Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[MooneyRara]

Originally Posted by chip75

Is there a list of triple-layer discs? I'm not sure how many I have in my collection and I've only watched a handful of titles.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=294596

[eChopper]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

My Panasonic DP-UB420 which is an HDMI-only version of the 820 has starting to have issues with triple layer discs. Dual layer discs either BD or UHD BD play fine.
When the player gets to the third layer it starts to freeze, picture brakes into macroblocks and sound playing get jerky with continuous cut offs.
With the Alien UHD BD it doesn't even load the main menu, it first plays the Fox intro without issues, then the loading logo shows up,it takes quite some time loading and then the movie picture from the menu plays but the options to play the disc, choose audio tracks and subtitles and so on don't show up making the disc unplayable.
I tried several triple layer discs like John Wick 3 Parabellum, The Shining, both seasons of Westworld and Game Of Thrones season 1 and all of them play the last part of the disc, I assume that's the third layer, with these issues.
It may be the disc reading unit that got the laser pick up lens dirty (I doubt it, the player is inside a cabinet that I only open when playing a movie or music) or maybe the laser pick up has worn out.
I did a factory reset but that didn't solved the problem. I'm going to read the owner's manual to look for a way to do a hard reset.
I've had this player since April and all this time has worked fine but since yesterday while I was watching the UHD BD of The Shining almost at the end of the movie these issues started, I then tested all the discs I mention.
Fortunately I also own a Sony X-800 so I can still my UHD BD's.
I got this player from the UK (I live in Spain) and before buying it Panasonic Spain told me that the UK warranty is valid in Spain, in all EU countries 'though I suspect when I take the player to be serviced the repair shop will tell me that as this is a UK only model (it's sold in Spain with a different reference but the player is the same) warranty is not actually valid.
I've order from Amazon a BD specific lens cleaner disc, let's see if this solves the problem.
Do Panasonic players use to have issues with their disc reading drive?

I’ve had this problem on my Panasonic 9000

Just bad luck I’m afraid : a small proportion of players the lasers start to play up at some stage

My personal experience is that cleaning discs made no difference and which disc freezes is entirely random

Laser assemblies are made cheaply these days

Same on the oppo 203 / 205 threads : most people are happy with their players and a small fraction of users report issues

Be interesting if Sony ps5 is any better cause I can’t imagine gaming teens holding discs by the edges to avoid fingerprints

[mcf]

I just bought the UB820 from the UK

Absolutely love it, and is a welcome upgrade over the Samsung UBD-K8500.

However, I am facing three problems and was wondering if anyone can offer insights.

1. All i get is a black screen when I use Netflix. Dolby Vision is detected by my TV, but the screen is otherwise completely blank
2. My USB 3.0 1TB drive can be powered by the rear USB port, but it doesn't display anything other than a BUDA folder. It's formatted to NTFS, same as another 160GB HDD that I have that CAN be read properly by the player
3. I sometimes lose audio when skipping chapters, or even on rare occasions when the disc starts. My receiver is able to detect the Dolby Atmos or DTS-HD MA or DTS:X track, but there's no sound at all

I am using dual HDMI output on the UB820, with HDMI1 video output to my LG OLED65E6 and HDMI2 audio output to my Yamaha Aventage RX-A3050 receiver.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

[sapiendut]

which receiver are you using? Initially I had a similar problems like you (problems 1 and 3) but after I did a soft reset of my Pioneer SC-LX801, the problems went away.

I don't know what causes the problem number 2, I use several 1 TB SSD HDD (and one regular 1 TB HDD) and never had any problem.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by eddievanhalen

I received the Allsop BD cleaning disc this morning and I give it a try. I followed the instructions, did the cleaning but no luck, the issues remain.
I then did 4 cleaning in a row with the Allsop BD cleaning disc to see if a more in depth cleaning sorted the problem out,no luck again.
The Alien UHD BD doesn't load the menu and The Shining freezes at the last part of the movie, issues start on the chapter that starts wit "8 AM" where the black chef, I don't remember his name, is on a plane on his way to the Overlook to see what's going on. From this chapter to the end of the movie there are constant freezing and picture breaking into macroblocks.
You know I also own a Sony X-800 and it plays these disc without a single issue. The menu on the Alien UHD BD loads very fast (the Panasonic always loaded its menu quite slowly from day one), it plays the disc without any issues as I watched the whole film (alien is a movie I always feel like watching) and the same with The Shining UHD BD, the parts where the Panasonic froze and macroblocked play fine. I don't think the discs are defective (I played them before on the Panasonic without any problems) and they are clean as I always clean my UHD BD's when I get a new one.
Fortunately the UK warranty is valid in Spain, I called both Panasonic Spain and the Panasonic repair shop in my area and they both same the same "bring it in, it's a warranty valid for all EU countries". It will take two or three weeks to get it repaired as they always have to order the faulty parts from Panasonic HQ, receive it and then make the change, assuming it's only the discs reading drive.
I can live with the Sony X-800 for two or three weeks, it's not a bad player, it's only that the Panasonic player is better, it looks better, picture has more "pop" without resorting to artificial enhacements (I have my Panasonic player on its "source Direct" preset, the third one where everything is set to zero and cannot be changed) and its Chroma Upsampling is superior to the one performed by the Sony X-800, and the difference is not subtle.
The Panasonic repair shop told me that I just got a defective unit from the factory, it was bad luck, that's all.
It's not the end of the world.

