Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Zechs Merquise]

Originally Posted by bl4ck

UB820 cost ~ 300£ max 350£.

Yeah but I'm probably going to import it. I need a Region A/1 player, and since 4K is Region Free...

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by chip75

It will depends on your needs if you're just using HDMI, there isn't really going to be any difference with AV. But if you need Balanced audio outputs or want some hefty for a theater rack the 9000 might suit you. Although I don't think it has rack mounts?

Rack mounts are available. In the time you took to post you could have looked it up.

https://www.puretheatre.com/rack-mou...asonic-ub9000/

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Do you have a link to the video? I trust Vincent so I would like to see it. I searched the HDTVTest videos on YouTube and did not see this video.

(Edit - I did see Linus Tech Tips guy did a video so maybe you are confused. I didn't bother with his video. I'm not a fan of Linus Tech Tips.)

It has been working well for me and I haven't noticed any difference going from my UB9000 to this player. I wasn't using the HDR Optimizer of the UB9000 or Dolby Vision or the analog audio outputs. I will look into the video and also check the player with my test discs. Inside this player the circuit board is tiny. I assume it's basically just providing the digital information directly from the disc to the HDMI digital output and so far I have been impressed with it.

If it is providing some clipping or some form of image inaccuracy that I can verify I will return the player as I only just purchased it and kept the box and receipt. Maybe I'll just buy a replacement drive for my UB9000. Maybe I will do that anyway and keep them both.

i dont have a youtube video to link (youtube is a bad place to get info btw, even vincent), but the 150 is a totally different player than the 420/820/9000. the 150 is a budget mediatek-chip based player, while the 420/820/9000 use panasonic's video processing. the 420 is worth the extra cost over the 150.

[bl4ck]

Looks like 450 not is so bad

I have not yet worked on UB820, but I suspect these devices may use the same or very similar chipsets (processors), so it may not be a surprise that the picture is of similar high quality in these last models. In the end it is about how good the data (digital signals) are processed, with better speed and improved memory capacities, as how the internal software algorithms er improved. I have noticed how nice HDR is working on this model. It have a very big impact over picture quality indeed., comparing it with another older models. Also the menu in this device is very responsive, much more user friendly, than in UB9000. All is smooth and fast, nothing is freezing, the reading of the USB stick is very fast (lot of GB of files are ready for playback in around a second). The UB450 It is indeed a very good surprise all point of view, especially when is about a so cheap device. The upgrades it only improve everything, but in this case the upgrades cost is higher than the device price itself... More about this device in a dedicated thread (soon).

Well, this cheap device, and out of the box, is indeed capable of a very good picture quality. It was my first surprise in using it. I own and use myself an UB9000. Comparing UB450 with UB9000 was very easy, and UB9000 is indeed surpassed by this new and cheap UB450. Not only similar picture quality out of the stock UB450, compared with an upgraded UB9000, but a much better user interface as well for UB450. Very fast Menu navigation. Much user-friendly interface. No hanging or freezing, as very annoying it happen in case of UB9000. Very fast loading and ready to playback for files residing on a USB stick. Lot of GB getting ready for use in around a second, while one should wait many teens of seconds for the same to happen on an UB9000.

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/t...0#post-7338127
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/t.../#post-7460906

[ronand]

I have the UB450 and UB820. The 450 is a cheap piece of junk. Yes the picture is fine but the build quality is rubbish. The drive in mine started getting noisy at 6 months old but as I had region modded the unit the warranty was void.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Ruined

i dont have a youtube video to link (youtube is a bad place to get info btw, even vincent), but the 150 is a totally different player than the 420/820/9000. the 150 is a budget mediatek-chip based player, while the 420/820/9000 use panasonic's video processing. the 420 is worth the extra cost over the 150.

Having purchased them both I am aware of the prices. LOL.

What I like about the 150 is the lack of features and processing. If it's not in the signal it's noise.

I have had the 420 before and I would have easily bought one of those but the price of that unit has gone up since I bought it years ago and the problem I had with the 420 is the exact same problem I have with my 9000. The tray stopped opening.

You don't respect Vicent? He knows what he's doing and does objective tests instead of basing his opinions on what something costs. You may have "ruined" my ability to take your advice.

I still have my reciept and the 420 is available near me for $250. If it's "worth the extra cost" go ahead and send me the $80 Mkay? I would be happy to have the 420 again.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Having purchased them both I am aware of the prices. LOL.

What I like about the 150 is the lack of features and processing. If it's not in the signal it's noise.

Today's TV benefit from processing in displaying 4K HDR properly, as you may know many UHDs have MaxCLL of 4000+ nits. Today's OLEDs struggle to even reach 1000nits, and the brightest mini-leds just barely make it over 1500nits. Although, in 2024 apparently we will be getting 5000nit TVs that won't need said processing as much.

