This player rarely gets a deal, and one of the few notable bluray players.
Panasonic DP-UB820 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray Player $576 + Delivery ($0 C&C/In-Store) @ JB Hi-Fi
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LVilera on 03/09/2023 - 14:37 jbhifi.com.au (1266 clicks)
Last edited 03/09/2023 - 19:48 by 2 other users
Last edited 03/09/2023 - 19:48 by 2 other users
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Negged for feedback. Tough crowd.
Thank you for pointing it out. I am new to posting, was just a lurker. I don't know why you have negative votes.
No worries. As shxhshzhz mentioned, tough crowd.
$20 off with Perks, $556
How can this be on the front page with a measly 7 votes and 2 comments?
We are in a world where most stream now. DVD/Blu-ray players are not something most households buy anymore.
Peasants I say. Oh crap sorry, my inner obnoxious snob came out for a second there, carry on.
Its for detail focused consumers. Most people dont know what they are missing out on. Most people don't have high end tvs or atmos sound systems so low bit rat 4k with basic pcm stereo or 5.1 sound wont be issue for them.
High bit rate true hdr visuals with atmos sound is something only the blu ray discs can provide. Ps5 is the better option for most though.
The reality is most people don't care about any of that even when they do have the high end TV's and sound system to support it, it is a very niche area.
Further extension of Australians in general are cheap, cheap and nasty vs quality outsells anyday - streaming vs higher bitrate and overall quality.
Of course, most are also going to listening on (shudder) TV speakers or just as bad a sound bar.
It has nothing to do with cheap, it is convenience. I have a fantastic setup in the living room yet I watch the majority of my movies and TV from the bedroom using streaming. The quality of my living room setup is not going to make me order a blu-ray to watch some days later except in specific circumstances where I want the optimal experience. being elitist like that says more about you then them.
I use the old list.. the new list makes no sense to me
Or just buy a ps5
The Panny does have a lot more features (for Bluray) e.g. up/downscaling and SDR/HDR conversion.
If you just want a basic blu ray player, you can get them a lot cheaper than a PS5.
If you want this model (which I have), you've probably already researched the differences and know that a good quality standalone unit like this does a much better job of being just a blue ray player.
Not for everybody, but if you have invested heavily in OLED or ATMOS and want to maximise your experience, it is worth getting this unit.
For the price the argument is harder to justify the purchase. If the unit was around $2-300 then the value proposition is more justified.
I appreciate there are features this has that a basic Bluray and ps5 doesn't have. But for such a premium and to deliver a simple principle of playing media.. it's a hard buy at nearly $600.
The ps5 has Atmos support with the latest update as well which makes ithe console close the gapThe reverse can also be true. The PS5 is also more expensive than this, and holds no additional value if one does not like gaming so you are paying more for less if you are looking for a 4k Bluray player. I would find it difficult to justify $700+ for an average 4K bluray player like the PS5.
If it is not for you, that's perfectly fine. The 4k bluray player is clearly a niche market in 2023.
@Fiximol: I will support this argument 100% if one does not play games then the ps5 is not worth it.
This being a niche product is also 100% accurate.@maverickjohn: It also idles at a higher wattage. So will cost more to run to stream/play discs vs a purpose built player.
simple principle of playing media
If you think this is simply just 'playing the media' then I don't think it's for you
@Raynes: Pray tell what else does this do asides from play media in the form of DVD/Bluray/4k platform.
The ps5 has Atmos support with the latest update as well which makes ithe console close the gap
It already had Atmos support for movies using LPCM output - the recent update added Atmos support in games.
As a 4K player, no Dolby Vision/HDR10+ support, upscaling of Blu-ray isn’t as good, and no HDR optimiser - not saying you can’t use a PS5, but if you’re spending a premium on 4K discs there’s a decent chance you’ve got a good home theatre setup which makes the UB820 worthwhile.
I dunno. If you have a proper atmos setup you've already invested thousands of dollars into your home audio setup and TBH a $700 piece of equipment to provide the source to actually take advantage of your gear isn't a massive ask - it's likely cheaper than one of your subwoofers.
That said, if you already have a PS5 it's a luxury purchase and totally not worth it if you're only rocking a soundbar.
