Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by teddyballgame

Received my 820 yesterday and I am pleased with its picture quality, but the remote is killing me. If it's not the netflix button it's the home button. I'm constantly kicking myself out of the movie!

I was testing it a bit tonight with Mad Max FR (Vincent approved ) and it does bring back some of those highlights that were getting rolled off. My TV is the LG C9 so the tone mapping wasn't really atrocious to begin with, but APL stays higher with the 820 and I appreciate that.


Considering a 9000 remote off ebay to preserve what's left of my sanity though.

Keep the Tone Mapping Function "On" on the C9 and keep the Optimizer "On" for the 820. Combining these will give an overall awesome picture!! This is what I have on my C9!! Trust me, you won't regret it!!

[NewAgeYankee]

Originally Posted by cupboy

Value Electronics?

Vision its a Canadian electronics store.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by pbz06

And do you disable Reality Creation and Smooth Gradation right?

On the TV? Certainement. No image enhancers or boosters are turned on for critical viewing except for the dynamic backlighting (duh) to Medium, and XDR to High (when watching HDR, for SDR it's also set to off) which are necessary for proper tracking of the PQ EOTF.

[StopSnitchinStopLyin]

my sister just got a 820

any must have changes or settings i should pass along to her ?

[ibanezjp]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

That's because the Sony player is running baked-in noise reduction on sub-4K sources in the Auto picture quality setting, if you set it to Direct I dare say you'd see those same 'artefacts' because that mode defeats the noise reduction.

And yes, I have everything to 0 or off in the Panasonic except for Chroma Sharpness which is at -1, it only makes a fraction of a difference to the chroma ringing (on a test pattern at that) but I do it anyway.

Yeah, setting it to direct the Sony looks the same as the Panny for BD. I’m just trying to get the Panny to do the processing similar to the Sony but I may just use both players. Of course I don’t have any of the noise reduction/sharpness adjustments on for HDR stuff. I have those settings at default.

Originally Posted by cgpublic

I'm a fan of having two players on tap. Since the intro of UHD, I've had an Xbox One paired with the Sony 6500, then the Xbox paired with the original Sony X800 (picked it up for $150), followed by the X800 paired with the LG UBK90 (and BF item at $100 and adding DV to my mix), followed by jettisoning the unstable, make that unusable, X800 for the Panny 820, with my latest set-up putting the LG on ice and picking up a region-free Sony 3700.

While the Panny trick has worked wonders for Region B discs using the remote sequence, there's no question that one of the 820 weaknesses is 480i upscaling and processing. While the latest Sony 3700 FW eliminated the Direct option and replaced it with Standard, to my eyes whatever processing that is taking place to upscale DVDs to 1080p is far superior to the Panasonic.

If I had a wish list for the Panasonic FW update/next gen, first allow a Direct (zero processing mode) option, and second, provide a default DVD playback mode and user-defined options ala Blu-ray playback.

Personally, I would keep the X800, or sell it (unless you use it to play SACDs) and pickup a cheap (non-4k upscaling) Sony if DVD playback is important and/or frequent.

Yeah I think I’m gonna keep both players. I could be wrong but I feel like the Panasonic would be in “direct mode” by just turning all the adjustments to zero like how it is at factory default. The only settings that seemed to be on from the factory were the noise reduction settings for DVD. BD and HDR I think everything is off by default.

[Geoff D]

I actually agree with commander general public for once, the 480i handling isn't great on the Panasonics and I far prefer the look of such content on the Sony X800 (set to direct, no Auto DNR shenanigans) and the OPPO (from which I pipe the unmolested 480i output into the TV and let the TV do all the upscaling).

[NewAgeYankee]

I am reading up on the settings options for the UB9000 and for the setting the HDR display type for the Sony Z8H would i set it for LCD Medium High luminosity or to super high? I know the Z8H is known for its high peak brightness capability but wonder if it would be better to keep it on the medium high setting.

