Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[jonam]

Originally Posted by eChopper

my 9000 was bought pre covid

was pixelating and freezing from day one

went to Oppo and have been living in 4k bliss ever since

all the manufacturers use Nidec china to make their optical drives but i suspect Oppo had superior buffering , much superior , whereas the Panasonic and pioneer Lx-800 shitthemselves on a whim

for all those recommending a “lens cleaner “ disc with tiny brushes , they only wipe the top surface of the Objective lens

the obverse side and the many prisms used in beam refraction and focusing are never cleaned .

i still believe if the optical drives were made in japan we wouldn’t have a problem

With 4K discs the laser can be very sensitive due to all the data storage on them. To make sure it's not having further issues trying playing standard blu ray discs to check.

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by sa5150

How long does one think someone should keep something boxed up ? I have the 9000p1k never opened for a backup , I plan on getting the new Sony when its on sale or a panny . Right now my Sony x800m2 is doing great . Also have a modded Oppo 103d for blu-ray and dvds.

Not sure why wouldn't use a UB9000 if you have one. Keep cheaper players as backups. The Sony is a turrible user experience compared to Panasonic, and especially a UB9000.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by sa5150

How long does one think someone should keep something boxed up ? I have the 9000p1k never opened for a backup , I plan on getting the new Sony when its on sale or a panny . Right now my Sony x800m2 is doing great . Also have a modded Oppo 103d for blu-ray and dvds.

It's all up to you man there is no set time. it's yours. I would recommend the UB9000 and X800M2 on top of the Panasonic. Put the Oppo 103D away as a backup. Get whatever cheaper UHD player as a backup.

[Jumpman]

Question to anyone who might know…

Why does the Panasonic 820 alway choose HDR10+ over Dolby Vision when both are encoded on a disc?

EDIT: Nevermind. Figured it out.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

Question to anyone who might know…

Why does the Panasonic 820 alway choose HDR10+ over Dolby Vision when both are encoded on a disc?

EDIT: Nevermind. Figured it out.

Well, what did you discover? because I was also wondering why it prioritizes HDR10+ over DV.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

Well, what did you discover? because I was also wondering why it prioritizes HDR10+ over DV.

I don’t know why it prioritizes + over Dolby Vision but all you have to do is turn it off in the player settings and it’ll just play the Dolby Vision version.

[ronand]

It's by design. Read the manual. The "why" should be pretty obvious - panasonic and samsung are some of the earlier adopters of HDR10+ as a DV alternative so it would be logical to give it priority over DV when both formats are on a disc.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

I don’t know why it prioritizes + over Dolby Vision but all you have to do is turn it off in the player settings and it’ll just play the Dolby Vision version.

It is a bit frustrating that you have to pay attention to it and turn it on and off for specific discs. Thankfully there aren't that many that have both formats, so I just leave them on.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

It is a bit frustrating that you have to pay attention to it and turn it on and off for specific discs. Thankfully there aren't that many that have both formats, so I just leave them on.

Yeah, it is. I looked at my 4K disc collection and I have 5 discs that have both formats encoded and only 1 disc that’s JUST HDR10+. So, I’m just going to keep it off for now. I prefer the way Dolby Vision looks anyway.

[Telemachus]

I think I only own two HDR10+ discs Alien and Dawn of the Dead, maybe a couple more, I have it just turned off in the Panny, it did trip me up once on a VinSyn disc that would not play in HDR no matter what I did until I turned off HDR10+, was very odd since VinSyn doesn't even use it. My OLED doesn't support it either so it's useless for me.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

Yeah, it is. I looked at my 4K disc collection and I have 5 discs that have both formats encoded and only 1 disc that’s JUST HDR10+. So, I’m just going to keep it off for now. I prefer the way Dolby Vision looks anyway.

Among the big labels Fox are the only ones that had HDR10+ only discs, and they're only a handful, meanwhile WB and Universal were doing both around 2019-2021.

