Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by ronand

A new version of the region free patch for the UB420/820/9000 players is available on the avforums site. New features include a massive speed improvement in the menu system (some bugs that were hogging the CPU have been solved) and a UB9000 menu look for the lower spec players

if I had the paid RF mod from 1.69, should I bother looking at this, or is this mostly just for those that never had it modded?

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Nearly all users only watch any movie once (as do I)

huh? seriously? you only watch movies once? Yet you own a $16K projector, so you're obviously a film fan. Seems odd.

[ronand]

Originally Posted by b_scott

if I had the paid RF mod from 1.69, should I bother looking at this, or is this mostly just for those that never had it modded?

The latest 1.76 modded firmware offers significantly snappier menus. Other than that its hard to know what differences there are between 1.69 & 1.76 as Panasonic didn't give away much in their release notes. You probably have the rest of the features already such as external subs. If you are happy with what you have then leave it alone as the patching process is risky.

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by b_scott

huh? seriously? you only watch movies once? Yet you own a $16K projector, so you're obviously a film fan. Seems odd.

There are so many movies in the world. Even if I want to watch movies more than once, I will only have time to watch a movie or two to watch more than once. I currently have about 6,000 movies and 3,000 CDs. I listen to CDs over and over especially because I like to dissect and analyze them.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by b_scott

if I had the paid RF mod from 1.69, should I bother looking at this, or is this mostly just for those that never had it modded?

The newest patched firmware has the two kernel issues fixed, these were causing the CPU to stay at 100% load at all times, even during idle mode. These were never addressed, as far as I know, on RattleByte's paid mod.

It also has the main menu and interface changed to the one used on the UB9000, this in turn unlocks two additional options in the "HDR Display type" menu, for tonemapping: Basic Luminance Projector and High Luminance Projector.

And lastly, the external subtitles have a better look to them, compared to their default appearance.

[bl4ck]

Originally Posted by ronand

... If you are happy with what you have then leave it alone as the patching process is risky.

There were only 2 cases at the very beginning, the patcher crashing and guys should to wait patiently, but they were not patient... problem never reappeared and was resolved. Recently there was a third case but it was the user's fault because he ignored the errors.

@Hedrox
+ closed Caption
+ dark gray windows with info/warnings
+ optional long audio /subtitles tracks description
+ optional Arial font for external subtitles

Now I guess that's all

[b_scott]

i have those options - I was using the RegionFreedom mod, not rattlebyte.

I'll probably just leave as is for now. Thank you!

[George.P]

Originally Posted by bl4ck

There were only 2 cases at the very beginning, the patcher crashing and guys should to wait patiently, but they were not patient... problem never reappeared and was resolved. Recently there was a third case but it was the user's fault because he ignored the errors.

@Hedrox
+ closed Caption
+ dark gray windows with info/warnings
+ optional long audio /subtitles tracks description
+ optional Arial font for external subtitles

Now I guess that's all

Curious whether the modded firmware can be used on a system that has Rattebyte installed or whether it would be best to remove the physical rattlebyte mod to avoid any possible conflicts?

[bl4ck]

It should be removed, but it is not enough because the firmware is littly still modified. You need clean player, but it all depends on what you "need" because it is possible to have some extras + plus RB.

[ronand]

Originally Posted by George.P

Curious whether the modded firmware can be used on a system that has Rattebyte installed or whether it would be best to remove the physical rattlebyte mod to avoid any possible conflicts?

I have done it on my player. You need to install the stock factory firmware first before patching. However you need to install Rattlebyte 1.69 or older before stock 1.76 can be installed. Stock firmware will not install when the version numbers are the same.

If you try patching the rattlebyte firmware most likely you will end up with a permanently bricked player.

BTW - I left the rattlebyte physical mod in the machine and there doesn't seem to be any issue.

[Member-222782]

I read an article that claims Panasonic's mid and higher end 4K players (UB420 and up) contributed to Oppo closing up shop - any truth to this? I think Oppo simply ran their course and they moved on to other things. I was going to purchase the 420 but decided to splurge - at almost twice the cost! - for the 820 for the DV even though I'm perfectly happy with HDR. The differences between the two are virtually indistinguishable IMO. Are they really charging $250 more just for Dolby Vision?

BTW, has anyone ever had a Best Buy order returned because the courier couldn't make a delivery? Don't they usually just try again the next day? That pissed me off.

[sapiendut]

I don’t know how that would be. The 420/820/9000 were released after Oppo closed shop.

As for delivery, if the item size is big, they will stick a notification for the item to be picked up at their depot. But I never encountered for the item to be shipped back to sender after only one attempt.

[hansolo]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

The differences between the two are virtually indistinguishable IMO. Are they really charging $250 more just for Dolby Vision?

Time display in the player's front panel must cost something Yeah, basically the two most important reasons I picked 820 over 420 were DV support and time display.

[sapiendut]

Not only that. The disc drive is different too.

[chip75]

The 820 also has analogue audio outputs.

[Tok]

As far as the constant fiddling with JVC HDR settings it’s one parameter to adjust. The way some make it sound is you’re fiddling with multiple parameters. It’s a tradeoff… a brighter image clips some of the highlights whereas a darker one doesn’t. The problem is usually more because a disc wasn’t encoded with the HDR MaxFALL/MaxCLL which means the default JVC setting is usually not correct.

No I haven’t asked all JVC/Lumagen owners if it’s a necessary upgrade and no one else has either. It’s called a consensus. But there’s also a thing called confirmation bias too where consumers that buy certain devices convince themselves that a difference is noticeable. Of course Lumagen/MadVR owners are going to tell others that it’s a necessary upgrade because it was to them.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Tok

As far as the constant fiddling with JVC HDR settings it’s one parameter to adjust. The way some make it sound is you’re fiddling with multiple parameters. It’s a tradeoff… a brighter image clips some of the highlights whereas a darker one doesn’t. The problem is usually more because a disc wasn’t encoded with the HDR MaxFALL/MaxCLL which means the default JVC setting is usually not correct.

No I haven’t asked all JVC/Lumagen owners if it’s a necessary upgrade and no one else has either. It’s called a consensus. But there’s also a thing called confirmation bias too where consumers that buy certain devices convince themselves that a difference is noticeable. Of course Lumagen/MadVR owners are going to tell others that it’s a necessary upgrade because it was to them.

Let me see your consensus data. Oh wait, there is none.

And how much experience do you have with the Lumagen? Oh wait, none.

How ironic you are accusing Lumagen users of confirmation bias when that's what it seems like you're doing and still cannot even let this topic go yet. LOL.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

Let me see your consensus data. Oh wait, there is none.

And how much experience do you have with the Lumagen? Oh wait, none.

How ironic you are accusing Lumagen users of confirmation bias when that's what it seems like you're doing and still cannot even let this topic go yet. LOL.

Just more audiophile type gatekeeping. I don’t need it with my 3100. Maybe it’s more beneficial on the bulb based NP5.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Tok

Just more audiophile type gatekeeping. I don’t need it with my 3100. Maybe it’s more beneficial on the bulb based NP5.

It has nothing to do with lamps. The NZ7 and 8 are around ~20% brighter. An RS3100 user just posted here how the Lum was better. I get 103 nits after 900 hours of use (only lost 9%) on a 120" ST100 scope screen.

[sapiendut]

The DTM on the NX is also inferior to the NZ series. I had both.