appear to have improved brightness levels on my Sony FALD display. In the past HEAT, The Empire Strikes, and Aladdin (among others) had me bumping the HDR from standard mode over to “natural viewing environment” due to abnormally dark image. Now everything looks great as-is sans any settings adjustments- at least to my eyes. Black levels are thankfully preserved.

On-disc Dolby Vision performance has also improved dramatically on my TV since I first purchased it nearly 5 years ago. How much of that is due to Panasonic’s tinkering, Sony’s continued firmware updates, or simply the way in which the two devices communicate, I can’t say. Either way it consistently looks as bright or brighter now than the default HDR10 layer on basically every title I’ve thrown at it.

(For those unaware the X900F had issues with overly dim player-led Dolby Vision when it first launched via firmware update back in 2019. Now it looks normal.)

Cannot say the same for my Apple TV 4K library though, which looks fine but noticeably duller when compared to the equivalent 4K disc. Genuinely makes me appreciate both the UB820’s magic and my physical collection all the more.

I find it interesting that DV doesn't look dull post the update on the Panny but still looks dull via ATV 4K. Will check on this later.

X900F I believe has player led DV. So DV via any external devices (4K players / ATV 4K) on these TVs should look dull just like my ZD9 where the differences between built-in app DV and HDMI are quite stark. Not only on dynamic range but also sharpness and colour saturation. The differences are minimal once I force HDR10 via HDMI.

I find DV performance almost identical on both built-in apps and HDMI on my 77A80J WOLED which has TV-led DV (still has some issues but way better than player led TV).

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by lgans316

I find it interesting that DV doesn't look dull post the update on the Panny but still looks dull via ATV 4K. Will check on this later.

X900F I believe has player led DV. So DV via any external devices (4K players / ATV 4K) on these TVs should look dull just like my ZD9 where the differences between built-in app DV and HDMI are quite stark. Not only on dynamic range but also sharpness and colour saturation. The differences are minimal once I force HDR10 via HDMI.

Well, once again, Sony did a number of firmware updates to improve DV performance (and HDR algorithm in general) on the X900F over the last few years. Those updates combined with the precise calibration of each color point on my part pushed the display from very good territory into great.

Even so there’s still something about the way the UB820 is communicating with the TV that makes DV material look noticeably more vibrant via disc than streaming the equivalent title on the AppleTV 4K.

I’m watching Arrow’s UHD of Barbarella right now and the image is practically eyeball melting. Switched back and forth between DV and HDR10 and, for the most part, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Both look stupendous.

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Well, once again, Sony did a number of firmware updates to improve DV performance (and HDR algorithm in general) on the X900F over the last few years. Those updates combined with the precise calibration of each color point on my part pushed the display from very good territory into great.

Even so there’s still something about the way the UB820 is communicating with the TV that makes DV material look noticeably more vibrant via disc than streaming the equivalent title on the AppleTV 4K.

I’m watching Arrow’s UHD of Barbarella right now and the image is practically eyeball melting. Switched back and forth between DV and HDR10 and, for the most part, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference. Both look stupendous.

Can you please name few Dolby Vision streams via ATV that look dulller than the disc counterparts via UB820 in your setup?

I will check on my setup and feedback.

[Telemachus]

I gave in and updated, nothing odd so far

[rroeder]

On my setup the 820 forces DV while watching Netflix and it seems every bit as vibrant as DV on disc on my 900F. I only stream Netflix and sometimes Peacock for sports as I still use satellite for TV viewing so can't comment on other streaming services.

DV always looks really good on my setup via disc, Netflix works but can look too vibrant at times for some shows. Peacock is thru my TV and looks good as it's basic HD SDR

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by rroeder

On my setup the 820 forces DV while watching Netflix and it seems every bit as vibrant as DV on disc on my 900F. I only stream Netflix and sometimes Peacock for sports as I still use satellite for TV viewing so can't comment on other streaming services.

