Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[johnny-torrance]

Originally Posted by mdhaus

That sounds to me like a cable or handshake issue - possibly residing with your TV and not the player.

I've got a brand new cable hooked up to it, but I also thought about this last night watching "Stranger's Kiss", which was not a 4K UHD. The main feature played without a hitch, but I could not watch any of the special features without the video going in and out, even after ejecting the disc multiple times.

[backwater]

Originally Posted by Ghisy

Hey, has anyone had any regular BR freeze on the UB820?

I watched "Aliens" on BR this morning (the disc from the Anthology) and it completely froze at the 2 hour-mark. Disc is absolutely pristine. I put in my Sony X700 and it worked perfectly fine. My UB820 is only a few days old and firmware is up to date.

What gives? Isn't there one UHD disc player that works flawlessly?

Couple years later, but watching the Alien movies this week, I've had issues with the Aliens and Alien 3 discs. Granted, both have scratches on them due to the Anthology packaging, but they ended up playing fine on my cheap Seiki player.

[johnny-torrance]

Knock on wood, but I switched out the new 10 foot Monoprice cable I bought back to a shorter 3 foot BlueRigger cable and I've yet to have the screen cut to black while playing a disc. I've only played two discs thus far with the BlueRigger connected, but fingers crossed.

[armus]

Originally Posted by chip75

I'd try sending the audio to the soundbar from the player second HDMI output and use the digital (optical) for the TV's sound. That way you bypass ARC.

It's a good suggestion and I gave it a try. It might've helped a bit with the 820 interaction but the interaction with the TV got worse (e.g., TV might be more apt to use its speakers than the sound bar) so I've switched back to ARC.

I've noticed that the 820 (at least with my setup) is much worse about playing mkv files with DTS. The sound basically alternates on and off a few times a second. I tries an equivalent setup using my X700 (i.e., separate HDMI cables to TV and soundbar) and didn't notice a problem.

I got one of the cheap ~$10 UB9000 replica remotes from a 3rd party seller on Amazon. The remote's backlight is white (some reviews from other listings had a red light), though it doesn't seem to support the ability to reconfigure the code to work with the TV (I used code 20 for it and the actual 820 remote--the 820's remote works fine with the TV but the replica 9000 remote doesn't).

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by armus

Today I tried replacing my Sony X700 with a Panasonic UB820. So far the experience with my Samsung Q60 TV and Samsung Soundbar is disappointing. While I was able to gain HDR10+ (vs. the X700) it seems as though Samsung doesn't support DTS, so the UB820 resorts to PCM but when it does it goes down to 2ch. So, if a disc uses Dolby then that works fine, but it it uses DTS then I'm just going to get 2.0 audio on my 5.1 setup.

Have you tried going into the sound settings on your TV and change the Digital Audio Output to Pass Through? This seems to be the most logical setting so the signal from the 820 goes straight to the Soundbar.

So if you are confused about how this is setup:

1. Make sure you have your Panny 820 plugged into a non-ARC/eARC HDMI port on your TV.

2. Then plug the soundbar's audio output HDMI into your ARC/eARC port on your TV.

3. Go into your TV's settings and make sure your Digital Audio Output is set to Pass Through.

4. Go into the Connection/External Device Manager Settings on your TV and make sure "Input Signal Plus" is turned "On."

5. Make sure on your Panny 820 's audio output is set to bitstream to both Dolby and DTS and make sure Secondary Audio is "Off."

6. Also, make sure both cables (One to the Panny and TV; the other to the Soundbar and TV) are HDMI 2.0. Otherwise, that could also be an issue as well.

That should allow you to hear both Dolby Audio and DTS Audio.

[armus]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Have you tried going into the sound settings on your TV and change the Digital Audio Output to Pass Through?

I’ve looked into this before but there isn’t an option for this (results for reddit seem to confirm that Samsung can’t handle DTS even for passthrough). The only options are PCM, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital+.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

What really bugs me about soundbars is how they try to automatically balance out the sound making dialogue sound louder while loud sound effects sound quieter like they're always on night mode resulting in it sounding really uneven. I don't know how people like that. In the middle of the night when others are sleeping or certain circumstances I can understand but all the time? Is there a way to disable that or is it inherent to the design of soundbars?

