Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by chip75

I think that's one of the many reasons as to why we champion test patterns and benchmark discs. Put something on your display that you know is right to see if you have a problem. Don't trust movies for black levels, gradations or whatnot.

I spent countless hours helping a member, who asks "Is the right? Is this wrong?" and I don't think they used a test pattern once to give me feedback.

Yeah, there's some dude in one of the Dr Who threads going on about this weird green posterisation showing up in some credits sequences in Pertwee's Season 10 on BD and he keeps banging on about he's "calibrated" his TV to look amazing (without noting what he actually used for "calibration", no-one challenged him on that point) and nothing else he watches shows this problem so therefore it must be the content. Yet everyone else bar one other viewer was having no such problem. Not that there isn't an issue there but it's likely that people's settings - good or bad, one way or the other - are what's either showing it up or masking it from view. And I've ordered that S10 set so I can see it for myself.

[Daz_85]

Originally Posted by handoffbarry

Could you please share your TV model number and settings? Also note that this isn't so much of a flicker as a brightness fluctuation many times happening from shot to shot. I didn't notice it until watching part 4. Once I did it was game over and it became so distracting I had to turn off DV.

Thank you.

I've had this same issue with my LG LED TV on several DV titles. I haven't extensively tried the discs I know cause this issue since the latest 820 update yet, but I would recommend trying GAME mode on your TV when watching the discs again and see if that helps. It will cut out any unnecessary processing between your player and TV.

I believe this is a TV issue and not to do with the player or discs specifically.

[handoffbarry]

Originally Posted by Daz_85

I've had this same issue with my LG LED TV on several DV titles. I haven't extensively tried the discs I know cause this issue since the latest 820 update yet, but I would recommend trying GAME mode on your TV when watching the discs again and see if that helps. It will cut out any unnecessary processing between your player and TV.

I believe this is a TV issue and not to do with the player or discs specifically.

Popped in Halloween 5 immediately and tested based on this recommendation. Unfortunately it didn't have any impact on the issue. The mystery continues!

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm willing to try anything!

[Daz_85]

Originally Posted by handoffbarry

Popped in Halloween 5 immediately and tested based on this recommendation. Unfortunately it didn't have any impact on the issue. The mystery continues!

Thanks for the suggestion though. I'm willing to try anything!

Ah sorry it didn't work! If I discover anything new I'll pass it along.

[Nori]

Originally Posted by gkfan69

i have 820 region free from 220 electronics. every time i check for firmware update it tells me there is no update, but it is running on version 1.60. i don't get it, any info would be appreciated.

Me too. The best you can do is call 220 and ask if they have an ETA for when the update will be available from them.

What ever you do don’t do what I did which was to upgrade via USB cause it just killed the region free and I had to contact 220 to help me get the player back to being region free.

[Bcosta]

Originally Posted by handoffbarry

I got a response from Shout Factory regarding the brightness fluctuation with DV. They told me I'm the first person to report this issue on the Halloween discs. Everyone having an issue should email them at info@shoutfactory.com

I emailed them as well, awaiting a response.

[thestrangestick]

Does anyone know if the external sub functionality you can add with the region freedom firmware also works for adding external subs to 3D blurays?

[WITCHCULT]

Originally Posted by Nori

Me too. The best you can do is call 220 and ask if they have an ETA for when the update will be available from them.

What ever you do don’t do what I did which was to upgrade via USB cause it just killed the region free and I had to contact 220 to help me get the player back to being region free.

I DM'd you, but afterwards that I saw they just sent you a file to revert to 1.60? They told me I had to mail my player back to fix it. Not a huge deal, but I had to pay shipping both ways. I don't understand why I wasn't offered that option (although I do have the UB420, but it's the same firmware). Took them a few weeks, but I should have it back tomorrow and was told it's on 1.69.

[dcx4610]

I don't have any region B Blu-rays available to try this but I've seen someone mention that you can cheat the region lock by stopping and playing. Does this work on all Region B movies, not at all or just some of the time?

