Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[elgee]

Originally Posted by hemlis1357

I've got a new 9000.

Sometimes when I pop in a disc it says "copyright violation" and it won't play. If I eject and reload the disc it works fine.

I haven't installed any firmware updates because of all the horror stories here. Wondering if I should return it, try updating, or if anyone has had a similar incident?

I think it sounds like a HDMI handshake issue. I would try another cable and different ports.

[Wes_k089]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

My UB820 just turned 6 years old. It's served me very well, and hasn't had any major issues.

But more and more discs take longer to load, or they refuse to load before a wash with soap+water (no visible damage or residue). Maybe 1 in 8 discs, namely new releases.

I've heard the UB9000 recommended as if it has fewer of these issues. I'm considering upgrading.

Anyone have firsthand experience with both players? And is there any appreciable improvements with PQ/AQ (i doubt it).

I ended up getting a UB9000 because i adore the look and build quality. I noticed it gets quite warm, borderline hot, while watching a normal length movie. Not sure if this is typical.

I deployed some AC Infinity blower fans to help with airflow, which has helped tremendously. Those and the other fans on my "rack" are powered by an AC Infinity thermostat controller, based on the AVR's temp:

[Homegrove]

I got sick of my X700 freezing, will make it my DVD player from now on, and I am getting UB820 next week. I tried googling, couldn't really find anything when it comes to recommended settings for HDR to SDR when used with a 1080 projector. Does anyone have some handy?

[sapiendut]

When you use 1080p, the HDR will automatically be converted to SDR. No change necessary.

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

I ended up getting a UB9000 because i adore the look and build quality. I noticed it gets quite warm, borderline hot, while watching a normal length movie. Not sure if this is typical.

I deployed some AC Infinity blower fans to help with airflow, which has helped tremendously. Those and the other fans on my "rack" are powered by an AC Infinity thermostat controller, based on the AVR's temp:

I have never had a problem with thermals, and my machine sits on the shelf beneath my display.

[BijouMan]

I recently got a Synology machine. I cannot get the Panasonic machine to access it using "Network Drive." I have entered the correct IP address, share name and credentials and I even have SMB1 enabled on the Synology machine. I have a machine running Windows XP on the network and it interacts perfectly with the Synology machine (since turning on SMB1), but the Panasonic machine just throws a "Cannot connect" error. I also have a Western Digital My Cloud machine and the Panasonic machine interacts with that perfectly. Is there some setting I still have to change on the Synology machine?

[TheHistorian]

Here's a weird bug I discovered:

Frame reverse is noted in the manual as not working on all formats, but frame advance should. Fine.

Yet, I noticed that some discs won't frame advance. The only commonality I've discovered between them is that they have pop-up menus (or at least something happens via the pop-up button). Then I happened upon a work around for those; if the status menu is up, then frame advance works.

I have no explanation.

[sojrner]

Originally Posted by TheHistorian

Here's a weird bug I discovered:

Frame reverse is noted in the manual as not working on all formats, but frame advance should. Fine.

Yet, I noticed that some discs won't frame advance. The only commonality I've discovered between them is that they have pop-up menus (or at least something happens via the pop-up button). Then I happened upon a work around for those; if the status menu is up, then frame advance works.

I have no explanation.

Send your findings to their support email. You may not get anything but a generic response, but many companies route those details to the dev team behind the scenes, which can result in it getting fixed in a future update. No guarantee on that at all, and they would never ack you for alerting then about it if it was fixed, but we'd know here on this forum.

[Snikt]

So I’m SUPER happy with my 820! Any reason at all to buy the 9000? Seems like it’s mostly a better build. I’m not worried about the audio input options the 9000 has

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by Snikt

So I’m SUPER happy with my 820! Any reason at all to buy the 9000? Seems like it’s mostly a better build. I’m not worried about the audio input options the 9000 has

I have both. The ub820 is my backup and main player if I need region free(modded). 9000 is a lot quieter during disc operations. Probably a hair better sound and pq, although most will argue that their the same . The built quality is a massive difference, which to me makes it worth it, to most it's not.

[Snikt]

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

I have both. The ub820 is my backup and main player if I need region free(modded). 9000 is a lot quieter during disc operations. Probably a hair better sound and pq, although most will argue that their the same . The built quality is a massive difference, which to me makes it worth it, to most it's not.