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by NewAgeYankee

I am reading up on the settings options for the UB9000 and for the setting the HDR display type for the Sony Z8H would i set it for LCD Medium High luminosity or to super high? I know the Z8H is known for its high peak brightness capability but wonder if it would be better to keep it on the medium high setting.

I wouldn't even use the HDR Optimizer with that TV anyway, so it doesn't matter if you did, try both settings

[jd_from_da_80s]

Originally Posted by teddyballgame

Received my 820 yesterday and I am pleased with its picture quality, but the remote is killing me. If it's not the netflix button it's the home button. I'm constantly kicking myself out of the movie!

I was testing it a bit tonight with Mad Max FR (Vincent approved ) and it does bring back some of those highlights that were getting rolled off. My TV is the LG C9 so the tone mapping wasn't really atrocious to begin with, but APL stays higher with the 820 and I appreciate that.


Considering a 9000 remote off ebay to preserve what's left of my sanity though.

What's a 9000 remote? Looked on eBay & Google but didn't find an answer.

I do have a Harmony Elite remote, but for some reason the back button doesn't work with the player. (I got my 820 yesterday) Curious about the 9000 remote for my bedroom. I was gonna buy another Elite, but that's going overboard, only got a TV, UB90 & soundbar.

Edit: Never mind, just figured out what the 9000 remote is. Thought it was a universal remote, didn't know it could control the 820

[idlebrain]

Originally Posted by Carlos2992

Hello, sorry to ask but just to be sure, so then to replace the remote of the UB820, I should look for one with a " Direct HDR " button ?, it is named that way on the remote?

There are some available with a button called " High Clarity " is it the same?

" High Clarity " is for audio. These remotes will work with 820 and less expensive. For HDR settings you need to do it through player settings.

[Steve115]

Kind of a noob question here regarding the optimizer. I have the TV type set at middle/high for my samsung q80r. So When watching a movie that has been mastered at 4000 nits and the MaxFall and MaxCll are well under a 1000 nits (Guardians of the galaxy) is there any point to the optimizer then? In other words, when should the optimizer be toggled on? Does it come down to the mastering value, or go by the MaxFall and MaxCll? Thanks

[Scottishguy]

Originally Posted by Steve115

Kind of a noob question here regarding the optimizer. I have the TV type set at middle/high for my samsung q80r. So When watching a movie that has been mastered at 4000 nits and the MaxFall and MaxCll are well under a 1000 nits (Guardians of the galaxy) is there any point to the optimizer then? In other words, when should the optimizer be toggled on? Does it come down to the mastering value, or go by the MaxFall and MaxCll? Thanks

The optimizer will automatically tone map anything above the max number of nits of the screen type you've selected. So say you put in a source with a MAXFALL of 4000 (more 3998 usually) the optimizer will tone map everything above 1000 according to Pansonics tone curves. Then output the source at MAXCLL 1000 nits, which your display will tone map from there.

Any source that has a MAXCLL which doesn't exceed your displays light output, the optimizer will not kick in.

So, basically, just leave it on, sit back, relax and enjoy watching film's.

[gnicks]

Considering how long it's been since a firmware update, plus the unaddressed issue with DV playback on some titles (Knives Out, Midway), are these players still being supported by Panasonic?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by gnicks

Considering how long it's been since a firmware update, plus the unaddressed issue with DV playback on some titles (Knives Out, Midway), are these players still being supported by Panasonic?

I'm starting to wonder myself.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Steve115

Kind of a noob question here regarding the optimizer. I have the TV type set at middle/high for my samsung q80r. So When watching a movie that has been mastered at 4000 nits and the MaxFall and MaxCll are well under a 1000 nits (Guardians of the galaxy) is there any point to the optimizer then? In other words, when should the optimizer be toggled on? Does it come down to the mastering value, or go by the MaxFall and MaxCll? Thanks

MaxFALL is irrelevant to the HDR Optimiser, you'll never get frame average brightness higher than the peak brightness so the Optimiser looks at the MaxCLL first and then the mastering display level if MaxCLL is not present.

