Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Just FYI it's not the metadata that's the issue on Aquaman, the metadata is simply relaying how it's been mastered: not a lot of range but a ****ton of superficial brightness. The Meg is another example, and even Specific Rim to an extent (compare the shots of skies back and forth between the UHD (no Optimiser) and the Blu, see what you think).

Nits aren't the same thing as what the tone mapping on the TV is showing you though, which is why it's not crapping out with well mastered 1000-nit stuff. There's a tangible lack of that sort of information on places like rtings, they just tell you the bald facts of what the brightness is and not how the actual tone mapping adjusts to whatever content it's been given.

What I mean is that although the TV can't physically get brighter than that ~500 nit peak, its tone mapping is clearly handling 1000-nit stuff quite well by preserving most of that midrange and then compressing the highlights, so you still get a good hit of brightness without it clipping the range to buggery. In other words, if the TV was JUST clipping at the 500-nit mark then a lot of your discs would end up looking like Aquaman does.

Huge thanks again for clarifying this further. Yeah, based on rtings' review of my set, you would think my set performs like garbage with a very dim unimpressive HDR image. I was pleasantly surprised once I finally got things dialing in right - it took me a while. For a while I was relying on auto contrast for HDR mode because everything looked too dark without it but I hate auto contrast so I finally sat down and used some test images and got it looking much better with it disabled. Too bad Dolby Vision is borked on my set though.

For the most part it hits brighter than I expected, though I'm sure not as bright as a premium certified set. But yeah rtings doesn't discuss at all how well the TV actually tone maps, so for this set it just says it hits around 550 nits and rated it accordingly. It certainly didn't know what to do with Aquaman but overall it seems to handle most discs I play well. I do like the optimizer so far.

[kristoffer]

Has Panasonic stopped releasing new firmware for this?

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by mar3o

I think I remember seeing that setting. Does that setting have any drawbacks regarding playback of discs? I thought that was just for playing audio discs?

Not that I'm aware of. I just have it on to turn off the lights during playback.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

Has Panasonic stopped releasing new firmware for this?

No. The newer bought 820's and 9000's all have the latest firmware from Panasonic, which is 1.64. But Panasonic, due to COVID, has not released that update through their update website and or automatic update system. But they are still providing updates for the devices. Just not right now due to COVID.

[EddieLarkin]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Aquaman looks as nuked as it does on your TV because it's what I would call "fake HDR", not the YouTube superstar definition of fake HDR as being glorified SDR but of taking range that's basically in the SDR domain and pumping it with thousands of nits of brightness. It "pops" but it kills the midrange when tone mapping because the TV thinks it's doing the right thing by preserving most of the mids and clipping the highlights - the trouble is that because the midrange has been artificially pushed into thousands of nits that the TV clips it, thinking it's highlights.

What's the best way to address discs like this, when they don't have Dolby Vision? Is there any way to retrieve the top end of brightness detail?

[mar3o]

I checked the high clarity settings on my 420 and it was enabled, with video and audio set to Auto. Unfortunately, it did not disable the bright red power LED in the front. So I guess I'm going to have to cover that up. Odd, because I would have thought that high clarity mode would disable anything non-essential.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

What's the best way to address discs like this, when they don't have Dolby Vision? Is there any way to retrieve the top end of brightness detail?

I'm curious too. I'm guessing the optimizer is the best way to deal with it, unless you have a very high-end TV.

For my set, I would consider Auquaman almost unwatchable without the optimizer to help tone things down. It's just way too blown out otherwise. I have no idea what Sony is thinking with releasing titles like that. Even with optimizer set at medium it's clear the image is too bright in many scenes. They're basically putting out titles that would only look good on the highest-end sets.

I tested Starship Troopers and that's another Sony one that's too hot. Harsh blown-out highlights without the optimizer enabled, though not nearly as bad as Aquaman. The optimizer helps to bring that one a bit more under control.

Now that I've seen how helpful the optimizer is with some discs especially for my TV, I can't imagine having to settle for any player without it.