There are a few region B movies out there I'd like to grab but only if they'd work obviously. I'd rather not pay to mod my player for just 1-2 movies.

[Nori]

Originally Posted by WITCHCULT

I DM'd you, but afterwards that I saw they just sent you a file to revert to 1.60? They told me I had to mail my player back to fix it. Not a huge deal, but I had to pay shipping both ways. I don't understand why I wasn't offered that option (although I do have the UB420, but it's the same firmware). Took them a few weeks, but I should have it back tomorrow and was told it's on 1.69.

Sorry for the late reply. Yes they gave me a region lock patch that I think was adjusted to work on my devices as I had to give them the numbers of my players (there were several of them) and he created a patch for me. Maybe it was different for the 420 (mine were all 820's).

That's great news about you getting it back with patched 1.69 though. I guess that means the rest of us can expect it to come online any day now.

[Siran]

Did the firmware update fix the blown out specular highlights in DV content as mentioned by Vincent Teoh in his review (around the 12:30 mark)

here

Also what's the consensus on HDR Optimiser on LG OLEDs like the C9 - use it with DTM On / Off or HGiG via game mode so that only the HDR Optimiser does any kind of tone mapping?

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by Siran

Did the firmware update fix the blown out specular highlights in DV content as mentioned by Vincent Teoh in his review (around the 12:30 mark) here

Also what's the consensus on HDR Optimiser on LG OLEDs like the C9 - use it with DTM On / Off or HGiG via game mode so that only the HDR Optimiser does any kind of tone mapping?

The video you shared from HDTV Test/ Vincent was created over 2 years ago. It's possible the previous updates to the player before this latest one has fixed the blown out specular highlights of DV content.

As to the LG C9's DTM, I use it along with using my Panny 820's Optimizer. My Panny's HDR Optimizer is set to the highest setting (Super High Luminance/1,500 nits) and I have the Dynamic Tone Mapping Function on my C9 turned "On".

The reason I have it "On" is because I have found that without it, HDR seems to be lacking a bit, especially when you compare the Dolby Vision version of a film to the HDR10 version. I will say though the LG's DTM isn't always perfect and may be brighter or darker than the what it should be. However, I find that it overall gives a fantastic picture, especially paired up with the Panny HDR Optimizer.

So it's really up to you. You decide on what works best for you. I encourage you to try my settings out and see if you like them. I know some members here will say you shouldn't and that it's wrong to use LG's DTM. But I still think it's worth looking into. I know I haven't tested this out on a disc like Spears and Munsil UHD., but from what I have seen using LG's DTM and the Panny HDR Optimizer at the highest setting works! But you try it out for yourself to see if you like it!

[Siran]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

The video you shared from HDTV Test/ Vincent was created over 2 years ago. It's possible the previous updates to the player before this latest one has fixed the blown out specular highlights of DV content.

Before the current one, the latest firmware was from July 2019, only three months after Vincent's video and that would be quite fast for Panasonic and Dolby to address his issue. That's why I'm asking.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

It was Stacey Spears who mentioned the most egregious DV problems with Panasonic 4k players. It's all in their poor implementation of Dolby Vision. Spears would have to lay out his case as the whole debacle is quite technically detailed, but he believes it's quite fixable.

I doubt 1.69 addressed these issues as Dolby Labs itself would have to be involved in creating a fix and due to the fact it took Panasonic a loooooooong time to even get a firmware patch that was already available in China for quite some time out to the rest of the world.

That does not fill me with warm fuzzies that they are truly back on board with fully supporting their players in a prompt and timely manner.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

It was Stacey Spears who mentioned the most egregious DV problems with Panasonic 4k players. I doubt 1.69 addressed these issues as Dolby Labs itself would have to be involved in creating a fix.

