Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Geoff D]

Yep, it needs far more granular control. Useful in a pinch, but not something I'd ever default to (if only for the mild banding it can induce).

[chip75]

My local repair shop did a Mom & Pop, they had my player waiting for parts and they've bolted. It's a hairdressers now...

[IlCorvo]

I want to get my player modified. I have to sent it from Germany to Italy. How safe is it? I do not want it to get damaged while on its way to the shop.

[shane01]

My 820 might be on its last legs. Bought it six years ago. The past few months, she’s had trouble with brand new, clean 4Ks. Pixelation and freezing. It also gives me a NO READ for the first few attempts at playing BDs. It’s finicky to say the least. If the Mrs asks, “what’s with your player?” You have problems. Considering ditching it for a Sony player.

[RalphoR]

My 9000 recently has been having an issue loading any disc. It takes literally 30 seconds or more to load. No problem playing anything once loaded. Anyone else experiencing this? Would a simple unplug (firmware reload) do the trick?

[DRC72]

Originally Posted by chip75

My local repair shop did a Mom & Pop, they had my player waiting for parts and they've bolted. It's a hairdressers now...

Last time I checked hairdressers don't repair electronics.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by shane01

My 820 might be on its last legs. Bought it six years ago. The past few months, she’s had trouble with brand new, clean 4Ks. Pixelation and freezing. It also gives me a NO READ for the first few attempts at playing BDs. It’s finicky to say the least. If the Mrs asks, “what’s with your player?” You have problems. Considering ditching it for a Sony player.

Which Sony's are you looking at?

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by shane01

My 820 might be on its last legs. Bought it six years ago. The past few months, she’s had trouble with brand new, clean 4Ks. Pixelation and freezing. It also gives me a NO READ for the first few attempts at playing BDs. It’s finicky to say the least. If the Mrs asks, “what’s with your player?” You have problems. Considering ditching it for a Sony player.

that's what my old player was doing towards the end. I replaced it with another last year...

[shane01]

Originally Posted by Braktastic

Which Sony's are you looking at?

Probably UBPX700/M or UBP-X800M2? I also like that they play SACDs. I have a few of those. I would miss the Optimizer a little, but I'd rather a disc play all the way through than not.

Originally Posted by AKORIS

that's what my old player was doing towards the end. I replaced it with another last year...

Noooooo! Did the player eventually stop working, or did you cut your losses at a certain point?

[kosvines]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

My 9000 recently has been having an issue loading any disc. It takes literally 30 seconds or more to load. No problem playing anything once loaded. Anyone else experiencing this? Would a simple unplug (firmware reload) do the trick?

Sounds like the laser. You could try to unplug and also maybe clean the laser itself, but in my personal experience it only gets worse.

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by kosvines

Sounds like the laser. You could try to unplug and also maybe clean the laser itself, but in my personal experience it only gets worse.

Thanks. Not great news It's not even a year old and I probably use it twice a week

[JWgrayhawk]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Thanks. Not great news It's not even a year old and I probably use it twice a week

Still under warranty then, right?

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by JWgrayhawk

Still under warranty then, right?

Yes. Of course, I watched two 4ks tonight and it played perfectly, so I can't send it back just yet.

[SS-3]

Well I am on my third UB9000 now.Same symptoms for the second player as the the first one. Approximately 14 - 15 months in it started pixelating. It starts off slow and gets progressively worse, more discs fail as time goes one. The problematic discs play fine on my Oppo 203 and Reavon X100.

Swapped for none good cables, unplug for at least two hours, menu reset, full factory reset(Turn off the unit and press and hold OK button, the yellow and blue button on the remote at the same time for more than 5 seconds. “00 RET” is displayed on the unit’s display. Then press the arrow right button repeatedly on the remote control until “08 FIN” is displayed on the unit’s display.) Tried this multiple times on both players and it never resolved the pixelation, skipping, freezing issues. Latest firmware was installed on both players.

I love the Panasonic video processing and I feel it's the best out there right now. So, I put up with having to replace players.

I use my player at least four times a week and sometimes more. I would say my typical weekly use is around 10 hours a week.

[JWgrayhawk]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Yes. Of course, I watched two 4ks tonight and it played perfectly, so I can't send it back just yet.

But I'd go ahead and call Panasonic to document your problem so you can get it repaired under warranty when you're ready.

[SS-3]

Originally Posted by RalphoR

Yes. Of course, I watched two 4ks tonight and it played perfectly, so I can't send it back just yet.

That's how it starts and then it gets progressively worse. More discs will pixelate and have issues as time goes on. It really reaches a breaking point around 15 months, where almost half the discs don't play.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by shane01

Probably UBPX700/M or UBP-X800M2? I also like that they play SACDs. I have a few of those. I would miss the Optimizer a little, but I'd rather a disc play all the way through than not.



Noooooo! Did the player eventually stop working, or did you cut your losses at a certain point?

It got to the point where it would not play 4K discs at all…. Cannot read disc messages about 90% of the time. Regular blu rays played fine.

At this time I have 3 4K players. The new 820 is my main, an LG 90 is my backup, and another Panny 450 is in another room.

[Telemachus]

I have finally discovered some discs my 820 hates: Crank, Predator 2. I watched those both only on my Sony, tried them for the first time on the Panny and glitch city, flawless clean discs, they still play in the Sony as I switched over to watch them. Another time I had a Fast and Furious disc do the same thing, but I exchanged it and the new one worked in the Panny. Funny all these discs are pre-2020 from the first several years of the format, I wonder if that's a coincidence? Ah well, Sony coming in clutch when I need it to do something.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by SS-3

Well I am on my third UB9000 now.Same symptoms for the second player as the the first one. Approximately 14 - 15 months in it started pixelating. It starts off slow and gets progressively worse, more discs fail as time goes one. The problematic discs play fine on my Oppo 203 and Reavon X100.

Swapped for none good cables, unplug for at least two hours, menu reset, full factory reset(Turn off the unit and press and hold OK button, the yellow and blue button on the remote at the same time for more than 5 seconds. “00 RET” is displayed on the unit’s display. Then press the arrow right button repeatedly on the remote control until “08 FIN” is displayed on the unit’s display.) Tried this multiple times on both players and it never resolved the pixelation, skipping, freezing issues. Latest firmware was installed on both players.

I love the Panasonic video processing and I feel it's the best out there right now. So, I put up with having to replace players.

I use my player at least four times a week and sometimes more. I would say my typical weekly use is around 10 hours a week.

This is crazy sounding, but what you're describing is basically what I'm starting to notice with my player too. Has anyone identified the root cause of this, and, perhaps more importantly, has Panasonic been made aware?

And I am just imagining the a hard reset helps this issue?

If I have to buy a new player, where am I apt to find a newly constructed model? A B&H Camera type place or an Amazon?

[sherlockjr]

Originally Posted by Braktastic

If I have to buy a new player, where am I apt to find a newly constructed model? A B&H Camera type place or an Amazon?

As a single data point I bought my Panasonic 820 from B&H in December and it had a manufactured month of September.

I'd guess that B&H being a single location with a single set of storage buys fewer at a time and replenishes them more often. But that's solely a guess.

My Panasonic hasn't had any issues.