Exactly! Streaming services have to do so much compression on the media to stop their servers getting overloaded that Blu-ray always ends up being way better quality. Even with non 4K discs. I recently bought Star Trek Next Gen on Blu-ray and it is sooooo much better than the Netflix version. The colours are more vibrant, there is a huge increase in detail and the motion is much better e.g. when the ship is moving you can see all the windows in perfect detail unlike on Netflix where they are blurred. Hopefully physical media stays around for a while longer :)
happy to see you can rent 4K blueray disc,just trying find best outfit. Hate steaming no matter your wifi even it's hard wire ethernet,you'll get buffering sooner or later,Agggggg!
You really can't beat the quality of Discs. Make sure we back the media. Problem I have is even if the consumers love a product like DVD and Blu-ray (that took ages to establish) they kind of change things by force even if we are happy with what we got. One way they did things before to get people to buy the tech is to genuinely strive to improve quality. The convenience age of streaming is to compromised for my liking. And it's so cool to have a disc in your hand and that. Makes you want to watch them when you end up flicking through your own discs.
I've been using this player for the past six months. The dual hdmi out is the best feature in my opinion, the interface could be faster, but overall I like it a lot
Hi, do you experience the streaming app is slow response in the player? Like the Amazon prime app, whenever you go down, up, left, right in the app, it takes 3-5 seconds to click on the next...
You have 12 different releases of the same movie!? Even as a dedicated movie addict myself, who lives to watch great movies on disc, to me, the fact that your collection includes 12 different versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, seems quite excessive! And I say that even as someone who, for example, has watched Apocalypse Now at least 20 times in total, between my viewing of it in a movie theater, multiple times on VHS, then on DVD, followed, of course, by viewing that great film on 1080p Blu-ray, and finally, having watched it about three times on UHD 4K Blue-ray, over the last year and a half. And I've had 1 VHS version of Apocalypse Now, 2 of its DVD releases, 2 of its Blu-ray versions, and naturally, now have the UHD 4K Blu-ray of the movie. So that means that my favorite film has had 6 versions of it which were part of our movie collection here, at one time or another. But honestly, I just can't imagine ever increasing the total # of versions of that movie that we've acquired to possibly reach the level of a dozen different releases! And in 2 cases I only acquired new versions of that movie in order to have features & documentaries about the film, that had not been available before.
I own this player a few years ago. It was very nice. And just to advise you and a community. Though it does not play SACDs. It will play DSD. I played Diana krall on it. And it sounded awesome in DSD. . Great video by the way. Thank you for the detailed info. It's good to see that you take pride in your gear
Recently bought a 820 for $347.99(now $397.99) from World Wide Stereo fulfilled by Amazon. It's a great player that's replacing a Sony x800. It looks amazing playing through my 65" Sony x960h!
Awesome review I agree with your ratings to me it’s the best player around I can live without the sacd or dvd audio so to me it’s a 5/5 all around Panasonic really hit it out of the park with this one
@@truhunk1 I bought it and I like it a lot! I think it loads a little slowly but, I'm impatient. It is flexible and feature packed! I think the one I most appreciate is the ability to have DTS soundtracks convert to PCM automatically. I know that sounds backwards but, that's the only way those soundtracks will play through my Sonos Arc. I would, and may, buy another UB820. I am still building my physical 4K movie library. My tv is a Sony X900H. This is a monster setup for me that has a few compromises, but overall is extremely satisfying!
@@mvhlsc7 That's good to know. One question please. The ub820 does upscale regular blu-ray discs, do the 4k discs actually look better than the upscaled blu-rays ? Thanks.
@@truhunk1 Most times yes but, it really depends on the source material (some Blu-rays are hard to improve opon) and how thoroughly the transfer is performed. I am an audiophile so, having movies with lossless soundtracks is important to me, which is why I choose 4K when I can, but not at any cost. I frequent sites like 'Blu-Ray. Com', 'Films at Home' and 'MovieGuy365' for reviews of the video transfer and soundtrack quality, of movies I'm interested in, to help me decide if I should upgrade or keep what I have already.
Good review as always,bought an HSU vtf3 mk5 sub upon seeing u review the mk2 & let me admit it's a monster for such a reasonable price,how come most prominent channels don't tlk about these subs is beyond me
jon blaze Hsu is a sleeper brand for sure. I think marketing department isn’t a big corporate type, more of a family business. I have their VTF-3 MK5 also. I was going to get two but their sales guy talked me out of it and he was right, it is indeed a monster!
Thank you for watching and I'm glad you're enjoying the HSU! Yea I'm sure the VTF3 is a monster! The VTF2 is still my main sub and I'm loving it! I'm not sure why they aren't more videos / reviews out there, I'm guessing it's marketing just like @supperconductor said.
I just bought the UB820 for $350 pre Black Friday which makes it a even better deal and I already have the UB420 that doesn't have DV but still a great little player
Great review. My only complaint about this unit is the remote. It's just crap, especially the button placement. I've hit the stupid netflix key so many times trying to navigate the dvd menues, and when this happen, you have to start all over again , it won't take you back to where you were.
Great review. This is exactly what I needed, to the point and covered all my questions. I used your links for the player and the HDMI cable to help you out. I will use this Panasonic for movies only as I have a Sony UBP-X1000ES now and it sometimes gets stuck when playing a Blu-ray disc. I will use the Sony just for SACD and DVD-Audio playing. Thanks!
Thanks for another great review. I ordered the 820 on Thursday, it should be here Monday. I've wanted it since it first debuted mostly for the HDR optimizer. I've had the LG UBK90 for about two years and it's a great player but I think the 820 will definitely bea upgrade in both picture and sound quality. Now that I have a receiver and speakers it's going to help upgrade my entire system. I can't wait!