I have this 4K player and it's fantastic. The picture and sound quality on my LG 77inch CS OLED screen is so much better when watching a 4K or Blu-ray movie that on my PS4 or PS5. I picked one up for about $500 using price beat some months ago and it was absolutely worth every penny of that. I read all the comparison reviews in relation to using the PS5 or the latest XBOX compared to this Panasonic unit and thought they were exaggerating how much better the dedicated player was….until I got one. Of course, I do have a 7.2 receiver, Dolby Atmos speakers, 3 subwoofers and 5 other surround speakers. But even just using the built in tv speakers, the picture quality improvements alone make it a worthwhile buy.
I've seen comparisons between PS5 it's really hard to justify unless there's two TVs side by side
I have also seen those comparisons, except that they don't show anything the ps5 can't do, namely Dolby vision (or hdr10+ but the number of TVs that support this is pretty much only Samsung).
No one shows the Dolby vision vs ps5 because it's not a fair fight. Everyone already knows Dolby vision looks better.
@Fiximol: Link then?… love the random neg, you seem very keen on such a big difference I've got a 77C1 but no one can seem to give any concrete reviews so I'm doubtful on spending on $500 on a player…
$573.08 at Amazon
honestly, i'm surprised they are still this expensive… Haven't looked for a blur ray player for over 10 years. I would of expected them to be at the $100 price range by now.. Maybe i'm missing something here.
This is basically the best unit you can buy. Next step up is in the $1500-2k range IMO. You can get basic ones with a few less codecs for under $150 on special.
Yes you're missing something (i.e. tone mapping ability). You guys saying its not good value are judging this as a bluray player like any other, because you don't know the differences between players. You wouldn't say a Mercedes should cost the same as a ford but that's what you're doing here.
I didn't say anything about it not being good value.
I was surprised the technology is still priced high. Usually after 15 years, a technology comes down in price for a number of reasons.
This unit used to go on special in the $400's at JB and noticed they have no stock in stores anymore in WA at least (Might be online only now). I think as demand dies down they prices for blu-ray players will go up as they become more niche.
Probably some influence from the US dollar too.
I agree and came here to say the same thing.
Physical discs are quickly losing market share. Having to pay $600 for a player takes me out of the market and I imagine a lot of people feel the same.Again, the physical discs and in particular this player are for a market that values quality - most will have a decent HT setup this will be part of.
If you think blu ray players are expensive, have a look at CD players! Ai ai oh!
It's been on OzB before (last time was July) and this is the most expensive it's been in those posts from the past. How is this a deal?
These really should be less as I can't see how there is alot of demand for this to keep the price up.
Agree entirely on the price in previous deals part of your comment. It’s been way cheaper and this is not a deal.
I assume the price stays high because it’s such a niche product, so the scalability to produce it “cheap” isn’t there.
Also this model uses some pretty good components and is a far cry from there cheaper variants that crap out after a couple of years.
I thought these went for about $450 on sale?
Bought an xbox series s as my blu ray player 2 years ago for around $300 - best purchase I've made.
What
Probably means an Xbox One S, which I find average as a player in terms of speed and interface.
Maybe you got an Xbox One S?
I need a Blu Ray player, why is this so expensive?
It's one of the best UHD Blu-ray players you can buy. Supports nearly every HDR format and has bit-perfect output
thank you
Also upscales FHD Blurays beautifully as well, I have heard.
A couple months back and this was going on sale for $450. What a big jump to make $576 look like a deal
Maybe I'm very odd but I prefer 1080p, 4k is too sharp for me, feels strange and unreal and things I watch don't seem like stories. That's not a perfect way to explain it. I'm probably just strange.
Mind you I use a 50 inch plasma. So that might have something to do with it in comparison to these 4k non plasma screens.
The strange and unreal effect you are describing sounds like the "soap opera effect" which is a result of the image processing setting on the display, not the 4k resolution. Its easy fixed by turning processing off.
Were there any plasma models that went up to 4k? Mine definitely didn't.
Nope.
Like you I have a 50 inch plasma and was thinking about getting a 4K player to use with it. Could you expand a bit on your experiences? It seems like you are getting a more detailed picture but it looks too sharp? Have you checked the sharpening settings in your player?
