Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by chip75

Sorry, like I mentioned previously, Disney discs resume to the Resume/Start from the Beginning pop-up, not straight to the feature. Warner Bros. discs just resume playback.

Thanks for the clarification; I hope I don't have a defective unit, because my UB9000 DOESN'T allow Blu-ray playback from either the STOP remote position or if ejected and loaded back in...

I don't understand why your player is allowing you to do this when the MANUAL states it doesn't support resume with Blu-ray; can you confirm if this is something having to do with your region of the world or not?

[IntelliVolume]

Chip:

Can I ask you this -- your Panasonic allows you to STOP a Blu-ray (for example, a Warner Bros. title), eject it, reload it and pick up exactly where it left off?

Because my 9000 is not allowing me to do this; I understand that some studios, such as Marvel/Disney, encode their discs so that you can select Resume: Yes/No when the disc returns to the setup menu, but I'm not referring to those -- I am concerned with discs that normally started up where they left off on my CXUHD and BDP-83 but are not doing so with the UB9000...

Your player is allowing you to eject a Blu-ray, reload it and pick up where you left off?

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by chip75

Sorry, like I mentioned previously, Disney discs resume to the Resume/Start from the Beginning pop-up, not straight to the feature. Warner Bros. discs just resume playback.

Chip, do you have a USB thumb drive installed as additional memory? Or do the Panny's not accept this?

[chip75]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Your player is allowing you to eject a Blu-ray, reload it and pick up where you left off?

Originally Posted by gkolb

Chip, do you have a USB thumb drive installed as additional memory? Or do the Panny's not accept this?

Sorry for the confusion, I don't eject the discs, just leave them in. I will try ejecting them later. I don't have a USB drive installed in either the front or the back connection.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by chip75

Sorry for the confusion, I don't eject the discs, just leave them in. I will try ejecting them later. I don't have a USB drive installed in either the front or the back connection.

Ejectin discs clears the resume data.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by chip75

Ejectin discs clears the resume data.

Okay, so you CAN'T resume playback with Blu-rays OR DVDs once the disc has been ejected...correct?

Here's the worry, though...if your unit is allowing you to resume playback with titles from the likes of Warner Bros. after you simply press stop on the remote and then play again, mine isn't -- which would be weird for the flagship model not to do...

Also: I'll reply to your new set of PMs in a bit; thanks.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Okay, so you CAN'T resume playback with Blu-rays OR DVDs once the disc has been ejected...correct?

Correct.

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Here's the worry, though...if your unit is allowing you to resume playback with titles from the likes of Warner Bros. after you simply press stop on the remote and then play again, mine isn't -- which would be weird for the flagship model not to do...

What happens when you just power down the player and press PLAY to turn it back on?

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by chip75

Correct.

Thank you; that's too bad Panasonic implemented this in their players because it was a great feature I used on the Oppo and Cambridge. There are so many times we just don't finish a disc and have to come back to it the next evening, and it was so helpful to have the player remember the exact place we left off.

What happens when you just power down the player and press PLAY to turn it back on?

I didn't try that.

[Waboman]

Here’s a little wrinkle for you guys. I haven’t played Aquaman since the discussion of what the player was sending several days ago. Plopped in the disc and had the resume/start over prompt. I hit resume and there went 45 minutes. Sucked me right in again. So my player remembered. I think I saw a “software by Skynet” sticker on the back.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by OracleOfDelphi

DP-UB150/450 are low-cost devices based on MediaTek SoC while DP-UB420/820/9000 are based on Uniphier SoC (Marketing name used by Panasonic "HCX processor")

Panasonic tried to clone Uniphier UI on the DP-UB150/450 to the best of their ability but even for complete idiots it should be obvious that all the Uniphier related functionality is missing from that junk.

Doesn't surprise me at all that this has happened because they did the exact same thing with their regular BD players: started off with Uniphier chips for all and sundry but as the years progressed they switched to cheaper (and worse) MT silicon to save money. So glad I picked up an 820 when I did.

