Cheaper than the last deal at $518. Overall (according to reviews) best mid tier 4K player. Some people would argue that it beats even the top of the range 4K players. It's been on sale twice now in the last couple of months so it might be EOL but there's no other 4K player at this price supporting HDR 10+, Dolby Vision/Atmos, Analog 7.1 output etc.
The support for the streaming apps is limited but these days all 4K TVs come with streaming apps so you probably won't use those features anyway.
I googled extensively before getting this one and all current models from LG, Sony and Panasonic are already around 3 years old. Anything new coming out? Couldn't find any info. I guess there's not much room for improvement in players compared to TV's so the new model cycles are much longer. Also, with streaming services being so popular, the players are a specific segment, not aimed at everyone.
I have a Sony TV so needed Dolby Vision, but didn't want a Sony player (X700) because of mixed reviews and the fact it forces Dolby Vision on everything (even non HDR content). Has to be manually turned on/off every time. Almost got the LG (UBK90) but then read online it doesn't play nicely with Sony TVs.
I was prepared to pay full price for this one based on reviews on YouTube so at this price point didn't think twice. Even if a new one comes out it will be the same/similar hardware only with nicer UI, support for more apps… stuff I don't really care about. I need it for physical discs only.
Maybe 8K Blu-rays could emerge with larger disks.
UB-450 is cheaper and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
However, it's not available in Australia. Can buy it on Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.com.au/Panasonic-DP-UB450EB-K-Blu-ray-Pla…
The discounted DP-UB820 is much better and worth the extra cost, plus you get AU warranty standard!
$448 is mid tier? What do higher tier models bring to the game?
1.5k to 2.5k price tags that arnt worth it
After only recently getting a 4K OLED do I now understand that true HDR is not easy to come by and physical media still has a part to play
More than just a part.
4k blu rays can be 40GB +….not gonna get any streams that are that capable any time soon imo.
Lol there's streams already upwards of 60gb. The difference is compression when it comes to steams vs disks media
Yep, you’ll never get uncompressed sound through any streaming app
Apple TV+, which is currently the highest quality streaming service, has an average bitrate of 30Mbps.
30Mbps = 13.5GB per hour. Two hour movie streaming = 27GB of data.
Two hour movie on a 4K disc = 70GB of data. That’s 35GB per hour = bitrate of 78Mbps.
78Mbps is 230% more than 30Mbps. More bitrate = less compression = better audio/video quality. 4K disc = 2.3x better quality than currently best available streaming service.
So no, there’s no 60GB streams, unless you’re talking about some 4 and a half hours long movie. But even in that case the math remains the same.
@Alx75: Lmao well I never said anything about typical streaming service. Kodi+Real-debrid is as lossless as possible when not using a physical medium
@DoesntEvenMatter: Rofl?
You do know how that service works, right? So yes, I definitely wasn't talking about/comparing to illegal torrents of full quality 4K movie rips delivered through a "cache" service, for which you also have to pay a monthly subscription.
Anyways, enjoy your "streaming" and I will continue to enjoy my discs.
@Alx75: I have a full home theater setup with a large brd collection but also have a media server of them all in lossless rips so I'll enjoy my home theater in a mix of all
Having owned my LG B6OLED since 2017 and only recently having ability to play 4k movie discs via the PS5, I can attest to it being a completely different experience vs streaming, even audio is a massive improvement. I know a PS5 wouldn't be considered even mid tier, but it's great because I wanted the next gen playstation and a 4k player.
For those in the know, what about this one, its 648 this time, 300 off. Last time it was 750.
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/panasonic-dmr-ubt1gl-4k-u…
It has the Hollywood HCX processer like the UB820. However, it does not support HDR10+ or Dolby Vision
However, am i right in saying, it is native 4K for streaming and playback of 4k sources, and has HDR, just not + or Dolby view,
Am I missing something here. Is this basically a $450 media player and does not do any recording?
