Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by chip75

I doubt we'll see a new physical format or players.

There's going to have to continue to be a format for collectors and enthusiasts who won't settle for the serious audio and to a lesser degree video limitations of streaming services.

Whether that's a physical format or some premier download format remains to be seen, but discs are very cheap to produce and store an enormous amount of data.

[Naiera]

4K Blu-ray is already testing the limits of what they can do with optical media. They'll need to do something completely different if they ever do an 8K physical format.

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by Naiera

4K Blu-ray is already testing the limits of what they can do with optical media. They'll need to do something completely different if they ever do an 8K physical format.

laserdisc sized media!

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by jmpage2

There's going to have to continue to be a format for collectors and enthusiasts who won't settle for the serious audio and to a lesser degree video limitations of streaming services.

Yes, and it's UHD. 8k native is so rare and also so pointless at normal viewing distances that there is zero need for a whole new format. Yes there will be people who say "lol I'm streaming this in 8k that's better than your 4k disc" but who cares what idiots say.

[HeavyHitter]

I'll just be grateful if UHD BD discs are still be produced within 10 years.

[mx77]

Yesterday I watched first 1080p movie on my DP-UB450 player, which was Alien vs. Predator (my son really likes that movie), and the picture quality was way worse than I expected. I have an 85" tv, and the watching distance is something like 4m, which should be pretty ok. Then I changed the player to output 1080p signal and the tv made a far superior upscaling. While the picture left much to desire even with tv doing the upscaling, I would really hate to change that setting every time I watch a regular blu-ray movie. This cases are probably few and far between, but does the 820 do a better job upscaling? Or maybe I should ask if the owners of 820 model have tested how is tv vs. player upscaling?

[HorrorBlu]

It's me again. The one who had a disc stuck in their player the other week. Was able to retrieve the disc with help from the kind folks here. Had been working fine since then... until tonight when it happened again!

Fortunately I was able to get the disc out using the same method as before, but will probably have to send it in for warranty because I can't keep doing this every ten uses or so. Bought it in November, so less than a year.

After I mentioned it, there were about three other users that mentioned their player was having the same issue, where it won't eject. I guess I'm just wondering how wide an issue this is? I don't want to have it replaced and just have the same issue start happening again in a few months.

This is the 420 by the way.

[jmpage2]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

I'll just be grateful if UHD BD discs are still be produced within 10 years.

Yeah, I don't see discs still being available for releases in 10 years. I'm sure the sales have been on a steady decline for quite some time now.

[Jonathan McLeod]

Originally Posted by jmpage2

Yeah, I don't see discs still being available for releases in 10 years. I'm sure the sales have been on a steady decline for quite some time now.

Sales for the overall physical media market have been declining for years, yes. But with the ever increasing availability of streaming, that should come as no surprise. However the 4K UHD format is growing, both in relative terms compared to DVD/Blu-ray and in absolute terms. They still only make up about 15% of the total physical market, but DVD is and will remain king there, probably forever, given how widely adopted the platform was.

[HorrorBlu]

Anyone have experience with the warranty through Panasonic?

They want me to pay the shipping, even though it is their defective product. Guy on the phone gave me the whole runaround about it, it was clear he didn't want to do it even though it is less than 7 months old. Not great service from their representative.

The other option is that it is still covered by Best Buy Geek Squad. I can bring it in there and they'll look at it for free. The problem is... the player is working fine now, at least until the next time a disc gets stuck inside. So if I bring it in, it's difficult to show them the problem. Also, if they open it up and look inside, does that void the manufacturer warranty? Their phone representative was great though.

Just curious what anyone's experience with the actual warranty is. How long did it take to receive it back? Did they just send you a new / refurbished player, or the same player back repaired? Was the problem actually fixed? Any issues since? Is Geek Squad the better option? Etc.

^ This is in regards to the 420 mentioned above whose tray sometimes won't open.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by b_scott

agreed. People are already happy with digital, and compression and download speeds are both only going to get better.

That's not what I am seeing. Streaming platforms like Netflix are re-encoding their library with MORE compression, not less as they seek to minimize server farm storage costs. Video quality has taken a hit. Plus, they haven't come up with any improved audio codecs for streaming.



You have three choices for quality AV...


For the masses... 4k discs.

For the One-Percenters... Kaleidescape downloads (it's the hardware that makes the pricing so outrageous), or Theatrical DCP rentals for a screening room.

That's it.