@@danemoreno88 thanks. I've enjoyed the LG UBK90 very much and it's worked great, no skips or hiccups or freezes of any kind. I just know that the 820 will be much better.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist and Christmas is coming early! And often! 😂😂 finally got a receiver, that's been two years in the making. Then Denon announced their new lineup and I was like damn you Denon!! 11 channels of processing for $1200 is crazy. I've got the Onkyo TX-NR686 and it's a great starter. I have two pairs of the Micca OoO speakers and they're surprisingly great for no bigger than they are and fill my room with sound. Already had the neighbor pounding on the wall and that's without a subwoofer. I've got another pair on the way for Atmos channels and I will be ordering a sub probably this week. And you'll appreciate this, I found old speaker up in the attic here at my apartment and currently using it as a center. It's better than nothing, and it still works. It's from a stereo system from JC Penny from around 1977!!! Having a center though was a game changer for being able to turn up the dialogue and still keep explosions and stuff lower. Still though, even though everything is new, I've already got upgradeitis. Haha. I'm thinking how much nicer would different speakers sound up front? How would everything look on an OLED? I've gone down the rabbit hole and there's no going back now.
I had been on the fence about upgrading from my Samsung m8500 for a while and always had this on the top of the want list (having seen a lot of reviews and youtubers high praise but your review is the one that finally got me to pull the trigger and I couldn’t be happier. What a great player compared to just about everything else out there!
SACD and DVD-Audio are niche formats, that never became mainstream. Personally, I don't even own a SACD nor a DVD-Audio disc. Considering the Panasonic 820 incompatibilities of playing SACD and DVD-Audio, it wouldn't matter to me because I don't have any of those music formats and were never interested in SACD's and DVD-Audio anyway.
Ok. Your review convinced me. I have not so small collection of DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray3D and Blu-ray 4K. New consoles play most of them but not all. And picture quality is not great sometimes. I want a simple player. Put the disc in, push play on remote, watch the film in the best picture and audio quality I can afford. I think these are the last years we can buy such a device. In a year or two, only high end 4K disc players or used market will be your options. After that, you will own nothing you paid for. Sad times 😔
And over a year later still no replacement for the 820 (nor Sony 800 Mk2) - think that its a bit like LD - few players, slowly updated - then format ended. Don't get me wrong I LOVE 4K UHD and have some more discs on order (as well having NF / D+ / AP) I still want my 'own' copy .....still have an extensive LD collection which I never watch but have no plans to clear. Thank you for your review.
Another fine review. And I totally agree with your assessment about buying media... It's definitely the way to go for the absolute best video and sound quality. Glad you mentioned the Sony UBP-X700... But is the Panasonic worth the extra cost over the Sony?
Thank you! If you are planning to purchase a player I'd go for the Panasonic because it does offer HDR10+ which the Sony does not offer. Also many people have mentioned issues with their Sony freezing during 4K playback, I haven't experience this on my player but I've heard it a lot. While I've only heard from 1 person who said the Panasonic froze during 4K playback. As far as upgrading.......... I would only upgrade if your Sony player is freezing a lot and you have a Samsung TV that supports HDR10+.
I bought the Sony last year... And I still haven't had any freezing issues using any discs. My Samsung TV does support HDR10+, but I don't see myself upgrading my player just for that one feature.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist Yes, the exact reason I've bought 2 UB-820s (the 1st in March 2021, and the 2nd in early Sept. 2022) is due to this Panasonic model being known for not freezing up, like some Sony UHD 4K players do when trying to deal with the 3rd data layer of some 4K Blu-rays. But only a 4K disc that has a movie on it that's quite long, such as being at least 2 hrs 45 or 2 hrs 50 min in length, or longer, needs to use a 3rd data layer for an UHD 4K movie to be able to fit on a SINGLE UHD 4K disc. However, I've long been a big fan of Sony, with us still using 3 Sony 1080p Blu-ray players in 3 rooms of our house. BUT, since Panasonic's UB-820 unit has never frozen up when playing any of the 48 movies we have on UHD 4K Blu-ray (nor with any of the 1,082 movies of our regular Blu-ray collection), I simply have to 2nd the opinion of those saying that the UB-820 should be the choice of serious home theater fans who want to view movies in the highest PQ possible, while having the least amount of trouble possible.
Great review. Just subscribed. I’m moving back to physical media and this machine is on my list. To be honest I have a couple of streaming services and have been really disappointed with the quality of some of their ‘4K’ content. My standard Blu-ray player is better quality in some cases.
Thanks for the video. I have the Panasonic Blu-ray BTT-490. By mid-October, 2023, Netflix will no longer support this player. I've been looking at the UB820 as a replacement, but not being knowledgeable about these things, I'm a little confused. The BTT-490 I have now came with passive 3 ohm speakers for the 5.1 surround sound built into the player. Since the UB820 doesn't include speakers, does it even support passive speakers plugged in to the RCA audio jacks on the back, assuming I get some with the correct impedance match... or will I need powered speakers... or some type of receiver/speakers setup? And if powered speakers will work, what ohm speakers does the UB820 support?
@@jasonleetaiwan they degrade over time. You can extend their longevity by keeping them out of UV light, cool temperatures, etc. But it is inevitable they will degrade.
Yeah my girlfriend can't tell the difference in PQ between standard Bluray and 4k both look the same to her 🙄 Older I get the less I care about PQ too really, only be buying the best real 4k movies not 4k fake junk.
Thanks for the great review. I have a couple 4k movies in my Vudu library, so finding out this player doesnt have Vudu was very helpful. Still might get it though.Thanks again.
Sony 700 has a vudu app ,i got both the panosonic and sony,hooked to an lg c9 0led,with a nakamichi shockwafe sb ,if one 4k player acts up i use the other
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist I have quite a few blu rays that won't play. The Accountant, Batman Beyond, the Friday the 13th films and Justice League War are just some of them. Do you have this problem?
I just picked up this player and have been pretty happy with it so far. Sadly I bought it at nearly full price so I missed out on the sale Amazon is doing right now though!
