Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Muyfa666]

Originally Posted by ronand

I would think that its the rattlebyte mod that they use and the firmware can be updated online as the download address in the firmware is modified too (its not stock firmware btw). If you are unsure it would be no harm to confirm with tps. It can be hit and miss getting the subs to work as the file encoding seems to matter.

I have confirmed with TPS. They told me it's fine to let the player update without special FW.

[Loneliest rider]

Originally Posted by Naiera

I have an apology to make.

I have "promoted" the RegionFreedom a few times on the interwebs, and at least once here, and now that it has been released, though not by the original author, it turns out that it requires LINUX

I assumed that the final "product" would be an executable to run on Windows. I apologise for giving people false hopes. I am disappointed myself. I don't have a Linux machine and the things they're talking about in the AVF thread might as well be Russian to me.

You don't need a Linux machine or even Linux run in a virtual environment, only a live image on a thumbdrive. You need to put the RegionFreedom executable and other files you need on the same drive, but an internal drive should work the same, you just need to mount it first once you're in the live environment. That usually takes just a mouse click or two in the file explorer. Most popular Linux distros like Ubuntu support secure boot so there's no need to enter the BIOS/UEFI settings either before booting from the stick, but if your computers are old, you may need to prepare the thumbdrive differently so that you can boot from it. That only applies if you make a bootable drive the "traditional" way, many use a program called Ventoy these days. It makes trying out different distros simpler.

[By_His_Strypes]

I'm just happy my 820 has not had any issues to date. I've only had it since this past April though. I hope people don't look elsewhere, as Panasonic still has the best players on the market.

[SmittysGelato]

Originally Posted by Vilya

The comments in this thread haven't shaken my confidence in physical media, but it has lessened it in Panasonic- and I did not have much to begin with.

The pros and cons of different players are one matter, but all players ought to at least work reliably.

That is what bothers me so much. When you spend this much your player should work.

[HorrorBlu]

Sigh. My tray wouldn't open again tonight. And while I was able to get the disc out via the usual method, and now I should be good for another dozen or two uses, my warranty ends in November. So I have to ask:

Has anyone sent their player in for this reason, and if so, how did it go? Has it happened since?

I'd have to pay shipping, and I feel like they'd just plug it in, press eject, and when it ejects just fine for them, they'd pack it back up and ship it back.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Loneliest rider

You don't need a Linux machine or even Linux run in a virtual environment, only a live image on a thumbdrive. You need to put the RegionFreedom executable and other files you need on the same drive, but an internal drive should work the same, you just need to mount it first once you're in the live environment. That usually takes just a mouse click or two in the file explorer. Most popular Linux distros like Ubuntu support secure boot so there's no need to enter the BIOS/UEFI settings either before booting from the stick, but if your computers are old, you may need to prepare the thumbdrive differently so that you can boot from it. That only applies if you make a bootable drive the "traditional" way, many use a program called Ventoy these days. It makes trying out different distros simpler.

Even this ^ is fookin baffling to me

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Even this ^ is fookin baffling to me

I'd need a How To, assuming I've never used a PC.

[Jai M]

Hi folks!

Hopefully there's someone that can help me sort out how to solve this problem with my up-dp 420 settings.

For some reason when I try to access the player settings in the HDMI section (and the HDMI section alone - the other areas work fine) and I try to click one of the initial options (like '24p output' or 'advanced settings') it takes me there for half a second but then instantly takes me back to the initial HDMI page. This is slightly annoying as it does not allow me to access or change most of the settings in the player.
This only started happening about 4 months ago, since I purchased and hooked up my new Samsung Q990b Soundbar system up to my 55' Sony A80J. (both of which I'm enjoying very very much)

Thinking it could be something to do with soundbar WiFi interference or some sort of handshake issue, I've turned the sound bar off to see if that helps, but the settings issue still persists.

If anyone is able to help figure out what's going on, even a little bit, it would be most appreciated!

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by Jai M

Hi folks!

Hopefully there's someone that can help me sort out how to solve this problem with my up-dp 420 settings.

For some reason when I try to access the player settings in the HDMI section (and the HDMI section alone - the other areas work fine) and I try to click one of the initial options (like '24p output' or 'advanced settings') it takes me there for half a second but then instantly takes me back to the initial HDMI page. This is slightly annoying as it does not allow me to access or change most of the settings in the player.
This only started happening about 4 months ago, since I purchased and hooked up my new Samsung Q990b Soundbar system up to my 55' Sony A80J. (both of which I'm enjoying very very much)

Thinking it could be something to do with soundbar WiFi interference or some sort of handshake issue, I've turned the sound bar off to see if that helps, but the settings issue still persists.

If anyone is able to help figure out what's going on, even a little bit, it would be most appreciated!

There should be 2 HDMI ports on the back of your 420. One is for video/audio. The other is purely for audio only. Plug the player directly into the TV using the Video/Audio HDMI Port. Then plug an HDMI cable into your audio only HDMI port and plug the other end into your soundbar. In this way, you should be able to avoid any interference from your soundbar.

