Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by rickardl

And the position of course and also the size of the subtitles since many of us have larger screens and don't need large letters covering too much of the displayed area.

A-men! Hallelujah.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

I'm not understanding the problem here. Are you trying to say that when playing a movie/TV show, whether on DVD or Blu-ray, that is in the 1:33 aspect ratio aka 4:3, the player stretches the picture out to fill the screen or does it have the black bars on the sides??

I don't want to go into 4:3 problems because they're varied. Yes on the whole 4:3 shows black bars on the sides like they should do however in cases like Star Trek TNG on blu-ray or Street Hawk on DVD this is not how my TV used to present them. Again this is because no 4:3 video output option provided by this player.

The problems I have with every other disc presented in a different ratio is consistent with this problem in that the picture artificially stretches not providing the right amount of black bars on top and bottom.

Originally Posted by evoll

I am watching through a older tv series that is 4:3 with this player and it def has the black bars on the sides and PQ looks good to me. Not sure what he has going on with his settings.

Certain discs presented differently on my TV before.

[Geoff D]

pferreira, I've gotta be honest here and say that I've now got no idea what you're talking about w/ref to how this player handles 4:3 stuff. Is it presenting it with the black bars on the sides and you don't like it? Or is it stretching it sideways to fill the 16:9 screen? If the latter then it's not the player's doing, it's the TV.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by pferreira

I don't want to go into 4:3 problems because they're varied. Yes on the whole 4:3 shows black bars on the sides like they should do however in cases like Star Trek TNG on blu-ray or Street Hawk on DVD this is not how my TV used to present them. Again this is because no 4:3 video output option provided by this player.

The problems I have with every other disc presented in a different ratio is consistent with this problem in that the picture artificially stretches not providing the right amount of black bars on top and bottom.

Certain discs presented differently on my TV before.

What.. unless the DVD is widescreen you should have 4:3 with black bars on the side. Check the base resolution on your TV (display button on my Sony OLED) and see how the player is upscaling and what it is pushing things out as.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by pferreira

I don't want to go into 4:3 problems because they're varied. Yes on the whole 4:3 shows black bars on the sides like they should do however in cases like Star Trek TNG on blu-ray or Street Hawk on DVD this is not how my TV used to present them. Again this is because no 4:3 video output option provided by this player.

The problems I have with every other disc presented in a different ratio is consistent with this problem in that the picture artificially stretches not providing the right amount of black bars on top and bottom.

Certain discs presented differently on my TV before.

I think I understand now. From what you have been saying, on your original blu-ray player, you had it set to 4:3 on the display settings even though you had a 16:9 display. This in turn, had TV shows and movies looking a certain way. Now that you have a UHD player and the display settings cannot be changed, you are seeing a whole different picture than what you are used to.

If what I said above is true, then I'm sorry to burst your bubble but the way your settings were for your original blu-ray player was wrong. You should have had 16:9 selected and it you wanted DVD TV shows to be stretched, I believe there was a setting called "16:9 Fullscreen" that would have worked. Now if your older TV was an old Tube TV, then by all means it should have been on 4:3. But if it was a widescreen 16:9 screen, your player should have been set at 16:9. What you are seeing now on your TV is what movies and TV shows should look like in their true aspect ratios.

And if this is all the case, do not feel bad. I think everyone at one time has done this exact same thing. I know I have, epecially in the audio department. Back in the mid 2000's, I had my parents A/V receiver set to stereo. I did not realize it at the time, but we were not getting true surround sound. Eventually, I figured out why and set it properly. Now, I know exactly what to do to get true surround sound on any A/V receiver. Setting up a blu-ray player, even a DVD player is somewhat hard to do if you don't know what all the settings mean. But once you get it set right, you will remember it every time you have to do it!

[Rexmobile]

Hi all new joiner here. Just got my 820 last night. Was on sale at Best Buy. Seems to still be on sale today. Did a lot of research here so thanks to all - an amazing player!!

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by Rexmobile

Hi all new joiner here. Just got my 820 last night. Was on sale at Best Buy. Seems to still be on sale today. Did a lot of research here so thanks to all - an amazing player!!