Might want to check the specs of your tv mate. Plasmas generally didn't go up to 4k, so any 4k signal will just be displayed at HD - 1080p.
I implied I only have 1080p or less. Maybe I wasnt clear enough but I don't have 4k… I watch things on friends televisions though hence my observations.
@Misha Bakunin: 4K movies are often new masters so even if you can’t take advantage of the resolution or HDR, the movie could still be an improvement over the bluray/dvd
Oh I was not actually intending to buy this just sharing my observations which to are a bit tangential I suppose
Your plasma has no 'enhancements' to enable.
4K TVs of today come with all the 'enhancements' turned on by default, and it looks absolutely terrible because they're actually dehancements, but most people who don't know better think sharpness and smoothness = better even when its not supposed to look like that so it's made default to give them satisfaction (idiots, but whatever, you can turn it off).
Turn it all off (most TVs have good settings guides on sites such as RTINGS that make it look as it should) and you'll be happy. 4K by design is just more pixels which results in a bit more detail and better looking image at bigger screen sizes. The mild uptick is noticeable but barely. HDR is the real upgrade these days, but that also requires a great ($$$) TV to get a good grasp of it, as the cheap TV's HDR implementation sucks.
Your plasma has no 'enhancements' to enable.
Of course they do. Sharpening, noise reduction, motion processing etc are all available for setting on plasmas and LCD TV’s from 10 years ago, all enabled with vivid or energy saver mode OOTB
I definitely don't remember my Panasonic Plasma back from like 2008 having any of that stuff. Sharpening, maybe but it wasn't enabled.
is this Panasonic player region free for bluray and dvd? for those on budgets i highly recommend Laser's (Australian owned company) region free bluray/dvd player. it is currently 129$ free prime delivery on amazon au and works well. that said it cant play 4k movies (i only use my consoles for 4k movies).
Not OOTB, but can be modified to be so.
Keen to know how to make it region free?
I actually called Panasonic about this for my UB820, because I think legally they are obligated to make at least DVD playback region. They said contact a nearby service centre to get it done. I'll get around to it some day.
Bought this player a few years ago for $450 and love it. Leagues better than using my PS5 or Series X for blu-ray playback. Pro tip: Panasonic unlocks their Blu-ray players region free for no cost in Australia (apparently due to some local law that forces companies to comply with region-free playback). Simply contact Panasonic's authorised repairer after purchase and explain that you would like to book your player in for region free playback of DVDs and Blurays. You might have to show them the original purchase receipt at the time of dropping off the player but I never had to. 4K Blurays are region free but DVDs and regular Blu-rays are region locked, making this unlock a gamechanger as I have plenty of DVDs and Blurays that I imported back in the day that I can now playback with the fantastic upscaling that this player offers.
Interesting - who did you contact for that service specifically?
My understanding is Panasonic will provide the unlocking for DVD, but not Bluray.
Wait for it to drop to $450 territory (expect that around cyber monday/black friday as always: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/737776 ). I got one for that price. This isn't a deal.
I up-voted you because yes it is not an all time low price but it is a significant sale so if you want it now it is a deal.
Also no gauarantee it will drop to the previous price considering inflation. The floor price of many on sale items is becoming higher.
Thanks for the heads up, it's been a popular device. I'm sure some people (those that don't actually have one yet, or maybe they need to buy a replacement ?) will get one before the deal ends.
While I'm a physical media person, I buy all of my content…. but rarely watch the physical version. My process since 2004/5 has been to buy the movie/tv series, rip it (lossless quality for the win haha) and watch it off a hard drive instead. Much more convenient for me, better quality than any streaming service could offer AND it saves my lazy self from ejecting and changing discs when what I'm watching is finished and I want to move on to the next.
That said I've owned many individual players over the years (dvd, bluray) and have the game consoles (ps3/ps4/ps5, xbox one, xbox series x etc) plus I have a UB820 - in case of emergency use though haha.
What are you using to rip your media? Free, or paid software? I used to rip my DVDs with DVD Decrypter, then I think it was MakeMKV for my Blu-rays. I haven’t bothered in a long time though.
