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Model: Panasonic 4K Blu Ray Player, Ultra HD Premium Video Playback and Hi-Res Audio - DP-UB150-K
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This player holds its value well for a reason: With any of the consoles, it won't play Dolby vision blurays in Dolby vision even if the TV supports it, it'll fall back to generic HDR. This player works properly for that. It's complete bogus as Xbox at least supports Dolby vision for streaming and games, but it's a different "profile" or something. And for putting a blue ray drive into a PC, it's only good for ripping bluerays for Plex, windows can't play them natively unlike DVDs, you have to use cyberpowerdvd or something because of the DRM and those programs are just laughably buggy these days. I believe the DRM also only works on Intel processors up to 10th or 11th gen and anything beyond that you'd have to rip the blue rays into mkvs, and that's fine for folks who are technologically savvy and maybe already into the homelab scene, but not everyone is willing to do that
Is this worth upgrading from a UB420? I have an LG OLED
I would upgrade to the UB450. The LG OLED TVs have better upscalers inside them than the 820 so it's best to set the output from these players for standard blu-rays as 1080p anyway and let the TV do the work, meaning the "extras" in the 820 are useless. The 450 will output 4k dolby vision which the 420 lacks. The upgrade from the 420 to the 450 would be buying you dolby vision, which I think is an important feature.
BTW, IMO, should be setting your 420 to output 1080p for standard 1080p blu-rays as well.
I'm really happy with the Panasonic UB150 that I got open box from Best Buy for $90 2.5 years ago. It has HDR10+ and Hybrid Log Gamma. It does not have Dolby Vision, but I have not been very impressed with Dolby Vision when I have watched it on some friends' TV's. I'm happy to have saved $272, which I can use to buy a lot of 4k Blu Ray movies. I figure that I grew up watching movies and TV on a square box in 480 resolution, so this is certainly a huge step up.
Unfortunately you also give up their HCX chipset & the Optimizer also.
Much better off paying a little more for the 420, it's ideal for the budget minded person imo.
Yes you lose DV on it compared to this but the Optimizer does so well with static HDR, regularly the difference isn't significant & that's IF the disc has a DV transfer, not all do.
I have the UB420 .You can't compare streaming or even a rip to the quality of the 4k disc . Disc looks way better on my projector and S95 OLED. But my concern is that since Walmart and best buy don't sell discs and I think I saw somewhere Sony dropped out to. Will they continue to release new movies on this format going forward?
I have a whole bunch of blu-rays that I own; both TV shows and Movies. As soon as I buy them, I rip them onto my NAS server (using MakeMKV), and save them natively without compression. I've been able to rip all of my purchases without issue (except for one disc; Terminator 2 — not sure if it's an issue with my disc or the encryption, though the disc plays fine on my XBox).
Anyway, for all of my ripped content, I can play them without issue via Infuse software on my Apple TV. Now, I haven't dug too deep into this; I have only a few 4K blu-rays but haven't really checked their HDR format, or whether they even have HDR. Most of my purchases have been regular blu-rays.
Now, in my use case does it make sense to buy this? I'm tempted to have something that will be able to play 4K Dolby Vision; I know my PS5 or Xbox can't handle those. But Infuse software can play various DV profiles. So if I simply rip my next 4K DV purchase, will DV be maintained?
Do I still need this given my use case? Any insight would be appreciated.
Sounds like you're happy with your setup and as you mentioned you only have a few 4K disc.
This does not make sense in your case especially since you can get other players for less that will give you DV(ie Sony X700).
Heck I've seen the cheap LG UBK90 player at thrift stores for like $20-$25!
FYI almost all 4K disc will have a form of HDR(static/dynamic).
If by some miracle this ever hits $300 I would like to pick up a couple more of these. It's probably the best higher end reasonably priced 4k player that will ever be manufactured again unfortunately.
Yes with Sony about to put out a new model.
I was hoping Panasonic would do the same with the new HCX chipset but no rumors sadly!
I use the BenQ HT3550 projector. It doesn't specifically mention Dolby Vision in the specs. Does the projector have to specifically call out Dolby Vision to display DV from this player or it only matters that the player is outputting DV?
That PJ doesn't support DV so this player isn't a good buy at this price.
You are better off getting their 420 model, basically the same minus DV.
Is this worth upgrading from a UB420? I have an LG OLED
Having both, imo overall no not really.
Transfers vary widely for static & dynamic HDR so the differences will also.
With the Optimizer the differences are regularly not that significant imo.
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I have the UB420 .You can't compare streaming or even a rip to the quality of the 4k disc . Disc looks way better on my projector and S95 OLED. But my concern is that since Walmart and best buy don't sell discs and I think I saw somewhere Sony dropped out to. Will they continue to release new movies on this format going forward?
