Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Feisty_Masterpiece74]

Originally Posted by PipesDonatello

I've had mine for a little over 3 years and it just started happening about a month ago. Odd thing is it plays boutique label 4Ks and all blu-rays just fine.

I just did it again tonight on 4k Gladiator, which is paramount. But I also had it occur on a Shout disc recently. But it doesn't to happen to ever single disc so far.

[I5o]

Originally Posted by KillerQ

So,

I know the UB820 can be unlocked via an addon chip from rattlebyte/ but one of the attractions to the unit is that it can also be region unlocked via a softmod firmware upgrade.

My question is, do both methods yield the EXACT same unlocked abilities and features, or are there additional features that you get from the hardware chip install modification?

Thanks!!

Gidday KillerQ, I have installed various Rattlebyte modchips (hardware) and their own provide custom firmware (software) to people who have only bought their mochip and I have read that it does open up some Panasonic options that would be greyed out without a hardware/software mob. Send them a question about these unlocking options. I use their modchips because I trust them and I can now purchase any worldwide BD ,DVD or 4K disc and enjoy it on my LG oled.

Now be aware that you must be very good at using a fine soldering iron and knowing how to very carefully solder about 6 points on the motherboard PCB of either your UB820 or UB9000.

Also carefully install the custom firmware to make the shiny new modchip function and it has the latest version firmware. And Rattlebyte will provide warranty for the modchip and not your machine.

Consequently this will void your Panasonic warranty unless you pay stores like 220 electronics and Bombay who charge a pretty penny for doing it for you in their supplied Panasonic machine plus they provide the warranty on the modchip and custom firmware. Look up Rattlebyte dot com and send a question to their support people. Good luck!

[I5o]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

I have and enjoy two Oppo udp-203s. I also have two region-free Samsung 8500s (a K and an M) that still function fine, but many uhd discs make that cheapo unit sound like it is literally trying to take flight, or disassemble itself from within, when the disc spins up. It's well past time to upgrade the old Sammys.

I'm thinking of grabbing a region-free Panny ub9000 or two as backups for my Oppos. I understand the 9000 is well made and more silent than the Panny 820. Cost is not a factor and I'd prefer best possible build quality with quietest operation, so I haven't really considered the 820.

What say the experienced forum collective about the newest available 9000? Good or bad move? Primary display is an LG 77" G4 oled.

Gidday DaylightsEnd, nice cache of good old Oppos. I have the old 93 with modchip from some demark guy.

I have the UB820 and the UB9000. The UB820 for my liking is too light and reminds me of a Sony X700. However the UB9000 is a lovely beast of a machine on mt LG oled and Sony, I have teardowned it and the UB820 for curiosity and comparison and the UB9000 is way ahead in build and quieter beffier disc drive. If coin is no issue buy two so you can have one for spare parts. Good luck with you choice! cheers

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by I5o

Gidday DaylightsEnd, nice cache of good old Oppos. I have the old 93 with modchip from some demark guy.....the UB9000 is way ahead in build and quieter beffier disc drive. If coin is no issue buy two so you can have one for spare parts. Good luck with you choice! cheers

This is precisely what I've done, two UB9000s as backups. Thanks for your input! Much appreciated.

[jess1581]

My tv has the ability to peak at 2,000 nits, so how effective is the "HDR TV TYPE" setting when choosing a luminance level? Is it imperative that I set it to super high luminance LCD, or can I just keep it at the "recommended"(according to the player) setting of middle to high luminance LCD? Reason I ask is that my tv is set to high local dimming as well as high peak brightness as it is. I also am concerned about "clipping" since more times than not a UHD only has so many nits of brightness level.

[blackray4k]

Originally Posted by jess1581

My tv has the ability to peak at 2,000 nits, so how effective is the "HDR TV TYPE" setting when choosing a luminance level? Is it imperative that I set it to super high luminance LCD, or can I just keep it at the "recommended"(according to the player) setting of middle to high luminance LCD? Reason I ask is that my tv is set to high local dimming as well as high peak brightness as it is. I also am concerned about "clipping" since more times than not a UHD only has so many nits of brightness level.

Always set the player to match the light output of the TV. The "recommended" "Middle or High Luminance" setting I have always inferred as being based on what most LCD TV's could max out to when the player was released.

While I've never seen any official information from Panasonic stating what exact nit levels their settings are for, it's generally considered to be:

Super High Luminance LCD = 1500 Nits
Middle or High Luminance LCD = 1000 Nits
Basic Luminance LCD & Projector = 500 Nits

Since your TV can do 2000, you should set it to Super High. If you set it to Middle or High, the player is mapping the signal output down to a maximum of 1000 nits.

[unknownuser0001]

Last time I watched a movie at home was about 12 years ago and probably not the best time to join the physical media party again but I started collecting 4k discs which is quite challenging and pricey in Europe and so far I only managed to find a handful of stores that ship to my country.

My experience with the player is alright so far but reading through many posts here makes me worried, hopefully playback problems won’t be frequent.

But the player itself almost scratched me, screws are sticking out of the bottom. Is this how it supposed to be on a player priced like this?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by unknownuser0001

Last time I watched a movie at home was about 12 years ago and probably not the best time to join the physical media party again but I started collecting 4k discs which is quite challenging and pricey in Europe and so far I only managed to find a handful of stores that ship to my country.

My experience with the player is alright so far but reading through many posts here makes me worried, hopefully playback problems won’t be frequent.

But the player itself almost scratched me, screws are sticking out of the bottom. Is this how it supposed to be on a player priced like this?

Panasonic's quality control has slipped considerably over the lifetime of their 4k players.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by unknownuser0001

But the player itself almost scratched me, screws are sticking out of the bottom. Is this how it supposed to be on a player priced like this?

