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Panasonic DP-UB9000 UHD Player Review

MickeyBoy

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I almost bought one of these but lack of SACD was a killer. I also read Panasonic did not want to support a competing format, and rumblings about Sony's licensing fees being too high to Panasonic (why would Sony want a competitor?) I vacillated on the Sony X800 but managed to get an Oppo UDP-203 before they announced they were shutting down the BD player division and prices skyrocketed.

Most if not all consumer amps reach max output by 2 Vrms so the lower output was not a big deal to me. Plus I connect with HDMI; can't really tell the difference with my ears of clay. Some suggested the UDP-205 but I am cheap as well as deaf. :)

The Panasonic UB820 is on sale now for $350. Since my Oppo 103 might be on its last legs, I went through this thread. It seems to me - correct me if this is wrong - that

all or most all competent players will sound the same when set to bitstream output via hdmi to the AVR.

Audio only; not video. I use the AVR because it provides Dolby, dts, and dirac (and lots of distortion, NAD T758.)
 

Snafu

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Yes.

But not mechanically. Some players have annoying fan (like this Pana) or it isn't dead quiet when playing disc.
 

Doodski

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Yes.

But not mechanically. Some players have annoying fan (like this Pana) or it isn't dead quiet when playing disc.
The disc players have servos that hiss and make noises. Some do it more and that's a normal part of a laser disc playback. The older machines had calibration for that but with the newer machines it's mostly done automatically so there is no adjusting it. There is also the sled drive/laser rack drive that makes noise when searching out tracks. All normal parts of the machine's operation. :D Nice T-Rex by the way. I made mine. :D
 

tmtomh

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Yes.

But not mechanically. Some players have annoying fan (like this Pana) or it isn't dead quiet when playing disc.

Fans in audio equipment are a deal-breaker for me. If it were impossible to design certain gear without a fan, of course I would reconsider. But since I can't think of a single piece of audio equipment with a fan where there is not an alternative piece of equipment with the same features and performance, I think a fan is just not a great design decision.

In particular, I can imagine why a source component would need a fan - surely there are ways to design around it.
 
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“At first I thought the left and right in the multi-channel output section would be the same. But then puzzled why you can turn them on and off independently. So I turned them on and was disappointed to see this:“

strange , this isn’t mentioned anywhere in the user manual
 

Ucftechguru

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I just picked one up as open box at Best Buy for $599 plus tax. Check stores in your area. That price seems like the best price that’s been out there.
 

Willem

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I would only be interested in the UB820 and its optical output as that is how I have set up my current BD player into a stereo system with RME ADI-2 DAC. I have two questions (as you will see this is not a market that I know well):
1 With a Panasonic plasma HD screen, would I see any meaningful improvement of video quality compared to an older BD player? I ask because there is so little interesting UHD content that I want to stick to my glorious plasma screen for as long as it lasts.
2 Are there any quiet fanless competitors? From looking at pictures on the web Sony seems to have a few without fans.
 

LTig

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Are there any quiet fanless competitors? From looking at pictures on the web Sony seems to have a few without fans.
Yep, the X800m2 has no fan and is dead quiet to me.
 

Daaadou

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the panasonic is the only one proposing an option to dim the subs
this will save your eyes when playing hdr content
owned a sony device, very happy with it but sold it and got a panasonic one juste because of that feature
 

JustAnandaDourEyedDude

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What do you mean by subs?
subtitles?
My guess is that the HDR feature treats the subtitles as part of the image, even though the disc author specifies their basic hue and brightness. And since the subs are white or light, the HDR will brighten them to the peak luminance of each frame, which is variable, thus leading to eyestrain maybe?
 
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Willem

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Ah - could be. I rarely use them as I prefer to listen to the original languages and know quite a few. Is this a feature of the player rather than the disc therefore?
 

Daaadou

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subtitles?
My guess is that the HDR feature treats the subtitles as part of the image, even though the disc author specifies their basic hue and brightness. And since the subs are white or light, the HDR will brighten them to the peak luminance of each frame, which is variable, thus leading to eyestrain maybe?
That is exactly the problem.

I watch Original Version only so basically, 80% of the movies need subtitles :D I speak French and English but not much more.

When a content is displayed in HDR (which basically is one of the interesting feature with a 4K BR player), it will literally burn your eyes with the subs on.
But it will also do it when watching other content if you are in a completely dark room. Plus, gray subs do not distract as much as white ones so it is a non negotiable feature as far as I'm concerned.
 

FrantzM

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That is exactly the problem.

I watch Original Version only so basically, 80% of the movies need subtitles :D I speak French and English but not much more.

When a content is displayed in HDR (which basically is one of the interesting feature with a 4K BR player), it will literally burn your eyes with the subs on.
But it will also do it when watching other content if you are in a completely dark room. Plus, gray subs do not distract as much as white ones so it is a non negotiable feature as far as I'm concerned.

I am one of those who watches everything with subtitles... I am interested in a new player for movies, this UB9000 one is too dear , even at $599 thus this post
the panasonic is the only one proposing an option to dim the subs
this will save your eyes when playing hdr content
owned a sony device, very happy with it but sold it and got a panasonic one juste because of that feature
caught my attention ...
Does the Panasonic UB 820 have this feature of being able to dim the subtitles?
 

Ucftechguru

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I would only be interested in the UB820 and its optical output as that is how I have set up my current BD player into a stereo system with RME ADI-2 DAC. I have two questions (as you will see this is not a market that I know well):
1 With a Panasonic plasma HD screen, would I see any meaningful improvement of video quality compared to an older BD player? I ask because there is so little interesting UHD content that I want to stick to my glorious plasma screen for as long as it lasts.
2 Are there any quiet fanless competitors? From looking at pictures on the web Sony seems to have a few without fans.

I used to have a Panasonic GT Plasma. It looked slightly better when I fed it a 4K signal but on reference blu-ray discs, I doubt there is a difference. When I upgraded to OLED and 4K sources, I noticed a brighter pop in colors while keeping the inky blacks of plasma. I notice the brighter pops in color with my Samsung Q70R too but the blacks were better with my plasma and the color accuracy isn’t as good as my OLED. All that to say, if you’re happy with your plasma stick with it. No need to upgrade to this 4k blu-ray player. However, if you are using a PS4 or Xbox One, getting a dedicated blu-ray player will be an upgrade, but save the money as no need to get this one nor a 4k one.
 

GXAlan

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The trick is running 4K UHD discs on your 1080P plasma. You get all of the performance of the plasma with ultra high bitrate sources.

One of the most interesting examples of this is the cartoon version of the Grinch. It’s only a 2K digital intermediate so it’s not even “real” 4K.

But the 4K version is better than the 2K version for
- color
- actual resolution*

it turns out that every single character has fuzz. They are not the smooth CGI appearance of every other Pixar/Illumination movie. Every single character is furry/fuzzy.

This detail is completely washed away on streaming even 4K streaming and the 1080P Blu-Ray. You can get glimpses of it in the lower bitrate examples but in 4K UHD disc, it’s really there.

The real reason to upgrade, though, is size.
 
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