Welcome to the 820 Club my friend!!

[morris_schaffer]

Originally Posted by Rexmobile

Hi all new joiner here. Just got my 820 last night. Was on sale at Best Buy. Seems to still be on sale today. Did a lot of research here so thanks to all - an amazing player!!

Enjoy! I should have mine middle of januari.

[dcx4610]

Is there a way to stop auto-play when you insert a disc? That's legit my only flaw with the player.

[Rexmobile]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Is there a way to stop auto-play when you insert a disc? That's legit my only flaw with the player.

Would like to know that myself. Already have Quick Start ON but no change

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

pferreira, I've gotta be honest here and say that I've now got no idea what you're talking about w/ref to how this player handles 4:3 stuff. Is it presenting it with the black bars on the sides and you don't like it? Or is it stretching it sideways to fill the 16:9 screen? If the latter then it's not the player's doing, it's the TV.

TV is set to 16:9 but player is set to 16:9 without any option to change to 4:3. In comparison my parents 1080p Sony player has this option present.

Watching 16:9 through a player output of 16:9 causes the picture to stretch the picture on anything widescreen.

Originally Posted by R3P0

What.. unless the DVD is widescreen you should have 4:3 with black bars on the side.

I will add it's a consistent problem, not just 4:3 discs but any type of blu-ray or DVD discs of different aspect ratios.

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

I think I understand now. From what you have been saying, on your original blu-ray player, you had it set to 4:3 on the display settings even though you had a 16:9 display. This in turn, had TV shows and movies looking a certain way. Now that you have a UHD player and the display settings cannot be changed, you are seeing a whole different picture than what you are used to.

I have been told this elsewhere on this site. Personally I like watching stuff in 4:3 via 16:9 because it looks cinematic having the black bars present on movies. My response to people who said what you're saying is I can only hope Panasonic decide at some point to release a firmware update that adds the player option in. 1080p players like my previous Panasonic one and my parents Sony one had the option. Watching stuff artificially stretched might be the new normal but it doesn't make for a very pleasant experience.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by pferreira

TV is set to 16:9 but player is set to 16:9 without any option to change to 4:3. In comparison my parents 1080p Sony player has this option present.

Watching 16:9 through a player output of 16:9 causes the picture to stretch the picture on anything widescreen.

I will add it's a consistent problem, not just 4:3 discs but any type of blu-ray or DVD discs of different aspect ratios.

I have been old this elsewhere on this site. Personally I like watching stuff in 4:3 via 16:9 because it looks cinematic having the black bars present on movies. My response to people who said what you're saying is I can only hope Panasonic decide at some point to release a firmware update that adds the player option in. 1080p players like my previous Panasonic one and my parents Sony one had the option. Watching stuff artificially stretched might be the new normal but it doesn't make for a very pleasant experience.

I'm still totally and completely confused. The player's output is 16:9, but it will only ever present 4:3 SD content in 4:3 with black bars baked in at the sides. If you want it to be stretched to fill the screen (ugh) then you need to look to the AR options on the TV, if it's distorting anything that's already in widescreen then that's 100% on the TV.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Has anyone experienced drop out of picture when a blu-ray movie is loading on the 820? I have the resolution set on auto and for some blu-ray films, the signal seems to drop out and pop back in. When I just put the resolution at 4K, the dropout doesn't happen. Is this normal for all of you or do you all have it set strickly at 4K? This is only for regular BD's btw. UHD's do not do this.

[sapiendut]

I set mine strictly to 4K to avoid unwanted handshake like that.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

I set mine strictly to 4K to avoid unwanted handshake like that.

Awesome! Thanks for the info! I know many have it set to auto but that does make sense to set it strictly on the highest resolution your TV can do.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Hey guys, I just watched that Sony DV comparison video (from Vincent Teoh) that was recently shared/spammed across multiple threads.

In light of Vincent's conclusions, and as a Sony TV owner, I would sincerely appreciate some clarification on how the UB20 delivers the image depending on the various settings.

As I understand it HDR tone-mapping is done via the player itself only when the optimizer is utilized. Conversely, when the optimizer is switched off, tone-mapping on all HDR10 material is performed entirely by the TV/display, correct?

