Panasonic - 4K Ultra HD Streaming Blu-ray Player with HDR10+ & Dolby Vision Playback,THX Certified, Hi-Res Sound-DP-UB9000 - Black

Best 4k player I have ever owned. Built like a tank and performance second to none. HDR optimizer is simply a stunning feature. Outperforms my Oppo 203 in every way. A must have for true video and audio lovers.

If you believe physical media is dead, spend an hour or two with your favorite film in UHD on this and I guarantee you’ll change your mind. Not only does the picture quality on 4k discs with this player blow any streaming platform out of the water, but its ability to uplevel the quality of older Blu-rays and even DVDs is surprisingly incredible. I found myself more than once checking true output of older 1080p discs because, to my eyes, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t native 4k. Sound quality is off the charts too. The fullness and detail you can achieve (depending on your sound system) is leaps and bounds better than any previous player I’ve owned, and certainly better than compressed streaming sound. I’ll admit the menu system is a bit complicated, but that comes with the territory of purchasing a top of the line “it can do anything” player, and it’s pretty easy to navigate with the help of more video and audio-technically focused people on YouTube who can just walk you through it. It’s all worth it, though. I’ve never enjoyed my media this much before, and even my streaming-only friends admit the experience is better. It’s an expensive piece of equipment to be sure, but if you love entertainment and still believe in the quality that comes with physical media, this is the player you need to wring the most potential out of your setup.

Watched this unit for over a year. Darn thing never went on sale anywhere. Even at this price, it sold out a couple of times, though. As it should have. This is the best 4K player available today. CON: LG should stop sitting on its laurels. No excuse why LG has not put out a newer model with 7.1.2 (Dolby Atmos) capability. That’s it for the Cons. PRO: REMOTE. Full size. Rectangular. For the cost of this unit, one would reasonably expect the buttons to be backlit. They are not. The remote has several buttons – Subtitle, Audio, Video Settings, HDR Settings, Sound Effects and High Clarity – not found on LG’s “Magic Remote.” These buttons give you direct access to various menus. FEATURES. Literally, too many to list but includes De Blur, De-judder, Clear, Smooth, Real Cinema, OLED Motion Pro, etc., as well as the usual suspect. There are recommended values for each setting on the Internet. A suggestion. The included “Basic Owner’s Manual” - a tiny 13-half-page pamphlet really - is useful as a fire starter in your fireplace. The actual - read useful - owner’s manual is available here – https://www.panasonic.com/content/dam/pim/au/en/DP/DP-UB9/DP-UB9000GN/DP-UB9000-User-Manual-Australia.pdf. Yeah, Australia??? Right. But, it appears to be for the American market. VIDEO: Own two LG 820s. Picture quality on a 77" LG OLED CX was marginally improved over the 820, noticeably in the Black and Contrast. Test disc and scene is always Atomic Blond 4K at the apartment fight sequence, which has motion, contrast and is dark. Good test sequence. SOUND: Sound is output using the unit’s analog plugs to 2 pre-amps and 6 amps with 4 powered subs (18", two 10" and one 8"). Unit handled it all very well and produced concert-quality sound. THX: THX certified. However, such certification has more to do with the design and materials used in the construction of whatever than with picture or sound quality. The final output must meet THX specifications. It is the mandatory build quality that makes THX certification desirable for the consumer. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION