Panasonic DP-UB9000 4K UHD Player: Owners Thread

So, I should set it to SDR 709? (Rather than HDR?)
The Kuro cannot display HDR and will convert back to SDR 709. It's up to you if you want the player to convert or the TV itself. Either way it will ultimately be 709. The 9000 is more capable and you may as well leave it as SDR 709.
 
Is it normal that the 9000 converts BT.601 to 709 when it upscales regular DVDs to 4K?
 
Additionally, does the HDR Optimizer come turned OFF by default?

Just want to be sure it's functioning properly, being that it was turned off when I restored factory settings the other night...
 
UB9000 gets a good review for it's DAC and the audio side of things
Panasonic DP-UB9000 shows that when AV companies put their mind to it, they can produce excellently performing and engineered products when it comes to audio performance. Despite having HDMI in there whaling away and the rest of the streaming bits, we have high performance desktop class DAC results.

Performance is almost the same as Oppo UDP-205 so for people mourning the loss of that unit, be sad no more. No, you don't get that units HDMI input and "mini AVR in a box" features but you do get a very performant and supported UHD player.

Panasonic DP-UB9000 UHD Player Review
 
UB9000 gets a good review for it's DAC and the audio side of things
Panasonic DP-UB9000 shows that when AV companies put their mind to it, they can produce excellently performing and engineered products when it comes to audio performance. Despite having HDMI in there whaling away and the rest of the streaming bits, we have high performance desktop class DAC results.

Performance is almost the same as Oppo UDP-205 so for people mourning the loss of that unit, be sad no more. No, you don't get that units HDMI input and "mini AVR in a box" features but you do get a very performant and supported UHD player.

Panasonic DP-UB9000 UHD Player Review
If only this player had SACD playback I would have bought it.
 
If only this player had SACD playback I would have bought it.
I’d have bought it if it had SACD support and proper support for network media files. Even Pioneer can’t say that these days and we are left with the used market for Oppo and Cambridge Audio. Much as I love Panasonic players they’ve always been hopeless at network streaming of own rips. Just not their thing.
 
I’d have bought it if it had SACD support and proper support for network media files. Even Pioneer can’t say that these days and we are left with the used market for Oppo and Cambridge Audio. Much as I love Panasonic players they’ve always been hopeless at network streaming of own rips. Just not their thing.
I tried playing some music from my NAS last night. It wouldn't even see my DSD files. Playing FLAC files over the network it didn't switch to the analogue outs as though the audio only settings don't apply to network.

Playing from USB, it was able to see and play the .dsf DSD files and correctly switched off HDMI and used the stereo outs.

It's dissapointing, although since it's not a Roon endpoint then I likely wouldn't use it for music anyway. I don't own any CD's at all, so can't test that.

On the plus side, when I did get it playing through USB, it sounded great.
 
Nothing wrong with that.
Why are DVDs being sent out as 4:2:2 from the Panasonic? Shouldn't the player's Chroma Upsampling send them out as 4:4:4 like it does Blu-rays?
 
Why are DVDs being sent out as 4:2:2 from the Panasonic? Shouldn't the player's Chroma Upsampling send them out as 4:4:4 like it does Blu-rays?
Probably 60p vs 24p bandwidth

DVD:
Source: 720 x 480 SDR/BT.601 YCbCr 4:2:0/8-Bit
Player Output: 4K/60P SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:2:2 12-Bit

1080p BLU-RAY:
Source: 1920 x 1080 SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:2:0/8-Bit
Player Output: 4K/24P SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:4:4 12-Bit
 
I tried playing some music from my NAS last night. It wouldn't even see my DSD files. Playing FLAC files over the network it didn't switch to the analogue outs as though the audio only settings don't apply to network.

Playing from USB, it was able to see and play the .dsf DSD files and correctly switched off HDMI and used the stereo outs.

It's dissapointing, although since it's not a Roon endpoint then I likely wouldn't use it for music anyway. I don't own any CD's at all, so can't test that.

On the plus side, when I did get it playing through USB, it sounded great.
now having Roon would be a wonderful idea.
 
now having Roon would be a wonderful idea.
The best part would be that it wouldn't require any UI on the UB9000 (which is clunky and dated).

