When I got my first 4K OLED TV, it was a game-changer. I’d never seen a TV look so good, and watching 4K content on streaming services was amazing, especially when the HDR or Dolby Vision kicked in. At the same time, though, I couldn’t shed the nagging feeling that I wasn’t quite making the most out of the display. That’s when I decided I needed a 4K Blu-ray player.
It was actually a bit of a journey to buy one. I first bought a relatively cheap Samsung Ultra HD Blu-ray player, but I hadn’t done much research, and I was quickly disappointed. First, due to Samsung’s refusal to adopt the Dolby Vision standard, my Dolby Vision-enabled discs defaulted to regular HDR. I also discovered that the player didn’t support 3D Blu-rays, which was a problem given that I’d begun to amass a small collection of 3D discs. Still, I powered through, using my old Blu-ray player. But what finally got me to return the player was the noise. It was distractingly loud, not exactly ideal when you’re trying to watch a movie.
So I went back to the drawing board, and did some research, which is how I learned about the Panasonic DP-UB820.
The Panasonic DP-UB820
The Swiss Army Knife of Blu-ray players
The Panasonic DP-UB820, affectionately known by home theater enthusiasts as the UB820, was launched in 2018. Technically a step down the lineup from Panasonic’s UB9000, the UB820 had a newer processor, and was very nearly as capable. At the time, Oppo was still in 4K Blu-ray player the market with their UDP-203 and 205, the true holy grails of the UHD world. But Oppo soon exited the market, and the UB820 quickly became the go-to machine for people looking to get the best picture and sound quality out of their home theater.
The UB820 makes very few compromises.
The UB820 is like the Swiss Army Knife of UHD players. It can play all formats of Blu-ray, including Ultra HD and 3D, and can display all formats of HDR, including HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision and HLG. It can also play CDs, and DVDs. The only thing missing is support for the SACD and DVD-A high-resolution audio formats. What’s more, it has built-in streaming apps like Netflix, though it can be slow to navigate, and can play video, audio, and still images from USB sticks. Where players from other manufacturers might skip out on formats like 3D, or Dolby Vision, the UB820 makes very few compromises for people looking to make the most out of their physical media collections.
Settings, settings, settings
Get the most out of that home theater
Having a great TV is nice, and having a great Blu-ray player is also nice, but they also need to work well together, and that’s where the UB820 really shines. For those willing to dive into the settings menu, the UB820 offers a high degree of customizability, including in picture format, calibration settings, audio outputs, and more. The picture coming out of the player is too dark for some reason? No problem, because those settings can be fine-tuned. The same goes for settings like audio delay to correct lip sync problems, which sometimes crop up with certain TVs or home theater setups.
By far the best features in the settings, though, relate to HDR10 content, a notoriously difficult area of picture quality to get right. Older OLED displays in particular could not get bright enough to display the full brightness range of many films and movies mastered in HDR, and the TVs themselves could have trouble tone-mapping the content to their displays. The results could be improperly blown out highlights, crushed blacks, and more, depending on the TV settings.
But the UB820 has an important setting to help alleviate this issue: the HDR Optimizer. The user can set the type of display being used, based on the TV’s peak brightness, and then turn on the HDR Optimer setting while watching an HDR10-mastered disc. The device will then do the HDR tone-mapping on board before sending the picture out to the display. The result is generally a more balanced HDR image, closer to what Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic tone mapping can achieve. On top of that, the user can actually fine-tune the dynamic range settings, so the picture will suit their preference. Plus, the UB820 also has multiple HDR10 modes for different viewing environments, like bright rooms.
Smooth operator
The most reliable player on the market
It’s a known problem among home theater enthusiasts that other players from manufacturers like Sony and Samsung have reliability issues when it comes to playback.
One problem with the UHD Blu-ray standard is that it’s a lot less reliable than the earlier Blu-ray standard. That’s because the discs hold significantly more data and are packed tighter, meaning any minor defects in the disc can cause freezing, stuttering, and other display issues. It doesn’t help matters that the bit rates are often quite high, meaning 4K Blu-ray players need to be able to process a lot more data to spit out great 4K picture and lossless Dolby Atmos audio. It’s a known problem among home theater enthusiasts that other players from manufacturers like Sony and Samsung have reliability issues when it comes to playback.
While the UB820 is not immune from problems, the machine is regarded as one of the most reliable on the market. In my years of using it, I’ve never once encountered a playback problem. With nearly silent operation, my UB820 has been run smoothly with everything I’ve thrown at it. That makes a huge difference for a person like me, with a large Blu-ray collection. It wouldn’t exactly be ideal if I couldn’t play the discs I own because the player was regularly on the fritz.
The perfect pair
A match made in heaven
I love streaming movies and TV shows, but when I bought my 4K OLED TV, I wanted to make the most of it, and the UB820 has allowed me to do that. With settings that I can adapt to my specific TV, I’m able to enjoy the best possible picture quality while hearing that crisp, surround sound audio. It’s the perfect way to watch a movie.