Just got one after getting really fed up on the noise the XSX makes when playing discs I love 4k UHDs and buy them whenever I really care about a movie. It makes a racket when it first starts spinning the disc as the fan goes wild but after a short amount of time it goes entirely silent and it's bliss not having that constant hum in the background the XBOX made you don't realise how it's affecting your experience until you no longer have it. The other plus is how much faster it powers up and is ready to play a disc makes me more inclined to watch a movie then before. I was also impressed with the picture quality difference it's not night and day but there is a clear difference between this player and the Xbox overall I'm happy with the player but I do find it sad that this is (based on my research) still the best 4k blu ray player on the market in 2023 (in this price bracket)
Just wondered if anyone has found a way of disabling all video processing. I want to pass the calibration tests from my trusty Spears & Munsil Blu-Ray disk to my TV without any changes being introduced by the player. I can stop it upscaling by setting the output format 1080p instead of Automatic, but is that enough to completely stop the rest of processing? Looking for a bypass mode if one exists. Thanks in advance.
If I understand your setup correctly, it sounds like your TV has upward firing speakers. If this is the case, you're sitting in the right place for the sound to reflect down to you, and your ceiling is
I just ordered this, coming Tuesday with a bunch of 4k blu ray discs. I have an older 4k TV, a TCL Roku, but the next step will be the Vizio 65" P series Quantum X. Unfortunately, as of today, only place I can find the TV is Costco, a full list price. I'm hoping it comes into stock at other retailers leading up to the holidays and some discounting occurs.
@@bingo67lum hey man i totally get what your saying ,its a lot of cake. I would keep in mind black friday is not far off,and there may be some great deals on all brands of tvs,happy watching
Hello! I just bought this as an upgrade to my previous 4K player. I installed it the same way my last one was. HDMI Video/Audio Out plugged directly into my TV. Unfortunately on many of my movies the video is now slightly lagging the audio. This never happened with my previous player. Any idea what’s causing this, or how to fix it? Thanks!
Interesting, I didn’t know that, thanks. Another question......So you have both? Wow! ☺️☺️ Do you have a preferred player to watch movies? And if so why?
The remote for the UB9000 is much better quality and it is backlit! I just have the UB820 for watching 4k Blu's on an LG C9, so 1 player, 2 remotes! had it about a month now. The UB9000 is exactly the same player, only it has better audio, makes the UB820 a no-brainer on price/performance.
Do you know how to enable DolbyVision or hdr playback on files saved to my usb? I recorded to hdr content on my phone and saved it to a usb but it doesn't play through this device on hdr
Can anyone confirm if the Netflix app through this player outputs sound in Dolby Atmos? To my knowledge there is no way to get Atmos sound from Netflix without a TV with eARC or Atmos processing.
Just arrived cause my Sony 800M2 froze mid way right out of the box with any disk. Does this have any issues like that? Also, is Dolby Vision automatic? Really like it has an optimizer. You don't get 4K on streams they really reduce quality and sound. I always liked that get true audio/video and I own disks, plus you get digital codes these days so it's a no brainer.
I saw on another review yesterday that this player does automatically switch, whereas the much cheaper Sony 700 makes you do it before every film. That’s worth the upgrade alone.
@@mattcarpenter318 I ended up getting this player. No complaints or issues and has lots of features to get best audio and image quality of disk beyond your 4k good tv. Worth it ive tested 3 months now all my top 4K movies and a lot of blue rays. Im really satisfied.
Can you do me a favour? I'm from Brazil and I would like to know if this device can read .srt subtitles from the usb while playing a disc before importing
can you answer my question. If playing a music CD and you want to FF the track to the middle , can you hear it skimming through. So get a tiny glimpse as it skims
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist Oh Man. That little thing of being able to hear the track is essential to me. A CD with hidden track at the very end after a 20 minute of nothing. You need to hear the disc being scanned to know when the track starts. ..That sort of thing.. Do you know of any that are region free that will scan a disc.
Excellent review, you’ve twisted my arm in me purchasing this player with my new OLED. I have currently been using my PS5. I think the only negative for me would be the remote. It’s very reminiscent of my old Panasonic DVD surround sound player remote from 2007. Thank you. 😎👍🏻
@@anunusualironiccircumstanc2246 Does this player freeze for you at all? My PS5 occasionally freezes on some discs so I’m looking to make the switch to a dedicated player
Would I see a massive improvement over my current sony ubpx700? And what do you mean by not playing DVD audio. Does that mean I wouldn't be able to play my DVD's with it?
It’s not a huge difference between the Panasonic and Sony. I wouldn’t recommend an upgrade unless you need hdr 10+ for some reason. It will play standard DVDs just fine. DVD Audio is a special disc format that was created for higher quality audio playback (higher than cd quality)
Hi this is Scooter Steve I have the UB 9000 I just got it three days ago I got used on eBay but I’m watching things on RUclips. A lot of people are saying it does not play the 4K videos I don’t have a 4K video I just have regular Blu-ray ditched and I was worrying about that and then on your website you talk about HDRHDR of conteck switch And where to go when I push the button like you’re showing it doesn’t show anything like that so I don’t know why it doesn’t do anything but I’m just putting a regular Blu-ray disc in it and I don’t see anything like what you’re showing built into the box please let me know why scooter is Steve I appreciate it. Thank you.
Recently purchased this unit going to pair it with a Samsung QN900B which does not support dolby vision, should i turn off dolby vision on the 4k bluray player or leave it on. Any help would be great ? Thanks.. Phil
Hi! I'm not sure if it has Dolby Vision HDR support so that would be a drawback for me but if you're not worried about it then it should work fine. Also I did review it's brother the X700 here: ruclips.net/video/S9BaTd9D_Gg/видео.html Thanks for watching!
Do you know if the HDMI out audio port can be used with an adapter that works for USB 2.0? I'm just wondering because I'm using a DAC and a pair of headphones, and it only supports USB 2.0 Audio.
I just bought an oled with only 2 out of 4 hdmi ports that has the 2.1 feature. So far my ps5 and soundbar are in those 2 slots. As far as best picture for this player, does it need to be in one of those 2 hdmi ports or can it be any of the normal ones?
I have an lg c2 77 inch oled with klipsch fives hooked to e arc hdmi and an rsl speedwoofer 10S mkii subwoofer. Can I just plug in the video hdmi in and leave tbe fives hooked 2 the arc port? Would this work properly for movie watching?? I just bought the UB820 from best buy for 399.00!
