Panasonic 4K Players: DP-UB820-K Expired

I don't typically buy extended warranties. I have had no issues with the three Panasonic players I've had. That said, the Best Buy 4-year warranty for $48 seems reasonable.

Not out of the box. Some have used external devices to trick Dolby Vision with varying results (I don't recommend it). I had a UB820 on my projector for about a year but sold it and got a UB420 when Panasonic released it.

FWIW, people had a lot of issues with the original Sony X800.

Only the Panasonic players have the built in HDR Optimizer and Tone Mapping functions, 100% worth it. These functions allow you to adjust the disc HDR information to match the capabilities of your display. This is way beyond simple "brightness" settings. I should note, I do seem to recall either the Tone Mapping, HDR Optimizer or both do not work during Dolby Vision playback (by design). Not certain on that but I think so. No matter, not every disc is Dolby Vision anyhow...

There isn't a single reason to buy any other 4K Blu-ray player. Honestly. Nothing is better than these Panasonics.



I also STRONGLY recommend the Monoprice 4K Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cables. They are cheap and certified to work. 4K is finicky with HDMI cables, I wouldn't mess around with cables unless you enjoy random issues. If you are new to 4K, this is a great time to replace all of your HDMI cables. My old "4K compatible" HDMI cables did not work so I replaced them all in 2016 and have had ZERO cable issues.

https://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=15431

I think this is the biggest sale I've seen on the UB820 so far. As far as I remember it's only been on sale for $400 in the past. I assume this is the still regarded as the best player under the $1,000 UB9000 which is $100 cheaper right now. I'm not sure I've seen the UB9000 on sale before. I don't have a dolby vision TV so I did buy the UB420 last month when it went on sale for $150. I'm tempted to get the UB820 also for when I get a dolby vision TV but I'll probably just wait for it to go on sale again after I get a new TV.

I'm beginning to think Dolby Vision is on the way out. Of all of the A/V features you might want to chase with your HT setup, DV is the most problematic.

It's fragmented across display manufacturers, with Samsung supporting their own equivalent solution.
Many high-profile releases don't support it, at least not in physical releases (Disney titles especially)
It's not a yes/no proposition in terms of whether your setup supports it in a meaningful way. I'm running a 2018 TCL that supports DV in theory, but the only difference I can see is that DV titles show much much darker. I'm sure DV looks great on an OLED but I don't have an OLED. Compare that with something like Atmos - my ceiling speakers will either have a signal sent to them, or they won't.
The biggest visual upgrade is from non-HDR to HDR10, and that's supported everywhere. DV is incremental (an assumption I admit because I don't know how good it can be, see above).
For projector people, DV isn't a thing. Color reproduction and contrast are not strong points of projectors, and never will be compared to TVs. So as you invest more in your setup, at some point you have to make a choice between a huge, immersive screen, or the kinds of things DV provides. You never hear of people used to 120" screens "blown away" by Dolby Vision on an OLED; it's always the other way around.
Streaming DV has its own set of requirements, but since I play physical discs when I want a good visual experience I will skip that.
DV on physical discs means you need a BD player that supports it, and BD player selection is shrinking fast.

The BD player issue is the final nail in the coffin for me. BD players suck. I have never had any other equipment flake out so often. I paid $150 for an LG and I have 5 or 6 discs that it just refuses to play. It won't eject discs half the time. And this was a fairly nice one.

Try browsing for a new BD player and look at reviews. The only ones that don't suck in some way are these Panasonics. They are literally your only choice if you don't want to ignore some major consumer complaint. If you want one, you have a $200 choice to include DV or not. That is a tough, tough sell considering the above. It's expensive because Dolby wants their cut at every step of the process.

It's telling that neither of the new video game consoles support Dolby Vision for UHD playback. It's declining.