I think the Oppo players work as Roon endpoints, not sure if they have full support for RAAT or just via Airplay etc.

Sadly, the chances of this being added to the UB9000 2 years after its release seem miniscule.
 
The best part would be that it wouldn't require any UI on the UB9000 (which is clunky and dated).

I think the Oppo players work as Roon endpoints, not sure if they have full support for RAAT or just via Airplay etc.

Sadly, the chances of this being added to the UB9000 2 years after its release seem miniscule.
It'll never happen and yes, if there is one thing that is total pants on the 9000 it's the apps screen
 
Probably 60p vs 24p bandwidth

DVD:
Source: 720 x 480 SDR/BT.601 YCbCr 4:2:0/8-Bit
Player Output: 4K/60P SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:2:2 12-Bit

1080p BLU-RAY:
Source: 1920 x 1080 SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:2:0/8-Bit
Player Output: 4K/24P SDR/BT.709 YCbCr 4:4:4 12-Bit
In retrospect, I see what you're saying about the 60Hz thing; I was concerned because my TV, for whatever reason, doesn't see 60P signals as such, evidenced by the fact that when it receives, say, a signal from upscaled DVDs via a disc player -- which reads "2160/60P" on the Samsung's info screen -- the motion controls that are supposed to affect 60P signals, the Blur Reduction, don't seem to affect them. ONLY the Judder Reduction, which is for 24 to 30P signals, seem to affect them, so that's why I thought the Panasonic, too, "ignored" the 60P output of these discs...if that makes sense.
 
If only this player had SACD playback I would have bought it.

I do miss the ability to play SACD's - and I do think the Pioneers, especially the LX800 are arguably better built again than the DP-UB9000.

Reading around a few different sites, there are comments as to the quality of components used in the 9000, re the capacitors, the motor type used in the drive, the use of a failure prone fan etc such as to mark it down from being a 'flagship' product.

That may or may not be true; I don't have the electronic parts expertise or knowledge of exactly what is in the 9000 to comment, but at double the price I would hope and expect an LX800 Pioneer to be noticeably better in this regards. And I like the idea of a closed box that doesn't need fans for cooling and to drag dust and detritus into the innards.

However, on picture and sound quality on movies - which is the main reason I bought mine, along with the pride of ownership a nicely finished box confers, and the very nice backlit remote, I am still pretty much gobsmacked by what I'm seeing.

I watched a 1080p Bluray the other night - "Elizabeth" with Kate Blanchet and Joseph Fiennes, and would have to say the picture quality is by far the best, as in most realistic and authentic I've ever seen out of my system since I first expanded my two channel setup into AV. Simply stunning picture quality, and overall at the price being asked for the player, a sensational and high VFM buy imho.

However, like your good self, had I a really large and significant collection of SACD's, I may have been persuaded by the Pioneer LX500 - no doubt a truly excellent player in it's own right.

But as my collection of movies vastly outnumbers my SACD's, it was the 9000 for it's allegedly slightly better picture on test screens under technical review and pixel peeping.

I doubt that in the real world there would be much difference to be seen on the picture side of it - but for the price difference and also availability (Pioneers out of stock due COVID-19 and shipping) I went with the 9000. No regrets at all, but in time, funds permitting, the call of the LX800 is definitely there as all up, it's probably the best UHD 4k universal player currently on the market.
 
I do miss the ability to play SACD's - and I do think the Pioneers, especially the LX800 are arguably better built again than the DP-UB9000.

The LX800 is considerably more money than the UB9000, Oppo 203, Cambridge CXUHD or any of the cheaper Panasonics -- so it's kind of in a class by itself. For that money, I'd expect it to be better built than those decks. Heck, it's even more expensive than Oppo's mighty 205, and that's sayin' something...

But I wish I was in a position like a lot of the lads here were in, being that if SACD was important to them, they merely skipped over the UB9000 and went for one of the Pioneer twins (depending on an individual's budget); what do I mean by that? Well, I have never been in the market for an SACD or DVD-Audio player, being that I never bought into the formats, sticking to old-fashioned redbook CD and vinyl instead (even if I had gotten into them, I prefer to keep my two-channel music listening separate in a secondary system from the home cinema, using a dedicated disc player...but I understand there are those SACD/DVD-A fans who enjoy surround projects from their favorite artists on those formats), but what WAS important to me were a number of things the Panasonics just don't offer -- including the zoom modes, aspect ratio manipulation, resume playback, more intuitive front panel display, etc.

