Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Robert Zohn]

Panasonic UB820 on sale again this week with $51 off, now just $449.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by gooseygander2001

same chip underneath essentially I guess...did you not once have a sony player after having a Panasonic Geoff and do I vaguely recall you preferring the picture on the Sony at that time??

Still got the Sony X800 but I'm keeping it as a backup more than anything. The Sonys and the OPPOs use a similar MediaTeK SoC, not identical but close enough. The Pannys do their own thing and aside from the additions like the HDR Optimiser their basic picture quality hasn't changed a jot since the UB900 first appeared in April 2016.

[eddievanhalen]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Still got the Sony X800 but I'm keeping it as a backup more than anything. The Sonys and the OPPOs use a similar MediaTeK SoC, not identical but close enough. The Pannys do their own thing and aside from the additions like the HDR Optimiser their basic picture quality hasn't changed a jot since the UB900 first appeared in April 2016.

I have seen my Sony X-800 innards and it looks cheaply made. I haven't opened the Panasonic 420,it make look as cheaply made (just a guess) but I'm in love with its picture quality,its picture has a "pop" and such a great color that I can not play BD's and UHD BD's with the Sony X-800 anymore. I keep the Sony to play SACD's, CD's and music files, mostly Hi Res PCM and DSD.

[SpinDoctor]

Hey, new to the forum, but i’m a long time Blu-Ray.com lurker. Anyway, I just picked the Panasonic 820 up to go along with my Sony A9G and i’d appreciate a little help/advice. 4K disc playback is fine, but i’m not fond of how the 820 automatically upscales my 1080p BD’s to 4K; the A9G is clearly better at upscaling, i don’t think it’s even close. But i cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn off 4K upscaling on the 820. I have resolution set to Auto, and the player insists on upscaling everything to 4K. I’d like to keep the player, as i need a Dolby Vision disc player, but if the 4K upscaling cannot be disabled I’ll probably just return it and pick up the Sony x800m2. I welcome any and all input, thanks.

[Geoff D]

IIRC the Pannys don't have a 'source direct' option, if you connect it to a 4K TV and want it to output 1080p then you'll have to change it to 1080p in the settings, the problem is that it'll now output EVERYTHING in 1080p resolution and for 4K discs will bump HDR 2020 down to SDR 709.

With the Sony player (and the OPPO) you can set it to a source direct setting which outputs the disc as its native resolution.

[sapiendut]

That is correct, there is no direct resolution setting available. You are also correct that the upscaling on the A9 is better than the 820.

[SpinDoctor]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

IIRC the Pannys don't have a 'source direct' option, if you connect it to a 4K TV and want it to output 1080p then you'll have to change it to 1080p in the settings, the problem is that it'll now output EVERYTHING in 1080p resolution and for 4K discs will bump HDR 2020 down to SDR 709.

With the Sony player (and the OPPO) you can set it to a source direct setting which outputs the disc as its native resolution.

Thanks for the reply, and for confirming that for me. It seemed like there was no “source direct” option, but with all the other picture options this player has, and the extra cost compared to the Sony player, I thought that i must be missing something. I really hate to return the 820, as I do like the HDR optimizer and auto switching for Dolby Vision, but the forced 4K upscaling is definitely a downgrade on my A9G display. I‘d just hate to downgrade my HDR experience by going with the x800m2 instead. Is the Sony really that much worse with 4K HDR playback?

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

IIRC the Pannys don't have a 'source direct' option, if you connect it to a 4K TV and want it to output 1080p then you'll have to change it to 1080p in the settings, the problem is that it'll now output EVERYTHING in 1080p resolution and for 4K discs will bump HDR 2020 down to SDR 709.

With the Sony player (and the OPPO) you can set it to a source direct setting which outputs the disc as its native resolution.

I believe the new Sony models, X800M2 and X1100es doesn't offer the original resolution option anymore.

[sapiendut]

It’s only the Z9 that doesn’t require HDR optimizer. Every display, especially at 1000 nits and lower benefits the HDR Optimizer immensely. While the 800 has source direct (I used to own that), I don’t recall the m2 has it or not (I only reviewed it shortly - the 1100ES version of it)

[Geoff D]

Thank you for the update gents. Do the newer Sony spinners still have the Upscaling menu settings that the X800 had, e.g. Auto 1 Auto2 or off? That would still allow 1080p passthrough of BDs while keeping UHD at 4K.

