Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by DAT_JB

If that's true that would be crazy low. I have a B9 and I really don't like a bright picture unless it's intended (in HDR). But 28 just sounds way to low.
I will test this later. I think mine is currently at 47.

Not an OLED, but to get 140 nits peak in SDR on the ZD9 I have the backlight set to 7 out of 100.

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Not an OLED, but to get 140 nits peak in SDR on the ZD9 I have the backlight set to 7 out of 100.

So much in that bit of truth: people simply used to too much muchness, so "correct" or "real" in photos and video looks dull and boring in comparison. Racing for that bigger peak number, like a processor megahertz battle, degrades it into silliness. The lack of unified settings (i.e., where a setting of 1 on a TV means 1 nit) keeps it further opaque to what things should be.

[samuelkhan999]

I'm trying to test lately what happens when you put in a MGVC disc into a UK modded UB820.
Instead of saying 4.2.0/8 bit for standard blu rays, it gives a 4.2.0/ - sign. Seems like the ub820 recognises the MGVC but doesn't have the option. Hence the hyphen sign.

[jess1581]

Originally Posted by DAT_JB

If that's true that would be crazy low. I have a B9 and I really don't like a bright picture unless it's intended (in HDR). But 28 just sounds way to low.
I will test this later. I think mine is currently at 47.

My brightness level for SDR is set to 26 and contrast is 38. Looks spot on when I'm watching BD's.

[samuelkhan999]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

Oof, they need to work on that background border and use a slightly darker one, because the font doesn't have a drop shadow, making it difficult to read during bright scenes.

Well I'll experiment and see what's going on. This Rattlebyte modded UB820 is from The Perfect Signal.
I've got another region free UB820 off them. That one doesn't have the external subs option. Something I'll have to get in touch with them then.

[hanshotfirst1138]

What’s the cache of this player? I have zero interest in 3-D, but it obviously must offer something else that’s considerable.

[sapiendut]

Uhmmm better chroma upsampling, HDR Optimizer.

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

What’s the cache of this player? I have zero interest in 3-D, but it obviously must offer something else that’s considerable.

If you want the best PQ quality out of your player, then the 820/9000 is still the one to get (with the 9000 specifically offering far better build quality and some options for analog output via its good DAC for music playback). The upscaling to 4K is still top notch and I'd say as good as anything else out there, and I would say its chroma upsampling (whether it's to 4:2:2 or 4:4:4) is also top class. Head to head I, amongst others, preferred Panasonic over Oppo in terms of PQ (although the Oppo fanbase is louder and more fanatic).

If you want a cheaper alternative and don't necessarily care about "the best", perhaps the Sony X800M2 would suffice although you'd need to toggle DV manually.

There's also newer players like Reavon and Magnatar, but I'm not a fan of them. They are just Oppo clones, have light weight internals and advertised as luxury products and sold for ridiculous prices (it's the same French company that used to own Zapitti).

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by pbz06

If you want the best PQ quality out of your player, then the 820/9000 is still the one to get (with the 9000 specifically offering far better build quality and some options for analog output via its good DAC for music playback). The upscaling to 4K is still top notch and I'd say as good as anything else out there, and I would say its chroma upsampling (whether it's to 4:2:2 or 4:4:4) is also top class. Head to head I, amongst others, preferred Panasonic over Oppo in terms of PQ (although the Oppo fanbase is louder and more fanatic).

For native content, "PQ quality" talk is redundant. All players deliver the same result, because all they're doing is reading the data off the disc and sending the signal directly to the TV. The differences come when it has to process the image, which is upscaling and the HDR optimizer.

Obviously the optimizer is one of the UB820's biggest selling points, but the upscaling really isn't all that great. It's solid for 1080p content but for DVDs and interlaced video it's pretty subpar. It's been well documented on this forum, you can read more about it here. As Geoff pointed out the Oppo is much better at upscaling, but I guess he must be a fanboy.

And to answer the original question, what's great about the UB820 is that it's reliable. It seems to have the least amount of playback issues, on top of detecting DV or HDR+ automatically, the optimizer and a wide selection of customizable settings. It feels like this is the one player that has mostly "everything", while still being affordable.

