Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by chip75

Same here, but initially I received the wrong remote (mine had the jump back 10 seconds, jump forward 60 seconds buttons or work UK TVs). The replacement they kindly sent me didn't even have the sticker over the label, it was straight up Panasonic.

Only downside is there's no HDR button (so you can't select the presets), but you can go straight to the Video settings and customize everything.

I think that first one you got didn't work any TVs period, IIRC they removed that functionality from the Canuck and UK versions of the remote so getting that proper US model is key to that feature.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I think that first one you got didn't work any TVs period, IIRC they removed that functionality from the Canuck and UK versions of the remote so getting that proper US model is key to that feature.

I think they opened up the plastic sleeve the remote comes in to double-check with my replacement, as the model number is so hard to read. Finding the remote number variations can be a chore, you have to basically just download the manuals from all the regions you can find.

[lotrswhouse1886]

I currently have a first gen Sony X800 UHD going to an LG B6. Is it worth upgrading to the 820 since it has the HDR Optimizer and Dolby Vision? Thanks.

[sapiendut]

Yes. Very much so.

[tama]

Just picked up the UB820 and will hook it up this evening. Still have the LG player for DV playback.

Now I'll get to see myself how much a difference there is with UHD HDR10 and Blu-ray playback.

Will also need to know on my LG OLED B7 model of I leave dynamic contrast on low to enable dynamic tone mapping or turn it off when I run the pannys HDR optimizer?

[Mikke73]

Originally Posted by tama

Will also need to know on my LG OLED B7 model of I leave dynamic contrast on low to enable dynamic tone mapping or turn it off when I run the pannys HDR optimizer?

I have LG OLED E7, and I keep the dynamic contrast off. I did some testing, and dynamic contrast + HDR Optimizer dimmed the highlights too much. Using just one or the other gave better results.

[Robert Zohn]

@tama, congratulations on the UB820!

Don't forget that after you set the HDR TV to "OLED" you then need to enable the HDR Optimizer to activate the UB820s HDR tone mapping.

I also suggest turning off Dolby Vision in the user menu and also agree with Mikke73 that you should disable the dynamic contrast on your B7.

[lotrswhouse1886]

Thanks!

[tama]

Ok is Dynamic HDR on the 2017 LG OLED same thing as dynamic tone mapping on the later models?

[Cortiz]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

@tama, congratulations on the UB820!

Don't forget that after you set the HDR TV to "OLED" you then need to enable the HDR Optimizer to activate the UB820s HDR tone mapping.

I also suggest turning off Dolby Vision in the user menu and also agree with Mikke73 that you should disable the dynamic contrast on your B7.

Robert, curious, why are you suggesting to turn off DV?

[TravisTylerBlack]

Have been planning/plotting to get the 820 for several months now and finally struck last week when Amazon dropped the price to around $400. Should be here Wednesday!

Will this player help with the low latency Dolby Vision on my X900F or should I just avoid DV entirely? I’m hoping that it will help certain disc that appear overly muted/dim look better without adjusting gamma and contrast settings with each viewing. Not just with DV (which my current Samsung player doesn’t support) but certain HDR10 titles as well.

Most look great, especially anything from Sony. But the new Star Wars UHD disc of the OT have been quite frustrating. I’m almost inclined to watch the included BD instead.

[MooneyRara]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Have been planning/plotting to get the 820 for several months now and finally struck last week when Amazon dropped the price to around $400. Should be here Wednesday!

Will this player help with the low latency Dolby Vision on my X900F or should I just avoid DV entirely? I’m hoping that it will help certain disc that appear overly muted/dim look better without adjusting gamma and contrast settings with each viewing. Not just with DV (which my current Samsung player doesn’t support) but certain HDR10 titles as well.

Most look great, especially anything from Sony. But the new Star Wars UHD disc of the OT have been quite frustrating. I’m almost inclined to watch the included BD instead.

The DV with the Panny connected to a Sony panel is a hell of a lot better than using a Sony DV player connected to same Sony panel. I got the X800M2 first and was really disappointed in playback of DV content on my Sony. Returned it and waited a couple months to get the 820 and was blown away by the difference.

I recommend leaving Dolby Vision enabled and enjoy.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by MooneyRara

I recommend leaving Dolby Vision enabled and enjoy.

Thank you kindly! I’m excited to compare my HDR experience on the 820 with my other hardware and streaming devices. Hoping this player gives a nice boost to both DV and the problematic HDR10 titles from Disney.

[Robert Zohn]

Originally Posted by Cortiz

Robert, curious, why are you suggesting to turn off DV?

Two reasons to disable Dolby Vision.