I'm probably one of the few that can be counted on one hand on the site who can still rent discs including UHD BDs from a video store. I do find the 820 a little more sensitive to smudges on rental discs, for example, versus my former Oppo 203. So I have to make sure the disc is very clean. Good to know your unit is being repaired.

[mcf]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

which receiver are you using? Initially I had a similar problems like you (problems 1 and 3) but after I did a soft reset of my Pioneer SC-LX801, the problems went away.

I don't know what causes the problem number 2, I use several 1 TB SSD HDD (and one regular 1 TB HDD) and never had any problem.

My receiver is the Yamaha Aventage RX-A3050

[sapiendut]

Considering the age of the receiver, try resetting it or at least unplugging the power them press power button on the receiver for several seconds before plugging the power back again.

[eddievanhalen]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

I'm probably one of the few that can be counted on one hand on the site who can still rent discs including UHD BDs from a video store. I do find the 820 a little more sensitive to smudges on rental discs, for example, versus my former Oppo 203. So I have to make sure the disc is very clean. Good to know your unit is being repaired.

Yes, I noticed that when I got my Panasonic 420 with the UK edition of Sicario 2. The disc (dual layer) had a small lateral scratch, not from center to the edge, and it froze and macroblocked on two spots, I guess that afected both layers playbility. But the disc played fine on my Sony X-800.

[Geoff D]

Anyone notice a bug with the DV on the 820? If I have a disc that has Dolby Vision content then my 820 forces everything else on the disc into DV, like special features or whatever. I've just been reminded of this as I'm going through my collection of DC animated features on UHD and totting up their metadata (god I love that feature on the Pannys) and one of them has the Warners disc intro encoded in DV but the main movie is HDR10, yet the 820 is forcing it into DV anyway.

No way to disable it other than to turn DV off in the player's setup menu, it's not a major issue or anything as I rarely watch special features and it's even rarer that a disc intro is in DV and the main feature isn't, but it's a bug nonetheless. Could be something to do with the low latency version though.

[PissedOffPeoN]

Ya i have, especially when i use Netflix and everything is in DV even when searching =/. Hence why i use my oppo 203 for DV and panasonic for everything else including music .

[mcf]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Considering the age of the receiver, try resetting it or at least unplugging the power them press power button on the receiver for several seconds before plugging the power back again.

Did the power thing as instructed, will test further to see if the audio drop issue recurs, because it's something that always happens.

Still can't figure out the USB HDD or Netflix issues though

[DVD Josh]

Someone please tell me how to get the on-screen option control to stop popping up. I cannot find the original remote and am using a universal. There has to be a system setting to stop it from doing this. It's driving me crazy!

[Xandercell]

Is the disney+ app available for this player?

[sapiendut]

No

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

No

Not yet anyway.


Though, I really could care less. If they won't put stuff out on disc... eff 'em.

[sapiendut]

Yeah me too. I’m just “sad” for the ones who use them. I don’t.

[Robert Zohn]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

I'm working on a Black Friday deal and I'll get back here with what happens. I'm thinking an Instant Rebate Discount Holiday gift for the enthusiasts would be a nice incentive.

Hope whatever I can get passed through the powers to be makes the UB820 and UB9000 a compelling opportunity for many new users to jump onboard the premium express train to a/v bliss.

Our current UB9000 promotion that includes Spears & Munsil's 10 bit test disc helped many to make the leap to this top rated world class 4K HDR disc player/streaming device.

Just put Panasonic's UB820 on Black Friday sale, $100 off so it's now $399.99 plus a bundle deal option.

[fistymusic]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Just put Panasonic's UB820 on Black Friday sale, $100 off so it's now $399.99 plus a bundle deal option.

Bugger, I was in the States recently.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

Not yet anyway.


Though, I really could care less. If they won't put stuff out on disc... eff 'em.

How are you going to watch The Mandalorian?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

How are you going to watch The Mandalorian?

I watched a bit through "other means" and thought it was just okay. I can live without it.