Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[chip75]

Originally Posted by rroeder

Is there a button on the remote that gives display info while streaming Netflix?, the status and playback info buttons don't do anything. On my previous Sony player the display button would show the timestamp for the show, internet speed and resolution it's streaming at currently

Nope, unfortunately no info with Panasonic players and Netflix.

Originally Posted by Jack Priest

It was a Series 7 disc, and yeah, it says it is 50i, but is being output at 60. I was playing some Series 9 discs the other day and they were 1080/50i, the same as Series 7, but they were being output correctly at 4K/50p

Didn't someone have this issue previously, not sure if it was mod related?

[panasonicst60]

Just finished installing the region free rattlebyte. Not too bad at all. I also took the opportunity to install dynamat on the top cover, which made the player quieter and more substantial feeling. Region free finally!

[Naiera]

I’ll pour some cement in mine to make it heavier.

[Panson]

Originally Posted by F3NR_91

Hi all,

I would greatly appreciate any comments or advice you have!

Could anyone please confirm if the Panasonic UB9000 is capable of outputting Blu-Ray/DVD 1 or 2 channel Dolby, Dolby-HD, DTS, DTS-HD, LCPM etc audio via the XLR/RCA outputs?

I have a C8 77, Sony X800(MR) & B&O soundbar at the moment, its not great for Mono or Stereo, which tends to be the majority of content I watch. I'm therefore looking a better solution. I only watch discs, no streaming/live TV.

I'm thinking of replacing the Sony with a UB9000(MR) which will give me the 2 channel out, I would then be looking to purchase an integrated amp (Possibly a tube amp like a Unison Research Simply?) and speakers (Maybe some LS3s or Quad ESLs?)
Basically something that will hopefully sound a bit special.

My concerns are, am I going to have issues with lip sync? Should I wait and see if Pioneer bring back the lx800? is the player going to somehow down convert the signal before outputting and therefore would be better off with a proper avr/processor?

Many thanks in advance!

Good idea ditching the soundbar for speakers. Suggest used, or attractive sale at Crutchfield.

For not much more than the new price of a UB9000, you may be able to find decent used AVR with pre-outs, CD player, and integrated amp. The X800 doesn't shine with CDs, but its source direct mode for video discs is a big plus.

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by Naiera

I’ll pour some cement in mine to make it heavier.

With isolated footing and dynamat, it makes a difference. The ub820 is now a bit quieter. Besides that, the power and eject buttons feel solid compared to before. It's just icing on the cake

[Geoff D]

I dunno about dynamat but an isolation platform is a must for these Pannysonic players. A bit of wood and some rubber balls cut in half ain’t exactly the most space age of tech but it literally cured the vibration/loudness problem in an instant. The problem is more that the player seems to resonate with my glass TV stand than the player itself but even so, that was the best £30 I ever spent.

[Cerberus40000]

Originally Posted by Jack Priest

It was a Series 7 disc, and yeah, it says it is 50i, but is being output at 60. I was playing some Series 9 discs the other day and they were 1080/50i, the same as Series 7, but they were being output correctly at 4K/50p

Huh you're right, I just checked my Season 7 on both my UB820 and UB9000 and its 60hz

I also tried it on my Sony S6700 and it played at the correct 50hz, this is weird

[Cerberus40000]

Originally Posted by Jack Priest

It was a Series 7 disc, and yeah, it says it is 50i, but is being output at 60. I was playing some Series 9 discs the other day and they were 1080/50i, the same as Series 7, but they were being output correctly at 4K/50p

Fixed it! though we really shouldn't have to be messing around like this for it to work

You have to change TV System to PAL (also requires a restart of the player to work) it also forces the player's dashboard and system menus to 50hz too though, 60hz and 24hz content still seems to work correctly.

[Jack Priest]

Nice! Thank you. I had already set it to PAL when I first got the player a few months back, so perhaps updating the firmware reset it. I'll give it a shot later when I'm home. I wonder why some discs it puts through at 50 regardless though...

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Cerberus40000

Fixed it! though we really shouldn't have to be messing around like this for it to work

You have to change TV System to PAL (also requires a restart of the player to work) it also forces the player's dashboard and system menus to 50hz too though, 60hz and 24hz content still seems to work correctly.