HDR10+ is a lot more popular on streaming.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

Among the big labels Fox are the only ones that had HDR10+ only discs, and they're only a handful, meanwhile WB and Universal were doing both around 2019-2021.

HDR10+ is a lot more popular on streaming.

Yeah, HDR10+ is definitely a lot more prevalent on streaming for sure.

[Robert Zohn]

Love this very active and informative/helpful for everyone thread!

If anyone wants the "step by step" instructions I created to properly set-up the HDR Optimizer please just email me your request. rzohn@valueelectronics.com

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Love this very active and informative/helpful for everyone thread!

If anyone wants the "step by step" instructions I created to properly set-up the HDR Optimizer please just email me your request. rzohn@valueelectronics.com

I have an HDR Optimizer video with more than 200K views

I think it’s in my signature too.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

I feel like the UB9000 is crap.

Almost every other 4K i play is always have those digital blocking / freezing / and plays in a slow motion at times or completely jagged

Currently trying to watch VS Jade

It’s so friggin annoying. Never had issues so bad with my OPPO

And let me stress I have a direct power supply from the fuse box and i have my equipment plugged thru a Panamax power conditioner.

No player with this price tag should have disc playback this crappy.

The discs are MINT and just in case I will take them out and wipe them properly.

I wish some company would make a high end player that is worthwhile.

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

I just played Dark City - Theatrical CUT 4K with no issues.
Just really no rhyme/reason for its pickiness to play / not play discs correctly.

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

It’s funny certain discs have no playback issues, but so far (so far) it’s always a Vin Syn disc that seems to cause the digital breakups/freezing.

Something tells me the cleaning disc for a player that is not even 2 months old is not going to fix anything.

I have never used a lens cleaner on my OPPO.

I may grab a lens cleaner disc ar Best Buy and see if it does anything for the 2 Vin Syn discs so far that give the issue. (Jade & The Golden Child)
Also had issues with The Abyss 4K

Update / Lens Cleaner disc may have worked I had issue at first but playback has improved. Fingers crossed.

Update that lens cleaner trick ended up not working.

I got the Panasonic UB9000 from Bombay Elect. A little over a month ago. After the above issues I had, and others with Panasonic models had, I got in contact with Bombay E. And they agreed to let me send it back and they were going to send me a new one. Well once it got back to them there was a couple days delay, and I finally requested they refund me the purchase.

I then placed a new order from 220 Electronics (also used a 15% off code with was nice.

Got player today and fingers crossed but I have played The first 40 mins of theatrical cut of Jade (Vin Syn) 4K that had all the issues, got no issues, I then out in Golden child again played it for about 30 mins over and past where it gave me issues, and it played fine.

I have yet to play Breathless or Possession of Joel Delaney so i can’t comment on those yet

And then I remembered! Me and some others were having playback issues on Powerhouse Inidcator’s Girls without Shame & The Iron Rose 4Ks.

Iron Rose for some of us, the main menu would only give us the background image and NOT give the menu options / play etc. and if when it would, we would soon have thr pixilation freezing issues.

I have had no menu issues on either Rollin 4K as of yet, both have played first 10-15 min fine.

Now with Panasonic we can’t figure out how is it older VS newer models of the UB9000 or is it coincidence /luck.

That said both 220 / Bombay cover up the serial # info with their own # and month year. My Bombay I sent back was May2024 while my 220 noted April2024 - now doesn’t mean much whenit could just be luck
In general.

Figured I would share this experience since my player(s) were new purchases and I was lucky to return the Bombay and go with 220.

[goodnightciggies]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

Update that lens cleaner trick ended up not working.

I got the Panasonic UB9000 from Bombay Elect. A little over a month ago. After the above issues I had, and others with Panasonic models had, I got in contact with Bombay E. And they agreed to let me send it back and they were going to send me a new one. Well once it got back to them there was a couple days delay, and I finally requested they refund me the purchase.

I then placed a new order from 220 Electronics (also used a 15% off code with was nice.