It took Panasonic a loooooooong time to even get a firmware patch that was available in China for quite sometime out to the rest of the world. That does not fill me with warm fuzzies that they are truly back on board with fully supporting their players in a prompt and timely manner.

But didn't some people install the Chinese 1.69 and say that it made no difference to the Dobly problems?

And I don't recall Stacey saying that the Pannies had major problems? He mentioned that the OPPO has a bug whereby if it plays HDR10 first and then DV the DV is wonky thereafter if you don't power cycle the player. And he also said that DV for the home is using the wrong subsampling in general.

I had a quick look at some DV test patterns supplied by Stacey on the 820 with the 1.69 firmware and nothing seems to have changed w/ref to the processing, but as it's using Low Latency anyway (Sony TV) then that profile has got even more problems than the full fat version.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

It was Stacey Spears who mentioned the most egregious DV problems with Panasonic 4k players. It's all in their poor implementation of Dolby Vision. Spears would have to lay out his case as the whole debacle is quite technically detailed, but he believes it's quite fixable.

I doubt 1.69 addressed these issues as Dolby Labs itself would have to be involved in creating a fix and due to the fact it took Panasonic a loooooooong time to even get a firmware patch that was already available in China for quite some time out to the rest of the world.

That does not fill me with warm fuzzies that they are truly back on board with fully supporting their players in a prompt and timely manner.

so, based on your comments on the Panny 820--- would I be better off buying a SONY OLED vs an LG for better compatibility? I'm planning on upgrading to an OLED in the next few weeks....

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

so, based on your comments on the Panny 820--- would I be better off buying a SONY OLED vs an LG for better compatibility? I'm planning on upgrading to an OLED in the next few weeks....

The issues Stacey laid out are fundamental to all DV displays using Panny 4k players and may not have anything to do with the separate flickering issue. I'm paraphrasing here... one problem is that the DV processor in the Panny players is processing video data with the wrong color gamut.

Since Sony is using an LG OLED panel, I'm not sure if the flickering issue shows up with Sony displays.

[dealer6871]

I used a 9000 on my Sony A9F calibrated OLED set for close to two years. All my viewing was with 4K blu ray. Could never watch Dolby Vision because of the blown out highlights. Turned DB off and used the Optimizer. Rationalized it by thinking it made sense. Panasonic pushed the Optimizer as the elite feature on the 9000, so why would they put much effort into implementing Dolby Vision?

Fast forward this spring and I got a relatively good deal on a new Oppo 205. The Oppo handles Dolby Vision much better and now I have the player set to play DB when available on the disc. Added bonus on the 205 was the superior 5.1 analog outputs. This all now adds up to an awesome movie experience.

Originally Posted by AKORIS

so, based on your comments on the Panny 820--- would I be better off buying a SONY OLED vs an LG for better compatibility? I'm planning on upgrading to an OLED in the next few weeks....

[AKORIS]

Thanks for the responses… now I’m a little apprehensive upgrading to an OLED. I love my 820 player and have no intention of getting rid of it.

I want to use Dolby vision since it’s supposedly a better picture but it’s obviously not going to work if there’s flickering issues on certain discs. I could always turn Dolby Vision off on the player but that kind of takes away a big part of an “upgrade “

Sigh… why are there so many friggin problems, quirks, and issues with all this stuff???

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

Thanks for the responses… now I’m a little apprehensive upgrading to an OLED. I love my 820 player and have no intention of getting rid of it.

I want to use Dolby vision since it’s supposedly a better picture but it’s obviously not going to work if there’s flickering issues on certain discs. I could always turn Dolby Vision off on the player but that kind of takes away a big part of an “upgrade “

Sigh… why are there so many friggin problems, quirks, and issues with all this stuff???

Because the industry as a whole has slacked off on a set of fixed standards and narrow parameters required for a range of AV components. It's allowed too many items to become optional or within a very wide range of acceptable behavior patterns leading to compatibility problems and calibration nightmares. It created a Wild West mentality, none so more than the implementation of HDR.