Originally Posted by SCLee

How do we know that the bitrates are correct, ever, without a playback button? Panasonic has now removed the info button from their newer models. I'm not sure if Sony and LG have?

So, if that's the case, you have to rely on your own two eyes and not any readings from the player. Which kinda sucks! Because it could be faulty and you'd never know...

We have people who can analyse discs to determine the bitrate so if this was some international scandal I think we'd have heard about it by now. I know that's a very flippant answer but people don't buy players to watch bitrates. They've handy for scouting out any anomalies but if all you're doing is watching the meter then you're doing it wrong. If something's good enough then it's good enough, though we all have different notions of what "good enough" is.

To that end, you've made your feelings re: the wonders of streaming quite clear (repeatedly) so I understand that you want to know you're getting your money's worth with disc, but if it's bothering you that much that the bitrate meters are all lying to us then it might be time to leave disc behind completely.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Thank you; that's too bad Panasonic implemented this in their players because it was a great feature I used on the Oppo and Cambridge. There are so many times we just don't finish a disc and have to come back to it the next evening, and it was so helpful to have the player remember the exact place we left off.



I didn't try that.

The player led resume on the Panasonics (which is what the manual is explicitly referring to and literally just restarts a movie from where you left off) is awful compared to the OPPO + derivatives. They can store up to five resume points whereas the Pannys just have one, and if you take the disc out of the player then it's gone anyway whereas the OPPOs can remember even when the disc is removed.

But any modern discs encoded with BD-J will not resume in this way on this or any player so you're reliant on it being authored with a disc-led resume that prompts you to restart once the disc has loaded up, though different studios have a different routine e.g. some will just boot up to the resume screen (like Wabo and his Aquaman), some will go through the studio logos first then give you the resume option. If you're not getting this prompt on recent discs from Universal, Fox, Disney, Warners or Lionsgate then something's wrong somewhere. You may need to add some persistent memory to the player.

[SCLee]

I asked a prominent YouTuber to test their Panasonic 4K player and this is what they said.

"I’ve tested my player and the bitrate varies between 15 and 37 mbps. Sometimes it drops down to 7mbps and the highest it’s reached is 47mbps."

So this is clearly a widespread problem with Panasonic.

[SCLee]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

To that end, you've made your feelings re: the wonders of streaming quite clear (repeatedly) so I understand that you want to know you're getting your money's worth with disc, but if it's bothering you that much that the bitrate meters are all lying to us then it might be time to leave disc behind completely.

You bring up a good point Geoff. 4K streaming at 15 mbps looks great to me, so how would I know if the player is correct? I wouldn't. If i'm getting up to 22 mbps on Blu Ray (it's better than streaming!) and if I'm getting up to 32 mbps on 4K disc that's double streaming.

Maybe it's a false reading and the player IS outputting 40 - 80 mbps or maybe it isn't. Maybe I wouldn't know.

Anyway, I've sent a tweet to Panasonic, as the firmware update didn't fix the issue. I won't mention it in here any more, unless they offer a solution.

[Member-425016]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

But any modern discs encoded with BD-J will not resume in this way on this or any player so you're reliant on it being authored with a disc-led resume that prompts you to restart once the disc has loaded up, though different studios have a different routine e.g. some will just boot up to the resume screen (like Wabo and his Aquaman), some will go through the studio logos first then give you the resume option. If you're not getting this prompt on recent discs from Universal, Fox, Disney, Warners or Lionsgate then something's wrong somewhere. You may need to add some persistent memory to the player.

I seem to remember the UB900 a bit better with the resume/playback than the 9000.
But maybe I'm wrong. Since all this talk about the resume feature has been discussed I tried a few Shout Hammer titles, and was upset to find it didn't work on them. I got lucky before with other titles but it is a feature I use infrequently.