[sapiendut]

Yeah. The Reavon is actually not even Oppo clone but Sony X800m2 clone. Open up the lid and you’ll see identical everything down to the distances between daughter boards just like the Sony X800m2

If you want to see the internals of the Magnetar 800, here you go:

Magnetar UDP800 Naked and Reviewed | First Ever Internal View UDP-800 | World’s Exclusive
https://www.youtube.com/supported_br...tube.com/watch

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

For native content, "PQ quality" talk is redundant. All players deliver the same result, because all they're doing is reading the data off the disc and sending the signal directly to the TV. The differences come when it has to process the image, which is upscaling and the HDR optimizer.

Obviously the optimizer is one of the UB820's biggest selling points, but the upscaling really isn't all that great. It's solid for 1080p content but for DVDs and interlaced video it's pretty subpar. It's been well documented on this forum, you can read more about it here. As Geoff pointed out the Oppo is much better at upscaling, but I guess he must be a fanboy.

And to answer the original question, what's great about the UB820 is that it's reliable. It seems to have the least amount of playback issues, on top of detecting DV or HDR+ automatically, the optimizer and a wide selection of customizable settings. It feels like this is the one player that has mostly "everything", while still being affordable.

It still needs to go from 4:2:0 to at least 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 (advantage Panasonic) along with their color tap processor (nearest neighbor etc.). In addition to resolution upscaling, all this adds to "PQ quality" as proven with test patterns and pixel peeping. Or, as you say, processing To be clear, this is only observed with test patterns and paused screens. From seating distance and movies in motion and with actual real content, I'd be lying if I said I can tell any difference between my X800M2 and the UB9000.

I overlooked DVD and wasn't really considering that in my talk about upscaling. I'll defer to others on that. I own over 1,000 blu-rays and UHD's but 0 DVDs.

[sapiendut]

No they’re not all the same. It can only be the same when it is uncompressed file or lossless file. Video compressions are lossy “interpretation” of the lossy signal turned into video stream can differ from one player to the next. And this statement can easily be proven simply by playing the same scene using different players. And this is where Panasonic shines. Their chroma upsampling looks visibly pleasing to the eye (and also shows much less chroma upsampling errors than other players

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

No they’re not all the same. It can only be the same when it is uncompressed file or lossless file. Video compressions are lossy “interpretation” of the lossy signal turned into video stream can differ from one player to the next. And this statement can easily be proven simply by playing the same scene using different players. And this is where Panasonic shines. Their chroma upsampling looks visibly pleasing to the eye (and also shows much less chroma upsampling errors than other players

And this is just what I did years ago: playing 2 discs of the same movie at the exact same time with a Sony UBP-X800 and a Panasonic UB820 hooked up to a calibrated 75ZD9. When toggling between the two, the Panasonic doesn't "shine" nor does its chroma upsampling "looks visibly pleasing to the eye" with real life content – multiple content, as I tried different movies of which I own two copies of.

[sapiendut]

I do agree with you that I can’t tell the difference when I use Sony TVs (x900 and up). Absolutely zero, zilch, nada.

But when using JVC projector, Sony projectors, TCL TVs, I can readily see the difference. It seems like the crappier the display the more I see the difference.

Now, if I leave the player settings with no post processing, I can’t see the difference between the players regardless of display.

[jess1581]

Ok... Should I use the HDR optimizer on the panny instead of the dynamic tone mapping setting on my tv? Or does it matter or depend on preference?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by jess1581

Ok... Should I use the HDR optimizer on the panny instead of the dynamic tone mapping setting on my tv? Or does it matter or depend on preference?

It really depends on the tone mapping capabilities of your display.

[jess1581]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

It really depends on the tone mapping capabilities of your display.

Hmmm, well I like what my tv does so far which is improve UHD's whose HDR is too dim a la Heat and Dial of Destiny, and leaves the good HDR presentations alone.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by jess1581

Hmmm, well I like what my tv does so far which is improve UHD's whose HDR is too dim a la Heat and Dial of Destiny, and leaves the good HDR presentations alone.

Then you're good. But if you wanted to delve further you'd need something like the Spears benchmark disc, that's the only way to see what's happening to content mastered to different levels.

But enjoying your discs is the most important thing.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by jess1581

Hmmm, well I like what my tv does so far which is improve UHD's whose HDR is too dim a la Heat and Dial of Destiny, and leaves the good HDR presentations alone.

Then just leave the optimizer off.

[sapiendut]

Or… here’s a crazy idea… try both on and off, see which one you prefer. Earth shattering, I know.