I am using ub820 as you mentioned in your videos. thank you for those videos and help with settings. I have a 7.4.4 Dolby atmos home theatre. using AVR Denon 3600h and Nvidea shield as the media player. when I am using the shield am getting full atmos. but when I connect my ub820 it shows input as PCM and FR and FL channels only on. I was using Fury 4k blueray which has atmos as audio selected. settings I changed as you mentioned in your videos. but still no Dolby atmos. what am I missing? can you pls help me?
@@rajmohanpm8189 Ub820 Don't work whit my tv HDMI-EARC plus my soundbar Samsung. Dolby atmos. I return ub820, now i have Sony 800m2 sound Dolby atmos is Amazing DVD blue ray ultra 4k. Sorry my typing is suck. Jaaaaaaa
Just buy the Panasonic 420 instead. It features the same HCX processor and HDR optimizer as the 820 minus Dolby Vision. Save some money since the 420 is cheaper.
I like the optimized but it only works on HDR10 content not Dolby Vision or HDR10+. If you don't have Dolby Vision, I'd go for the 820 instead of the 420 because the 420 doesn't support Dolby Vision and that format is really common.
Gr8 review.. but still not able to decide between Sony x800m2 and Panasonic UB 820. I have Sony a8h with does not support hdr10+. For TVs that does not support hdr10+ does buying 820 worth?
Does anyone know if the player makes any sound while the disks are spinning please? The fan concerns me as i've heard some people say it can get loud during playback, despite this review saying it stays relatively quiet? Thanks in advance
AWESOME! And for ppl who ask why physical media - there is no way the streaming 4k can even remotely match the quality of physical.
Exactly! Streaming services have to do so much compression on the media to stop their servers getting overloaded that Blu-ray always ends up being way better quality. Even with non 4K discs. I recently bought Star Trek Next Gen on Blu-ray and it is sooooo much better than the Netflix version. The colours are more vibrant, there is a huge increase in detail and the motion is much better e.g. when the ship is moving you can see all the windows in perfect detail unlike on Netflix where they are blurred. Hopefully physical media stays around for a while longer :)
I keep telling ppl the same
Yes physical media always outbeat streaming
happy to see you can rent 4K blueray disc,just trying find best outfit. Hate steaming no matter your wifi even it's hard wire ethernet,you'll get buffering sooner or later,Agggggg!
Yes the buffering is one of the main reasons I buy disc.
I’ve had this player 2 years now and it still blows me away to this day
Awesome!
Does it still work ? Do you use Dolby vision ?
@@latinochico of course it still works, why wouldn’t it? Nah I don’t use Dolby vision
Have you tried to use it as a cd player into a stereo system ? If so, how did you find the sound quality? Thanks.
@@paulglitcher2033 I haven’t no, I’ve got a dedicated CD player a marantz
I use this player together with an Lg CX 65". Match made in Heaven.
Yea I'm loving it too!
did you know Reavon x100 was around 2 years ago? oh well you sound happy.
You really can't beat the quality of Discs. Make sure we back the media. Problem I have is even if the consumers love a product like DVD and Blu-ray (that took ages to establish) they kind of change things by force even if we are happy with what we got. One way they did things before to get people to buy the tech is to genuinely strive to improve quality. The convenience age of streaming is to compromised for my liking. And it's so cool to have a disc in your hand and that. Makes you want to watch them when you end up flicking through your own discs.
Just bought this. The picture is insane.
😁 glad you like it!
Nice review, and I really love your calm voice throughout! Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
I just picked mine up for 350 at Best Buy sale. Thanks for the great reviews
Good choice!
crutchfield $349,walmart$347
I've been using this player for the past six months. The dual hdmi out is the best feature in my opinion, the interface could be faster, but overall I like it a lot
Awesome!
Hi, do you experience the streaming app is slow response in the player? Like the Amazon prime app, whenever you go down, up, left, right in the app, it takes 3-5 seconds to click on the next...
Ill always buy a movie in disc if i can especially if its one that i like. I own 12 different versions of star wars a new hope
Thanks for doing your part to keep disc alive!
You have 12 different releases of the same movie!? Even as a dedicated movie addict myself, who lives to watch great movies on disc, to me, the fact that your collection includes 12 different versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, seems quite excessive! And I say that even as someone who, for example, has watched Apocalypse Now at least 20 times in total, between my viewing of it in a movie theater, multiple times on VHS, then on DVD, followed, of course, by viewing that great film on 1080p Blu-ray, and finally, having watched it about three times on UHD 4K Blue-ray, over the last year and a half. And I've had 1 VHS version of Apocalypse Now, 2 of its DVD releases, 2 of its Blu-ray versions, and naturally, now have the UHD 4K Blu-ray of the movie. So that means that my favorite film has had 6 versions of it which were part of our movie collection here, at one time or another. But honestly, I just can't imagine ever increasing the total # of versions of that movie that we've acquired to possibly reach the level of a dozen different releases! And in 2 cases I only acquired new versions of that movie in order to have features & documentaries about the film, that had not been available before.
I own this player a few years ago. It was very nice. And just to advise you and a community. Though it does not play SACDs. It will play DSD. I played Diana krall on it. And it sounded awesome in DSD. . Great video by the way. Thank you for the detailed info. It's good to see that you take pride in your gear
Thanks 🙏🏾
Recently bought a 820 for $347.99(now $397.99) from World Wide Stereo fulfilled by Amazon. It's a great player that's replacing a Sony x800. It looks amazing playing through my 65" Sony x960h!
Awesome!
Awesome review I agree with your ratings to me it’s the best player around I can live without the sacd or dvd audio so to me it’s a 5/5 all around Panasonic really hit it out of the park with this one
Yea, I'm in the small position as you, I don't own any DVD Audio or SA CD so this works perfectly!
DVD audio plays through the PS4 so no worries there for me.
Good review, appreciated!
Thanks!
Outstanding review! I will have mine today or tomorrow, for all the reasons you mentioned. I feel validated 😃
Awesome! Let me know how you like it!
