Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[fusion_400]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Sometimes I think discs are off balance with excessive artwork. Irecall once having a disc with vibration issues and balancing it with pieces of tape like balancing a car wheel. It was in the DVD era. Any rate, a heavier mechanism will absorb vibration better.

I was surprised how silent my 9000 disc noise was. I got down during playback and couldn't really hear it.

Great to hear that you can validate that the UB9000 is a silent player.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Sometimes I think discs are off balance with excessive artwork. Irecall once having a disc with vibration issues and balancing it with pieces of tape like balancing a car wheel. It was in the DVD era. Any rate, a heavier mechanism will absorb vibration better.

I was surprised how silent my 9000 disc noise was. I got down during playback and couldn't really hear it.

This is something I considered; the problem with the DVD I mentioned -- Home Alone Family Fun Edition -- was that we never heard this noise in any other previous player we used. I can't believe it's the CXUHD's tray/loading mechanism, as it's SO robust and well-made.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Sometimes I think discs are off balance with excessive artwork. I recall once having a disc with vibration issues and balancing it with pieces of tape like balancing a car wheel. It was in the DVD era. Any rate, a heavier mechanism will absorb vibration better.

I was surprised how silent my 9000 disc noise was. I got down during playback and couldn't really hear it.

Actually you are correct with that thought. Physical media can be produced that is too thick, hole off center, or some other out of spec condition that when you spin the media at a high speed, such as UHD BD it causes increased noise. I remember discussion with one media sample where the thickness of the commercial Blu Ray media was way thicker then normal discs, yet it still got into a users hand believe it or not.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Actually you are correct with that thought. Physical media can be produced that is too thick, hole off center, or some other out of spec condition that when you spin the media at a high speed, such as UHD BD it causes increased noise. I remember discussion with one media sample where the thickness of the commercial Blu Ray media was way thicker then normal discs, yet it still got into a users hand believe it or not.

Also does anyone remember audiophile CD weights for top loaders?

At any rate, a physically heavier drive mechanism does improve noise from balance type vibration.

[mittensandstripes]

Does anybody have experience with this player (North America) trying to play the Region B (UK) Perfect Blue Bluray using the top menu trick?

I'm new to the world of multi region players, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that this is the one to get based on the top menu trick. Would that be enough, or would custom firmware be the way to go?

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by mittensandstripes

Does anybody have experience with this player (North America) trying to play the Region B (UK) Perfect Blue Bluray using the top menu trick?

I'm new to the world of multi region players, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that this is the one to get based on the top menu trick. Would that be enough, or would custom firmware be the way to go?

All the Region B anime in my collection(Berserk, GitS SAC, Gurren Lagann) did not work with the top menu trick. Only firmware did the trick. The Top menu trick does work for Arrow UK, SC UK from what I tested.

I also live in NA.

[IITravel01]

Originally Posted by mittensandstripes

Does anybody have experience with this player (North America) trying to play the Region B (UK) Perfect Blue Bluray using the top menu trick?

I'm new to the world of multi region players, and I've pretty much come to the conclusion that this is the one to get based on the top menu trick. Would that be enough, or would custom firmware be the way to go?

Pretty sure the Top Menu trick only works on Region B players (ie, Europe) to play certain other region blu-rays and doesn't work on region A players (North America).

Went to BestBuy.com to order the UB820 this morning, it's now "Sold Out" again. (bad luck this morning, Amazon's price on the 400GB microSD card I wanted jumped from $150 to $250 also, was finally going to get my entire CD collection ripped uncompressed to a single microSD card).

[GiuseppeM]

Originally Posted by fusion_400

Ok i thought there was a big difference between the UB820 and UB9000 disc rotation noise when playing 4k UHD Bluray. This is the main reason i am buying a UB9000 because of it's low disc rotation noise. But if there is no big difference i guess i need to cancel my order directly.

Hi, I wouldn't cancel it. I think that if you buy only one reader, it's better to buy the 9000. If you buy one for your home theatre and the other for the living room or the bedroom, then it would be right to buy a 9000 and a 820. That's my opinion.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by bobbyg53

Panasonic’s proprietary chipset appears to have a dramatic effect on color and clarity of Bluray playback when comparing the UB820 to an Oppo 203, for example. This can be of great value because of the huge catalog of 1080p material.

