Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Telemachus]

So DVDs at 1080p is really a thing? Better than 4k on the UB820? How does the UB820 do with 4K/60hz? I actually have some 60hz Blu rays.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

So DVDs at 1080p is really a thing? Better than 4k on the UB820? How does the UB820 do with 4K/60hz? I actually have some 60hz Blu rays.

It's worth getting one of those benchmarks discs to test different content.

[jurid]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

No. The scaling chips are identical regardless of the version. And all use the exact same firmware and software. There is absolutely no way that the upscaling is better on the LG unless you prefer exaggerated colour saturation and overly sharpened picture (if you like that then it’s fine, but a bad upscale is a bad upscale- objectively)

Yes, it is probably the best player for 2K BDs. S&M test disks seem to confirm that.

[thebarnman]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

So DVDs at 1080p is really a thing? Better than 4k on the UB820? How does the UB820 do with 4K/60hz? I actually have some 60hz Blu rays.

With my display (the Sony 83" A90J) does a better job of up converting 1080 to 4K than my Panasonic 820.

Also, the Panasonic 820 does a horrible job of converting DVD to 4K but it does a very decent job of converting DVD to 1080...then I let the TV convert the 1080 to the 4K.

[sa5150]

Originally Posted by thebarnman

With my display (the Sony 83" A90J) does a better job of up converting 1080 to 4K than my Panasonic 820.

Also, the Panasonic 820 does a horrible job of converting DVD to 4K but it does a very decent job of converting DVD to 1080...then I let the TV convert the 1080 to the 4K.

How do you just set the tv to do the upconverting , I have the Sony A80J , Is that a good one ?

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by thebarnman

With my display (the Sony 83" A90J) does a better job of up converting 1080 to 4K than my Panasonic 820.

Also, the Panasonic 820 does a horrible job of converting DVD to 4K but it does a very decent job of converting DVD to 1080...then I let the TV convert the 1080 to the 4K.

Well I did notice Panny had a bunch of DNR settings set to ON that I had to disable for DVD upconvert playback, even with those off you still don't like it?

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by sa5150

How do you just set the tv to do the upconverting , I have the Sony A80J , Is that a good one ?

You'll need a player with a source direct or 1080p mode to allow your Sony TV to upscale to 4K, or set the Panasonic 4K player to 1080p every time you watch a BD and remember to flip back to 4K for a UHD BD (which is a royal PIA).

[Sea Hag]

So I have the UB820. I tried to watch the blu ray disc of “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” to watch the extras. It would only go to the Player Menu. I open and close it, start over, still only goes to the Player Menu. The 4K disc played fine and I tried some other blu rays that worked as well so I’m thinking I have a lemon disc so I exchange it for a new one and the same thing happens.

Anyone have any insight?

[Kirk Out]

Originally Posted by Sea Hag

So I have the UB820. I tried to watch the blu ray disc of “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” to watch the extras. It would only go to the Player Menu. I open and close it, start over, still only goes to the Player Menu. The 4K disc played fine and I tried some other blu rays that worked as well so I’m thinking I have a lemon disc so I exchange it for a new one and the same thing happens.

Anyone have any insight?

Weird usually they put extras on another disc

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by Sea Hag

So I have the UB820. I tried to watch the blu ray disc of “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” to watch the extras. It would only go to the Player Menu. I open and close it, start over, still only goes to the Player Menu. The 4K disc played fine and I tried some other blu rays that worked as well so I’m thinking I have a lemon disc so I exchange it for a new one and the same thing happens.

Anyone have any insight?

That's what happens to me when I find a rotted DVD, disc could have a botched pressing

[Sea Hag]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

That's what happens to me when I find a rotted DVD, disc could have a botched pressing

Yeah it’s weird cause I got a replacement but have the same problem with that one too.

[IlCorvo]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

Well, mine wasn't as well packaged but I guess that's Amazon for ya. No protective film on it either.