If discs finally meet their end, you will have to pray that you land a better job or win the lottery to be able to move to the One Percent category.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by mx77

Yesterday I watched first 1080p movie on my DP-UB450 player, which was Alien vs. Predator (my son really likes that movie), and the picture quality was way worse than I expected. I have an 85" tv, and the watching distance is something like 4m, which should be pretty ok. Then I changed the player to output 1080p signal and the tv made a far superior upscaling. While the picture left much to desire even with tv doing the upscaling, I would really hate to change that setting every time I watch a regular blu-ray movie. This cases are probably few and far between, but does the 820 do a better job upscaling? Or maybe I should ask if the owners of 820 model have tested how is tv vs. player upscaling?

Really depends on the TV. My 820 upscales a lot better than my TV does, but other TVs might upscale better than the 820. Reviews like Rtings usually rate upscaling for TVs, if you want to check those out.

Originally Posted by jmpage2

Yeah, I don't see discs still being available for releases in 10 years. I'm sure the sales have been on a steady decline for quite some time now.

Discs for the mainstream will be long gone by 2034 for sure, but that isn't the doom and gloom people act like it is. Look at vinyl, a relatively small percentage of music revenue but a thriving collector's market anyway. That's the future of movies, if not the present. I don't see that market going away for a long time, or dedicated people wanting to serve that market, unless the studios kill it for funsies.

[dcx4610]

Still selling my 820 if anyone is interested for $325 shipped. Near mint and I'll throw in the upgraded remote along with the original. Just trying to wrap my head around the best way to ship it...

[Jodi]

I have the Panny 9000. Just wanted to ask how I can bring up the on-screen display with both the video and audio bitrates - fun for comparing discs!

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Jodi

I have the Panny 9000. Just wanted to ask how I can bring up the on-screen display with both the video and audio bitrates - fun for comparing discs!

It's the PLAYBACK INFO. button, hold it down for the HDR info.

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

That's not what I am seeing. Streaming platforms like Netflix are re-encoding their library with MORE compression, not less as they seek to minimize server farm storage costs. Video quality has taken a hit. Plus, they haven't come up with any improved audio codecs for streaming.

I didn't say compression quality has magically improved overnight, but h.265 looks better than h.264 and I believe it's smaller too. That type of thing will either continue to happen and/or consumer's pipelines will get bigger (fiber, 5G/6G, etc). Think back to 1999 when dial up switched over to cable internet. Same thing.

[Naiera]

Improvements in compression technology will be used to improve the bottom lines of streaming companies by making files smaller, not to make streaming quality better.

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Improvements in compression technology will be used to improve the bottom lines of streaming companies by making files smaller, not to make streaming quality better.

it's going to be both. I get that you have a pessimistic view, but people don't put up with SD anymore and in 2030 they're not going to put up with 1080p on 120" wallpaper screens.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by b_scott

I didn't say compression quality has magically improved overnight, but h.265 looks better than h.264 and I believe it's smaller too. That type of thing will either continue to happen and/or consumer's pipelines will get bigger (fiber, 5G/6G, etc). Think back to 1999 when dial up switched over to cable internet. Same thing.

It won't if they keep up with the move to squeeze their libraries into smaller spaces. 5G, 6G, and on and on won't make server farms less expensive.



You could have a MASSIVE bit bucket throughout the U.S., but it won't matter if they are only running a small trickle through it.


The only half-way decent "digital" service with disc like quality is Kalaidescape downloads and even then they don't support Dolby Vision, but what kills it for most is the absolutely insane hardware prices.

[b_scott]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

It won't if they keep up with the move to squeeze their libraries into smaller spaces. 5G, 6G, and on and on won't make server farms less expensive.



You could have a MASSIVE bit bucket throughout the U.S., but it won't matter if they are only running a small trickle through it.


The only half-way decent "digital" service with disc like quality is Kalaidescape downloads and even then they don't support Dolby Vision, but what kills it for most is the absolutely insane hardware prices.

sorry but the Kaleidoscape stuff just isn't genpop at all and isn't worth mentioning.

server farms do get less expensive the more that drives get larger and faster over time. Same as they've always done. That in addition to compression getting smarter, which can make files smaller for the same look.

I run a 135" screen and have a 4K upres projector as well as 65" OLED 4K from this year - I love my 4K discs but even I can see that Vudu streaming looks damn good even at 135". At some point the image quality snobbery with streaming seems to be just that - it's really not as bad as some users here make it out to be. And in 5 years? It'll be way better.