Also, you need processing to display Blu-rays and DVDs at their best - and the UB420 is one of the best players at this.

I get the reliability concern, but both of these players are the same manuf, so I'm not sure thats effective reasoning anyway for one player vs the other.

You don't respect Vicent? He knows what he's doing and does objective tests instead of basing his opinions on what something costs. You may have "ruined" my ability to take your advice.

The problem with YouTube is that the format doesn't offer the option for realtime debate and response. Even the very best technicians who are ISF-certified have procedures and opinions that are debatable.

Vincent is one of the best on YouTube, but one of the best in the field overall? I wouldn't say so. He does objective testing that is better than most on youtube, but I would argue his procedures and conclusions are often flawed.

I still have my reciept and the 420 is available near me for $250. If it's "worth the extra cost" go ahead and send me the $80 Mkay? I would be happy to have the 420 again.

Didn't say the better player would be the same price, but considering $80 is the price of like three 4K discs, its honestly a small investment for this hobby and affects almost every single disc you watch.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Today's TV benefit from processing in displaying 4K HDR properly

Oh that makes sense I guess. I don't know much about TVs. I use a projector.

https://www.jvc.com/usa/projectors/p...on/dla-rs3100/



The projector does excellent processing internally. I like the signal to be direct and accurate.

I will order the replacement drive for the UB9000 eventually. I'll likely keep the 150 for a backup when the new drive fails again in the 9000.

For the moment, I'm not seeing a difference between the 2 players and I have other things to spend money on.


-Brian

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Oh that makes sense I guess. I don't know much about TVs. I use a projector.

The projector does excellent processing internally. I like the signal to be direct and accurate.

Projectors need processing even more than TVs do because their output is like 200 nits. But yes, this one has unusually good internal processing and doesnt need additional help.

BUT

Does the 150 allow you to output blu-ray and dvd "source direct" 1080p / 480i respectively (typically panasonic players dont offer this)? If not, you are still stuck with its built in processing for Blu-ray/DVD which will not be good as the 420. The 420 4k hdr processing is optional.

[bhampton]

I don't think it does the source direct thing.

And, I don't think Panasonic players are known for good DVD playback but I generally don't see the problems with it that other people mention. I have some DVDs but not many.

[Tim n Tempe]

Found a BD-R title that locks up at about the halfway mark. Plays perfectly in my other BD players

The Vampire Bat (1932)

If you have the title, you might want to check to see if it works on your player!

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Tim n Tempe

Found a BD-R title that locks up at about the halfway mark. Plays perfectly in my other BD players

The Vampire Bat (1932)

If you have the title, you might want to check to see if it works on your player!

I don't have the movie. BD-R title ? Made on Demand ?

[Tim n Tempe]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I don't have the movie. BD-R title ? Made on Demand ?

Yes. A shame too, it is a great transfer.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I don't think it does the source direct thing.

And, I don't think Panasonic players are known for good DVD playback but I generally don't see the problems with it that other people mention. I have some DVDs but not many.

Not just DVDs, but also excellent 1080p Blu-ray upscaling to 4K on the Panasonic 420/820/9000 (any of the panasonics are going to upscale everything to 4K); many (such as this review) believe it beats even the Oppo 203 in upscaling, which isn't an easy feat.
https://www.highdefdigest.com/news/s...showdown/42557

[Cplhicks]

I bought the UB820 recently and I have noticed a problem on some discs, wondering if anyone else has seen this or knows a fix? Sometimes when I fast forward, pause or skip a chapter the audio will disappear. It won't come back unless I go to the menu and restart the section of the disc. Admittedly I haven't yet tried switching audio tracks when this happens. This is happening on some blu-rays, has not happened on a 4k yet. I have high clarity audio off. Anyone else had this issue? It's pretty frustrating, honestly.

[TheHighRoller]

Originally Posted by thebarnman

You say your TV is a Sony. The Sony's upscaling is known to be better than what the Panasonic is capable of.

Try it, I think you'll be amazed.

Next time you put in a regular Blu-ray, go to the settings on your Panasonic player and set it to output 1080p. That way the TV is forced to upconvert 1080p to 4K.

It's a bit of a inconvenience I know, but you'll notice almost right away a nice difference!

Too bad the AUTO feature does nothing more but detect what type of TV you have so it AUTOMATICALLY sets the output to 4K no matter what type of disc you put in. What you really need to do (if you care about image quality) is to set your player at 1080p when you put in Blu-rays, and set it to 4K when you pop in UHD Blu-rays.

I don't know what Sony TV you have, but I have the 83A90J and it really does make a noticeable difference.