[Member-425016]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Okay, so you CAN'T resume playback with Blu-rays OR DVDs once the disc has been ejected...correct?

Yes you can...on certain discs. Sorry about the confusion, I didn't want to mislead you.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Doesn't surprise me at all that this has happened because they did the exact same thing with their regular BD players: started off with Uniphier chips for all and sundry but as the years progressed they switched to cheaper (and worse) MT silicon to save money. So glad I picked up an 820 when I did.

This is concerning to me, but makes sense because the more DVDs I watch on the UB9000 the more I am seeing the same artifacting issues that seemed to plague my DMP-BD10A with the UniPher chip (horrific aliasing, shimmering, vertical line breakup, CUE problems et al)…

I may return the unit after all (I'm still in the window with Best Buy); is there any way to know what is going on with the UB9000 and its HCX processor? Is this really just one of their old chips doing behind-the-scenes work?

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by Filmfan73

Yes you can...on certain discs. Sorry about the confusion, I didn't want to mislead you.

Unfortunately this still doesn't clear things up, Film -- I don't understand how your unit is allowing you to play discs back where they left off if the manual clearly states no resume playback is possible if a disc is ejected. Are you referring to discs from studios like Fox or Disney/Marvel where the "RESUME: YES/NO" is authored into the title for the next time you put the film on? If so, again, I'm not referring to those -- I am talking about titles from studios like Warner Bros., which in the past with my Oppo and Cambridge players, would allow you to pick up where you left off just by hitting the STOP button on the remote once before ejecting...

I don't understand why some members here are saying their 9000 DOES allow for this while others are saying it definitely does not enable resume play after a disc has been ejected.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The player led resume on the Panasonics (which is what the manual is explicitly referring to and literally just restarts a movie from where you left off) is awful compared to the OPPO + derivatives.

Yes -- I learned this myself by experimenting, that ONLY with DVDs can you resume playback from the stop point in the same session, but if a disc is ejected you can't (Blu-rays do not seem to resume whether I press stop and then resume in the same session or eject the disc). This was another great feature on the OPPOs and the Cambridge clone, and one I sorely miss; there are so many things the Panasonics don't do that are useful for me which are making me, again, regret going with the brand; while 4K playback has been jaw-dropping on this thing, there are too many day-to-day quirks I can't stand about it (the time-out feature that can't be defeated, the classic Panny artifacting during DVD upconversion, the lack of the zoom feature for non-anamorphic standard def content, lack of power button illumination/standby light indicator and now the resume playback issues) that are seriously making me consider returning it and waiting for the Pioneer LX500...

They can store up to five resume points whereas the Pannys just have one, and if you take the disc out of the player then it's gone anyway whereas the OPPOs can remember even when the disc is removed.

THIS is what I was trying to explain in my last few replies to folks...

But any modern discs encoded with BD-J will not resume in this way on this or any player so you're reliant on it being authored with a disc-led resume that prompts you to restart once the disc has loaded up, though different studios have a different routine e.g. some will just boot up to the resume screen (like Wabo and his Aquaman), some will go through the studio logos first then give you the resume option. If you're not getting this prompt on recent discs from Universal, Fox, Disney, Warners or Lionsgate then something's wrong somewhere. You may need to add some persistent memory to the player.

Okay -- here's where we get into the thick of things. As far as I know, I AM getting the prompts to resume playback on certain titles (like those from Marvel/Disney) if the disc has been authored in that way (in other words, you re-load the disc and it takes you through the sequencing of getting to the startup menu where it says "Resume: Yes/No?" as on the Marvel releases or Universal titles). That's not the issue. The issue comes into play with releases from, say, Warner Bros., which in the past would allow me to stop playback and resume from THAT point onward the next evening because the Oppo or Cambridge would immediately bring up the prompt "Resume Playback Will Begin...Press STOP to Cancel" (something like that). The Panasonic is NOT allowing for this; unless the Blu-ray has been authored in such a way that, as I said in the beginning, it brings you back to the startup menu to select "Would You Like to Resume?" (like on Universal and Marvel/Disney titles), I can't resume play on any Blu-ray, whether I press stop and immediately press play after, or I press stop and then eject and re-load.

