Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[E6AtmosVuduDV]

JohnAV.

I don't want to buy the 820 then find out not long after from publications the 9000 has proven better PQ.

I don't want to buy both.

Robert of Value Electronics has the 9000 at great launch price of $999. Thats not overly far from the 820's $500.

But thats a launch price. And you got to be on Robert's list for the 9000. And Robert is so close to shipping the 820's.

If there is no real true source saying both has same PQ then maybe its best to take ones name off Roberts list. If its confirmed to both have same PQ then I would get the 820.

If 9000 do have better PQ... Then its wise to grab that great launch price of $999 before they all gone.
And that waiting list grows.

[ronboster]

Originally Posted by E6AtmosVuduDV

JohnAV.

I don't want to buy the 820 then find out not long after from publications the 9000 has proven better PQ.

I don't want to buy both.

Robert of Value Electronics has the 9000 at great launch price of $999. Thats not overly far from the 820's $500.

But thats a launch price. And you got to be on Robert's list for the 9000. And Robert is so close to shipping the 820's.

If there is no real true source saying both has same PQ then maybe its best to take ones name off Roberts list. If its confirmed to both have same PQ then I would get the 820.

If 9000 do have better PQ... Then its wise to grab that great launch price of $999

You have two reasonable options:

1) Buy the 820 and enjoy it till the 9000 comes out (or trusted sources can compare the two ...which would be closer to the 9000's actual release.) Then you can sell the 820 (at a loss and buy the 9000-assuming it's better).

2) Wait till the fall when you should see comparisons between the two from trusted sources (since I don't know who you would view as a trusted source, I didn't assume to name X or Y reviewers/sources).

I would say those are your two options....one involves taking an early position in the market....the other is the safe wait and see approach. At this point, we can only make a "best" guess.

Wishing for a comparison right now won't make it come sooner. Logically, as soon as those comparisons are made...someone will post them in this thread. There are enough interested parties that it won't go unnoticed and therefore unreported.

[E6AtmosVuduDV]

So then____ there are currently no true important sources out there knowing the 820 and 9000 truly will have the same PQ.

[David M]

Well, yeah, by definition - the 9000 isn't out yet.

[Robert Zohn]

Just thought I'd add my .02 cents to the question of video performance on the UB820 vs.the UB9000.

First, understand that all of the internal video components are identical on both players. The only differences that may give the UB9000 a very minimal picture quality advantage is the isolation of the video and audio circuits and power supplies. The only other video upgrade are the female chassis connectors that are higher end gold plated terminals.

With all this said I highly doubt that any of these items would translate into an improved image quality.

David M said it best when he posted about this being in the digital domain, vs. the legacy analog systems we worked with not so many years ago. As long as we have enough digital bits to decode and reconstruct the image the pq will be identical.

For the most part the advantages of the UB9000 vs. the UB820 are:

- Overall build quality, the UB9000 has an isolated heavy duty chassis with high-end termination ports. The high-end overall design and structural integrity differentiate the UB9000 from most other BD players. It's heavy, rigid, stable and vibration resistant.

The base has most of the weight to add to the player's very stable and ultra high-end construction and form fit.

- The UB9000 has two high end isolated power supplies to eliminate the possibility of noise getting into the audio section.

- The UB9000 has high-end audio DAC's complemented with 2 balanced XLR outputs. The audio processing is capable of handling 32bit/768kHz signals.

Hope this helps and I'll be adding a lot more technical and user information when I get my engineering production UB9000 later this month.

One more unrelated item, we sold out of our 1st allocation of UB820s and Panasonic was kind to us again and doubled my 1st allotment! So we're back taking priority wait list reservations and orders on the very highly anticipated UB820.

[E6AtmosVuduDV]

I relate my LG E6 OLED and LG G6 OLED experience.
Its all Digital. But G6 PQ is much better than E6.

[sjy1969]

Originally Posted by E6AtmosVuduDV

I relate my LG E6 OLED and LG G6 OLED experience.
Its all Digital. But G6 PQ is much better than E6.

Possibly cherry-picked the best panels to put in their top model. People more knowledgeable than you (or I) are saying no difference in PQ between the ub820 and ub9000 - you’d do well to listen to them.

[Mobe1969]

Honestly I think, analog aside (which I have zero interest in), the biggest possible improvement over the 820 on the digital side will be the heavier duty disk assembly I expect. May be even less likely to have any read errors. And to me that itself might very well be worth the extra.

[Clark Burk]

More likely both have very similar drive characteristics but the 9000 probably has more sound damping and vibration resistance due to the heavy duty chassis. This could possibly give the drive slightly better read ability depending on how you have the player situated.

[pathfinder2810]

820 or 9000 would be perfect for my purpose .. But honestly I can not understand the Japanese technicians ... I do not understand why they have not made it compatible as a media player and I do not understand why after adding support to Netflix Now part regularly, BUT .... default part in HDR and there is no way out of it ... so you see everything with the HDR preset of the TV or video projector ... even the contents that are natively SDR! (in practice a total madness !!!!) ... I also add that there is no trace of Dolby Vision, nor even of Dolby Atmos ...