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by SpinDoctor

Hey, new to the forum, but i’m a long time Blu-Ray.com lurker. Anyway, I just picked the Panasonic 820 up to go along with my Sony A9G and i’d appreciate a little help/advice. 4K disc playback is fine, but i’m not fond of how the 820 automatically upscales my 1080p BD’s to 4K; the A9G is clearly better at upscaling, i don’t think it’s even close. But i cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn off 4K upscaling on the 820. I have resolution set to Auto, and the player insists on upscaling everything to 4K. I’d like to keep the player, as i need a Dolby Vision disc player, but if the 4K upscaling cannot be disabled I’ll probably just return it and pick up the Sony x800m2. I welcome any and all input, thanks.

Welcome to the fun that is Blu-ray.com. Hope we all live up to your expectations.

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Thank you for the update gents. Do the newer Sony spinners still have the Upscaling menu settings that the X800 had, e.g. Auto 1 Auto2 or off? That would still allow 1080p passthrough of BDs while keeping UHD at 4K.

They do

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Cortiz

They do

In that case the following should still apply, which would allow SpinDoctor the auto-switching 1080p for BD/2160p for UHD output that he desires, although if he gets the Sony player he may find that its upscaling is more to his taste anyway.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The 4K upscale settings [on the X800] do the following when output resolution is set to Auto and connected to a Sony TV (manual p.20 states that "If your Sony equipment is not detected when [Auto1] is selected, the setting will have the same effect as [Auto2] setting"):

Auto 1: lets 1080p content through at native resolution without scaling, upscales sub-1080p to 1080p. Plays 4K content in 4K.

Auto 2: upscales all sub-4K content to 4K. Plays 4K content in 4K.

Off: see Auto 1

[SpinDoctor]

Well, I just got back from my local Best Buy with the the x800m2, didn’t return the 820 yet, I figure might as well compare them while I can. Despite my gripes about the 820’s 4K upscaling (not that it looks bad by any means, just worse than what my set can do), the 4K blu-ray playback is phenomenal in my opinion. So hopefully the Sony isn’t a noticeable downgrade in that department. I’d consider keeping both, but already blew through my budget getting the A9G, so a sacrifice (decision) must be made. Thanks for all the feedback and the warm Blu-Ray.com welcome.

[SpinDoctor]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

In that case the following should still apply, which would allow SpinDoctor the auto-switching 1080p for BD/2160p for UHD output that he desires, although if he gets the Sony player he may find that its upscaling is more to his taste anyway.

Hey Geoff, as long time admirer of yours (your disc reviews and insights are more valuable than any “professional” reviewer i’ve read) i’m genuinely curious how you handle BD playback. I’m aware that you’re an owner of the Sony LightCannon (Z9D); do you use the Panny 820 and just let the player do the upscaling? Or are you using a different player?

Basically, I’m looking for advice on the best option for my Sony A9G. I took the x800m2 out for a spin and, call me crazy, but i thought the UHD playback looked better on the Panny 820. BD playback, on the other hand, looked softer with less detail on the Panny. Playing back a regular BD on the x800m2, and letting the TV handle the upscaling yielded better results on that front. That’s my conundrum. My 250 plus UHD collection is screaming, “Panasonic”, but my 500 plus BD collection is whispering, “Sony”. And i’m at a loss of what makes more sense for my TV. I feel like i’m losing something either way; why couldn’t Panasonic just include an option for auto-switching, that would make it a no-brainer.

[sapiendut]

I’ve been saying that disc playback looks better on the 820/9000 over 800 or even Oppo 205. But of course some members are adamant that I’m a Panasonic shill. That was more than half a year ago.

Fast forward to today, the 9000 have won EISA award, praised by Vincent Teoh, by Kris Deering of Sound Vision and by Secrets of Home Theater. All 4 are heavyweights in the industry. To add to those 4 reviews and award, Joel Silver, founder of Imaging Science Foundation and also THX (I know THX is biased as the 9000 is THX Certified) who both consider the 9000 to be their respective reference players.