I WISH I could have made the conscious decision to say "I don't want the UB9000 because of all these things..." but we were in a tough spot at the time: My demands dictated that we have a heavy, well-built, aluminum-encased UHD Blu-ray Disc player (i.e. premium) and since our Cambridge CXUHD wasn't functioning properly with DVDs (and had been sent back to the repair center twice for the same issue), Oppo wasn't making its players anymore and no one else was offering a unit that wasn't endowed with oodles of plastic -- plus the fact that the Pioneers went out of stock during the pandemic resurgence -- we had absolutely no choice but to purchase the UB9000.

Reading around a few different sites, there are comments as to the quality of components used in the 9000, re the capacitors, the motor type used in the drive, the use of a failure prone fan etc such as to mark it down from being a 'flagship' product.

If true, this is disheartening, but somewhat not surprising, if only for the fact that the disc drive on the 9000s tend to make a "grinding through the sand" noise when opening and, mainly, closing; don't get me wrong -- the chassis and drive tray seem to be super-rigid and the drawer seems to suck discs in for loading in a whisper-quiet fashion, but there are times when the drive makes a "sand in the gears" sound that's a bit off-putting for a flagship product.

That may or may not be true; I don't have the electronic parts expertise or knowledge of exactly what is in the 9000 to comment, but at double the price I would hope and expect an LX800 Pioneer to be noticeably better in this regards. And I like the idea of a closed box that doesn't need fans for cooling and to drag dust and detritus into the innards.

Indeed, this goes back to how much more expensive the LX800 -- NOT the 500, which is more in line with what the UB9000 costs -- is.

However, on picture and sound quality on movies - which is the main reason I bought mine, along with the pride of ownership a nicely finished box confers, and the very nice backlit remote, I am still pretty much gobsmacked by what I'm seeing.

I watched a 1080p Bluray the other night - "Elizabeth" with Kate Blanchet and Joseph Fiennes, and would have to say the picture quality is by far the best, as in most realistic and authentic I've ever seen out of my system since I first expanded my two channel setup into AV. Simply stunning picture quality, and overall at the price being asked for the player, a sensational and high VFM buy imho.

Your comments about this unit's 1080p Blu-ray upconversion abilities exactly mirrors what we see, as well, through the 9000 -- discs look unbelievably detailed, rich in color and just, in an overall fashion, better than what we've ever seen using our Oppo BDP-83, Panasonic DMP-BD10A or Cambridge CXUHD. I believe this can all be credited to the Panasonic's Chroma Upsampling feature which uses the multi-tap algorithm, thus boosting color volume, depth and richness.

I'm kind of torn on the remote; I like the button layout and the white backlight (the CXUHD remote was a NIGHTMARE in comparison) but I wish they would have designed a different, more premium unit rather than just throwing the same one they used with the UB900 in the box...

However, like your good self, had I a really large and significant collection of SACD's, I may have been persuaded by the Pioneer LX500 - no doubt a truly excellent player in it's own right.

But as my collection of movies vastly outnumbers my SACD's, it was the 9000 for it's allegedly slightly better picture on test screens under technical review and pixel peeping.

I doubt that in the real world there would be much difference to be seen on the picture side of it - but for the price difference and also availability (Pioneers out of stock due COVID-19 and shipping) I went with the 9000. No regrets at all, but in time, funds permitting, the call of the LX800 is definitely there as all up, it's probably the best UHD 4k universal player currently on the market.

Indeed, I STILL cannot get the LX500 here in the States (I keep getting the update notice from the vendor I registered with that it's not available), so I'd STILL be waiting without a player if I hadn't purchased the UB9000. Plus, the Pioneers still don't boast HDR10+ support, which the UB9000 had out of the box.
 
The LX800 is considerably more money than the UB9000, Oppo 203, Cambridge CXUHD or any of the cheaper Panasonics -- so it's kind of in a class by itself. For that money, I'd expect it to be better built than those decks. Heck, it's even more expensive than Oppo's mighty 205, and that's sayin' something...