Interesting that you're getting 10-bit 4:2:0 on the output. Where is your 4K60 setting at?

[Cerberus40000]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Interesting that you're getting 10-bit 4:2:0 on the output. Where is your 4K60 setting at?

Oops glad you caught that, I was messing around with setting and forgot to put it back, it should have been 4:2:2/12bit

[Jack Priest]

Originally Posted by Cerberus40000

Fixed it! though we really shouldn't have to be messing around like this for it to work

You have to change TV System to PAL (also requires a restart of the player to work) it also forces the player's dashboard and system menus to 50hz too though, 60hz and 24hz content still seems to work correctly.

No luck. Mine was already set to PAL, so I changed it to NTSC and then back to PAL again, then turned the player off and on again, and it's still outputting 60p for the Series 7 discs...

Edit: hmm, not all of them. Discs 1 & 2 are playing correctly at 50p for me. Disc 3 seems to be the only one the player is outputting at 60p for some reason...
(Disc 3 was the one I noticed the issue with to begin with)

Edit #2: Disc 3 is now being output at 50p, hurrah! No idea what the issue was. Lol

[George.P]

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

Just finished installing the region free rattlebyte. Not too bad at all. I also took the opportunity to install dynamat on the top cover, which made the player quieter and more substantial feeling. Region free finally!

Interesting. Took a quick look at their website and looks like it still requires custom firmware to work? Did you find this was better than the custom firmware-only solution?

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by George.P

Interesting. Took a quick look at their website and looks like it still requires custom firmware to work? Did you find this was better than the custom firmware-only solution?

From what I've read, the custom firmware only needs to be installed the first time (once), after that you can install over the air updates without problems. I do not have a direct comparison with firmware only, therefore I can not comment. This solution works great so far.

Edit: With the firmware only, you need to press a few buttons to set the player to your desire region for either DVD or Blu-ray.

For the rattlebyte, all region for dvd plays automatically. For Blu-ray, when the player is off, you just press 1, 2, or 3 to set region.

Just noticed that both disables UOP and PUO navigation restrictions. Pretty cool, as it has always annoyed me.

[ronand]

The rattlebyte mod needs custom firmware to work. The OTA update method actually downloads custom firmware from a modified URL. I've done the mod on my UB450 as it was my only option and it works nicely. A single keypress when the unit is in standby is all that is needed to change the region.

[panasonicst60]

Originally Posted by ronand

The rattlebyte mod needs custom firmware to work. The OTA update method actually downloads custom firmware from a modified URL. I've done the mod on my UB450 as it was my only option and it works nicely. A single keypress when the unit is in standby is all that is needed to change the region.

Thanks for clarifying. I misinterpreted it.

"Installing Future Firmware Updates
Once available, network firmware updates can be installed as usual using the player's built-in
firmware upgrade facility. Make sure the player is connected to the Internet, then navigate to
Setup→Player Settings→System→Firmware Update→Update Now and start the update
process. "

[George.P]

Originally Posted by ronand

The rattlebyte mod needs custom firmware to work. The OTA update method actually downloads custom firmware from a modified URL. I've done the mod on my UB450 as it was my only option and it works nicely. A single keypress when the unit is in standby is all that is needed to change the region.

Originally Posted by panasonicst60

Thanks for clarifying. I misinterpreted it.

"Installing Future Firmware Updates
Once available, network firmware updates can be installed as usual using the player's built-in
firmware upgrade facility. Make sure the player is connected to the Internet, then navigate to
Setup→Player Settings→System→Firmware Update→Update Now and start the update
process. "

Does it offer an option to add custom subs? I couldn’t find anything on their website.

[ronand]

Not that I know of. AFAIK all available functions are listed on the website. You could drop Erik an email - I have found him helpful.

[nachoju95]

Originally Posted by George.P

Does it offer an option to add custom subs? I couldn’t find anything on their website.

It doesn't have the functionality I sent them an email and they replied this:

Dear Nacho,
No, the custom firmware does not at present support the external subtitles. This functionality may be added at a future date but right now I have no ETA for this feature.

[silvusvalentine]

For someone looking into the UB9000, would you all recommend the Rattlebyte mod over purchasing one from 220-electronics?