Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[RtotheB]

Just purchased a UB820PCK is there any difference from the Model 820-K? Found it for $250. Did I get a good deal for a used 4K player?

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by rooboy78

Oh my god that was it!!! It needed to be set on 4:4:4! That literally fixed my entire problem - now the flesh tones look completely healthy and normal!! Thank you all SO MUCH for your input and helping out!

Now the big question is I have the 820 coming tomorrow. Should I cancel it? Or is the extra money worth it? Will I see that much of a difference on the 4K picture?

If your TV is Dolby Vision, keep the 820 honestly.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by rooboy78

Well I’m really not sure what happened - I really thought I had done everything right but clearly changing that one thing made a HUGE impact on the picture. I’m just so glad it’s fixed now and I can enjoy my 4K discs without stressing out over it.

Yeah, I’m not saying it didn’t fix your problem, but it was only a problem because you’re not running it at 24p. If you want to run it at 60p that’s your prerogative but….ewww

[rooboy78]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Yeah, I’m not saying it didn’t fix your problem, but it was only a problem because you’re not running it at 24p. If you want to run it at 60p that’s your prerogative but….ewww

Doesn’t running it at 24p cause motion blur? Because that is what was happening and when I turned it off it fixed itself.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by rooboy78

Doesn’t running it at 24p cause motion blur? Because that is what was happening and when I turned it off it fixed itself.

24 fps output for Blu-ray and 4k Blu-ray is what you want as most content is 24 fps. The next step is having a display that can accept native 24 fps content and replicate it at a multiple refresh rate of 24 fps keeping the correct frame rate and cadence. I hate the soap opera effect of artificially interpolated frames from motion enhancement or motion smoothing modes.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by rooboy78

Doesn’t running it at 24p cause motion blur? Because that is what was happening and when I turned it off it fixed itself.

Not with CineMotion and a 120Hz panel like the A8H, if you're watching at 60Hz you're adding motion interpolation to 24Hz content. Same when you're watching 60Hz content, if you have post processing on you're adding frames and can create artefacts.

[Geoff D]

Alas, some folks just get so used to that juddery 60Hz look that they can’t do without it when switching to a new TV, 24 actually looks too smooth. If that sounds snarky that’s because it is, but at the same time rooboy is not alone; we’d be surprised at how many people don’t like 24p even on an “enthusiast” forum like this. Fair play to all of them, like the folks who zoom away black bars, stick the colour temp on Cool and crank up the motion interpolation. It may be wrong, but it’s what’s right to them.

[Badas]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Alas, some folks just get so used to that juddery 60Hz look that they can’t do without it when switching to a new TV, 24 actually looks too smooth. If that sounds snarky that’s because it is, but at the same time rooboy is not alone; we’d be surprised at how many people don’t like 24p even on an “enthusiast” forum like this. Fair play to all of them, like the folks who zoom away black bars, stick the colour temp on Cool and crank up the motion interpolation. It may be wrong, but it’s what’s right to them.

Yip! You are talking "preference" rather than "reference".

I do believe people should start with "reference" then adjust to "preference"
Start with how it should be then adjust.

I actually like reference for everything picture related but for example on sound I have my main surrounds out of balance up +3db. I can as my surrounds are main speakers with 2 x 140 watts pumped into each speaker (bi-amped). 280 watt surround sounds

[erik2021]

Hi,

I read about a region hack dubbed ”top menu” in this thread, however, it was ad hoc depending on specific disc whether it would work or not. Therefore, I test my luck and want to hear if anyone have tried it for” Criterion’s A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman”? It is region A and I am in region B. Thanks.

UB9000, purchased and manufactured 2020.

Never mind, took the plunge on the gargantuan Cinema set, which is region free.

[88mph]

Originally Posted by sephirothkefka

Dolby Vision can be disabled on the 820 but 420 should be fine if you dont care about the lack of a screen and analog outputs. I'd personally go with it anyway just incase you do eventually get a better DV set.

Originally Posted by TravisTylerBlack

The 420 doesn't feature the HDR optimizer though, correct? That alone is sort of a deal breaker for this particular TV.

I have the 820 paired with an X900F and the optimizer makes a noticeable difference. Especially with content mastered at incredibly high nits/brightness. Conversely, it's nice to able to boost the HDR brightness a smidge on titles that look slightly too dark like Empire Strikes Back.

As for Dolby Vision, Sony has improved/tweaked it slightly with firmware upgrades, but overall it's still looks overly dark (even in a pitch black room) and dull on the X900F. Switching it off in the player settings and using the optimizer instead is usually the best way to go.