Back in the day it was a combination of DVDShrink and DVD Decrypter / DVD HD Decrypter. Actually paid for DVD Fab and used that for a time (still do but it hasn't been my main program for years). And yes MakeMKV is what I primarily use today for bluray and 4K titles.
Thanks. Buying it for my nephew as a fun joke.
What's the joke, he might try to play a laserdisc?
How does this compare to the Sony UBP-X700?
Common feedback is the Panasonic is more reliable play back of 100gb discs as the Sony can freeze with triple layer discs, and automatically switches Dolby Vision on/off - Sony you need to manually manage.
Anyone have any actual links as to why it's miles better than a PS5 or Xbox I'm on the fence heard it's miles ahead but No actual reviews to convince me…
Honestly I got downvotes massively but 4k hdr video comparison is so negligible I'm not sure what the argument for picture quality is.
https://youtu.be/KX06_NHGYlg?si=Kv4NHsgnS1MOLsu_
https://youtu.be/tfVs0PAYrLw?si=u41mpA7tFoq0aP0U
I really can't tell. So you know what if people want to spend that money it's their choice. But from what I can tell. It's hardly noticeableDepends on your display man. A lot of TVs say they're HDR but aren't. If you're spending the money on a quality projector or OLED you can definitely see the difference for HDR. The difference of how black the blacks are and detail in highlights and shadows is immense.
"I can't tell the difference, this is good enough" can be just about said about any hobby.I know im just saying that from all the content out there, there's nothing indicating this massive gain. As mentioned it's everyone's money if they feel it's worth it. Then by all means. But people who have both have indicated that while the Panasonic might be better the ps5 is more than decent as a Bluray player and most won't have a problem defaulting to that.
Look I appreciate as much as the next good picture quality. I still have my c9 which is 4 years old and will upgrade to another OLED again once this dies.
In my opinion if you prefer gaming just get a ps5. If you don't game and are a movie buff. Get the Bluray player. I can't see a place for both in a household but that's just me.
I don’t have a dedicated Blu-Ray player (yet) but I bought some ultra 4K discs and put one on through the ps5…it made so much whirring noise that it made the movie unwatchable. That was enough convincing for me that ps5 isn’t an acceptable means for watching Blu-Ray
Need a louder sound system mate! I feel the Jets in Maverick.
Got a full blown Sonos setup. Of course I could crank the volume to drown it out but not at the expense of destroying my hearing. Maverick was one of the movies I bought too
Bought one of these. Note for anyone who has a large 3D Bluray collection, my understanding is that PS5 and Xbox Series X removed the ability to play 3D Blurays. Can’t vouch for that myself as I haven’t upgraded yet.
I am using a UST projector and 7.2..4 Atmos sound system. Biggest difference with 4K streaming vs. 4K disk is the sound (noticeably). Even with this player most people probably wouldn’t notice the 4K picture difference, though I understand the HDR tone mapping can make a difference to blown highlights with HDR content on a nit limited display like a projector, still evaluating.
I've got a 77" CS OLED with an Xbox series X, sell me this UHD player!
I'll spare the effort you won't convince me.
Thought I better eat some humble pie and this player has a killer feature that I haven't thought about too much.
Analogue 7.1 output, my Flagship Denon amp is 20 years old and it seems like I'm always fighting with it to get the proper surround signal.
With a player like this you could hook up to any amp that has 5.1/7.1 RCA in and it will play the latest surround standards perfectly(assuming you have a 5.1/7.1 system), obviously use the player for all your streaming
Most people would say "just buy a new av Reciever" but if you had an amp worth $2-$3K 20 years ago, why not keep it going with a UHD player/streaming device like this?
I bought the DMRPWT560 for $15 from an OP Shop last week. No remote, but $14 from ebay and I'm ready to give it a whirl
Not a 4K disc player.
Maybe not, but $15 for a HDD recorder is a steal!
Bought this for $440 less then 12 months ago. Really should be under $500 to be considered a bargain.
Inflation and lower AUD vs USD is contributing to the price difference. With JB probably adding their own mark up so when it comes to later this year it makes the current price a bargain.
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Store in title. And tidy it up too.
Edit: a little better now, mods will sort it though. Have a + for effort.