It's quite common to have a millimetre or two of thread sticking out depending on the construction of the player, as they secure interior components.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by PipesDonatello

My UB820 has recently had issues reading some 4K discs, mainly ones from Paramount. Anyone else experiencing this?

Fortunately I haven't had any issues with my player as I put on the 4K of "Zodiac" last night and it played fine. I've had my player for almost five years and counting. But it sucks to hear that.

[cvarrick]

Hi, I'd love some help with setup/menu settings, I'm fairly new to the 4k/uhd world, & the manuals that come with these things aren't much use these days. (I'm sure the answer's in this thread somewhere, but 784 pages...)

What settings should I use to output the Panasonic ub820 to an LG C3? I thought everything should be more or less set to auto, but saw a video where the guy said to set 4k60p output to 4k/60p (4:4:4). Some other things he said seemed off so I thought I'd check here. Any other advice regarding settings appreciated.

Thanks.

[PipesDonatello]

Originally Posted by No Name

Fortunately I haven't had any issues with my player as I put on the 4K of "Zodiac" last night and it played fine. I've had my player for almost five years and counting. But it sucks to hear that.

It's weird because if I eject the disc a few times the Paramount discs usually end up playing. However I just tried the Clerks blu ray and it still didn't play after 10 attempts. I put a Criterion 4K in afterward and it fired right up. Hopefully it's a firmware issue and an update can fix this.

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by cvarrick

set 4k60p output to 4k/60p (4:4:4)

Yes that's what I use

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by I5o

Gidday KillerQ, I have installed various Rattlebyte modchips (hardware) and their own provide custom firmware (software) to people who have only bought their mochip and I have read that it does open up some Panasonic options that would be greyed out without a hardware/software mob. Send them a question about these unlocking options. I use their modchips because I trust them and I can now purchase any worldwide BD ,DVD or 4K disc and enjoy it on my LG oled.

Now be aware that you must be very good at using a fine soldering iron and knowing how to very carefully solder about 6 points on the motherboard PCB of either your UB820 or UB9000.

Also carefully install the custom firmware to make the shiny new modchip function and it has the latest version firmware. And Rattlebyte will provide warranty for the modchip and not your machine.

Consequently this will void your Panasonic warranty unless you pay stores like 220 electronics and Bombay who charge a pretty penny for doing it for you in their supplied Panasonic machine plus they provide the warranty on the modchip and custom firmware. Look up Rattlebyte dot com and send a question to their support people. Good luck!

I have a 220-modded UB820, and in my experience 220's firmware does not provide as many additional features as Rattlebyte's (or the software-only mod). I believe 220's mod is limited to region unlocking -- though simpler than Rattlebyte for both DVD (auto-selection) and BD (simply press 1, 2 or 3 for the region instead of Rattlebyte's longer codes) -- and adding full 50Hz playback support (I believe by starting with European instead of North American stock firmware). 220's firmware does not appear to remove UOP blocks or enable external subtitles, like Rattlebyte & the software-only mod do.

[RBBrittain]

Originally Posted by Telemachus

Yes that's what I use

The YouTuber behind the most popular Panny settings video later tried to walk back his recommendation of 4:4:4, mainly because not all 4K TVs support it. My view is it should be set based on what your TV will support; if it supports 4:4:4 12-bit like my Hisense then that should be used, but if your TV doesn't you may want to use a different setting.

[blackray4k]

Originally Posted by RBBrittain

I have a 220-modded UB820, and in my experience 220's firmware does not provide as many additional features as Rattlebyte's (or the software-only mod). I believe 220's mod is limited to region unlocking -- though simpler than Rattlebyte for both DVD (auto-selection) and BD (simply press 1, 2 or 3 for the region instead of Rattlebyte's longer codes) -- and adding full 50Hz playback support (I believe by starting with European instead of North American stock firmware). 220's firmware does not appear to remove UOP blocks or enable external subtitles, like Rattlebyte & the software-only mod do.

Rattlebyte is the same:


rattlebyte by Black Ray, on Flickr

https://www.rattlebyte.com/Shop.php?...OpersOTiRwsrb7

[danny24]

My UB9000 is back at it again with F99 at startup. Have to restart it several times to get it to boot up. I think it may be my power strip. Anyone recommend a replacement?

[Wintermute]

Originally Posted by danny24

My UB9000 is back at it again with F99 at startup. Have to restart it several times to get it to boot up. I think it may be my power strip. Anyone recommend a replacement?

I have a Panasonic 820, but when I bought that and my LG C2, I did some research on the best power-strip/surge-protectors and decided on this one, which has never given me any problems:

"Tripp Lite ISOBAR6ULTRA Isobar 6-Outlet Heavy Duty Power Strip Surge Protector, 3330 Joules, 6ft Cord, Right-Angle Plug, Metal Power Strip, Industrial Garage Work Shop Bench, Mountable Power Strip"

https://a.co/d/jk4FnWA

[DRC72]

So I bought the African Queen 4K movie which is a UK import. The 4K disk is region free A,B,C. The regular BD is region locked to B, so I'm not expecting that disk to work at all. I tried the movie in my 820 and it does not work. It shows a quick black screen and then goes back to the player's main menu. When I put the disk in my 9000, it plays no problem. I bought the 9000 back in 2019, and the 820 in December 2024. The software version on both are the same. What makes the 820 different where it can't play it, but 9000 can? Both are running version 1.82.

[George.P]

Originally Posted by danny24

My UB9000 is back at it again with F99 at startup. Have to restart it several times to get it to boot up. I think it may be my power strip. Anyone recommend a replacement?

Does it not show the error when plugged directly into a wall outlet?