Panasonic DP-UB820 & DP-UB9000 4K Blu-ray players | Crutchfield

Panasonic’s DP-UB820 and DP-UB9000 4K Blu-ray players set the standard for Blu-ray picture quality, thanks to their advanced video and audio processing.

Crutchfield fans might remember Oppo, who used to make our favorite disc players, including Blu-ray players. They stopped making players in 2018, leaving a void for videophiles and audiophiles alike. Thankfully, Panasonic has made a couple of players that provide the outstanding audio and video performance Oppo was known for.

There are two models:

The DP-UB820 offers brilliant 4K HDR playback, outstanding sound quality, and is plenty good enough for most of us. The DP-UB9000 adds an upgraded DAC (digital-to-analog converter), superior build quality designed to minimize vibration, plus balanced audio outputs for connecting balanced gear. It's just as good at playing CDs as it is processing video, and is the ultimate player for videophiles and audiophiles alike.

[mybrandnewfunk]

Just purchased this player. Very satisfied with the performance for both video and audio. However, for a $1k product, I can not believe Panasonic did not add the feature to read metadata from audio music CD's to display the artist name, song and album title. This is such a simple task but a huge oversight on their part.

[lawrencegreywolf]

Great video, very informative. The 820 is a really good 4K blu ray player.

[slate]

I was blown away at the difference of my 4k players when I purchased the Panasonic. Cannot beat Panasonic

[-dimar-]

UB820 is the best UHD player for me so far. I went through Samsung UHD player which was complete garbage, then LG which was ok, but used to freeze sometimes. Panasonic, no issues, except I had to play with settings to get Dolby Vision to work with my LG OLED TV. It also upscales DVDs pretty nicely to 4K.

[dr.emilschaffhausen]

Would have been the perfect offering had it included SACD and DVD-Audio. Sales would have been more robust.

[Andersljungberg]

The most extreme audio format is apparently called DXD but there is no ultra HD blu-ray player on the market that plays in that format?

That Panasonic 9000 looks exactly like the Oppo 203. Same remote and everything.

[musicman]

OPPO 203 is still king, some are making small fortunes selling new and used ones on EBAY

[MAFion]

I don't understand why Panny would bother to have the 7.1 analog outs but not allow you to easily adjust the volume with the remote. It's insane. And a deal breaker. Help me understand, lovely anonymous people of the internet. I'm looking for something to replace my (stolen!) Oppo 203, which could function as a pre-out with the analog outputs. Is there any other brand still in production that can do that?

[mauriciolacruz]

I just received my Panasonic DP-UB9000EG1 and noticed that the main on/off button does not have any LED light, neither when it's on, nor when it's off. Is this how it must be?

All other Blu-ray players I own do have LED lights on their on/off main switch buttons, when on and/or when off.



Acabo de recibir mi Panasonic DP-UB9000EG1 y he notado que el botón principal de encendido/apagado no tiene ninguna luz LED, ni cuando está encendido ni cuando está apagado. ¿Es así como debe ser?

Todos los demás reproductores Blu-ray que tengo tienen luces LED en los botones del interruptor principal de encendido/apagado, cuando están encendidos y/o apagados.

[joeblack]

One weakness the UB9000 has in some case is the disc tray. I had one for a few months, and now it just won't eject (and yes, I've tried all the suggested methods to get it working) I've read that other people have had the same issue. I had to physically open up the player to retrieve the disc. I then bought the cheaper DP-UB820, and that hasn't had any such issues, and the picture quality is just as good.

[willianaleman]

Thank you for the informative video. Care should be taken when turning On the Optimizer feature in these players. It works like a limiter in audio, placed at the end of the chain before the speaker outputs. In HDR, the TV already has a chip to adjust the HDR maximum peak luminance metadata values of the content to the TV capability through dynamic tone mapping. In the case of Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus, the TV also reads the average luminance levels frame by frame. When using the Optimizer in the player, it's better to turn off the TV dynamic tone mapping. Otherwise, the dynamic tone mapping of the content is reduced twice: by the TV dynamic tone mapping and by the player.

[perrysmiles]

Hello Crutchfield and thank you for this video. I will be connecting my new UB820 to my AVR... which HDMI out do I use behind your unit? The Audio out or the Video out? Perry :-)

[SD-oevv]

Hii :) For OLED TV and Soundbar which is ideal 820 or 9000? I have no analogue speaker setup, just simple Yamaha Soundbar and OLED.

[barrybena]

So how is the UB9000 an upgrade for videophiles when everything you said makes it better is about audio?

[beyondonethousand]

The 9000also has a solid chassis and superior power supply for audio even in a movie setting.

[ta]

Since I have the A8G in combination with the DP-UB820, do you think I should turn on the Optimization feature of the player or should I let the TV do all the processing? Thanks!

[dwainsumpter]

Hi I just purchased this 9000 from you guys and I love it. One question tho. I have this connected to my Yamaha Rxa3080 and when playing a ultra hd Blu-ray that has atmos it only plays in dtsma not atmos using the 9000.

[OneBlackButton]

@Crutchfield Between these two players, which is better for a LG C9 OLED? I’m running a 5.2.4 Dolby Atmos setup. The 9000 seems steep at $1, 000...

[OneBlackButton]

I was looking at the $999 blu ray player to pair with a LG C9 OLED but not sure if this is necessary with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on the horizon. This player is quite wide at 16.9 inches and it would be another device in my already cramped Entertainment Cabinet. Do you still recommend this player if I can squeeze it in?