I too noticed, when I had the UB820, that colors were almost ridiculously saturated during Blu-ray upscaling (that was leaving my display's picture controls where they were as well as the 820's); one of the first discs we tested with the player, Disney's Haunted Mansion, looked wholly "rich and baked" with regard to the saturation levels, moreso than I recall that disc ever looking in the past on a Panasonic DMP-BD10A and Oppo BDP-83.

[JoeDeM]

Originally Posted by IITravel01

Pretty sure the Top Menu trick only works on Region B players (ie, Europe) to play certain other region blu-rays and doesn't work on region A players (North America).

The top menu trick does work on region A players.

[JustinZed]

My UB820 arrived today, and it is not noisy at all. When I put my head right next to it, I could hear a little whirring, but from more than a couple feet away, it was silent.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by JustinZed

My UB820 arrived today, and it is not noisy at all. When I put my head right next to it, I could hear a little whirring, but from more than a couple feet away, it was silent.

How's the performance of your MU8000 with the 820 thus far? Are you using the Digital Clean View feature on the Samsung?

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

How's the performance of your MU8000 with the 820 thus far? Are you using the Digital Clean View feature on the Samsung?

I hope he isn't.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by King Crimson

I hope he isn't.

You don't use it on your Samsung when watching discs?

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

You don't use it on your Samsung when watching discs?

No I would never.

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by King Crimson

No I would never.

Did you ever try it on LOW?

Does your model have the AUTO DCV setting?

[JustinZed]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

How's the performance of your MU8000 with the 820 thus far? Are you using the Digital Clean View feature on the Samsung?

I am still learning about how to make the most of it, but so far I am very happy with it. HDR performance does seem to be much improved over the Samsung K8500, and I really like all the extra control over the HDR processing. I cannot always watch in a dark room, so I especially appreciate the ability to adjust for different viewing environments. I tested with Planet Earth II and Coco, and my wife and I both agreed that the picture quality was a noticeable step up.

I am not using Digital Clean View.

[GiuseppeM]

Originally Posted by JustinZed

I am still learning about how to make the most of it, but so far I am very happy with it. HDR performance does seem to be much improved over the Samsung K8500, and I really like all the extra control over the HDR processing. I cannot always watch in a dark room, so I especially appreciate the ability to adjust for different viewing environments. I tested with Planet Earth II and Coco, and my wife and I both agreed that the picture quality was a noticeable step up.

I am not using Digital Clean View.

Try Black Panther and Mamma mia Here we go again. Especially the first one is hors categorie with Panasonic, if you own a LG C8 or a brand new Sony AF9 it's a chromotherapy.

[sa5150]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

I too noticed, when I had the UB820, that colors were almost ridiculously saturated during Blu-ray upscaling (that was leaving my display's picture controls where they were as well as the 820's); one of the first discs we tested with the player, Disney's Haunted Mansion, looked wholly "rich and baked" with regard to the saturation levels, moreso than I recall that disc ever looking in the past on a Panasonic DMP-BD10A and Oppo BDP-83.

"ridiculously saturated during Blu-ray"

how so ? Bad ? I'm going to be getting the 9000 in a few weeks and blurays and dvds will be mostly what I will be watching at first , over 500 of them . I hope i'm not making the wrong choice on player .

[that1guystudios]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

The UB820 and UB9000 are Alexa and Google Assistant ready.

To get the AI voice control working someone needs to get the "Skills" built. I signed up as a developer and am trying to get the time to build the Skills myself, but may just give in to hiring a professional programmer with skills to build Alexa Skills. Get it skills for skills. JK on that part, but the rest is all true and many things said in jest are true.

FYI, and on another subject, I am beginning to prefer Google Assistant as it uses Google's search engine and Alexa uses Bing. I also like the way Google replies to follow-up questions.

Robert, you can currently sign up for an voice enabled account for the disc player and it refers to a Panasonic Blu-ray Player skill that hasn't been released by Panasonic. (Though Panasonic has released an Alexa TV app.) Are you saying that Panasonic isn't going to release the skill?