Got player today and fingers crossed but I have played The first 40 mins of theatrical cut of Jade (Vin Syn) 4K that had all the issues, got no issues, I then out in Golden child again played it for about 30 mins over and past where it gave me issues, and it played fine.

I have yet to play Breathless or Possession of Joel Delaney so i can’t comment on those yet

And then I remembered! Me and some others were having playback issues on Powerhouse Inidcator’s Girls without Shame & The Iron Rose 4Ks.

Iron Rose for some of us, the main menu would only give us the background image and NOT give the menu options / play etc. and if when it would, we would soon have thr pixilation freezing issues.

I have had no menu issues on either Rollin 4K as of yet, both have played first 10-15 min fine.

Now with Panasonic we can’t figure out how is it older VS newer models of the UB9000 or is it coincidence /luck.

That said both 220 / Bombay cover up the serial # info with their own # and month year. My Bombay I sent back was May2024 while my 220 noted April2024 - now doesn’t mean much whenit could just be luck
In general.

Figured I would share this experience since my player(s) were new purchases and I was lucky to return the Bombay and go with 220.

Thanks for the detailed post. It’s very strange that these “problem discs” are pretty much all the same for 820 users right now. I just checked my copy of Iron Rose and it’s indeed unplayable on my 820. Often no menu shows up, and when it does, it’s nothing but glitching.

I really wonder if this is some Pre-Covid vs Post-Covid build issue with the 820. Mine is definitely Pre-Covid, but it’s strange that so many owners are having the exact same issues on the exact same discs. There has to be a pattern or reason to this.

I am debating whether I should drop another $500 on a new 820 right now, since it seems newly made players aren’t having the same issues. But I also worry a new player is just going to give me the same issues 2 years from now.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by goodnightciggies

Thanks for the detailed post. It’s very strange that these “problem discs” are pretty much all the same for 820 users right now. I just checked my copy of Iron Rose and it’s indeed unplayable on my 820. Often no menu shows up, and when it does, it’s nothing but glitching.

I really wonder if this is some Pre-Covid vs Post-Covid build issue with the 820. Mine is definitely Pre-Covid, but it’s strange that so many owners are having the exact same issues on the exact same discs. There has to be a pattern or reason to this.

I am debating whether I should drop another $500 on a new 820 right now, since it seems newly made players aren’t having the same issues. But I also worry a new player is just going to give me the same issues 2 years from now.

legit concerns... but you'll go crazy if you analyze stuff like that... you have no way of knowing.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

[/B]

legit concerns... but you'll go crazy if you analyze stuff like that... you have no way of knowing.

Very true, for sure some oddities that we can only guess at, just makes it all more frustrating.

[goodnightciggies]

Personally, I would feel better if the glitching was entirely random across labels/discs or that all 820s suffered the same issues with certain problem discs.

But right now, it’s just 820 owners of seemingly older pre-covid players that are having the exact same issues on the exact same discs. It just makes me think either Panasonic snuck in a hardware change at some point or Dolby Vision encodes somehow changed this year and they no longer agree with older players.

Whatever it is, there’s too much of a pattern for it to be just player wear and tear. Too many people are experiencing the same thing for that to be the case.

[George.P]

Originally Posted by goodnightciggies

Personally, I would feel better if the glitching was entirely random across labels/discs or that all 820s suffered the same issues with certain problem discs.

But right now, it’s just 820 owners of seemingly older pre-covid players that are having the exact same issues on the exact same discs. It just makes me think either Panasonic snuck in a hardware change at some point or Dolby Vision encodes somehow changed this year and they no longer agree with older players.

Whatever it is, there’s too much of a pattern for it to be just player wear and tear. Too many people are experiencing the same thing for that to be the case.

Not saying it’s this (because I don’t think it is), but there was one well publicized hardware change in 2020/21 - they had to move to ESS DACs because the AKM plant burnt down (or something to that effect). Affected a lot of electronics manufacturers at the time.