Panasonic Streaming Blu Ray DVD Player, 4K Blu Ray Player with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ Ultra HD Premium Video Playback, Hi-Res Audio, Voice Assist - DP-UB820-K (Black)

I had originally ordered the Sony UBP-X700, which worked pretty decently as long as I played regular Blu Ray discs or DVDs. However, when I tried to play 4K discs, the Sony would skip, freeze, and make the movie experience completely unwatchable. I returned the Sony and decided to take the plunge with this Panasonic, despite the expense. It has been so worth it thus far! It plays every disc flawlessly and gives an excellent picture. This thing is a beast and is definitely the best players currently on the market, in my opinion. The setup was pretty easy and the fact that is has wireless connection (Sony doesn't) was an added bonus. The remote is a little awkward but I don't care. The picture is what matters, and it's awesome.

Panasonic is a well-established, highly respected name in electronics, a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works in Fukushima, Osaka, by Kōnosuke Matsushita, and incorporated its principal subsidiary in the United States as Matsushita Electric Corporation of America in New York City in September 1959. It began producing television sets for the U.S. market under the "Panasonic" brand name in 1961 and changed its corporate name to conform with its global "Panasonic" brand name, which comes from the root words "Pan," meaning universal, and "Sonic," referring to sound. The "Panasonic Corporation of North America" division is headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, since 2013, after being previously headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, since the 1980s. I have a new Samsung Neo QLED Q95 TV, and, with the advent of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, I needed a new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player to take advantage of this television's advanced graphics and sound capabilities and its HDCP requirements. HDCP stands for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection. It is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation to prevent the unauthorized copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across HDMI connections for digital devices like Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and streaming devices. HDCP 2.2 is essential for 4K content delivery. I am a movie enthusiast. Old-fashioned, I prefer movie theaters over streaming video services. Streaming video is not equal to and is not a satisfactory substitute for the cinema theater-quality visual and sound experience. The next best visual and sound experience is found only in Blu-ray and 4K discs. I collect DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K discs. As streaming video platforms increase their dominance, Blu-ray Player manufacturing is being discontinued. In December 2024, LG announced that it ceased production of Blu-ray players, joining Samsung and Oppo. While PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles also play Blu-ray 4K Ultra HD discs, the feature adds complexities. This means that only Sony and Panasonic are the remaining major brands that are still manufacturing Blu-ray players. Get your Blu-ray player while they are still being manufactured. When comparing Sony and Panasonic Blu-ray players with Ultra HDR, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos capabilities, I found information advising that the Panasonic automatically detects and switches between Dolby Vision and HDR10, and that the Sony requires manual selection. For me, this eliminated Sony as an option. I chose an upper-end Panasonic, the DP-UB820, because it supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ formats and includes a proprietary HDR Optimizer function that adjusts to the TV’s brightness capabilities through its exclusive "HCX" technology for 4K high-precision chroma processing; it also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks. I do not appreciate streaming movies. Streaming subscriptions are expensive. You cannot have just one or a few. There are so many competitors with exclusive libraries and video streaming rights that you must have many streaming subscriptions to view the latest and greatest movie choices. As I said before, this is expensive. Too, streaming video presents other problems. Not all streaming video platforms are equal, particularly when it comes to 4K. Notably, Netflix streams 4K at a compressed 15–25 Mbps bitrate; Disney+ is at 16 Mbps; Apple TV+ is at 25 Mbps; and Amazon Prime Video is at 18 Mbps. Moreover, your experience depends on your internet speed, the number of actively connected internet devices, overall internet traffic, and interference in general, as well as the subscription tier level of your streaming video service and settings within the service's app, over and above the year, make, model, caliber, and calibration of your television. Even so, viewing requires the right equipment more than anything else. If you watched "The Rings of Power," you may have experienced scenes that were too dark to see what was happening. This result is from so-called "Dark Cinematography," a style of filmmaking that utilizes minimal light sources to create a visually ominous and stirring atmosphere, often associated with suspense genres; it prioritizes mood and tension over bright, clear visuals, aiming to immerse the viewer in a sense of mystery and darkness. Viewing can be extremely difficult and frustrating in streaming videos. In viewing the Denis Villeneuve 2021 ~ 2024 "Dune: Part One and Part Two," here too, there were a number of scenes that were too dark to see what was happening. "Dune" was partially filmed in 4.5K resolution, which is higher than Dune's more prevalent 4K resolution, with the 4.5K resolution being 4480 x 2520 pixels and the 4K digital resolution being 3840 x 2160 pixels. 4.5K offers more pixels and sharper detail than standard 4K. The "Dune" movie shown in the IMAX Digital Cinema Package (DCP) format has a 4K resolution with a high picture bitrate reaching up to 500 Mbps. Streaming video services cannot accommodate the large file size of movies, so they compress the file. In doing so, there is a loss in visual and acoustic fidelity. Bitrate compression is essential to streaming videos, for uncompressed content would require massive bandwidth and be cost prohibitive. Imagine the visual fidelity loss through the streaming video bitrate compression to 25 Mbps or less. Since 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs have a maximum video bitrate of 128 Mbps, albeit compressed but less so than streaming, such discs are able to present the sharpest visuals, richest colors, and a more cinematic viewing experience outside a theater above that presented in streaming video platforms. When it comes to dark cinematography, the Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player's Dolby Vision's dynamic metadata plays a crucial role by allowing for precise adjustments in the darkest areas of a scene, ensuring details are visible even in scenes with very low-light situations while still maintaining the intended contrast and color accuracy.

