Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[danny24]

Well the please wait forever and F99 error code has come back with my UB9000. Unplugged it from the PSU into wall outlet same thing. Definitely a motherboard error. I messed with it for over an hour last night and it would not boot to home screen. Had it since 2018 and it has lots of use since it's in my home theater room. It may have finally bit the dust. I am going to leave it off for a day and see if it resets. My Oppo 205 is back in the home theater room for now.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by deathshead1987

Something strange happened while I was watching the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray disc of the movie Rest in Pieces on my Panasonic UB820. At the 29 or 30 minutes mark the picture broke into pixelation. I tried cleaning the disc, but to no avail. The same Blu-ray disc played perfectly on my old Pioneer BDP-140. What happened? This is the second time this event, the picture breaking into pixelation, has occurred. The first time it happened it was with the special features Blu-ray disc of the limited 4K edition of Thriller: A Cruel Picture, also from Vinegar Syndrome, back in 2022.

Interesting to hear that, had the same thing on mine. Can’t remember what point it happened as it was a year or two ago and I tossed the disc.

[deathshead1987]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

Interesting to hear that, had the same thing on mine. Can’t remember what point it happened as it was a year or two ago and I tossed the disc.

Are you referring to the Rest in Pieces release? And did you throw away your disc before testing it in another player?

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by deathshead1987

Are you referring to the Rest in Pieces release? And did you throw away your disc before testing it in another player?

ya know, I did test it on another player, my LG UK90 and it played fine... (just like your experience testing another player).... but...

My Panny is my main player and my trust with the disc was gone... so I ditched it.

I've had a few other examples where a disc glitches out on my 820, but plays okay on my other player... disturbing to me....

oh, and yes, it was the REST IN PIECES release...

[danny24]

Just opened the UB9000 up there is a swollen cap on the power supply looks ready to burst. Going to have to eBay the cap and get the solder iron ready. So the good news is the motherboard likely works still.

[pr0darek]

Show us photos

[danny24]

Originally Posted by pr0darek

Show us photos

I ordered the cap for it. I'll take some before and after when I do the repair.

[PipesDonatello]

Originally Posted by deathshead1987

Something strange happened while I was watching the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray disc of the movie Rest in Pieces on my Panasonic UB820. At the 29 or 30 minutes mark the picture broke into pixelation. I tried cleaning the disc, but to no avail. The same Blu-ray disc played perfectly on my old Pioneer BDP-140. What happened? This is the second time this event, the picture breaking into pixelation, has occurred. The first time it happened it was with the special features Blu-ray disc of the limited 4K edition of Thriller: A Cruel Picture, also from Vinegar Syndrome, back in 2022.

This has happened to me during playback on 3 different Kino 4K discs recently. I put the same discs in my PS5 and playback is flawless. What in the hell is wrong with this $500 player that I purchased in late 2021?

[Bernardo A.]

Originally Posted by PipesDonatello

This has happened to me during playback on 3 different Kino 4K discs recently. I put the same discs in my PS5 and playback is flawless. What in the hell is wrong with this $500 player that I purchased in late 2021?

The PS5 would actually be a very nice player if it had DV.

[Naiera]

Aside from the noise, the light strip and the high power usage. I'm sure the little remote is fine though.

I have to remind myself to try it the next time a UHDisc glitches part-way through a movie.

[SS-3]

Well my second UB9000 pixelation issues are getting worse. Now, a much higher number of BD-66 discs pixelate. No issues with BD-25, BD-50, or BD-100 discs, just BD-66 discs. Terrifier 4K from Umbrella is the latest. That joins the list of Deadpool vs. Wolverine, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Fright Night, Pooh Blood & Honey, and Pooh Blood and Honey 2. Those are the recent ones that I can recall. All these discs play fine in my Oppo 203 and Reavon X-100.

It seems like these Panasonic players start having issues 18 - 24 months. That's been my experience with two of them now. I heard they were built much better pre-COVID. FYI, both my players were post COVID.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to resolve this issue other than sending it in for service or replacing it? FYI, swapped HDMI cables, using the cable and port the Oppo plays fine. I also did a factory reset as well.

[TooOldToDieYoung]

You could try cleaning the laser but I'm not sure if that's the issue. Maybe worth a try.

[SS-3]

Originally Posted by TooOldToDieYoung

You could try cleaning the laser but I'm not sure if that's the issue. Maybe worth a try.

I gave that a try on both players and unfortunately it didn't resolve the issue. I've read it's a laser alignment issue and/or authoring issue. The latter would make the most sense since BD-66s from WB, Lionsgate, Paramount etc. play fine. The BD-66 issue seems to be manufacturer specific. It's both frustrating and confusing.

I doubt Best Buy Geek Squad will give me another new player with my Geek Squad warranty but I see what they have to say. Unfortunately, the local store makes the call, and you can't contact them by phone. So, I have to go to the store and see what they say.

[TooOldToDieYoung]

Yeah, I would also try to exchange it. A new drive would be the last option I suppose.

[SS-3]

Originally Posted by TooOldToDieYoung

Yeah, I would also try to exchange it. A new drive would be the last option I suppose.

Agreed. I don't trust Best Buy Geek Squad depot repair because they were horrible with my first player. All they did was a factory reset, which I had already tried, and it was noted in the ticket. The local store manager then gave me a replacement. Hopefully, they do the same thing this time.

[mdhaus]

Originally Posted by SS-3

Agreed. I don't trust Best Buy Geek Squad depot repair because they were horrible with my first player. All they did was a factory reset, which I had already tried, and it was noted in the ticket. The local store manager then gave me a replacement. Hopefully, they do the same thing this time.

It doesn't make sense that the laser would be great on every other capacity...including the BD-100 discs...but only have problems with BD-66 discs. There are more layer transitions with a BD-100 disc. A layer change is a layer change.

My guess is that it's a manufacturing quirk of the discs themselves.

[rroeder]

I wonder how many played blamed issues are actually the discs, I know my 820 plays discs a lot more reliably than my Sony's did but it's hard to believe the QC on these is so hit or miss and the disc drives are so finicky. Not saying it's not happening but I bet half the discs I get if I didn't inspect them, wipe em down before playing, clean them with soap/water sometimes, return them when scratched, I bet they wouldn't play right.

That said knock knock!

[mkozlows]

Originally Posted by rroeder

I wonder how many played blamed issues are actually the discs, I know my 820 plays discs a lot more reliably than my Sony's did but it's hard to believe the QC on these is so hit or miss and the disc drives are so finicky.

I thought this was true for a while -- my 820 clearly wasn't broken, so if there were occasional discs that flaked out (it was like under 10% of them), presumably it was a disc problem rather than a player problem. But the part where they always played fine in the Xbox made that seem a little weird.

After getting a 9000 on sale, it's worked perfectly and I haven't had a single issue where a disc breaks up into pixelation, and all of the "bad discs" now work fine. It's the players.

(My 820 did it out of the box on day one, but I was convinced for so long that it was a disc problem that I didn't try returning it or getting it repaired while I could have.)

[Naiera]

I haven't had my UB9000 for very long and haven't thrown any discs I've previously had issues with after it, but mine's been perfect so far, too. Hopefully that'll continue.

[RalphoR]

I've had a hiccup or two on my Panasonic 9000 but, too this day, my Cambridge CXUHD has been perfect. Engineering.