[Jai M]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

There should be 2 HDMI ports on the back of your 420. One is for video/audio. The other is purely for audio only. Plug the player directly into the TV using the Video/Audio HDMI Port. Then plug an HDMI cable into your audio only HDMI port and plug the other end into your soundbar. In this way, you should be able to avoid any interference from your soundbar.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm already doing this, however (can't properly play lossless dts without it haha). So, it must be somthing else.

I've also tried reseting to default settings and turning off internet to the player. Still getting the same problem. Maybe it's somthing to do with the tv hdmi connection? I have no idea.

[trespoochies]

Originally Posted by Oniiz86

I was just wondering if you managed to check out Kino's Hard Target disc yet?

Over at the Hard Target 4K UHD thread an owner had picked up the latest Universal UK 4K UHD DV release & finds it very much to be superior, no audio issues (I know the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track was corrected but unfortunately the DTS-HD MA 2.0 track was never fixed) & NO Dolby Vision flickering issues

Sorry! I missed this. to confirm - YES, the firmware also updated the DV issue with Hard Target.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Jai M

Thanks for the feedback! I'm already doing this, however (can't properly play lossless dts without it haha). So, it must be somthing else.

I've also tried reseting to default settings and turning off internet to the player. Still getting the same problem. Maybe it's somthing to do with the tv hdmi connection? I have no idea.

If you can try another display with the player and/or another HDMI input. Weirdly it might be a remote issue, have you tried a different remote code?

[Oniiz86]

Originally Posted by Ben_C

My first thought was whether the KL Hard Target DV flicker might have been eliminated with the firmware update, but it looks like it’s still present

Originally Posted by trespoochies

Sorry! I missed this. to confirm - YES, the firmware also updated the DV issue with Hard Target.

@trespoochies Thanks so much for that, so it looks like it did in fact fix the Dolby Vision flickering for Kino's Hard Target release, strange that @Ben_C is still having problems with his Hard Target disc

[NeilZ]

So aside from Hard Target DV flickering, does this update change anything else?

[trespoochies]

I think the flickering when playing DV discs was the big one, but I'm guessing there are other fixes with the update, although not sure what those may be. Their update description sucks.

[mdhaus]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

Sigh. My tray wouldn't open again tonight. And while I was able to get the disc out via the usual method, and now I should be good for another dozen or two uses, my warranty ends in November. So I have to ask:

Has anyone sent their player in for this reason, and if so, how did it go? Has it happened since?

I'd have to pay shipping, and I feel like they'd just plug it in, press eject, and when it ejects just fine for them, they'd pack it back up and ship it back.

Who is your warranty with? Panasonic?

I would go ahead and send it in. Just be very clear with them that it's an intermittent problem and that it doesn't happen all of the time. Then, if you get it back and it does it again, you will at least have a record that you filed for the problem while it was still under warranty.

My guess, though, is that they are going to simply take your word for it and swap out the needed parts. That's the most efficient thing to do on their end in order to keep you from complaining about it later.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Not sure quickness really comes into it as these things were being bashed out in their thousands, hundreds of thousands maybe, every day during disc’s golden years. But as they seek to cut costs then they might be using poorer quality plastics or replication machines that aren’t so well maintained from day to day which is allowing all these errors in, as well as the desperately poor handling of the discs themselves leading to fingerprints, smudges and scratches, plus that oily gunk that infests some batches of discs and cases.

I think if the drives were aligned betterer out of the factory then we’d see a LOT less of the horror stories with machines that seize up as soon as you waft a disc past the front of it, but as it is it’s pot luck. James could well buy a new one as a backup - and why not, as these Pannys are quality disc spinners - but it might have a gammy drive and he’d never know about it until he cracked it open years later.

Makes you wonder if these discs are gonna last in terms of rot

But yeah, with 4K UHD it seems like the discs are on a spectrum with some being close to out of spec, and the same thing with the drives - and if both are on the dodgy end of the spectrum you get playback glitches

[HorrorBlu]

Originally Posted by mdhaus

Who is your warranty with? Panasonic?

Yes, it would be direct through Panasonic. They make you pay shipping.

To open the discussion further, has anyone here sent their player in to Panasonic for any reason, and if so, how did it go?

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

Yes, it would be direct through Panasonic. They make you pay shipping.

To open the discussion further, has anyone here sent their player in to Panasonic for any reason, and if so, how did it go?

I tried to, a year ago. My first 820 player started pixelating on certain discs (misaligned laser) just over a year after I bought it, so it was out of warranty.

I found that Panasonic doesn't have a repair facility of their own in the US, they work through a licensed repair place in Florida. It seemed kinda shady and was difficult to get info out of. I seem to remember it mostly does cameras, and it was confusing to see if they would even repair a UHD player at all.

Since I was out of warranty, certified shipping to Florida for such a huge package and the flat fee to just get it in the door to be looked at would already cost like half of what a new one would cost, before the cost of any repairs, and it would still be a repaired old machine, so I gave up and bought a brand new one.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on this one, I might be slightly off on a few details, but the gist of it is that it seemed like a waste of time. These machines aren't really meant to be repaired, it seems, just replaced.

Again, though, I was 4-5 months beyond the 1-year warranty, maybe it's slightly different if you're still within it.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by chip75

I'd need a How To, assuming I've never used a PC.

Going through final steps...