$150 - Panasonic DP-UB420K 4K - Region Free ??? (remote control "hack")

[blakstealth]

Originally Posted by rubystone356

anyone know how long this sale will be going on? a week or two?

Jacob

it's over. Maybe it will go back down again in a few weeks.

[mjjckc]

Originally Posted by spatafore

Have your tried Indicator and Arrow UK ?

Just checked, doesn't look like I have any discs from those distributors.

Also, I bought this player about a year ago at Best Buy for $150, so it looks like it sporadically drops in price to this level throughout the year.

[spatafore]

Originally Posted by blakstealth

it's over. Maybe it will go back down again in a few weeks.

I hope so! because I miss it, lol (too busy today outside home)

[CreasyBear]

Mine arrived yesterday and since I don't own a 4K TV yet, just my trusty Samsung plasma, I bought this as a future proof investment and decided to set it up. I have to say, the build quality is great. I wasn't expecting the metal casing. I figured like most BD/DVD players these days, it would be all plastic. It's not as rigid as my Oppo, but it's much better than expected. I've found that adjusting the Dynamic Range Conversion to 12 brightens up 4K content quite well, depending on the film. For instance, I found Sum of all Fears and Mask of Zorro looked plenty bright, but Jurassic Park is a bit dim. I guess it's dependent upon the film. But since these films have superior transfers and encodes, I most likely will watch these discs instead of the standard Blu-ray's in the future. Thankfully, my room is dark, so even though they're a smidge darker than the Blu-ray's they still look great. If anyone has any other tips on how to get the most out of 4K on a 1080p display, it would be helpful. I'm just not willing to let my plasma go yet, because I adore the frame rate, contrast, colors, and overall natural appearance and since most of my discs are Blu-ray's, I feel it's better to just keep the plasma until it dies.

[CreasyBear]

Also, I have a pretty good amount of Region B discs and so far, they've all played with the top menu trick on this player, so on top of everything else, I have a second region free player! This was a terrific deal!

[Louisville Slugger]

I wish the Panasonic DP-UB820 would go on sale.

[eselv73]

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

I wish the Panasonic DP-UB820 would go on sale.

Same! I'm assuming if the remote trick works on the 420 it would also work on the 820 (at least on select discs, I get that it doesn't work 100% of the time)

[bizzle]

I've got this player and love it. I got it used so got a pretty good deal on it. I use it with my TCL R635 65inch tv and it looks fantastic. The lack of DV is a little annoying but not the ultimate deal breaker for me as I am not totally convinced there is a major difference. To my eyes, the discs look great. This has also breathed new life into my Blu Ray collection as well. I put on 'Alien' from the 2010 quad box set, over the weekend, and it looked awesome. 4k discs look amazing as well--I've tested 'The Shining', 'Blade Runner', '2001' and the Hitchcock set.

The Region Free remote hack works on the one Arrow Region B disc I have (Inferno). I've also got a few discs on order from the Shoktober sale, so once they arrive I will test those as well. I also have my fingers crossed with the 4K Dawn of the Disc set--the special features disc to be specific.

[CreasyBear]

I've still yet to find a Region B disc that doesn't work. I've tried discs from Arrow, Eureka, Studio Canal, and Second Sight. All work flawlessly with the top menu trick.

[twozbar]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

I've still yet to find a Region B disc that doesn't work. I've tried discs from Arrow, Eureka, Studio Canal, and Second Sight. All work flawlessly with the top menu trick.

I've tried the remote region hack with Second Sight's Dawn of the Dead extra disc and it does not work. A "this operation prohibited by this disc" block on the "WRONG REGION" screen prevents the STOP and TOP MENU button pushes.

What is the firmware version on your player?

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by twozbar

I've tried the remote region hack with Second Sight's Dawn of the Dead extra disc and it does not work. A "this operation prohibited by this disc" block on the "WRONG REGION" screen prevents the STOP and TOP MENU button pushes.

What is the firmware version on your player?

The latest. I don't have that one to test.

[stratford]

In stead of this jive assing about, is there a problem contacting 220-electronics who sell modded players? If asked really really nicely they would be likely to mod a player not bought from them. There would then be no further need for this horsing around.

[RustinCohle]

Does anyone know the actual difference between the 420 and the 820? It looks like the 7.1 audio connections are the only difference. The other specs all look the same.

[themp3000]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

Does anyone know the actual difference between the 420 and the 820? It looks like the 7.1 audio connections are the only difference. The other specs all look the same.

The 420 doesn’t have Dolby Vision, unless I’ve completely missed it looking around on my unit.

[Spooked]

Originally Posted by twozbar

I've tried the remote region hack with Second Sight's Dawn of the Dead extra disc and it does not work. A "this operation prohibited by this disc" block on the "WRONG REGION" screen prevents the STOP and TOP MENU button pushes.

What is the firmware version on your player?

That is what I wanted to know. I'm glad I held off.

[evoll]

Top menu trick for Disney region b won’t work, tested on my ub820. I use my oppo for region free playback and the 420 does not have DV.

[twozbar]

Tested the STOP/TOP MENU remote hack with the following Region B blu-ray and all are confirmed to work:

Zombie - Dawn of the Dead Box (ESC Editions)
https://www.esc-distribution.com/cul...247206449.html

Zombi - Dawn of the Dead 4 blu-ray (Midnight Factory)
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Dawn-...lu-ray/164353/

The only blu-ray that does not seem to work was the replacement disc for the Midnight Factory set. Some of the other discs required several tries to get to the main menu, but ultimately worked.

Any blu-ray that blocks use of the the STOP button fuction with a "this operation prohibited by this disc" notice doesn't seem to work. There is probably a sequence of numerical button pushes around this, but I haven't figured it out yet.

[stratford]

In stead of this jive assing about, is there a problem contacting 220-electronics who sell modded players? If asked really really nicely they would be likely to mod a player not bought from them. There would then be no further need for this horsing around.

[Piollo]

Was able to played Il Bidone(Eureka) and La Haine(Optimun) both Region B Locked, loving this Panny 420K so far.

[CSM101]

Originally Posted by RustinCohle

Does anyone know the actual difference between the 420 and the 820? It looks like the 7.1 audio connections are the only difference. The other specs all look the same.

The 820 is bigger and has a front led display. Dolby Vision. On playback info, it gives more detailed specs on UHDs than the 420. There could be more, but that’s about as far as I’ve compared them.