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by armus

I’ve looked into this before but there isn’t an option for this (results for reddit seem to confirm that Samsung can’t handle DTS even for passthrough). The only options are PCM, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital+.

Only other thing I can think of is connecting the 2nd HDMI port on your Panny 820 directly to your Soundbar and the 1st HDMI port on your 820 to your TV.

If you only use the soundbar to listen to movies and not your TV speakers, go into the HDMI settings on your 820 and find the settings on the HDMI 1 Port and just choose Video only. If you want to have the option to listen to movies without the soundbar (I do that just I don't want to listen through my receiver all of the time), keep it on Video/Audio.

You can still use ARC if you want for other things like streaming services or through your TV's channels. Personally, I don't use eARC because it's annoying; I just have an optical cable going from my TV to the receiver. Sure I am not getting streaming Dolby Atmos or DTS:X but I only have a 5.1 setup. I'm not missing too much.

[Fendergopher]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

What really bugs me about soundbars is how they try to automatically balance out the sound making dialogue sound louder while loud sound effects sound quieter like they're always on night mode resulting in it sounding really uneven. I don't know how people like that. In the middle of the night when others are sleeping or certain circumstances I can understand but all the time? Is there a way to disable that or is it inherent to the design of soundbars?

Sounds like a DRC setting, which you should be able to toggle on and off.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by armus

I’ve looked into this before but there isn’t an option for this (results for reddit seem to confirm that Samsung can’t handle DTS even for passthrough). The only options are PCM, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Digital+.

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Only other thing I can think of is connecting the 2nd HDMI port on your Panny 820 directly to your Soundbar and the 1st HDMI port on your 820 to your TV.

If you only use the soundbar to listen to movies and not your TV speakers, go into the HDMI settings on your 820 and find the settings on the HDMI 1 Port and just choose Video only. If you want to have the option to listen to movies without the soundbar (I do that just I don't want to listen through my receiver all of the time), keep it on Video/Audio.

You can still use ARC if you want for other things like streaming services or through your TV's channels. Personally, I don't use eARC because it's annoying; I just have an optical cable going from my TV to the receiver. Sure I am not getting streaming Dolby Atmos or DTS:X but I only have a 5.1 setup. I'm not missing too much.

Any luck from trying out what I suggested above?

[armus]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Any luck from trying out what I suggested above?

The 2 HDMI cables was previously suggested, and the summary of post 15097 and post 15121 is that using 2 HDMI cables does help to get DTS with the soundbar during disc playback (but not with mkv files) though there's circumstances that can kick the soundbar from the HDMI input back to the ARC input.

I've been living with the setup for about a week now, and "Top Menu" is the main circumstance where I notice the audio switch back to ARC. Overall the setup is not ideal (I have to use 2-3 remotes to switch between DTS disc playback and OTA TV) but livable (at least considering that Dolby discs are straightforward and the main alternative to get something turnkey would be to replace the TV--I'm not going to go the AV Receiver route for an apartment, and my experience with a friend's Marantz has shown me that they can also have a different form of unnecessary complications]).

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by armus

The 2 HDMI cables was previously suggested, and the summary of post 15097 and post 15121 is that using 2 HDMI cables does help to get DTS with the soundbar during disc playback (but not with mkv files) though there's circumstances that can kick the soundbar from the HDMI input back to the ARC input.

I've been living with the setup for about a week now, and "Top Menu" is the main circumstance where I notice the audio switch back to ARC. Overall the setup is not ideal (I have to use 2-3 remotes to switch between DTS disc playback and OTA TV) but livable (at least considering that Dolby discs are straightforward and the main alternative to get something turnkey would be to replace the TV--I'm not going to go the AV Receiver route for an apartment, and my experience with a friend's Marantz has shown me that they can also have a different form of unnecessary complications]).

Isn't there a way to just turn off "ARC' on your Samsung TV when you are watching movies through the soundbar? I know for my LG C9, I can hit the settings button, go down to audio, and toggle between TV Speakers, Optical, and eARC. Since I don't use eARC (because it is constantly activating when I don't want it to), I have it off and just toggle between TV Speakers and Optical.

