Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by evan201

Ok. I'm thoroughly impressed.

Glad you're satisfied.

Hope I'll be equally satisfied when my Cinegrey finally arrives...

[curlyjive]

Originally Posted by evan201

HDR optimizer doesn't do anything when SDR signal is being played as far as I can see either. The range adjustments do.

I think that is correct. The signal has already been mapped to sdr. I am not sure because Kris mentioned that turning it on changed the target nits to 350 and I thought he was referring to sdr bt2020 in that post a few pages back.

[Rams71]

Hi folks,

I'm waiting for my player, but if somebody has a JVC 7xx/9xx projector with custom curves, have you tried this:
HDR TV type = LCD (1000 nits?)/Optimizer ON --> JVC with 1200 nits custom curve (or whatever custom curve you have, I'm using JAVS 1200 and 4000 nits curves).

Will this work? If I understand correctly, the Panny wont do much tone mapping below 1000 nits (or whatever nits limit you choose in HDR TV type).

I guess there are other options, like SDR/BT2020, but I like to watch HDR movies in high lamp (for the extra "punch") and I'm getting close to 140 nits on my 110' screen.

Other option:

-Send HDR "source direct" from the Panny (optimizer OFF) and use the custom curves as before. But then what's the point with this player instead of my cheap Phillips player?

- Use tone mapping only in the Panny (HDT TV type = Projector) and factory/standard HDR setting in my JVC X790, then adjust to taste with HDR Brightness slider.

Is this correct, or have I misunderstood completely?

Kris Deering: when and where can we read your review??

[Erod]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

For a projector I would recommend using the SDR2020 mode and not using your curves at all (at least compare the two and figure out which gives you the image you want). If you want to use your curves, go into the HDR setup menu in the main setup and select projector for the display type. Then turn on HDR Optimizer. This will tone map down to 500 nits. I can't imagine this would work well with Chad's curves though, but you never know (I don't have his curves to try out).

Hello, Kris. My first post on this forum, though you have helped me before elsewhere.

I have the UB900 with my JVC RS620. Calibrated beautifully by Chad B, who built me two custom HDR curves.

I'm intrigued by the UB820 because of HDR Optimizer's supposed ability to reduce clipping on both bright and dark scenes.

Why would Chad's curves not work with that? What is the reason you don't believe his curves would work well with the Optimizer?

[sa5150]

Would the 820,900 or the 9000 be the best for up converting dvds ? Or the Oppo 203 and Sony x800 . I still have hundreds that will never see any kind of HD release and I like to see them the best they can be for what they are . I also only have a 1080p set . I'm trying to plan ahead once I do get a Oled . Not really worried about DV,HDR for now . I have the x800 still not opened . I maybe trying to get a Oppo 205 if I get a email from them and I think I would be set for a long time with that player over anything .

[rprice54]

I have a JVC RS540. Tried the 820 last night. I’ll try to get pics off my camera later today.

My setup is a custom curve (from a user Javs at another forum), low lamp. Wide open iris. BT2020 colorspace.

Short version- I focused mainly on dark scenes. Most of us PJ users struggle with too dim HDR. I think the HDR optimizer is more about highlight clipping than improving brightness. With the setting on PJ the optimizer darkened the entire screen. At middle it was less noticeable and set to high luminance TV I couldn’t tell it was on. It never made the screen brighter. I’m not impressed with the optimizer.

That being said- I still really like the player. Motion seems smoother. Not sure why. Normally I keep CMD on low. I tolerate a little SOE to get rid of some judder. The SOE was more pronounced so I turned CMD off. Everything looked great without frame interpolation.

Javs 1200 v3 curve is still my favorite. More shadow detail than the optimizer and the default HDR 2084 gamma. BUT- if I didn’t have his curve I could get really close playing with the HDR adjustments. I could see someone going this route instead of custom curves. Running the optimizer on top of the curve didn’t change things noticeably.

It sure seemed like the handshake lag was a lot less. Much faster times. That’s a know frustration with JVC projectors- they take FOREVER when there’s a change in resolution or frame rate or any other parameter. Switching back and forth to the disc and menu was almost seamless. The menu was 1080P/60.

I tried the SDR/2020 setting but the PJ still saw a HDR signal. Not sure what’s going on there.

[E6AtmosVuduDV]

Not sure if this was posted. Tho I read a lot at this thread.

UB820 manual
http://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/...820/index.html

[RodChester]

Man those HDR optimizer pics are something else. The 820 is really looking like a great player. I’m starting to consider selling my Oppo 203 and getting an 820. Hell, I may even come out a few dollars ahead seeing what the 203s are going for.

The only thing about the 820 that I don’t like is how the front looks. I’m not a fan of how the whole front panel folds down. I’d rather have the disc tray visible instead of hidden.

[COACH10810]

Originally Posted by E6AtmosVuduDV

Not sure if this was posted. Tho I read a lot at this thread.

UB820 manual
http://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/...820/index.html

Thank you for sharing!

The manual that comes in the box is barely a manual....but just enough to get your unit going.

[evan201]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Man those HDR optimizer pics are something else. The 820 is really looking like a great player. I’m starting to consider selling my Oppo 203 and getting an 820. Hell, I may even come out a few dollars ahead seeing what the 203s are going for.

The only thing about the 820 that I don’t like is how the front looks. I’m not a fan of how the whole front panel folds down. I’d rather have the disc tray visible instead of hidden.

Bottom line is you have WAY more HDR control than any other player.

I'm very impressed with the SDR/2020 conversion of HDR UHD discs too. Brings up all the shadows, but still very nice.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by rprice54

I have a JVC RS540. Tried the 820 last night. I’ll try to get pics off my camera later today.

My setup is a custom curve (from a user Javs at another forum), low lamp. Wide open iris. BT2020 colorspace.