Thanks for the response. I’m leaning towards purchasing another 820 as a back-up. Can’t justify spending $1000 on something that’s NOT a 4K tv

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by Snikt

Thanks for the response. I’m leaning towards purchasing another 820 as a back-up. Can’t justify spending $1000 on something that’s NOT a 4K tv

In your case, I wouldn't buy any new player, but put all my money on a 4k tv. Oled please

[Snikt]

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

In your case, I wouldn't buy any new player, but put all my money on a 4k tv. Oled please

. Well I’m also VERY happy with my Samsung 4K tvs. 55 inch for the living room and a newer 65 in model for the Mancave

[Oscarilbo]

Guys, a question:
I noticed a bit of a strange bug. Watching Lord of the Rings in Dolby Vision on my SONY X700 Player, when I pause or rewind or move forward the with the remote control of the player the overall image dims a bit while doing this, and then goes back to normal brightness once pause or going backward or forward is done. But once in a while it DOES NOT go back to normal brightness and stays dim until I do it again, or similar. All this only happens in Dolby Vision, not HDR10. When I pause in HDR10 or any other action it doesn’t dim at all.

I also tried Dolby Vision on Netflix on my Apple TV and it does not dim in pause or whatever.

Now, this dimming action is done by the player, right? And my question is, Does the Panny UB820 does the same? I mean, dimming while in pause or moving forward or backwards in Dolby Vision?

[Steel76]

Something I'm wondering about.
I have a custom region free firmware in my 820, that I got from Regionfreedom, a couple of years ago. I read people having problems with some newer releases, and have to wait for a new firmware to fix this. Yet I have still never encountered any issues with any disc.
I know the custom firmware, shuts off copy protection, BD-Live and other unnecessary features.
Is any of those features, like the copy protection, the cause for problems with official firmwares?
Never needed to update the player again, since i got that custom firmware.

[pr0darek]

BDLive? not was disabled in Regionfreedom fw. copy protection? it is called Cinavia has to do with recorded copies of discs. The rest is minor stuff. All of these things have no impact on performance and potential problems.

btw
Project "Regionfreedom" has been ported, improved and is also available for 1.82 on avforums now.

[Wes_k089]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

My UB820 just turned 6 years old. It's served me very well, and hasn't had any major issues.

But more and more discs take longer to load, or they refuse to load before a wash with soap+water (no visible damage or residue). Maybe 1 in 8 discs, namely new releases.

I've heard the UB9000 recommended as if it has fewer of these issues. I'm considering upgrading.

Anyone have firsthand experience with both players? And is there any appreciable improvements with PQ/AQ (i doubt it).

Originally Posted by sherlockjr

It's not necessarily a surprise that a six year old electro-mechanical device that requires very precise positioning of a very narrow laser might start having issues after more than half a decade of use.

My suggestion would be to get a brand new UB-820 instead from Amazon or another retailer that allows 30 day returns. You'd save 60% over the cost of the UB9000 and the video output should be the same--the primary advantages of the 9000 are all with analog sound.

If it turns out your problems continue, return the 820 and get a 9000. If everything is fine, you saved yourself $600. Which you could put towards another 820 in six years and still have spent less total cash.

I got a brand new UB820 over Christmas--the manufacturing date is September 2024--and so far it's had zero issues playing 4K or other disks.

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

I ended up getting a UB9000 because i adore the look and build quality. I noticed it gets quite warm, borderline hot, while watching a normal length movie. Not sure if this is typical.

I deployed some AC Infinity blower fans to help with airflow, which has helped tremendously. Those and the other fans on my "rack" are powered by an AC Infinity thermostat controller, based on the AVR's temp:

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

I have never had a problem with thermals, and my machine sits on the shelf beneath my display.

Originally Posted by Snikt

So I’m SUPER happy with my 820! Any reason at all to buy the 9000? Seems like it’s mostly a better build. I’m not worried about the audio input options the 9000 has

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

I have both. The ub820 is my backup and main player if I need region free(modded). 9000 is a lot quieter during disc operations. Probably a hair better sound and pq, although most will argue that their the same . The built quality is a massive difference, which to me makes it worth it, to most it's not.

I bought the UB9000, it ran hot, as in discs ejecting at 100°F after 2 hours.

I bought a 2nd one from a different retailer. Same thing.

Thats too hot for my liking. Seems like it's not good for the player or discs long-term.

So i ended up returning both UB9000's and ordering a new UB820. Just arrived today.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

I bought the UB9000, it ran hot, as in discs ejecting at 100°F after 2 hours.

I bought a 2nd one from a different retailer. Same thing.

Thats too hot for my liking. Seems like it's not good for the player or discs long-term.

So i ended up returning both UB9000's and ordering a new UB820. Just arrived today.

You didn’t need to do that. There are workarounds to deal with the hotness. See Wes_k089’s post.

[Wes_k089]

Originally Posted by MrHT

You didn’t need to do that. There are workarounds to deal with the hotness. See Wes_k089’s post.

That's me lol

The fans helped a bit, but not enough IMHO

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by MrHT

You didn’t need to do that. There are workarounds to deal with the hotness. See Wes_k089’s post.

I've used a number of DVD, HD DVD, BD, and UHD BDs players (Pan 420 and 820) and I've never had to use a 'workaround' or fan because of the player overheating. Something is definitely wrong there especially at its price.