I’m also a heavyweight, but that’s due to my fatness

[sapiendut]

As for upscaling... you can as easily manually switch output resolution to 1080p on the Panasonic as easily as turning on Dolby Vision manually on the 800m2

[SpinDoctor]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

I’ve been saying that disc playback looks better on the 820/9000 over 800 or even Oppo 205. But of course some members are adamant that I’m a Panasonic shill. That was more than half a year ago.

Fast forward to today, the 9000 have won EISA award, praised by Vincent Teoh, by Kris Deering of Sound Vision and by Secrets of Home Theater. All 4 are heavyweights in the industry. That does not include Joel Silver, founder of Imaging Science Foundation and also THX (I know THX is biased as the 9000 is THX Certified) who both consider the 9000 to be their respective reference players.

I’m also a heavyweight, but that’s due to my fatness

Thanks for the input, actually reading some of your previous posts is what prompted my 820 purchase. And in comparing UHD playback on the 820 vs the 800m2, the 820 did seem to have more ‘pop’; the colors seemed more vivid and the image seemed more three dimensional to my eyes. The image just seemed flatter on the 800m2. Really surprising to me actually. I guess that’s why i’m stressing over the upscaling; but your point about manual switching is taken. And manual switching DV on the x800m2 is quite annoying in its own right. Dolby Vision also looks better on the 820, which was more surprising to me.

Ugh....I love this stuff, but sometimes i hate it too; I spent almost a month comparing the C9 and A9G. And now I’m comparing UHD players and stressing over which to keep, so i’ll try manual switching resolution on the 820 and see how that goes, and how BD playback compares on both players when the TV is doing the upscaling. Now that i see the superior UHD playback on the 820, it’ll be hard to give that up.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by SpinDoctor

Hey Geoff, as long time admirer of yours (your disc reviews and insights are more valuable than any “professional” reviewer i’ve read) i’m genuinely curious how you handle BD playback. I’m aware that you’re an owner of the Sony LightCannon (Z9D); do you use the Panny 820 and just let the player do the upscaling? Or are you using a different player?

Basically, I’m looking for advice on the best option for my Sony A9G. I took the x800m2 out for a spin and, call me crazy, but i thought the UHD playback looked better on the Panny 820. BD playback, on the other hand, looked softer with less detail on the Panny. Playing back a regular BD on the x800m2, and letting the TV handle the upscaling yielded better results on that front. That’s my conundrum. My 250 plus UHD collection is screaming, “Panasonic”, but my 500 plus BD collection is whispering, “Sony”. And i’m at a loss of what makes more sense for my TV. I feel like i’m losing something either way; why couldn’t Panasonic just include an option for auto-switching, that would make it a no-brainer.

I use an OPPO 203 for all playback duties. I have a Panasonic 420 and Sony X800 as backups. Probably going to rebuy the 820 though as I MUST have the metadata info screen that shows MaxCLL and MaxFALL, not just min/max mastering levels like the OPPO does.

Originally Posted by sapiendut

I’ve been saying that disc playback looks better on the 820/9000 over 800 or even Oppo 205. But of course some members are adamant that I’m a Panasonic shill. That was more than half a year ago.

Fast forward to today, the 9000 have won EISA award, praised by Vincent Teoh, by Kris Deering of Sound Vision and by Secrets of Home Theater. All 4 are heavyweights in the industry. That does not include Joel Silver, founder of Imaging Science Foundation and also THX (I know THX is biased as the 9000 is THX Certified) who both consider the 9000 to be their respective reference players.

I’m also a heavyweight, but that’s due to my fatness

Vincent's resident review spinner is still an OPPO though...

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I use an OPPO 203 for all playback duties. I have a Panasonic 420 and Sony X800 as backups. Probably going to rebuy the 820 though as I MUST have the metadata info screen that shows MaxCLL and MaxFALL, not just min/max mastering levels like the OPPO does.

Have you thought about one of those updates for the 420, Geoff D? I think they enable all the functions of the 820, but it doesn't look super straight forward to get.