I currently have 2 x Panasonic PVRs and love them. 1 of them is mega old (bought in 2009 and still going strong). It's a 250GB dual HDD recorder with DVD player and is the main one I use for recording programs off free to air TV because it allows me to play them back at about 1.7x speed. The 2nd one I have is a 1TB dual HDD recorder with BluRay player (bought in 2017) and I use this mainly as an overflow if I need to record more than 2 things at the same time, or if it is a newer HD channel like SBS Viceland which my 2009 player can't detect. Both are brilliant but the newer one only plays back at a maximum of 1.3x speed so takes a bit longer to watch a program, so I favour the old 2009 one over the newer one because I can knock out a recorded program faster. I am so surprised the one I bought 12 years ago is still going strong. I use it almost every day. I watch zero free to air TV and all free to air I watch has been recorded predominantly on the older PVR, and it's still working like new. I can't speak for this new player but I can speak on the quality of Panasonic products, my 12 year old is still going.
panasonic made great products. miss their telly's - also excellent
Yes had one of those too. I had the last of the 50" plasma TVs that were made in Japan. Was a brilliant TV except for the amount of heat it omitted. I ended up selling it to a mate back in 2014 for maybe $400 (from memory) and he still has it and said it's going great.
come back panasonic telly's, please.
Yep. Huge fan of Panasonic. Got lucky and bought one of the last 65 GZ1000's last year for under $3000 delivered. Love OLED. Also bought a Blu-Ray / HDD recorder about 5 or 6 years ago and still going. Bought a reconditioned 420 player but will now bite the bullet and buy one of these with a few gift cards.
got my 420 from myer - old deal here… pana please come back should be a recurring statement here…
@petry: Yep, Panasonic is good, im still using a TH-L37G10A TV and a DMR-BW750 Bluray/Dual tuner/DVR, both are about 12 yrs old or so now..
I got a ub420 instead , same player but without Dolby vision , got it for $200, if I want Dolby vision I buy it from Apple TV, if I want a 4k HDR10 or 1080p movie I buy it physical .
I tested the Ub820 at a friend's house I could hardly tell the difference between physical disc DV and Apple TV DV tested 3 of the same movies frame by frame , not enough to justify more than double the price compared to the UB420.
$200 or $248? JB had the DP-UB420 at $248 right now
Given the reviews of the DP-UB820, it seems like the best all round one that is most capable and least likely to give grief.
The following is just a tiny bit of one very good review and an interesting read:
So, for playback of high-quality Blu-ray and UltraHD Blu-ray discs, pretty much any player from a respectable brand will do the trick. But if you want best performance from other discs, I can’t recommend the Panasonic DP-UB820 highly enough.
Right now the cheapest price for ub420 is $248 yes,
I purchased my player in 2019, I use it on a regular basis, still working perfectly to this day no problems.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/460987
I spent many hours reading about players and yes the ub820 is a great player, but in my personal opinion it not worth the price, because the Ub420 even at $248 is a much better value because it's exactly the same player, same HCX prosessor , same HDR optimiser settings, the only difference is no Dolby vision.
At the end of the day it's your money , if you want to pay up the extra $$$ for the Dolby vision physical disc playback feature , go for it.
There's also 5.1 sound against 7.1 sound as the 420 doesn't have the analogue audio ports. Not sure 7.1 is enough of a difference either, but it might be for some.
@affinity: These are analogue output. You don't need any of them as long as you use digital Bitstreams. They can be converted to any number of digital channels. ATMOS and DTS-X are the top bitstreams at the moment.
@Sathish9: This is true, as long as you bitstream out audio to your av receiver it will output even 7..1.2 no problems as long as your receiver supports it . Ub420
No Dolby Vision and no Dolby Atmos on this unit. My audio setup is Atmos and my TV supports DV so I went for UB820. I agree that if you don't need those two features the UB420 is more than enough.
@Alx75: There is Dolby ATOMOS and DTS-X support but no Dolby Vision.
https://www.panasonic.com/au/consumer/home-entertainment/blu…
Yep, it does have Dolby Atmos, my bad.
Anyone know if rumours of a new Panasonic or other 4K models being released soon?