[mar3o]

I was just reading a bit of the Close Encounters 4k thread and I think I'll have to check that disc out since I own it and see what the optimizer does with that one on my TV. Geoff had mentioned in there it used something like 10,000 nit MaxCLL and called it a light cannon so I imagine it will be similar to Aquaman.

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

What's the best way to address discs like this, when they don't have Dolby Vision? Is there any way to retrieve the top end of brightness detail?

Use the sliders for Tone Curve white in the hdr settings. Increase it to compress the highlights. I do this for my c8 for 1000 nits content with a +1 to resolve all highlights on hdr mastered at 1000 nits. YMMV according to TV and content on how much you turn the slider up. If you have a test disc you like the S&M calibration disc it will help.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

Use the sliders for Tone Curve white in the hdr settings. Increase it to compress the highlights. I do this for my c8 for 1000 nits content with a +1 to resolve all highlights on hdr mastered at 1000 nits. YMMV according to TV and content on how much you turn the slider up. If you have a test disc you like the S&M calibration disc it will help.

I played around with the Tone curve white setting briefly and it does make a difference but I felt it was just "safer" to keep it all on 0 so I don't negatively affect the image. I might experiment with it a bit more.

Would this be a good way to "balance" between the basic and medium HDR settings? My TV hits maybe around 550 nits max but does a pretty good job of tone mapping other than with those Sony torch titles. Medium is working well for me so far, but with a title like Aquaman, on medium it's still quite blown out but on basic it's far too dull - lots of additional detail but very flat. Would using "medium" but bumping up that Tone Curve setting a notch or two help balance that out a bit better?

The problem is I don't think I'd need to do that for all discs, just those torch titles, and the only way I'd know is to watch it once through first, possibly giving me a lousy first viewing, never a good thing with friends over. I think maybe leaving it on all 0's might be the best "set and forget" setting for me.

[SlaughterX]

Thinking about buying the UHD player so I can play Region B BDs...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PZ8K9Y2?ref=emc_p_m_6_i

Before I spend over $200 is there a way to unlock the US version for use with worldwide BDs?

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by SlaughterX

Thinking about buying the UHD player so I can play Region B BDs...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07PZ8K9Y2?ref=emc_p_m_6_i

Before I spend over $200 is there a way to unlock the US version for use with worldwide BDs?

The US player has the same top-menu trick that all Panasonics have done for years. When the region-lock screen comes up, hit stop on the remote, then top menu a few times until the main menu appears. Then the disc works as normal. It doesn't work on all region B discs though, so it's unreliable. My Panasonic region A blu-ray player works with many region B discs with this trick, but not all.

That's why I also own a region B Panasonic player, with a power adapter. That way I don't need a region-hacked player and it will play all region B discs guaranteed. The benefit to owning a Panasonic region B player is it will also play PAL/50HZ content, and send it out as either 50HZ or 60HZ, depending on if your US TV can display 50Hz or not. My Panasonic region A blu-ray player skips any PAL/50HZ content. It simply won't play it if you click on it. The region B player handles both NTSC and PAL/50Hz.

So that region B player is a good buy if you want a single player that should play all region A and B content. You may need a power adapter like the one I bought for my player. The link for the power adapter I use is in the first post of my signature. It was cheap, around $20 from Amazon.

[Oscarilbo]

Hi guys.

I have a question. Mr. Kris Deering once recommended that in case of having a native Rec.709 projector then use the HDR to SDR709 conversion and calibrate to a 2.2 gamma.
Am I wrong if I find the 2.4 gamma much better? At 2.2 (in my darkened room) it looks too flat, too pale, as if there wasnt shadows. Idk. But with 2.4 it looks really accurate, as if it was a perfect match for what the Panny is sending; better more natural color tones, specially skin tones feel more natural, of course better contrast and shadows are more present. At 2.4 feels more like a HDR curve than 2.2. My projector is a BenQ HT2550M (the newest version not distributed in USA, with 100% rec709, and also comes with a printed calibration report sheet). Is it anything wrong with my setup?