Not sure if it's normal, but the light-up stays on only for 5 seconds after pressing the button.

Just a question: do those knock-off have a glossy finish on them?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

Well I did notice Panny had a bunch of DNR settings set to ON that I had to disable for DVD upconvert playback, even with those off you still don't like it?

Yes, it's just fundamentally bad for playback of interlaced video.

[jurid]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Yes, it's just fundamentally bad for playback of interlaced video.

I would say that:
(1) For 24fps sourced DVDs (like movies and some shows) it is actually not bad.
(2) For 60i sourced video (like concerts and some shows), and any SD resolution video on Blu-Ray (such as featurettes, often presented in SD on Blu-ray discs) - is pretty bad.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by jurid

I would say that:
(1) For 24fps sourced DVDs (like movies and some shows) it is actually not bad.
(2) For 60i sourced video (like concerts and some shows), and any SD resolution video on Blu-Ray (such as featurettes, often presented in SD on Blu-ray discs) - is pretty bad.

I've seen that with SD on Blu, it's terrible, but the UK Panny models I've used (and I've used several) also make 60i DVD look visibly jaggier. Couldn't believe how shitty the DVDs of Archer looked on it, I just thought it was a poorly mastered disc but when I popped them into the OPPO it was almost like looking at HD in comparison. Made a quick comparison here (this is with the 420 player but the 820 does the same, the chip is identical between the 420, 820 and 9000, as I'm sure you know): https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=128 edit: another example here: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=9659

It's the sort of thing that shows up more with such contrasty, low rez content as 2D animation, true, as live action's inherent randomness covers it up more, but it's still fundamentally borked IMO so I avoid playing back DVD on the Panny at all costs.

[Telemachus]

What about 1080p/60i Blu rays? I have some of those, should I knock it down to 1080p or keep it at 4k.

[jurid]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I've seen that with SD on Blu, it's terrible, but the UK Panny models I've used (and I've used several) also make 60i DVD look visibly jaggier. Couldn't believe how shitty the DVDs of Archer looked on it, I just thought it was a poorly mastered disc but when I popped them into the OPPO it was almost like looking at HD in comparison. Made a quick comparison here (this is with the 420 player but the 820 does the same, the chip is identical between the 420, 820 and 9000, as I'm sure you know): https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=128

It's the sort of thing that shows up more with such contrasty, low rez content as 2D animation, true, as live action's inherent randomness covers it up more, but it's still fundamentally borked IMO so I avoid playing back DVD on the Panny at all costs.

Yes, this is exactly what I found with US models: any SD on BD is quite bad, and all 60i-sourced material on DVD looks quite bad too. This can be seen from the SD part of S&M BD test disk.

The 24p-sourced stuff on DVD is good actually. Test patterns show cubic chrome upscaling kick in in this case.

Also all menus on DVD, no matter how that DVD is sourced, are 60i, and thus will look bad.

[jurid]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

What about 1080p/60i Blu rays? I have some of those, should I knock it down to 1080p or keep it at 4k.

I don't have any 1080/60i disks, but from my recollection S&M BD interlaced patterns looked OK. You might want to test it yourself: send 1080/60i signal to the TV, more than likely your TV will do a pretty decent job with interlaced material. And compare it with deinterlacing on the player (whether 2K or 4K).

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by jurid

I don't have any 1080/60i disks, but from my recollection S&M BD interlaced patterns looked OK. You might want to test it yourself: send 1080/60i signal to the TV, more than likely your TV will do a pretty decent job with interlaced material. And compare it with deinterlacing on the player (whether 2K or 4K).

What is the S&M test disk? Do you think 60i DVD playback would just be better on an HD DVD player or a Playstation 3?

[blue348]

I’m morbidly curious for someone to take some awful looking interlaced DVD and run it through a RetroTINK 4K for deinterlacing and upscaling.

I have a 5X so no fun experiments with HDMI sources for me.