1st, is that you can't take advantage of Panasonic's HDR Optimizer as Dolby does not permit any changes in the EOTF PQ.

2nd, Dolby Vision has elevated blacks on LG OLED TVs.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Two reasons to disable Dolby Vision.

1st, is that you can't take advantage of Panasonic's HDR Optimizer as Dolby does not permit any changes in the EOTF PQ.

2nd, Dolby Vision has elevated blacks on LG OLED TVs.

But the DV is dynamically mapping it anyway so you shouldn't need the Optimiser. Alas, point #2 is the leveller: is the display implementation of DV free of enough errors (greyblack, desaturated colours, clipping in low latency mode, very dim in low latency mode) to make the dynamic mapping worthwhile?

[Robert Zohn]

Is this really Geoff D? jk

it's not about Dolby Vision's dynamic tone mapping, it's about Panasonic's proprietary HDR Optimizer that remaps the EOTF PQ to match your specific TV or projectors peak luminance capability. Dolby Vision can't do that and that's the magic that only a Panasonic UB420, UB820 and UB9000 can do.

Panasonic's HDR Optimizer preserves the full dynamic tonal range and color volume of HDR content.

[Geoff D]

Erm...wut? The entire point of dynamic tone mapping is to adjust the content to best fit the display using content-derived metadata, inclusive of colour volume, highlights etc. Dolby Vision no longer uses the so called "golden reference" for setting display parameters but it's still based around a certain level of luminance, colourimetry etc for the display being used.

Saying that the Optimiser remaps it to the "specific" peak luminance of a display is fanciful at best, if it had properly granular controls to set "specific" peak light output then you might have a point but when the levels are just 500/1000/1500 nits (with 350 reserved for the UB9000) then there's a hell of a lot of overlap and not a whole lot of finesse.

The Optimiser is a blunt instrument and even they have their uses at times, I use it with the extreme Light Cannon™ Sony grades for example and it works very well, but it's not smart enough to be able to pick apart genuine HDR range from SDR-type highlights pushed into 1000's of nits, e.g. on The Meg the Optimiser actually clips highlights in some shots because it's applying its stock mapping to something that's not got a lot of actual range, whereas Dolby Vision's true content-derived mapping knows this and maps it properly. Dolby's processing engine also helps to reduce banding whereas bit depth is being restricted somewhere in the Panny's processing chain, causing slight but unmistakable banding in the Panny's output.

But even leaving Dolby aside, as displays, projektors and processors get better with their own in-house DTM derived from real time analysis (Sony, LG, JVC, Lumagen) then the Optimiser's usefulness will be further reduced.

[Mikke73]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

2nd, Dolby Vision has elevated blacks on LG OLED TVs.

I'd like to hear more about this, since every single DV title I've watched with UB820 has had letterbox black in the image.

And yes, the letterboxes are completely black also, meaning that in a dark room you can't tell where the letterbox ends and TV frame starts.

When there was talk about the blown highlights in DV mode of UB820, I also tested some DV titles with DV off, and I didn't notice any difference with black levels - although I wasn't specifically looking for it.

[tama]

Was playing around with this last night and running through a few titles.

Question as I want to make sure I don't confuse myself. On my years OLED model LG (2017) states to set dynamic contrast to low to activate "Active HDR" on HDR10 content. However when I use the Pannys Optimizer then it's recommend to turn off that feature?

I know with Active HDR running the overall image is brighter but brighter doesn't necessarily mean correct.

Any help appreciated.

[Robert Zohn]

@Geoff D, why would you downplay Panasonic's HDR Optimizer when professional reviewers and consumers all agree that it preserves the full dynamic range and color volume of HDR graded content? The only other way to see the full dynamic range of HDR content is with a properly set-up Lumagen or Trinnov or other high-end processor.

Rebuilding any HDR content's EOTF PQ that is mastered at 4,000 nits or even worst 10,000 nits to 350 nits for a HDR capable projector is the only BD player that can give you a real HDR cinema presentation. Another great example is for any OLED TV owner who sets the TV type to "OLED" to take advantage of HDR Optimizer to rebuild the EOTF PQ curve to start at 0 luminance to a peak of 1,000 nits, which can then be easily managed on your OLED TV and not clip the peak luminance or blow out the color in high luminance areas of the image.

Now I know that content mastered at 4,000 nits or 10,000 nits does not mean that the content hits the peak luminance, but many scenes are far beyond the ability of an OLED TV or any home theater projector to display or manage without Panasonic's HDR Optimizer.

So it's not about dynamic tone mapping, but rebuilding the EOTF PQ to match the display's contrast ratio range.