Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[grim_tales]

Thank you
There's an option for 'Dynamic Range Compression' but I can't remember what I set that to before - is it supposed to be Off or On, with Downmix as 'stereo'

[chip75]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Thank you
There's an option for 'Dynamic Range Compression' but I can't remember what I set that to before - is it supposed to be Off or On, with Downmix as 'stereo'

Dynamic Range Compression will help hear dialogue at low volumes, Auto only applies to Dolby TrueHD.

Downmix is something to experiment with, but it depends on your setup, I don't think it's connected to the DRC option.

[thebarnman]

Originally Posted by B.inthe6

Thanks for the link. Ordered one today for my 820 & will report on it when delivered. I look forward to the 10 sec rewind feature. Do you think that is less stressful on the 820 (transport etc) than repeatedly manually rewinding? Not sure how that works. Thanks again.

I don't know if it's less stressful on the 820 when compared to manually rewinding. In some ways, it probably is less stressful since when I manually rewind, many times I pass too far or not go back far enough so I continually go a little bit back, then a little bit back again and then I might have to do that a 3rd time then I've gone too far so I'll hit the fast forward button then do a combination of both till I find just the right spot where I wanted to re-watch again.

Yea, using the -10 second button in my case is way less stressful!

I know you'll be happy with that remote; it's the real deal and the back light is really nice to have including the fact that one MENU button or what ever it is on the regular 820 remote is far enough away from the play button that I have never knocked myself out from source coming from the disc.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by B.inthe6

Thanks for the link. Ordered one today for my 820 & will report on it when delivered. I look forward to the 10 sec rewind feature. Do you think that is less stressful on the 820 (transport etc) than repeatedly manually rewinding? Not sure how that works. Thanks again.

In theory rewinding and fast forwarding should have to effect on the disc or player since this isn't a record, it's all digital data.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

In theory rewinding and fast forwarding should have to effect on the disc or player since this isn't a record, it's all digital data.

The laser assembly is still mechanical and motor needs to move with the disc position

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The laser assembly is still mechanical and motor needs to move with the disc position

The level of misunderstanding with digital technologies especially now in 2023 is really astounding. Not pooh-pooh ing anyone with the misunderstanding, I’m just surprised how much misunderstanding that still exists albeit digital technologies have been around for more than 3 decades.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The laser assembly is still mechanical and motor needs to move with the disc position

I mean yeah, but they're used any time you play a disc anyway. It's not like the motor has to spin the disc faster when you're fast-forwarding.

When you fast forward or rewind a movie, the disc spin rate does not change, the laser simply moves towards the spindle or the edge of the disc depending on the function you used.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Hedrox

I mean yeah, but they're used any time you play a disc anyway. It's not like the motor has to spin the disc faster when you're fast-forwarding.

When you fast forward or rewind a movie, the disc spin rate does not change, the laser simply moves towards the spindle or the edge of the disc depending on the function you used.

correct, so the more you use rew/ff, the more the laser assembly motor needs to move beyond what it would if you just played the disc through, and hence the more wear and tear on the laser assembly motor the more rew/ff is used.

it should be spec'd to handle that extra wear and tear, but it is extra wear and tear

[Apollo Creed]

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid or novice question, but I recently bought the Panasonic UB820 and I sometimes notice what I can only describe as little "snags" in the video. It's not as dramatic as playback stopping or anything, it's just a tiny hitch in the video that happens from time to time. Is there something in the settings that I should be looking to adjust? I'm running it with a Samsung Q9FN if that helps. Any help is appreciated.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Apollo Creed

I apologize in advance if this is a stupid or novice question, but I recently bought the Panasonic UB820 and I sometimes notice what I can only describe as little "snags" in the video. It's not as dramatic as playback stopping or anything, it's just a tiny hitch in the video that happens from time to time. Is there something in the settings that I should be looking to adjust? I'm running it with a Samsung Q9FN if that helps. Any help is appreciated.

No this is a sign of a misaligned laser assembly/ player going bad - assuming disc works fine in other players and you are using latest 1.76 firmware update. I would get a replacement or repair under warranty. If they can't fix demand a replacement

There is a slight possibility it's a bad HDMI cable if you want to rule that out, but it's unlikely because the occurrence would likely be far more frequent/constant if this were the case

[grim_tales]

Yikes! I just bought my player and that doesn't sound good

[By_His_Strypes]

I remember buying that Panasonic A110 DVD player. Those were hard to come by for a good while, I had to place a phone order for it. It started having issues about a year in and ultimately died... I'd say close to 2yrs after buying it.