So, did you buy the Panasonic ub820 ? Do you like it, love it, or naaaaah ?
@@truhunk1 I bought it and I like it a lot! I think it loads a little slowly but, I'm impatient. It is flexible and feature packed! I think the one I most appreciate is the ability to have DTS soundtracks convert to PCM automatically. I know that sounds backwards but, that's the only way those soundtracks will play through my Sonos Arc. I would, and may, buy another UB820. I am still building my physical 4K movie library. My tv is a Sony X900H. This is a monster setup for me that has a few compromises, but overall is extremely satisfying!
@@mvhlsc7 That's good to know. One question please. The ub820 does upscale regular blu-ray discs, do the 4k discs actually look better than the upscaled blu-rays ? Thanks.
@@truhunk1 Most times yes but, it really depends on the source material (some Blu-rays are hard to improve opon) and how thoroughly the transfer is performed. I am an audiophile so, having movies with lossless soundtracks is important to me, which is why I choose 4K when I can, but not at any cost. I frequent sites like 'Blu-Ray. Com', 'Films at Home' and 'MovieGuy365' for reviews of the video transfer and soundtrack quality, of movies I'm interested in, to help me decide if I should upgrade or keep what I have already.
Good review as always,bought an HSU vtf3 mk5 sub upon seeing u review the mk2 & let me admit it's a monster for such a reasonable price,how come most prominent channels don't tlk about these subs is beyond me
jon blaze Hsu is a sleeper brand for sure. I think marketing department isn’t a big corporate type, more of a family business. I have their VTF-3 MK5 also. I was going to get two but their sales guy talked me out of it and he was right, it is indeed a monster!
Thank you for watching and I'm glad you're enjoying the HSU! Yea I'm sure the VTF3 is a monster! The VTF2 is still my main sub and I'm loving it! I'm not sure why they aren't more videos / reviews out there, I'm guessing it's marketing just like @supperconductor said.
I just bought the UB820 for $350 pre Black Friday which makes it a even better deal and I already have the UB420 that doesn't have DV but still a great little player
That’s a great deal 😁😁
Got this on sale this weekend for $349.99 can’t wait to see how it looks on the Z9F and A8H
Ordered mine today.. can't wait to pair it with my A8H..
👍🏾😁
From where did you purchase it from?
@@MarkZeds I'm from Croatia, so I'm guessing that won't help you much
@@juniorwalter9083 LOL ... it will never get her until after Xmas. I'll try local. Happy Holidays from Canada.
Excellent Review. I Learnt💡Heaps 🤓 🧠! Thank You
Very informative review. Nicely done. Thanks.
Great video . Covered everything I needed to know..Thanks
Excellent review. Looks like I made the right decision to purchase it yesterday. Best Buy is currently selling at $399.
Excellent price!
Nice easy to watch and follow presentation
Thanks a lot!
Great review. My only complaint about this unit is the remote. It's just crap, especially the button placement. I've hit the stupid netflix key so many times trying to navigate the dvd menues, and when this happen, you have to start all over again , it won't take you back to where you were.
Yes, this remote is from many of their players and I too have thst issue.
Great review. This is exactly what I needed, to the point and covered all my questions. I used your links for the player and the HDMI cable to help you out. I will use this Panasonic for movies only as I have a Sony UBP-X1000ES now and it sometimes gets stuck when playing a Blu-ray disc. I will use the Sony just for SACD and DVD-Audio playing. Thanks!
Thanks for watching and using the links! That is super helpful!!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾
can the upscaling be turned off for DVD and Blu-ray ?
Thanks for another great review. I ordered the 820 on Thursday, it should be here Monday. I've wanted it since it first debuted mostly for the HDR optimizer. I've had the LG UBK90 for about two years and it's a great player but I think the 820 will definitely bea upgrade in both picture and sound quality. Now that I have a receiver and speakers it's going to help upgrade my entire system. I can't wait!
I had that player for about 3 days before I got the 820 4k discs look way better it’s a night and day difference congrats on your new player
@@danemoreno88 thanks. I've enjoyed the LG UBK90 very much and it's worked great, no skips or hiccups or freezes of any kind. I just know that the 820 will be much better.
That's awesome!!! It's so fun getting new gear in 😂😂. It's Christmas 😂😂😂
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist and Christmas is coming early! And often! 😂😂 finally got a receiver, that's been two years in the making. Then Denon announced their new lineup and I was like damn you Denon!! 11 channels of processing for $1200 is crazy. I've got the Onkyo TX-NR686 and it's a great starter. I have two pairs of the Micca OoO speakers and they're surprisingly great for no bigger than they are and fill my room with sound. Already had the neighbor pounding on the wall and that's without a subwoofer. I've got another pair on the way for Atmos channels and I will be ordering a sub probably this week. And you'll appreciate this, I found old speaker up in the attic here at my apartment and currently using it as a center. It's better than nothing, and it still works. It's from a stereo system from JC Penny from around 1977!!! Having a center though was a game changer for being able to turn up the dialogue and still keep explosions and stuff lower. Still though, even though everything is new, I've already got upgradeitis. Haha. I'm thinking how much nicer would different speakers sound up front? How would everything look on an OLED? I've gone down the rabbit hole and there's no going back now.
I had been on the fence about upgrading from my Samsung m8500 for a while and always had this on the top of the want list (having seen a lot of reviews and youtubers high praise but your review is the one that finally got me to pull the trigger and I couldn’t be happier. What a great player compared to just about everything else out there!
Awesome, I’m glad you like it. I do too 😁
Do you get any freezing or skipping on 4k discs? I have the LG player and it's driving me nuts because it just skips and freezes with longer 4k movies
No, I haven’t experienced any issues regardless of movie run time.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist thank you I went and exchanged my LG for the Panasonic. Setting it up tonight!
How do you like it? Did you try it with a longer movie?
Great detailed review!
SACD and DVD-Audio are niche formats, that never became mainstream. Personally, I don't even own a SACD nor a DVD-Audio disc. Considering the Panasonic 820 incompatibilities of playing SACD and DVD-Audio, it wouldn't matter to me because I don't have any of those music formats and were never interested in SACD's and DVD-Audio anyway.