[StLouisRibs]

Has anyone had problems with CD playback on the 820? I did some searching around online and can't see anyone reiterating what I've been running into.

I've used it fairly regularly to play CDs through my sound system, but in the past few weeks have run into issues where around 20 or 25 minutes in it begins skipping around, audibly 'chirping' at high frequencies, and generally acting up to the point it becomes difficult and takes some time for it to back out to the player menu. But the weirder thing is I have found the problem seems to not happen if I let the player hang on the home menu for several minutes, at which point I can press play and have no issues. I thought the issue could be with individual disks, but have found them on any disc I've tried in the past few weeks since I first noticed a problem. I've tried some other configurations in sound settings but nothing seems to have any impact.

I've never, ever had an issue with BD, DVD, or UHD playback. Anyone have any tips?

[blue348]

Has anyone ever noticed their 820 “skip” like a single frame here or there? No pixelation and audio is totally uninterrupted. Like if you blinked you’d never know. The weird thing is I can never replicate it - if I rewind and replay the passage it’s always fine. Layer change?

I’ve had three 820s for various reasons and I’ve for sure seen this on two of them.

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by blue348

Has anyone ever noticed their 820 “skip” like a single frame here or there? No pixelation and audio is totally uninterrupted. Like if you blinked you’d never know. The weird thing is I can never replicate it - if I rewind and replay the passage it’s always fine. Layer change?

I’ve had three 820s for various reasons and I’ve for sure seen this on two of them.

I have both the 820 and the 9000, both plays flawlessly. Yours might be defective. Try a factory reset and make sure your disc are clean.

[Cowman]

Originally Posted by blue348

Has anyone ever noticed their 820 “skip” like a single frame here or there? No pixelation and audio is totally uninterrupted. Like if you blinked you’d never know. The weird thing is I can never replicate it - if I rewind and replay the passage it’s always fine. Layer change?

I’ve had three 820s for various reasons and I’ve for sure seen this on two of them.

Yes it only happens with Dolby vision though. The disc drive has been replaced once and the issue persisted on the occasional disc. I have factory reset and patched it.

Usually happens a couple of times during a movie if a disc is having the issue.

Wondered if the tv player combination might be the reason. I got 820 and LG C1.

[blue348]

Originally Posted by Cowman

Wondered if the tv player combination might be the reason. I got 820 and LG C1.

Well I do have a LG B7…

I suppose it could be image processing on the tv dropping the frame? Do you run an AVR?

I did get an extended warranty so I’d be able to swap if it gives me too much trouble, but I don’t really think there’s something wrong with it.

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by blue348

Well I do have a LG B7…

I suppose it could be image processing on the tv dropping the frame? Do you run an AVR?

I did get an extended warranty so I’d be able to swap if it gives me too much trouble, but I don’t really think there’s something wrong with it.

Do you have any form of frame interpolation turned on? If so it will be the TV skipping the frame. The frame interpolation in the older LG OLEDs were problematic.

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by Cowman

Yes it only happens with Dolby vision though. The disc drive has been replaced once and the issue persisted on the occasional disc. I have factory reset and patched it.

Usually happens a couple of times during a movie if a disc is having the issue.

Wondered if the tv player combination might be the reason. I got 820 and LG C1.

I have the 820 running through an HDMI 2+ receiver to a C1. Never encountered this problem. Perhaps, as noted below, any processing you have turned on might be at issue. Related to that are other potential settings, like HDMI deep color and such. It could also be an out of spec HDMI cable. Those are easy and cheap things to check.

Originally Posted by blue348

Well I do have a LG B7…

I suppose it could be image processing on the tv dropping the frame? Do you run an AVR?

I did get an extended warranty so I’d be able to swap if it gives me too much trouble, but I don’t really think there’s something wrong with it.

[blue348]

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

Do you have any form of frame interpolation turned on? If so it will be the TV skipping the frame. The frame interpolation in the older LG OLEDs were problematic.

It’s off. Though I’m not using game mode so it’s still doing “stuff” processing wise.