Sony dropped recordable/ burnable blu-ray discs. Sony still produces pressed discs.
I'll just toss this in here: The UB450 is the better choice for most people and it's $120 cheaper.
The 820 has some better upscaling tech and an "HDR optimizer". However, both of these features are mostly useless since many decent quality TVs made in the last few years come with better upscalers built in and don't need the "HDR optimizer". The 820 was built for the TVs of the mid-2010s and not the TVs of today.
The video tech in the 820 is 8 years old now. The reason the 820 is the suggested default for 4K players is that the 450 was not available in the USA until last year, so if you wanted Panasonic and Dolby Vision it was the only choice.
However, as of right now, the UB450 is mostly out of stock everywhere. If you're lucky you can find a Walmart B&M with one still on the shelf. If you're looking to upgrade to a Dolby Vision capable device over something like a PS5, I would wait until the UB450 comes back in stock. I picked mine up off the shelf a few months ago from walmart for ~$180.
I would point out that the 450 is very scaled down player and feels cheaply made.
The reason Panasonic players are highly regarded is the Optimizer & HCX chipset.
It's what separates them from everyone else imo.
You lose both of these on the 450.
I would give up DV before giving up either of those two.
Because unless you are 45+ this purchase lacks common sense and is a waste of your money if you understand how to turn tech on... Again blu ray player on things already that do more. I could download the content with PC and set up a Plex server or media server on my router for tv to make use of. I could just run HDMI from my PC. I could pay for a $100 dollar streamer to have atomos/hdr10 etc etc and have access to ever single movie and tv show ever made if I know what I'm doing. The reason I comment is maybe one person will stop and think... Oo maybe I don't need one.. there's another way I can do this. And save them money.
Also ps5 or xbox is the other option, which i took.
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I don't mind paying $360 for a blu-ray player but I really wish Panasonic would provide an updated model. This model was released in 2018. It shouldn't cost this much given its age.
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BTW, IMO, should be setting your 420 to output 1080p for standard 1080p blu-rays as well.
Much better off paying a little more for the 420, it's ideal for the budget minded person imo.
Yes you lose DV on it compared to this but the Optimizer does so well with static HDR, regularly the difference isn't significant & that's IF the disc has a DV transfer, not all do.
Anyway, for all of my ripped content, I can play them without issue via Infuse software on my Apple TV. Now, I haven't dug too deep into this; I have only a few 4K blu-rays but haven't really checked their HDR format, or whether they even have HDR. Most of my purchases have been regular blu-rays.
Now, in my use case does it make sense to buy this? I'm tempted to have something that will be able to play 4K Dolby Vision; I know my PS5 or Xbox can't handle those. But Infuse software can play various DV profiles. So if I simply rip my next 4K DV purchase, will DV be maintained?
Do I still need this given my use case? Any insight would be appreciated.
This does not make sense in your case especially since you can get other players for less that will give you DV(ie Sony X700).
Heck I've seen the cheap LG UBK90 player at thrift stores for like $20-$25!
FYI almost all 4K disc will have a form of HDR(static/dynamic).
I was hoping Panasonic would do the same with the new HCX chipset but no rumors sadly!
You are better off getting their 420 model, basically the same minus DV.
Transfers vary widely for static & dynamic HDR so the differences will also.
With the Optimizer the differences are regularly not that significant imo.
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The 820 has some better upscaling tech and an "HDR optimizer". However, both of these features are mostly useless since many decent quality TVs made in the last few years come with better upscalers built in and don't need the "HDR optimizer". The 820 was built for the TVs of the mid-2010s and not the TVs of today.
The video tech in the 820 is 8 years old now. The reason the 820 is the suggested default for 4K players is that the 450 was not available in the USA until last year, so if you wanted Panasonic and Dolby Vision it was the only choice.
However, as of right now, the UB450 is mostly out of stock everywhere. If you're lucky you can find a Walmart B&M with one still on the shelf. If you're looking to upgrade to a Dolby Vision capable device over something like a PS5, I would wait until the UB450 comes back in stock. I picked mine up off the shelf a few months ago from walmart for ~$180.
The reason Panasonic players are highly regarded is the Optimizer & HCX chipset.
It's what separates them from everyone else imo.
You lose both of these on the 450.
I would give up DV before giving up either of those two.
BLU-RAYS STILL EXIST? LOL!
STREAMING!
PIRATE RIPS AND PLEX!
GAME CONSOLES!
There's a reason this exists separate to those options, if you don't know why and/or you're fine with those other options, this isn't for you.
For people who do know and want the difference, you're not saving them money by weighing in, you're just shitposting.
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