With regard to adding persistent storage to the player -- I had asked about this in a previous post somewhere but I don't believe anyone answered it. It seems, again unlike the OPPO and Cambridge, the Panasonics don't have built-in storage dump capabilities, so if you want to erase BD-Vide data, you have to apparently do it through a USB drive...but I don't understand how this works, as my aforementioned OPPO BDP-83 and Cambridge CXUHD both had the built-in Persistent Storage erase capability. How do I "add" persistent storage to the Panasonic?

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

This is concerning to me, but makes sense because the more DVDs I watch on the UB9000 the more I am seeing the same artifacting issues that seemed to plague my DMP-BD10A with the UniPher chip (horrific aliasing, shimmering, vertical line breakup, CUE problems et al)…

I may return the unit after all (I'm still in the window with Best Buy); is there any way to know what is going on with the UB9000 and its HCX processor? Is this really just one of their old chips doing behind-the-scenes work?

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Unfortunately this still doesn't clear things up, Film -- I don't understand how your unit is allowing you to play discs back where they left off if the manual clearly states no resume playback is possible if a disc is ejected. Are you referring to discs from studios like Fox or Disney/Marvel where the "RESUME: YES/NO" is authored into the title for the next time you put the film on? If so, again, I'm not referring to those -- I am talking about titles from studios like Warner Bros., which in the past with my Oppo and Cambridge players, would allow you to pick up where you left off just by hitting the STOP button on the remote once before ejecting...

I don't understand why some members here are saying their 9000 DOES allow for this while others are saying it definitely does not enable resume play after a disc has been ejected.

Just looking at your recent posts its seems you need to justify your purchase by total reliance on other people opinions with the player?

Why not just use the UB9000 normally within the exchange period and come to your own conclusions rather than try to elicit everyone else here to spill everything about any little issue they encountered.

There are reviews of this player online, and obvious a lot of people are happy that it's works well enough.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Just looking at your recent posts its seems you need to justify your purchase by total reliance on other people opinions with the player?

Why not just use the UB9000 normally within the exchange period and come to your own conclusions rather than try to elicit everyone else here to spill everything about any little issue they encountered.

There are reviews of this player online, and obvious a lot of people are happy that it's works well enough.

Now I'm not permitted to ask questions of other UB9000 owners (in the dedicated thread for the unit) to determine if the issues I'm experiencing are normal or not, based on their usage? As I said countless times, I cannot reach anyone at Panasonic to answer tech questions that I have, so I'm forced to "waste" your time and everyone else's who may actually be able to help. For that, I am truly sorry and apologize.

And this has absolutely NOTHING to do with "justifying my purchase" -- I am discovering little quirks about the everyday performance and playback abilities on this thing as I get to know it and play more discs on it, and most of these are bothering me for personal usage reasons. What is wrong about stating what I'm stating? I'm not looking for anyone to help me mentally justify my decision; I want to know if others have experienced what I'm experiencing with the resume playback, aliasing on certain DVDs, the dimming home menu, etc.

And so what if there are plenty of reviews from happy customers online or comments here from those who think it "works well enough" -- does that mean EVERYONE has to find it works as such? According to you, no questions that I have been asking -- about the resume playback feature, the UniPhier chipset -- should be asked in this dedicated thread because others are just fine with the unit...is that it?

Instead of regularly ragging on me and selecting specific quotes of mine to make it seem like I have been complaining or seeking justification for some unknown gratification, why don't you attempt to help...especially since you, more so than many others here, know what I went through (and continuing to go through because I STILL don't have the player and my DVDs back yet) with the CXUHD?