Panasonic DP-UB9000 4K Blu-ray player | High-end Audio/Video machine

[NorthStar]

Yes it will play 4K video files from an external hard drive and NAS but for the audio unlike the Oppo players it will be only the lossy variety (DD 5.1/7.1 and DTS 5.1/7.1), and not lossless hi-res audio (Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD MA & Dolby Atmos).

The player has the hardware to play hi-res audio from the video files (2K, 4K) but Panasonic made the decision to restrict the audio to lossy (compression).

 

[pieusu]

Hi NorthStar thanks so much for trying this for me.
Before I buy this device.... Can you please give me just a little more detail on your exeperience....

1) "Yes it will play 4K video files from an external hard drive and NAS" - were you able to get metadata for the movie ?
2_did you have to download any special software besides firmware on the UB-9000 or was it able to play out of the box ?
3) What NAS did you use and what was the software on the NAS if any (PLEX etc )?
3) what type of movie extension was it that you tried it on?

Thanks in advance

 

[NorthStar]

First, I don't own this player.
Two, in North America it's only available from one place and one place only, and from applying to be on the list and waiting for a shipment to arrive when your name on that list comes up.
It's exclusive from one New York dealer only, by exclusive special order only.

Do you live in the United States of America?

? https://www.valueelectronics.com/Panasonic_DMP-UB900.php

 

[pieusu]

@NorthStar -I live in Toronto Canada and see it on this company's website.
https://baybloorradio.com/tv/blu-ray-players/panasonic-dp-ub9000-ultra-hd-blu-ray-player
I see it 'coming soon' figured they will have it.

 

[NorthStar]

Thank you, nobody else told me that before...you are the first.

I will post your questions in another forum where few owners and the dealer (from New York) will have the answers and get back to you here. It's a small thread so please bear with me.

 

[Bodhi]

Yes it will play 4K video files from an external hard drive and NAS but for the audio unlike the Oppo players it will be only the lossy variety (DD 5.1/7.1 and DTS 5.1/7.1), and not lossless hi-res audio (Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD MA & Dolby Atmos).

The player has the hardware to play hi-res audio from the video files (2K, 4K) but Panasonic made the decision to restrict the audio to lossy (compression).

Could the player be re-configured to play lossless audio from an external HDD via a future firmware update? And if so, do you think that upgrade is in the pipeline? Also for comparison, how does the Pioneer UDP-LX800 treat the same files?

 

[NorthStar]

Could the player be re-configured to play lossless audio from an external HDD via a future firmware update? And if so, do you think that upgrade is in the pipeline? Also for comparison, how does the Pioneer UDP-LX800 treat the same files?

Yes they can if they want to. But Panasonic is not following the direction of Oppo and Sony.
And no, I don't see a change of direction. But that's only my best guess.
{I'm not sure about the Pioneer, I would have to ask...}

And by the way, the Pioneer LX800 is not available in North America (USA & Canada):
• https://www.pioneer-audiovisual.eu/eu/products/udp-lx800

The LX500 is: https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Blu-ray-Disc/Elite-Blu-ray-Disc-Players/UDP-LX500
_____

There is a workaround with the Panasonic 9000; you have to convert/re-encode the audio files to another codec, like FLAC for example, it is more complex, time consuming, very annoying, and ...
["It will play lossless multi-channel Flac within videos if you re-encode the files to that format. Still only plays them back at 60p though."]
With Oppo you don't have those problems, including playback @ 60fps.

It's a deliberate decision made by Panasonic for some reason; fear, afraid of infringing in someone set of rules, ...I just don't know exactly.
It's not a question if the player can do it or not (hardware and software) because the 9000 has everything it needs to do it; it's only a Panasonic engineering corporate decision. Maybe a copyright issue. But Oppo and Sony don't impose this restriction from their players.
Panasonic needs to get on with the good common sense program.
_____

The 9000 is geared more towards the video aficionados with its video Optimizer, than the audio aficionados, overall. And the effect is more positive for older flat panels and front projectors. Some newer flat panel displays have excellent video processing.
For picture quality it shines above the rest, but it misses few attributes, like the 21:9 zoom aspect ratio of the Oppo 203/205 players for front projector owners.

Post #9 has an informative video.
• https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...gh-end-audio-video-machine.26398/#post-556539

 

[Bodhi]

@NorthStar, Thanks for your very informative reply & link to the video review. Hmm interesting. It seems the Panasonic 9000 is aimed squarly at end users who play bluray discs, rather than those who stream off a NAS, and audiphiles who want to spin SACD's and DVD A discs. Kind of take it or leave it.

The Pioneer UDP-LX800 is available in Australia & is listed on their website as "coming soon". It definitely has the wood on the Panasonic in terms of sound and build quality, and is still a solid performer on the video side. And unlike the Panasonic, for hardcore audiophile/videophiles the player can be upgraded with a Clones Audio discrete psu. Although horrendously expensive, If you take the long view it could be a wise investment.

 

[NorthStar]

Online instructions (news we can use):
? TechHive

 

[ack]

I got the lower-end "DP-UB820-K HDR UHD Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi" (-K adds Hybrid Log Gamma support) yesterday and its performance is really great, even with HD versus the PlayStation 4. The drop is noise is quite obvious, while low-light detail - like shadows - is really excellent. It can easily stream 4K content over wifi.

 

[NorthStar]

 

[Mikael89]

Does anyone know if a successor is coming soon?
I don't want to buy this player today and they release the successor tomorrow.

 

[NorthStar]

I didn't hear anything about that, and from one of the guys who knows best.

 

[Mikael89]

I didn't hear anything about that, and from one of the guys who knows best.

Okay. Thanks

 

[ack]

I upgraded to the Panasonic UB9000 recently, and this one is killer - incredible 4K rendering, really creme-de-la-creme.

 

[Coris]

My LPS for UB9000...

 

[WDW]

My LPS for UB9000...View attachment 71500

Hello,
Been looking to purchase a UB900 locally in the Vancouver, BC, area but everyone is sold out. Bloor Street Audio (Toronto) had inventory but am reluctant to ship at this time of year (Christmas) and hoping local retail will bring them in early in the New Year.
I am interested in your LPS...was this something purpose built for the Player as looks professionally built?
Assume the UB9000 has a switching supply which then prompted this substitution. Is this commercially available? Any info would be welcome and appreciated.
Cheers and best for the Season, to all.

 

[Coris]

This LPS is exclusively designed for UB9000, and yes, I am doing things professionally. The original power supply of the device it is indeed an switching type PSU. Replacing it with an linear/analogue PSU, it lower dramatically the electrical noises into the system. The improvement is first obvious for picture/video signal, but for the sound as well, especially if the other available upgrades for audio section are done accordingly.
The above pictured LPS is available (even improved), as full upgrade for main board, and audio board as well. Please contact me by PM for more details.

 

[WDW]

Sent a reply

 

[Coris]

Dismounting video for UB9000 can be found here:

Installing the LPS it will follow soon...