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by grim_tales

Yikes! I just bought my player and that doesn't sound good

All of these problems are anecdotal at best. Panasonic sold the highest number of 4K players in the industry for the past 5 years, of course you will encounter people complaining about faulty players. As my clients all use Panasonic players (UB900, UB9000, UB820 - totals more than 100 players) literally only one had a problem with dead player after 2-3 years of usage.

[MooneyRara]

The drive crapped out on my 820 after 3.5 years. The player was not reading discs by the end. At first it was just intermittent, but it got worse as time went on. So I got a new drive (P/N TXP0034) and installed it 2 months ago. Plays like brand new again.

Here's a pic of the old drive side by side with the new one (same model, newer revision). The old drive is on the left. You can see the drum was leaking fluid (PFPE) all over the front base of the unit. Created a real mess.

[Show spoiler]IMG_20230728_140024340_2.jpg

For anyone who encounters a similar issue with their player, just get a new drive. I wish I'd done it sooner.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by MooneyRara

For anyone who encounters a similar issue with their player, just get a new drive. I wish I'd done it sooner.

My UB9000 has a problem because the drive won't open and close.

I purchased a UB150 which is fine. I'm curious if I could swap the drive from the UB150 into the UB9000 but the fact the UB150 is working fine has caused me to procrastinate doing any investigation.

I believe the UB9000 uses a specific drive and it may be better just to order the exact replacement. However, the correct drive is a known problem so it is tempting to look into this at some point.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by MooneyRara

The drive crapped out on my 820 after 3.5 years. The player was not reading discs by the end. At first it was just intermittent, but it got worse as time went on. So I got a new drive (P/N TXP0034) and installed it 2 months ago. Plays like brand new again.

Can you expand on this a bit? things like cost and installation.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by chip75

Can you expand on this a bit? things like cost and installation.

I found a webpage where parts are available.

https://panasonic.encompass.com/modelbrowse/MSC/5/2

This page with parts for my UB9000PK1 specifically... The Disc Drive in my case is $206.95 and in stock.

https://panasonic.encompass.com/model/MSCDPUB9000P1K

I know I would be doing the installation myself for my player which is out of warranty and currently not in use.

Edit - I removed the drive from both my UB9000 and UB150. The connecting cables are not the same and a swap is not possible. Just FYI.

[img eL]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I found a webpage where parts are available.

https://panasonic.encompass.com/modelbrowse/MSC/5/2

This page with parts for my UB9000PK1 specifically... The Disc Drive in my case is $206.95 and in stock.

https://panasonic.encompass.com/model/MSCDPUB9000P1K

I know I would be doing the installation myself for my player which is out of warranty and currently not in use.

Edit - I removed the drive from both my UB9000 and UB150. The connecting cables are not the same and a swap is not possible. Just FYI.

Please make a video of your repairs if you can thanks

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by img eL

Please make a video of your repairs if you can thanks

That would be delightful but as I said the drives were not inter changeable and so no repairs were made and everything is put back together.

The UB150 is new and works well.

The UB9000 is out of warranty and works well but the drive doesn't always open and close without using the sliding mechanism below the player.

If I ordered a replacement drive for the UB9000, I would be happy to document the repair ... probably not a video but certainly some pictures.

As it stands, ... The new player works and I have other things to budget for so I'm most likely going to wait on repairs of the UB9000.

[George.P]

Originally Posted by MooneyRara

The drive crapped out on my 820 after 3.5 years. The player was not reading discs by the end. At first it was just intermittent, but it got worse as time went on. So I got a new drive (P/N TXP0034) and installed it 2 months ago. Plays like brand new again.

Here's a pic of the old drive side by side with the new one (same model, newer revision). The old drive is on the left. You can see the drum was leaking fluid (PFPE) all over the front base of the unit. Created a real mess.

[Show spoiler]Attachment 294899

For anyone who encounters a similar issue with their player, just get a new drive. I wish I'd done it sooner.

Which supplier did you use for the replacement drive?

Edit: ignore this - I didn’t realize there was a second page before I posted this…