Picked up an 820 in the end! Although I don't see myself upgrading my x900f any time soon its not totally out of the question, who knows. Better to future proof in the meantime. Also the 420 seems to be discontinued anyway (found some used ones on ebay but they don't seem discounted at all)

Surprisingly, DV looks pretty decent from an actual UHD disc. Yeah it can be a bit dark but its so much better than Disney+ which is all I had to compare with before. I'm still on Android 7.0 too.

HDR Optimizer doesn't seem to make any difference for me. Am I supposed to mess with the sliders? Not sure what I'm doing tbh and just left it set to On for now.

Oh and the player itself is a lot bigger than I was expecting. I have older Panny BD player I'll be keeping for multi-region which is tiny in comparison. And after changing the remote code so it doesn't control both players, its a bit annoying seeing the "Set Code X" on the display.

[riptor3076]

Originally Posted by 88mph

Picked up an 820 in the end! Although I don't see myself upgrading my x900f any time soon its not totally out of the question, who knows. Better to future proof in the meantime. Also the 420 seems to be discontinued anyway (found some used ones on ebay but they don't seem discounted at all.

Not sure where you are located but in the US both Best Buy and Amazon have the 420 available. Doesn't show discontinued on the Panasonic site either.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by 88mph

HDR Optimizer doesn't seem to make any difference for me. Am I supposed to mess with the sliders? Not sure what I'm doing tbh and just left it set to On for now.

It depends on your display (and your viewing environment) and what you set the TV type setting at. Basically the Optimizer works that if you increase brightness you lose contrast (so detail in the highlights) and if you increase contrast (increase the detail) you lose brightness.

[noahpalma]

Anybody else own the DP-UB820 4k UHD BLU-RAY Player from Panasonic and have major trouble playing certain titles. Like I can’t get Shutter Island, The Shining, Dr Strangelove, Vertigo, Psycho and The Matrix Revolutions in 4k UHD to work. My regular Blu-rays that won’t work are Memories of Murder (Criterion), The Silence of the Lambs (Criterion), The Truman Show, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Prisoners, Casablanca, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Any advice would be appreciated.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by noahpalma

Anybody else own the DP-UB820 4k UHD BLU-RAY Player from Panasonic and have major trouble playing certain titles. Like I can’t get Shutter Island, The Shining, Dr Strangelove, Vertigo, Psycho and The Matrix Revolutions in 4k UHD to work. My regular Blu-rays that won’t work are Memories of Murder (Criterion), The Silence of the Lambs (Criterion), The Truman Show, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Prisoners, Casablanca, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Any advice would be appreciated.

Some of these titles you mentioned work perfectly on my player. Have you checked the discs? As scratches and marks can cause problems (due to the sensitivity of the lens) from playing.

[noahpalma]

Most of the discs are brand new in perfect condition. I’m gonna send it back to Panasonic and see what they say.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by noahpalma

Most of the discs are brand new in perfect condition. I’m gonna send it back to Panasonic and see what they say.

Yeah, then it may be your player then.

[Zapp Brannigan]

Originally Posted by noahpalma

Anybody else own the DP-UB820 4k UHD BLU-RAY Player from Panasonic and have major trouble playing certain titles. Like I can’t get Shutter Island, The Shining, Dr Strangelove, Vertigo, Psycho and The Matrix Revolutions in 4k UHD to work. My regular Blu-rays that won’t work are Memories of Murder (Criterion), The Silence of the Lambs (Criterion), The Truman Show, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Prisoners, Casablanca, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Any advice would be appreciated.

Just tried all the 4k titles you mentioned. Watched about 10 mins of each of them and all worked fine. Should be noted that I have the UK import of Shutter Island. If you have a microfiber cloth, you can try and gently wipe the discs.

[noahpalma]

It must be the Blu-ray player. I’m gonna send it back and hopefully all is good afterwards.

[noahpalma]

Thanks for the help.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by noahpalma

It must be the Blu-ray player. I’m gonna send it back and hopefully all is good afterwards.

I would first check a few more things out before you send it back. I had an issue with my 820 where it wouldn't play any of the discs I would put in the machine, including 4K UHDs, blu-rays, even DVDs. The solution to the issue was with the surge protector I was using. It wasn't giving the player enough power. I was using an older Monster Cable Surge protector. Now, I have a heavy duty Monoprice Surge Protector and I haven't had that issue since.