I already set the output to 4K. I have the x900H, which is decent I guess. I bought it a few years ago, and I wanted an OLED but I don't think an "entry-priced" 4K TV over 75 inches that is also an OLED is worth it yet (burn-in, brightness after a few years, etc.). I remember when I got my HD TV, OLED was kind of new around then, and it was worse then than it is now, so I can imagine a lot of the issues it has will be reduced in the near future.

I already see a HUGE difference between the Sony player and the Panasonic, so will the TV really upscale the quality even more?

I will say that there is a slight purple/blue push to the Blu-rays (due to the settings from rtings that they didn't recommend were copied, but I did it anyway). Is there a recommended number setting on the RGB 1-10 that I should try to reduce blues/greens in the blacks? Like I said, it was much more noticeable on the Sony player, but theres still some tint there on some Blu-rays.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

I noticed that the upscaling on Blu-rays is a million times better on this than the Sony X700. The Sony made them kind of look a bit pixelated if you really looked at it. The black levels also had this weird kind of blue and green artifacting.

The Panasonic DP-UB820 does a great job of upscaling and making it look better than the Blu-ray, and the black levels aren't weird. I'm sure some of it is my Sony 4K TV, which I kind of modeled after the rtings settings (even though they had theirs professionally calibrated, and recommended the RBG levels aren't copied since it varies from TV to TV). But even then, theres a noticeable difference between the two.



One good thing I will say about the Sony is that it handled scratched/damaged discs better than the Panasonic DP-UB820. With the Sony, you could rewind or fast forward through any issues for the most part. With the Panasonic, the whole system seems to freeze to the point I have to go to Home or straight up eject / close the disc and go back to the menu.

Sony UHD players automatically add noise reduction to sub-4K content e.g. Blu-rays unless you turn it off. They don't do anything to the blacks though, unless you had the wrong video levels set somewhere in the chain.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by bhampton

Rack mounts are available. In the time you took to post you could have looked it up.

I did, but just to check if the 9000 included them.

Originally Posted by Ruined

Not just DVDs, but also excellent 1080p Blu-ray upscaling to 4K on the Panasonic 420/820/9000 (any of the panasonics are going to upscale everything to 4K); many (such as this review) believe it beats even the Oppo 203 in upscaling, which isn't an easy feat.

PAL DVDs are okay on Panasonic players, but I wouldn't want to watch too many NTSC titles with them.

[thebarnman]

Originally Posted by B.inthe6

Is there any chance the laser could somehow "burn" the disc at that point, maybe resulting in a weak "freeze" point?

No. It's just a light reflecting off from the disc. Causing damage to media disappeared with optical media.

Originally Posted by Cplhicks

I bought the UB820 recently and I have noticed a problem on some discs, wondering if anyone else has seen this or knows a fix? Sometimes when I fast forward, pause or skip a chapter the audio will disappear. It won't come back unless I go to the menu and restart the section of the disc. Admittedly I haven't yet tried switching audio tracks when this happens. This is happening on some blu-rays, has not happened on a 4k yet. I have high clarity audio off. Anyone else had this issue? It's pretty frustrating, honestly.

I get that sometimes. I think it's either a handshake issue or a player issue. What ever it is, I found that simply hitting the pause button once, then again will fix it...and if not; doing that over again will most likely get it working again. Sometimes just rewinding back a little bit will fix it.

I will say however, I don't get it when I skip chapters or fast forward...it usually happens to me when I rewind just a little bit to check something out again.

[thebarnman]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

I already see a HUGE difference between the Sony player and the Panasonic, so will the TV really upscale the quality even more?

Yes IF your TV does a better job of upscaling when compared to your Panasonic player.

I know my Sony A90J does a better job of upscaling when compared to my Panasonic 820 UHD Blu-ray player but my display hit the market in 2021.

The thing is, I don't know how old your Sony display is. The newer it is, the better the upscaling gets. Find a regular Blu-ray with lots of detail or a scene you are very familiar with and set your Panasonic player to output only 1080p. It's simple to do and that will force your Sony display to upconvert the 1080p to 4K. Then all you have to do is look at the image.

Of course you will want to watch it upconverted from the Panasonic player first, then look at the same scene again with your Sony display doing the up-conversion.

Just look at the image before and after and you will know just like you know now that your Panasonic player does a better job of up-converting when compared to the Sony player.

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

Is there a recommended number setting on the RGB 1-10 that I should try to reduce blues/greens in the blacks? Like I said, it was much more noticeable on the Sony player, but theres still some tint there on some Blu-rays.

Sorry, I don't have anything to recommend in that area. My best advise is to get a full professional calibration of your set. I know that means having to spend money but each set (even of the same brand and model number) perform differently even if it's just a little bit.