Great review, thank you!
You’re welcome
Ok. Your review convinced me. I have not so small collection of DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray3D and Blu-ray 4K. New consoles play most of them but not all. And picture quality is not great sometimes. I want a simple player. Put the disc in, push play on remote, watch the film in the best picture and audio quality I can afford. I think these are the last years we can buy such a device. In a year or two, only high end 4K disc players or used market will be your options. After that, you will own nothing you paid for. Sad times 😔
Just ordered mine I will get it this week thanks again for your review
Awesome!
Well done calling out no SACD or DVD-Audio.
subbed to the channel man was a big fan of your plasma/oled vid and this was another great one.
Thank you 🙏🏾
And over a year later still no replacement for the 820 (nor Sony 800 Mk2) - think that its a bit like LD - few players, slowly updated - then format ended. Don't get me wrong I LOVE 4K UHD and have some more discs on order (as well having NF / D+ / AP) I still want my 'own' copy .....still have an extensive LD collection which I never watch but have no plans to clear. Thank you for your review.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent review!
Can you do a video on the best settings for the p 820 please and not so fast like other instructions out there !!!
Another fine review. And I totally agree with your assessment about buying media... It's definitely the way to go for the absolute best video and sound quality. Glad you mentioned the Sony UBP-X700... But is the Panasonic worth the extra cost over the Sony?
Thank you! If you are planning to purchase a player I'd go for the Panasonic because it does offer HDR10+ which the Sony does not offer. Also many people have mentioned issues with their Sony freezing during 4K playback, I haven't experience this on my player but I've heard it a lot. While I've only heard from 1 person who said the Panasonic froze during 4K playback.
As far as upgrading.......... I would only upgrade if your Sony player is freezing a lot and you have a Samsung TV that supports HDR10+.
I bought the Sony last year... And I still haven't had any freezing issues using any discs. My Samsung TV does support HDR10+, but I don't see myself upgrading my player just for that one feature.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist Yes, the exact reason I've bought 2 UB-820s (the 1st in March 2021, and the 2nd in early Sept. 2022) is due to this Panasonic model being known for not freezing up, like some Sony UHD 4K players do when trying to deal with the 3rd data layer of some 4K Blu-rays. But only a 4K disc that has a movie on it that's quite long, such as being at least 2 hrs 45 or 2 hrs 50 min in length, or longer, needs to use a 3rd data layer for an UHD 4K movie to be able to fit on a SINGLE UHD 4K disc. However, I've long been a big fan of Sony, with us still using 3 Sony 1080p Blu-ray players in 3 rooms of our house. BUT, since Panasonic's UB-820 unit has never frozen up when playing any of the 48 movies we have on UHD 4K Blu-ray (nor with any of the 1,082 movies of our regular Blu-ray collection), I simply have to 2nd the opinion of those saying that the UB-820 should be the choice of serious home theater fans who want to view movies in the highest PQ possible, while having the least amount of trouble possible.
Great review. Just subscribed. I’m moving back to physical media and this machine is on my list. To be honest I have a couple of streaming services and have been really disappointed with the quality of some of their ‘4K’ content. My standard Blu-ray player is better quality in some cases.
Yea, I watched a streamed movie earlier and the bit rate dropped so I had plug in the Ethernet cable 😀. I was thinking, “I wish I had the disc” 🤣🤣
What’s the proper settings for this player ? How do we check the settings for HDR- bittstream settings and so on ?
Thanks for the video. I have the Panasonic Blu-ray BTT-490. By mid-October, 2023, Netflix will no longer support this player. I've been looking at the UB820 as a replacement, but not being knowledgeable about these things, I'm a little confused. The BTT-490 I have now came with passive 3 ohm speakers for the 5.1 surround sound built into the player. Since the UB820 doesn't include speakers, does it even support passive speakers plugged in to the RCA audio jacks on the back, assuming I get some with the correct impedance match... or will I need powered speakers... or some type of receiver/speakers setup? And if powered speakers will work, what ohm speakers does the UB820 support?
Physical media is still relevant you have something to watch if there is no internet or data services in your area due to weather or accidents
Agreed!
The main reason is simple...it just looks better. No compression at all.
Problem is these discs won’t last 25 years.
@@niemoikein4330 Blu ray disc's only last 25 years or so?
@@jasonleetaiwan they degrade over time. You can extend their longevity by keeping them out of UV light, cool temperatures, etc. But it is inevitable they will degrade.
- "Why don't you stream?" The most frequently question asked by half blind and tone deaf movie "enthusiasts" 😂
I used to work at a very large tech company and would get asked that question. I was disgusted that they were even hired there.
@@Survivor-ng4te some ppl just don’t care. That’s fine.
Yeah my girlfriend can't tell the difference in PQ between standard Bluray and 4k both look the same to her 🙄
Older I get the less I care about PQ too really, only be buying the best real 4k movies not 4k fake junk.
Yeah 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭😭
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣true
I want this player for my oled Panasonic.
Great review, I get mine Sunday
Awesome, let me know what you think.
It is now available in the UK for £295.
Absolutely awesome review. Does the upscaling feature works on network content ?
Yes as far as I know, I don’t actually use the built in apps.
I 100% agree with your comment.owning physical media is the way to go.
Thanks!
Thanks for the great review. I have a couple 4k movies in my Vudu library, so finding out this player doesnt have Vudu was very helpful. Still might get it though.Thanks again.
Happy to help.
Sony 700 has a vudu app ,i got both the panosonic and sony,hooked to an lg c9 0led,with a nakamichi shockwafe sb ,if one 4k player acts up i use the other
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist I have quite a few blu rays that won't play. The Accountant, Batman Beyond, the Friday the 13th films and Justice League War are just some of them. Do you have this problem?
I just picked up this player and have been pretty happy with it so far. Sadly I bought it at nearly full price so I missed out on the sale Amazon is doing right now though!