But I wish I was in a position like a lot of the lads here were in, being that if SACD was important to them, they merely skipped over the UB9000 and went for one of the Pioneer twins (depending on an individual's budget); what do I mean by that? Well, I have never been in the market for an SACD or DVD-Audio player, being that I never bought into the formats, sticking to old-fashioned redbook CD and vinyl instead (even if I had gotten into them, I prefer to keep my two-channel music listening separate in a secondary system from the home cinema, using a dedicated disc player...but I understand there are those SACD/DVD-A fans who enjoy surround projects from their favorite artists on those formats), but what WAS important to me were a number of things the Panasonics just don't offer -- including the zoom modes, aspect ratio manipulation, resume playback, more intuitive front panel display, etc.

I WISH I could have made the conscious decision to say "I don't want the UB9000 because of all these things..." but we were in a tough spot at the time: My demands dictated that we have a heavy, well-built, aluminum-encased UHD Blu-ray Disc player (i.e. premium) and since our Cambridge CXUHD wasn't functioning properly with DVDs (and had been sent back to the repair center twice for the same issue), Oppo wasn't making its players anymore and no one else was offering a unit that wasn't endowed with oodles of plastic -- plus the fact that the Pioneers went out of stock during the pandemic resurgence -- we had absolutely no choice but to purchase the UB9000.



If true, this is disheartening, but somewhat not surprising, if only for the fact that the disc drive on the 9000s tend to make a "grinding through the sand" noise when opening and, mainly, closing; don't get me wrong -- the chassis and drive tray seem to be super-rigid and the drawer seems to suck discs in for loading in a whisper-quiet fashion, but there are times when the drive makes a "sand in the gears" sound that's a bit off-putting for a flagship product.



Indeed, this goes back to how much more expensive the LX800 -- NOT the 500, which is more in line with what the UB9000 costs -- is.



Your comments about this unit's 1080p Blu-ray upconversion abilities exactly mirrors what we see, as well, through the 9000 -- discs look unbelievably detailed, rich in color and just, in an overall fashion, better than what we've ever seen using our Oppo BDP-83, Panasonic DMP-BD10A or Cambridge CXUHD. I believe this can all be credited to the Panasonic's Chroma Upsampling feature which uses the multi-tap algorithm, thus boosting color volume, depth and richness.

I'm kind of torn on the remote; I like the button layout and the white backlight (the CXUHD remote was a NIGHTMARE in comparison) but I wish they would have designed a different, more premium unit rather than just throwing the same one they used with the UB900 in the box...



Indeed, I STILL cannot get the LX500 here in the States (I keep getting the update notice from the vendor I registered with that it's not available), so I'd STILL be waiting without a player if I hadn't purchased the UB9000. Plus, the Pioneers still don't boast HDR10+ support, which the UB9000 had out of the box.

Regarding the cost of the LX 800 - yes it is very expensive. But, it is to my eyes at least, the only one of the currently available players (which includes the Oppo 203/205) that would match my existing Sony DVP-S9000ES DVD/SACD/CD player which retailed at A$3,500.00 back in 2004 when I bought it.

So in real/todays money terms, an even more expensive player than the LX 800. However, despite being 16 years odd old, and only being DVD and 2 channel SACD through analogue outputs, it's still a superb CD spinner, - which is it's main use these days, - and the initial cost amortised over it's long useful lifespan coupled with it's utter reliability means it owes me nothing.

I think the LX 800 Pioneer fits into that sort of flagship, battleship build, almost cost no object player that could last decades; the UB-9000 perhaps less so.

However, if we're talking current machines, combining an excellent build quality, and arguably the best picture you can buy for 4k UHD and 1080p bluray, then the UB-9000 is it.

Currently, on Pioneer Australia website, the LX 800 won't be available until late this year; perhaps by then they might have HDR 10 + - who knows.

But if I do pursue one, it will be for it's build and hopeful longevity over time, as well as it's SACD ability.

For those of us who already have a significant collection of movies on disk, a quality player now is a great investment, as in time they may become even harder to find new at this level of performance and build, given the onset of convenience driven, lower quality streaming, and a dearth of new, very high quality Bluray players as a consequence.
 