Setup was plug and play easy. I connected the HDMI cable from my S95F Samsung Television to the Panasonic Blu Ray Player, turned on the player, popped in a DVD and it immediately started to playback the movie. Picture quality is outstanding, crystal clear with no picture noise. I am able to play my old DVDs as well as newer 4K HD DVDs with no problems. I have no picture freeze issues. The player is very well built with a metal chassis. The form factor is very compact compared to my older DVD player which is twice as large. It easily fits into the concealed shelf of my entertainment center. I paid more for the player, but I think it's worth every penny.

I own two of these PANASONIC UB820-K units to the total tune of $800 plus tax and such for the pair. Bought the first one November 2023 and due to the issue described below is the reason for my last unit purchased March of 2025. Which now is suffering from the same issues. Pixelation is the first sign of trouble which can first occur anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes into the movie. Pixelation is normally followed by a couple of screen pauses before loss of sound and then often freezing of the partially pixelated picture. Sometimes the movie will pick up and drag through these unwanted events giving a sense of possibility that the show will go on. But alas, only to eventually have the movie totally freeze up, lock out and completely shut down. This pixelation, freezing and locking issues seems to be most problematic when viewing HDR 4K discs as opposed to DVD and Blu-Ray discs. Which, without saying is the main reason for having the theater system in the first place. I have since updating my player from Blu-Ray to HDR 4K. Upgrading most of my movie collection to the HDR 4K format came at a large expense has did the two UB820 units. My theater setup is pretty straight forward. The Panasonic Streaming Blu Ray DVD Player, 4K Blu Ray Player with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ Ultra HD Premium Video Playback, Hi-Res Audio, Voice Assist - DP-UB820-K (Black) connects the audio and video signals to the Denon - AVR-X3700H (105W X 9) 9.2-Ch. with HEOS and Dolby Atmos 8K Ultra HD HDR. Video signal is sent to my LG C3 Series 83-Inch Class OLED evo 4K Processor Smart Flat Screen. Connections are delivered through Cable Matters [Ultra High Speed HDMI Certified] 48Gbps 8K HDMI Cable 6.6 ft / 2m with 8K@60Hz, 4K@240Hz and HDR Support. Audio is delivered via high end Monster speaker cable to a series of Martin Logan speakers. I purchased and installed an air scrubber and exhaust fan to cut down on dust or smoke in my theater room. So I don't feel that's the issue? I have tried cleaning these 4K movie discs using a microfiber cloth. And have attempted to fast forward, pause, eject and restarting the movie in hopes that the movie will replay without the issue but it continues. It would be awesome if someone from Panasonic would contact me to perhaps discuss the problems with these two UB820-K units and hopefully give me cause to change my review.