With it set to Middle/High then that's mapping everything over 1000 nits when you turn the Optimiser on, so if the MaxCLL (which is unusual to find on a Disnee UHD) is under that level then yes, the Optimiser isn't actually doing anything. In theory it should be passing the image through unmolested but the Panasonic's processing doesn't quite have the bit depth to do this transparently, it can induce mild banding on some content. So I always turn it off unless I need to use it, e.g. most Sony discs with their Light Cannon™ grading.

[MarcinL]

Panasonic was always horrible with firmware updates and drops them frequently. I experienced this with their BD players often. One of the reasons I spent extra cash on the Best Buy Geek Squad warranty for 4 years. Easy replacement down the road.

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

I'm starting to wonder myself.

[cappyj]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

MaxFALL is irrelevant to the HDR Optimiser, you'll never get frame average brightness higher than the peak brightness so the Optimiser looks at the MaxCLL first and then the mastering display level if MaxCLL is not present.

With it set to Middle/High then that's mapping everything over 1000 nits when you turn the Optimiser on, so if the MaxCLL (which is unusual to find on a Disnee UHD) is under that level then yes, the Optimiser isn't actually doing anything. In theory it should be passing the image through unmolested but the Panasonic's processing doesn't quite have the bit depth to do this transparently, it can induce mild banding on some content. So I always turn it off unless I need to use it, e.g. most Sony discs with their Light Cannon™ grading.

Why does it sometimes 'optimize' when it's less than 1,000 nits? Have it set to OLED, and usually the HDMI video out will be set to 1,000 (if the Max is greater). But on some titles that are less (wish I could remember, but I remember seeing ~940 as the max for the content and then the HDMI is cutoff at that). Wasn't expecting that. Is it still trying to optimize the curve knowing that the max of the title is less than 1,000?

[Scottishguy]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

MaxFALL is irrelevant to the HDR Optimiser, you'll never get frame average brightness higher than the peak brightness so the Optimiser looks at the MaxCLL first and then the mastering display level if MaxCLL is not present.

With it set to Middle/High then that's mapping everything over 1000 nits when you turn the Optimiser on, so if the MaxCLL (which is unusual to find on a Disnee UHD) is under that level then yes, the Optimiser isn't actually doing anything. In theory it should be passing the image through unmolested but the Panasonic's processing doesn't quite have the bit depth to do this transparently, it can induce mild banding on some content. So I always turn it off unless I need to use it, e.g. most Sony discs with their Light Cannon™ grading.

Take Geoffs word over mine. The man's word is almost gospel on all things technology related. Though bare in mind he does have the eyes of a hawk. So you might not see much banding yourself.

And i don't know if certain displays and manufacturers are more sustainable to banding issues. I'm sure Geoff will expand on that. As an OLED user, I can't say banding has been an issue in my usage case.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by cappyj

Why does it sometimes 'optimize' when it's less than 1,000 nits? Have it set to OLED, and usually the HDMI video out will be set to 1,000 (if the Max is greater). But on some titles that are less (wish I could remember, but I remember seeing ~940 as the max for the content and then the HDMI is cutoff at that). Wasn't expecting that. Is it still trying to optimize the curve knowing that the max of the title is less than 1,000?

Not sure I follow. If the disc is on or below 1000 nits for either MaxCLL or maximum display luminance then turning the Optimiser on literally does nothing to the image itself when it's on OLED or Medium/High (as both are 1000 nits). It will still adjust the metadata that's being output (usually changing it to 1000 nits MaxCLL and 800 nits MaxFALL), yes, but not the actual image itself.

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by Scottishguy

Take Geoffs word over mine. The man's word is almost gospel on all things technology related. Though bare in mind he does have the eyes of a hawk. So you might not see much banding yourself.

And i don't know if certain displays and manufacturers are more sustainable to banding issues. I'm sure Geoff will expand on that. As an OLED user, I can't say banding has been an issue in my usage case.

Personally I have also never noticed banding either, although I don't doubt it's there in some instances. I'd like a couple example scenes/movies to test as well.