[pathfinder2810]

Sorry if I have compressed my thoughts but I am in the hospital in the Cardiology department for my mother

[hgwy407]

"I also add that there is no trace of Dolby Vision, nor even of Dolby Atmos ..."


From HDGuru, a link has already been provided above, "For movie soundtracks, the Panasonic DP-UB820 supports all the latest and greatest, including Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based audio. The players handles each of these very well."

Panasonic says DV will be available via firmware within the next month.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by hgwy407

"I also add that there is no trace of Dolby Vision, nor even of Dolby Atmos ..."


From HDGuru, a link has already been provided above, "For movie soundtracks, the Panasonic DP-UB820 supports all the latest and greatest, including Dolby True HD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based audio. The players handles each of these very well."

Panasonic says DV will be available via firmware within the next month.

I think he means "no Atmos with file/network playback", we've had several posters go bananas over this but it's worth reiterating once again, for any new viewers joining this thread: PANASONIC UHD PLAYERS DONT PLAY LOSSLESS DOLBY/DTS AUDIO FROM VIDEO FILES (MKV etc) OVER NETWORK OR USB. THIS MEANS NO DTS-HD OR TRUEHD, AND BY EXTENSION NO IMMERSIVE DTS:X OR ATMOS. And don't ever expect this to change, Panasonic simply do not consider external file playback to be a high priority.

[COACH10810]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Just thought I'd add my .02 cents to the question of video performance on the UB820 vs.the UB9000.

First, understand that all of the internal video components are identical on both players. The only differences that may give the UB9000 a very minimal picture quality advantage is the isolation of the video and audio circuits and power supplies. The only other video upgrade are the female chassis connectors that are higher end gold plated terminals.

With all this said I highly doubt that any of these items would translate into an improved image quality.

David M said it best when he posted about this being in the digital domain, vs. the legacy analog systems we worked with not so many years ago. As long as we have enough digital bits to decode and reconstruct the image the pq will be identical.

For the most part the advantages of the UB9000 vs. the UB820 are:

- Overall build quality, the UB9000 has an isolated heavy duty chassis with high-end termination ports. The high-end overall design and structural integrity differentiate the UB9000 from most other BD players. It's heavy, rigid, stable and vibration resistant.

The base has most of the weight to add to the player's very stable and ultra high-end construction and form fit.

- The UB9000 has two high end isolated power supplies to eliminate the possibility of noise getting into the audio section.

- The UB9000 has high-end audio DAC's complemented with 2 balanced XLR outputs. The audio processing is capable of handling 32bit/768kHz signals.

Hope this helps and I'll be adding a lot more technical and user information when I get my engineering production UB9000 later this month.

One more unrelated item, we sold out of our 1st allocation of UB820s and Panasonic was kind to us again and doubled my 1st allotment! So we're back taking priority wait list reservations and orders on the very highly anticipated UB820.

Hey Robert. I have tried contacting you via email to follow up on your wait list. Please let me know via PM if you have received it. Thanks. Jeff

[hgwy407]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I think he means "no Atmos with file/network playback", we've had several posters go bananas over this but it's worth reiterating once again, for any new viewers joining this thread: PANASONIC UHD PLAYERS DONT PLAY LOSSLESS DOLBY/DTS AUDIO FROM VIDEO FILES (MKV etc) OVER NETWORK OR USB. THIS MEANS NO DTS-HD OR TRUEHD, AND BY EXTENSION NO IMMERSIVE DTS:X OR ATMOS. And don't ever expect this to change, Panasonic simply do not consider external file playback to be a high priority.

Thank you brother, very good points.

[Clark Burk]

Any feedback on the 820 used with a projector? May have missed it but I’d like to know if the HDR optimizing helps at all with projectors....

[pathfinder2810]

I state that what I'm about to write is not a criticism of you but of Panasonic ... The problem is this: there are films in 4k that come out in Dolby Digital, sometimes at 640 kbps and others at 448 kbps, while editions of the same film in bd with Dts-HD Master Audio. So I necessarily have to do the mux

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by pathfinder2810

I state that what I'm about to write is not a criticism of you but of Panasonic ... The problem is this: there are films in 4k that come out in Dolby Digital, sometimes at 640 kbps and others at 448 kbps, while editions of the same film in bd with Dts-HD Master Audio. So I necessarily have to do the mux

Same here. Easiest and failsafe to just write to a blu-ray. It's an annoying issue for so many 3d Blu rays with downgraded audio.

[pathfinder2810]

Without going very far in time .. In Italy the latest Tomb Raider movie: Blu ray in Dolby Digital and Blu ray 4k in DTS-HD Master Audio ... So I have to go to mux and hope that Panasonic will fulfill my desire ... Also because otherwise it will sell less than it could do if it did not activate the passthrough

[E6AtmosVuduDV]

Not too many peoples with UB820's from Europe are posting their PQ views from their HT setup. Guess they just slow posters.