DV always looks really good on my setup via disc, Netflix works but can look too vibrant at times for some shows. Peacock is thru my TV and looks good as it's basic HD SDR

If you are wanting to stream, I would recommend using absolutely anything over the apps built in to a TV, projector, or disc player. You will get better results from a basic Chromecast, Roku, or Amazon dongle... and if you pony up for an Apple TV or Nvidia Shield, you'll get legit good results. (for streaming that is) Regardless, the only built-in apps that I have seen perform decently are on devices that use Android/Google TV out of the box, and any other system just does not get updated well enough to have them operate up to those levels. (no vendor cares about that version, whatever it is)

Even Panasonic, in this latest update, doubtfully cared about how it operated for Netflix.

[gretzky2010]

i juste received my brand new hardmoded ub820 from an amazon seller and i upgraded it with the online firmware i hope to get the right one soon because my player is now locked on region 1/A

[ronand]

Just check that quickstart is set to off. Sometimes an online update can toggle the setting disabling the mod. It depends on the mod though.

[elgee]

I have a Region B UB820, and I've been using the top menu trick to play all my Region A Criterions, and it's been consistently working fine with all titles. All except one, and that's Hunger. Guess I'm going to have to be prepared that not ALL Criterion titles will work.

[gretzky2010]

Originally Posted by ronand

Just check that quickstart is set to off. Sometimes an online update can toggle the setting disabling the mod. It depends on the mod though.

i've put the qickstart to off and restarted the player ,,, and my player is still region locked

[asacmurr]

Originally Posted by elgee

I have a Region B UB820, and I've been using the top menu trick to play all my Region A Criterions, and it's been consistently working fine with all titles. All except one, and that's Hunger. Guess I'm going to have to be prepared that not ALL Criterion titles will work.

I wasn't aware the trick worked for B players - can you elaborate on which titles have worked here and maybe I can add a section? Thanks
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=375054

[jhird2007]

I downloaded the new firmware on Saturday but unable to find the new Dolby Vision setting. Any ideas on how to get it going? Does it make much of a difference?

[asacmurr]

Originally Posted by jhird2007

I downloaded the new firmware on Saturday but unable to find the new Dolby Vision setting. Any ideas on how to get it going? Does it make much of a difference?

Same here

[elgee]

Originally Posted by asacmurr

I wasn't aware the trick worked for B players - can you elaborate on which titles have worked here and maybe I can add a section? Thanks
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=375054

Sure! I only have a handful of Criterion A titles as I wasn't able to play them until I got the UB820. I also have Videodrome and maybe Traffic coming in this week, but I'll post the status about those in your other thread.

Criterion:
DOES NOT WORK
Hunger

DOES WORK
The Game
The Last Picture Show
Memories of Murder
Blow Out
Moonrise Kingdom
Triangle of Sadness
The Silence of the Lambs

Here are some Region A titles from other studios, haven't gotten any of them to work:
Kino Lorber:
DOES NOT WORK
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind BD (4K disc does work)

Lions Gate:
DOES NOT WORK
Requiem for a Dream BD (4K disc does work)
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once BD (4K disc does work)
The Evil Dead BD (4K disc does work)

Miramax/Paramount
DOES NOT WORK
Pulp Fiction BD (4K disc does work)

Fox
DOES (SORT OF) WORK
Kingdom of Heaven Ultimate Edition (Movie disc is region free, special feature disc does not work)

Cheers

[HanBrolo77]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

I gave in and updated, nothing odd so far

I know it’s been a problem disc for you before, so I wanted to mention that I popped in Halloween 4 after the most recent update and I’m not getting the flickering that I used to see on this disc.

I haven’t watched the entire film, but I remember that one being problematic from the get go. Hopefully we can watch this one in DV now!

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by jhird2007

I downloaded the new firmware on Saturday but unable to find the new Dolby Vision setting. Any ideas on how to get it going? Does it make much of a difference?

What new DV setting?

[Compson]

Originally Posted by jhird2007

I downloaded the new firmware on Saturday but unable to find the new Dolby Vision setting. Any ideas on how to get it going? Does it make much of a difference?

Turn DV off, go back to the Home screen, then back to Settings

[deatheats]

Originally Posted by lgans316

Can you please name few Dolby Vision streams via ATV that look dulller than the disc counterparts via UB820 in your setup?

I will check on my setup and feedback.

DV uses different profiles for disc (7) and streaming content (5). The first contains an enhancement layer and the second doesn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a difference in quality even if video bandwidth were equivalent.