However, when it comes to Dolby Vision, is the mapping on the 820 exclusively player-led or can this be adjusted? AFAIK my X900F only supports Low Latency/player-led DV. Even so, I don't see an option in my player's settings that would even allow me to switch the profile to TV-led like on the OPPO in Vincent's video.

Either way it's good to have a better grasp as to why DV in general looks so disparate on my display depending on which device is delivering the signal. Internal streaming apps (blah) unfortunately looking the most robust with the Panny coming in at a very close second depending on the source material.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Hey guys, I just watched that Sony DV comparison video (from Vincent Teoh) that was recently shared/spammed across multiple threads.

In light of Vincent's conclusions, and as a Sony TV owner, I would sincerely appreciate some clarification on how the UB20 delivers the image depending on the various settings.

As I understand it HDR tone-mapping is done via the player itself only when the optimizer is utilized. Conversely, when the optimizer is switched off, tone-mapping on all HDR10 material is performed entirely by the TV/display, correct?

However, when it comes to Dolby Vision, is the mapping on the 820 exclusively player-led or can this be adjusted? AFAIK my X900F only supports Low Latency/player-led DV. Even so, I don't see an option in my player's settings that would even allow me to switch the profile to TV-led like on the OPPO in Vincent's video.

Either way it's good to have a better grasp as to why DV in general looks so disparate on my display depending on which device is delivering the signal. Internal streaming apps (blah) unfortunately looking the most robust with the Panny coming in at a very close second depending on the source material.

AFAIK the Panasonic players auto detect whether TV-led or player-led is required, i.e. they don't just output player-led regardless. But you can't manually force it one way or the other.

But that player-led DV is entirely separate from anything the Panasonic's Optimiser does, the DV processing in the LL mode is all on Dobly.

[wxman2003]

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

Hey guys, I just watched that Sony DV comparison video (from Vincent Teoh) that was recently shared/spammed across multiple threads.

In light of Vincent's conclusions, and as a Sony TV owner, I would sincerely appreciate some clarification on how the UB20 delivers the image depending on the various settings.

As I understand it HDR tone-mapping is done via the player itself only when the optimizer is utilized. Conversely, when the optimizer is switched off, tone-mapping on all HDR10 material is performed entirely by the TV/display, correct?

However, when it comes to Dolby Vision, is the mapping on the 820 exclusively player-led or can this be adjusted? AFAIK my X900F only supports Low Latency/player-led DV. Even so, I don't see an option in my player's settings that would even allow me to switch the profile to TV-led like on the OPPO in Vincent's video.

Either way it's good to have a better grasp as to why DV in general looks so disparate on my display depending on which device is delivering the signal. Internal streaming apps (blah) unfortunately looking the most robust with the Panny coming in at a very close second depending on the source material.

Try turning off DV in the player, and letting the HDR Optimizer tone map the HDR10 base layer instead. Give it a try a see which image looks better. Robert Zohn actually recommends doing that with DV discs on the Panny.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

AFAIK the Panasonic players auto detect whether TV-led or player-led is required, i.e. they don't just output player-led regardless. But you can't manually force it one way or the other.

But that player-led DV is entirely separate from anything the Panasonic's Optimiser does, the DV processing in the LL mode is all on Dobly.

Ah thank you!

I was surprised to learn that the 900H is the first Bravia in its tier to feature player-led DV. Won't be rushing out to replace my perfectly good 900F any time soon, but it's good to know that future models will most likely include it.

Like you, I would prefer to skip OLED entirely in favor of potentially superior upcoming tech if possible. So ultimately issues like this are small beans.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by wxman2003

Try turning off DV in the player, and letting the HDR Optimizer tone map the HDR10 base layer instead. Give it a try a see which image looks better. Robert Zohn actually recommends doing that with DV discs on the Panny.

This is what I generally do. However DV has proven itself on multiple occasions when it comes to "fixing" flaws in poorly compressed HDR10 base layers.

Total Recall is a prime recent example. Saving Private Ryan being another.
Generally I'll favor a slightly darker image over a brighter one with noticeable artifacts. There are also ways to compensate for this in my TVs settings.