Just got one after getting really fed up on the noise the XSX makes when playing discs I love 4k UHDs and buy them whenever I really care about a movie. It makes a racket when it first starts spinning the disc as the fan goes wild but after a short amount of time it goes entirely silent and it's bliss not having that constant hum in the background the XBOX made you don't realise how it's affecting your experience until you no longer have it.
The other plus is how much faster it powers up and is ready to play a disc makes me more inclined to watch a movie then before. I was also impressed with the picture quality difference it's not night and day but there is a clear difference between this player and the Xbox overall I'm happy with the player but I do find it sad that this is (based on my research) still the best 4k blu ray player on the market in 2023 (in this price bracket)
Does anyone know, what if we have an Eshift upscaling projector, will this 4k player upscale regular blurays better than a projectors upscaling ?
Great video bro🙏🏼
Thank you!
Thanks for review, made me buy one...
Awesome! Glad to Help
Great video. Sold.
Just wondered if anyone has found a way of disabling all video processing. I want to pass the calibration tests from my trusty Spears & Munsil Blu-Ray disk to my TV without any changes being introduced by the player. I can stop it upscaling by setting the output format 1080p instead of Automatic, but is that enough to completely stop the rest of processing?
Looking for a bypass mode if one exists. Thanks in advance.
Best of the best!
Question: I have a tv with integrated dobly atmos speakers. Would I have to buy a separate av receiver to get Atmos?
If I understand your setup correctly, it sounds like your TV has upward firing speakers. If this is the case, you're sitting in the right place for the sound to reflect down to you, and your ceiling is
I just ordered this, coming Tuesday with a bunch of 4k blu ray discs. I have an older 4k TV, a TCL Roku, but the next step will be the Vizio 65" P series Quantum X. Unfortunately, as of today, only place I can find the TV is Costco, a full list price. I'm hoping it comes into stock at other retailers leading up to the holidays and some discounting occurs.
Check out the lg cx ,i got a c9 in January 2099 in best buy,best tv ive ever owned ,and ive had 3 vizios n 3 sonys
I'm sure its a great TV. THE 65" Vizio is $1500, the LG over $2k. I'm sure its worth it, just way more than I want to spend. Thanks.
@@bingo67lum hey man i totally get what your saying ,its a lot of cake. I would keep in mind black friday is not far off,and there may be some great deals on all brands of tvs,happy watching
Great review :)
Thank you! Cheers!
Hello! I just bought this as an upgrade to my previous 4K player. I installed it the same way my last one was. HDMI Video/Audio Out plugged directly into my TV. Unfortunately on many of my movies the video is now slightly lagging the audio. This never happened with my previous player. Any idea what’s causing this, or how to fix it? Thanks!
Had this problem too- Ordered a 8k Monster Cobalt HDMI high speed cable - A bit pricy- but works fine now
Found one on Marketplace for $75 going to pick up today.
The Remote from a UB9000 works with this Player, which I use with mine - Recommended
Interesting, I didn’t know that, thanks. Another question......So you have both? Wow! ☺️☺️ Do you have a preferred player to watch movies? And if so why?
The remote for the UB9000 is much better quality and it is backlit! I just have the UB820 for watching 4k Blu's on an LG C9, so 1 player, 2 remotes! had it about a month now. The UB9000 is exactly the same player, only it has better audio, makes the UB820 a no-brainer on price/performance.
It's backlit!!!!! What!!!! I feel robbed! 🤣🤣 I wonder if I can pick up a UB9000 remote? 🤔
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist eBay!
Do you know how to enable DolbyVision or hdr playback on files saved to my usb? I recorded to hdr content on my phone and saved it to a usb but it doesn't play through this device on hdr
I don’t know, sorry.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist hopefully someone will. They used to play on my Sony
Can anyone confirm if the Netflix app through this player outputs sound in Dolby Atmos? To my knowledge there is no way to get Atmos sound from Netflix without a TV with eARC or Atmos processing.
I have the same one it's the best only one problem since I updated don't play blu-ray DVD you have any idea?
Just arrived cause my Sony 800M2 froze mid way right out of the box with any disk. Does this have any issues like that? Also, is Dolby Vision automatic? Really like it has an optimizer. You don't get 4K on streams they really reduce quality and sound. I always liked that get true audio/video and I own disks, plus you get digital codes these days so it's a no brainer.
I saw on another review yesterday that this player does automatically switch, whereas the much cheaper Sony 700 makes you do it before every film. That’s worth the upgrade alone.
@@mattcarpenter318 I ended up getting this player. No complaints or issues and has lots of features to get best audio and image quality of disk beyond your 4k good tv. Worth it ive tested 3 months now all my top 4K movies and a lot of blue rays. Im really satisfied.
Can you do me a favour? I'm from Brazil and I would like to know if this device can read .srt subtitles from the usb while playing a disc before importing
Sorry, but I don’t have any files with format.
can you answer my question. If playing a music CD and you want to FF the track to the middle , can you hear it skimming through. So get a tiny glimpse as it skims
I havent heard that.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist Oh Man. That little thing of being able to hear the track is essential to me. A CD with hidden track at the very end after a 20 minute of nothing. You need to hear the disc being scanned to know when the track starts. ..That sort of thing..
Do you know of any that are region free that will scan a disc.
No, I’m not aware, sorry.
las bocinas van conectadas al Blue Ray o al amplificador?
Amplificador pendejo
Why is no mention on the box about dolby atmos?Is the dolby atmos lossy?Or lossless?
i returning, no Dolby Atmos,
I like National Panasonic
Hello. Have you tried any Panasonic remote app? Does it work with this player?
Is it worth upgrading from UB420 and why? thanks
Well this new one supports Dolby Vision.
Excellent review, you’ve twisted my arm in me purchasing this player with my new OLED. I have currently been using my PS5. I think the only negative for me would be the remote. It’s very reminiscent of my old Panasonic DVD surround sound player remote from 2007.
Thank you. 😎👍🏻
Happy to help 😁😁
Is it a big difference? I’m on Series X and thinking about getting a dedicated player.