Mystifies me why there's no iPhone app or wifi control of this player ! I can control my rack mounted processor , Oppos , Apple tvs etc no problems but the one player that also does Netflix and Prime has no Plan B :(

~M~
 
Can another UB9000 owner confirm something for me?

Since owning this model, there seems to be a strange anomaly that occurs that I never noticed on any other player I've used connected to my current 4K display; when a scene in a film is playing and people or objects move quickly in the FOREGROUND of the scene (NOT the background; so it's when action occurs IN FRONT OF the primary characters speaking or acting in a scene), those characters or objects break up into a digital "pixelation" (I don't know how else to really describe it), as if there's a "digital distortion" as they pass by...

It doesn't happen with every scene that includes foreground movement, and sometimes it's hard to see...but it definitely happens with almost every disc I play, whether it's a DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray. I am unsure if this has something to do with the Panasonic's Chroma Upsampling algorithm, perhaps causing some kind of interference with my Samsung display, or if it's because of a defective player, but I wanted to know if any other UB9000 owner ever noticed this with their unit.

Again -- it occurs when characters or objects pass by in the foreground of a film scene very quickly...there's like a "pixelated distortion" for a moment.

Anyone ever experience this?
 
Can another UB9000 owner confirm something for me?

Since owning this model, there seems to be a strange anomaly that occurs that I never noticed on any other player I've used connected to my current 4K display; when a scene in a film is playing and people or objects move quickly in the FOREGROUND of the scene (NOT the background; so it's when action occurs IN FRONT OF the primary characters speaking or acting in a scene), those characters or objects break up into a digital "pixelation" (I don't know how else to really describe it), as if there's a "digital distortion" as they pass by...

It doesn't happen with every scene that includes foreground movement, and sometimes it's hard to see...but it definitely happens with almost every disc I play, whether it's a DVD, Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray. I am unsure if this has something to do with the Panasonic's Chroma Upsampling algorithm, perhaps causing some kind of interference with my Samsung display, or if it's because of a defective player, but I wanted to know if any other UB9000 owner ever noticed this with their unit.

Again -- it occurs when characters or objects pass by in the foreground of a film scene very quickly...there's like a "pixelated distortion" for a moment.

Anyone ever experience this?
That sounds like motion interpolation artifacts caused by motion smoothing.

On your Samsung TV, check if 'Auto Motion Plus' is enabled. If so then disable it and see if it solves your problem.
 
That sounds like motion interpolation artifacts caused by motion smoothing.

On your Samsung TV, check if 'Auto Motion Plus' is enabled. If so then disable it and see if it solves your problem.
Yes -- I am using Auto Motion Plus, but in customized settings that smooth out the motion yet do not cause SOE. I'm running Judder Reduction at "5" and Blur Reduction at "10," but here's the thing -- with these SAME SETTINGS using previous players connected to this display, this NEVER happened. It leads me to believe it's something that's occurring with the Panasonic.

Further, would foreground pixilation occur because of AMP? I would think there'd be more of a blurring or ghosting because of the motion settings, not what I'm seeing...
 
Yes -- I am using Auto Motion Plus, but in customized settings that smooth out the motion yet do not cause SOE. I'm running Judder Reduction at "5" and Blur Reduction at "10," but here's the thing -- with these SAME SETTINGS using previous players connected to this display, this NEVER happened. It leads me to believe it's something that's occurring with the Panasonic.

Further, would foreground pixilation occur because of AMP? I would think there'd be more of a blurring or ghosting because of the motion settings, not what I'm seeing...
I'm sure I remember you asking this re specific scenes on Hackaw Ridge. When I checked on both Sony and Panasonic UHD players it was the movie and/or disc. Not every movie can take carefull attention to them on a large screen at close distances in 4K. I think it was also on the blu-ray too.
 
I'm sure I remember you asking this re specific scenes on Hackaw Ridge. When I checked on both Sony and Panasonic UHD players it was the movie and/or disc. Not every movie can take carefull attention to them on a large screen at close distances in 4K. I think it was also on the blu-ray too.
Nope, never asked about Hacksaw Ridge -- didn't see it and don't own it (have seen the trailer many times though).

But this occurs with every disc I play (and, as I stated, it didn't happen when I had an Oppo BDP-83 and the Cambridge CXUHD hooked up to this screen) -- it's not random.
 

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