Short version- I focused mainly on dark scenes. Most of us PJ users struggle with too dim HDR. I think the HDR optimizer is more about highlight clipping than improving brightness. With the setting on PJ the optimizer darkened the entire screen. At middle it was less noticeable and set to high luminance TV I couldn’t tell it was on. It never made the screen brighter. I’m not impressed with the optimizer.

That being said- I still really like the player. Motion seems smoother. Not sure why. Normally I keep CMD on low. I tolerate a little SOE to get rid of some judder. The SOE was more pronounced so I turned CMD off. Everything looked great without frame interpolation.

Javs 1200 v3 curve is still my favorite. More shadow detail than the optimizer and the default HDR 2084 gamma. BUT- if I didn’t have his curve I could get really close playing with the HDR adjustments. I could see someone going this route instead of custom curves. Running the optimizer on top of the curve didn’t change things noticeably.

It sure seemed like the handshake lag was a lot less. Much faster times. That’s a know frustration with JVC projectors- they take FOREVER when there’s a change in resolution or frame rate or any other parameter. Switching back and forth to the disc and menu was almost seamless. The menu was 1080P/60.

I tried the SDR/2020 setting but the PJ still saw a HDR signal. Not sure what’s going on there.

Shouldn't you have gamma correction off if using the optimizer? Otherwise aren't you basically doubling up the curve?

[COACH10810]

I just spent a good hour going back and forth on several different settings.
Here are my thoughts:

-The SDR 2020 does a great job and is REALLY close to what my HDR low lamp mode looks like. The HDR low lamp mode edges it out, but it was a lot closer than I would have thought. Has anyone messed with the Dynamic Range Adjustment Adj feature while using this mode? I just read the manual and found what it did..

-The HDR Optimizer, set to "On", during SDR 2020 playback doesn't see to do anything in the scenes I tested.
Same goes for when I have it on while using my HDR curves.

-I was able to get my low lamp curve about 90-95% of what what high lamp curve looks like by simply using the slider and going up to +4. Still need to run this same scenario on the UB900 to see if any improvements were made to the slider feature.

At this point, I still think the UB820 might be worth keeping once I can figure out if the "Tone Curve" sliders will be worth messing with and if they will be something that can be set and not have to be adjusted for each movie.

The ability to have some presets for different playback modes could be useful as well.

[COACH10810]

Originally Posted by evan201

Bottom line is you have WAY more HDR control than any other player.

I'm very impressed with the SDR/2020 conversion of HDR UHD discs too. Brings up all the shadows, but still very nice.

I agree with you on this as well. In my previous post, I mentioned that as well.

This player is a must buy, IMO, if you don't have a really good HDR calibration...

[Clark Burk]

Originally Posted by COACH10810

I just spent a good hour going back and forth on several different settings.
Here are my thoughts:

-The SDR 2020 does a great job and is REALLY close to what my HDR low lamp mode looks like. The HDR low lamp mode edges it out, but it was a lot closer than I would have thought. Has anyone messed with the Dynamic Range Adjustment Adj feature while using this mode? I just read the manual and found what it did..

-The HDR Optimizer, set to "On", during SDR 2020 playback doesn't see to do anything in the scenes I tested.
Same goes for when I have it on while using my HDR curves.

-I was able to get my low lamp curve about 90-95% of what what high lamp curve looks like by simply using the slider and going up to +4. Still need to run this same scenario on the UB900 to see if any improvements were made to the slider feature.

At this point, I still think the UB820 might be worth keeping once I can figure out if the "Tone Curve" sliders will be worth messing with and if they will be something that can be set and not have to be adjusted for each movie.

The ability to have some presets for different playback modes could be useful as well.

Do you think the HDR optimizer is disabled if you use SDR2020 mode? It does say that it is only active with HDR material.

[evan201]

Originally Posted by Clark Burk

Do you think the HDR optimizer is disabled if you use SDR2020 mode? It does say that it is only active with HDR material.

Might be worth Panasonic just greying out the option when SDR is fed to avoid this confusion and wonderment. The range adjustments still work, but not the optimizer, so just grey it i think.

[RodChester]

Originally Posted by COACH10810

This player is a must buy, IMO, if you don't have a really good HDR calibration...

I wonder then, would I see much of an upgrade in HDR picture quality on my Sony 285 that has the German gamma curves?

[evan201]

Originally Posted by RodChester

I wonder then, would I see much of an upgrade in HDR picture quality on my Sony 285 that has the German gamma curves?

Get a good return policy and have at it. I can't see this being a bad add to the theater if you're a projection user.

[COACH10810]

Originally Posted by Clark Burk

Do you think the HDR optimizer is disabled if you use SDR2020 mode? It does say that it is only active with HDR material.

That is probably it..

Originally Posted by evan201

Might be worth Panasonic just greying out the option when SDR is fed to avoid this confusion and wonderment. The range adjustments still work, but not the optimizer, so just grey it i think.

It does allow you to turn it on and off, but probably isn't doing anything. Having it greyed out would be more ideal.

[Sir Dagonet]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

Yes. Set gamma for 2.4 and color profile to BT2020. I would set HDR Optimizer to On and start with the slider at 0. Good luck.

Kris,

I apologize if your previous answer(s) already tell me everything I need to know... but if you'll indulge me...

I have a JVC RS520. What settings would you recommend
1. for the PJ
2. for the UB820?

Thanks very much...

[Sir Dagonet]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Panasonic selected our company (Value Electronics) as the exclusive launch partner for the UB820 and UB9000.

Our 1st allocation arrived Monday, July 30th. Here's a couple pictures of me with the 1st allotment.

Some of us are fortunate enough to have found Robert before the release of the player...

Impressive pictures of the inventory, Robert, and a cozy, quaint looking building...