@@NachturnalOne it’s pretty good, if you have the extra funds for a dedicated player I’d get it, I’m going to hold off until Black Friday, personally.
@@anunusualironiccircumstanc2246 Does this player freeze for you at all? My PS5 occasionally freezes on some discs so I’m looking to make the switch to a dedicated player
Would I see a massive improvement over my current sony ubpx700? And what do you mean by not playing DVD audio. Does that mean I wouldn't be able to play my DVD's with it?
It’s not a huge difference between the Panasonic and Sony. I wouldn’t recommend an upgrade unless you need hdr 10+ for some reason. It will play standard DVDs just fine. DVD Audio is a special disc format that was created for higher quality audio playback (higher than cd quality)
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist thank you sir, I appreciate the reply. Very helpful!
Thanks so much HT Hobbyist for the nice review. I am looking to buy this on sale. Keep up the good work 👍
Thanks for the good review
Thanks for watching 😁
Hi this is Scooter Steve I have the UB 9000 I just got it three days ago I got used on eBay but I’m watching things on RUclips. A lot of people are saying it does not play the 4K videos I don’t have a 4K video I just have regular Blu-ray ditched and I was worrying about that and then on your website you talk about HDRHDR of conteck switch And where to go when I push the button like you’re showing it doesn’t show anything like that so I don’t know why it doesn’t do anything but I’m just putting a regular Blu-ray disc in it and I don’t see anything like what you’re showing built into the box please let me know why scooter is Steve I appreciate it. Thank you.
Is Dolby vision and the audio options the only difference between this and the 420?
I’m not sure I haven’t done any research on the 420.
Recently purchased this unit going to pair it with a Samsung QN900B which does not support dolby vision, should i turn off dolby vision on the 4k bluray player or leave it on. Any help would be great ? Thanks.. Phil
Off the top of my head, I think you should turn it off.
Great review.. thanks.
Thanks for watching!
What about 3D setting over network such as side by side?
Sorr but I don’t understand your question. Can you rephrase?
Hello do you think Sony ubp x800m2 will be good to buy
Hi! I'm not sure if it has Dolby Vision HDR support so that would be a drawback for me but if you're not worried about it then it should work fine. Also I did review it's brother the X700 here: ruclips.net/video/S9BaTd9D_Gg/видео.html
Thanks for watching!
Does this play Dolby Atmos? Thanks
Yes it will decode Atmos.
Do you know if the HDMI out audio port can be used with an adapter that works for USB 2.0? I'm just wondering because I'm using a DAC and a pair of headphones, and it only supports USB 2.0 Audio.
I don’t know, sorry.
I like your content and your style of presenting. Sub'd.
Thank you 🙏🏾
In realtà su recensioni di Amazon dicono che sia possibile leggere anche i CD AUDIO. Vi risulta?
Good work Sir!
Many many thanks!
reason why im looking for good blu-ray cause streaming site keep remove shows/movie/anime from there catalog
I just bought an oled with only 2 out of 4 hdmi ports that has the 2.1 feature. So far my ps5 and soundbar are in those 2 slots. As far as best picture for this player, does it need to be in one of those 2 hdmi ports or can it be any of the normal ones?
The normal ports will work perfectly.
Would you recommend this player if i only want regular blurats and not 4k ones? My tv is 4k, thanks
Yes, it will play traditional blu-ray just fine 👍🏾
Does it play DVD +R DL?
I can’t connect mine to my router, it keeps saying fail on gateway and internet connection, anyone know a fix?
I have an lg c2 77 inch oled with klipsch fives hooked to e arc hdmi and an rsl speedwoofer 10S mkii subwoofer. Can I just plug in the video hdmi in and leave tbe fives hooked 2 the arc port? Would this work properly for movie watching?? I just bought the UB820 from best buy for 399.00!
Yes, that will work. 😁 Just make sure the audio output is set for hdmi out.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist Sure is. Thanks@!@!
I am using ub820 as you mentioned in your videos. thank you for those videos and help with settings. I have a 7.4.4 Dolby atmos home theatre. using AVR Denon 3600h and Nvidea shield as the media player. when I am using the shield am getting full atmos. but when I connect my ub820 it shows input as PCM and FR and FL channels only on. I was using Fury 4k blueray which has atmos as audio selected. settings I changed as you mentioned in your videos. but still no Dolby atmos. what am I missing? can you pls help me?
no suport Dolby Atmos, garbage
@@faraon2012 but all people says it does, but i am not geting🙃
@@rajmohanpm8189 Ub820 Don't work whit my tv HDMI-EARC plus my soundbar Samsung. Dolby atmos. I return ub820, now i have Sony 800m2 sound Dolby atmos is Amazing DVD blue ray ultra 4k. Sorry my typing is suck. Jaaaaaaa
@@faraon2012 thank you
Good review. Is the HDR optimizer worth the price tag???? I have the sony x800 and don't have a dolby vision tv.
Just buy the Panasonic 420 instead. It features the same HCX processor and HDR optimizer as the 820 minus Dolby Vision. Save some money since the 420 is cheaper.
I like the optimized but it only works on HDR10 content not Dolby Vision or HDR10+. If you don't have Dolby Vision, I'd go for the 820 instead of the 420 because the 420 doesn't support Dolby Vision and that format is really common.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist thanks
I have this blu-ray player and recently all the movies I try to watch won't load. Has this happened to you or do you know of a fix for that?
I haven’t had this issue. I would check the Panasonic support site to see if they have a firmware update that addresses this.
Gr8 review.. but still not able to decide between Sony x800m2 and Panasonic UB 820. I have Sony a8h with does not support hdr10+. For TVs that does not support hdr10+ does buying 820 worth?
I haven’t tried it but if your tv doesn’t support 10+ I’d go for the 800m2.
Does anyone know if the player makes any sound while the disks are spinning please? The fan concerns me as i've heard some people say it can get loud during playback, despite this review saying it stays relatively quiet? Thanks in advance
I'm still using this player as my primary and haven't notice any excess noise during playback.
@@HomeTheaterHobbyist thank you! I shall order one now then :)