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by Oscarilbo

Hi guys.

I have a question. Mr. Kris Deering once recommended that in case of having a native Rec.709 projector then use the HDR to SDR709 conversion and calibrate to a 2.2 gamma.
Am I wrong if I find the 2.4 gamma much better? At 2.2 (in my darkened room) it looks too flat, too pale, as if there wasnt shadows. Idk. But with 2.4 it looks really accurate, as if it was a perfect match for what the Panny is sending; better more natural color tones, specially skin tones feel more natural, of course better contrast and shadows are more present. At 2.4 feels more like a HDR curve than 2.2. My projector is a BenQ HT2550M (the newest version not distributed in USA, with 100% rec709, and also comes with a printed calibration report sheet). Is it anything wrong with my setup?

While I am not familiar with the details of your TV, on my Sony it's perfectly fine to adjust gamma to 2.4 (-2) since it's just math. You do calibrate with Gamma 2.2 (0) and SDR, and the conversion math from there happens automatically.

Of course, LG may do things differently...

[motorheadache95]

Do these Panasonic players have really sensitive lasers? I've been having many problems with my discs-- it seems like every other disc I play lately freezes or glitches out at some point, even when I try to clean them. I just tested the latest couple of problem discs on my X-Box One X, and they played fine without freezing or glitching out at all in the places they were on my Panasonic UB-420.

[Geoff D]

My 820 has been damned near bullet proof. Unfortunately the cheaper build of the 420 means it's less reliable.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

Do these Panasonic players have really sensitive lasers? I've been having many problems with my discs-- it seems like every other disc I play lately freezes or glitches out at some point, even when I try to clean them. I just tested the latest couple of problem discs on my X-Box One X, and they played fine without freezing or glitching out at all in the places they were on my Panasonic UB-420.

If it's that problematic, you may have received a bum unit. I can see the occasional issue as that is normal due to variances in error correction in player models, but if you are getting consistent glitching, then the optical drive could be going bad.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

If it's that problematic, you may have received a bum unit. I can see the occasional issue as that is normal due to variances in error correction in player models, but if you are getting consistent glitching, then the optical drive could be going bad.

That could be it. Might as well get it exchanged and see what happens. I thought I was gonna go nuts, it seemed like half my discs had gotten messed up or something.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

Do these Panasonic players have really sensitive lasers? I've been having many problems with my discs-- it seems like every other disc I play lately freezes or glitches out at some point, even when I try to clean them. I just tested the latest couple of problem discs on my X-Box One X, and they played fine without freezing or glitching out at all in the places they were on my Panasonic UB-420.

I think all of these UHD players are made cheaply to some degree, due to total lack of quality control these days. My Sony x700 sucked; it gave me nothing but problems - freezing, stuttering, locking up, falling out of sync. This is the first weekend I've tested out my UB420 and so far it's played the first 4 discs I've thrown at it with zero issues. Some say their x700 is great. You have issues with your 420. I know I probably won't give Sony another chance for a long, long time.

Another thing to consider is how these are handled during shipping if you bought it online. It's probably safer to buy it from a store off the shelf, but then again my x700 was bought from Best Buy in-store and it was nothing but trouble. My 420 came from Amazon. The way everything is packed so poorly and knocked around during shipping, it's a miracle any of them work at all coming from Amazon. Rough handling can't be good for the delicate components in these players. Yet my Panasonic region B blu-ray player came from Amazon UK all the way to the US and has given me no issues.

[NKB2017]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

Do these Panasonic players have really sensitive lasers? I've been having many problems with my discs-- it seems like every other disc I play lately freezes or glitches out at some point, even when I try to clean them. I just tested the latest couple of problem discs on my X-Box One X, and they played fine without freezing or glitching out at all in the places they were on my Panasonic UB-420.

I am getting periodic 'drop-outs' of audio on my Panasonic UB-9000... anybody else having this?
It was fine when I got it I think... but over time it's getting worse. When I re-play the scene it plays fine, but then 15 minutes later there is another drop-out. Weird. The discs play fine on my other players.