Customer Ratings & Reviews

I would ALMOST give this UHD (4K) Blu-ray player a 5-star. It plays VERY smoothly, has a good menu system with options for optimum settings. I have yet to explore all the options. I really like the Dolby Vision option with the constantly updating metadata refreshing (versus static metadata). Panasonic did what virtually every eother DVD deck (not OPPO) does at similar price and lower- NO back-lit remote ! C’mon Panny ! I mean, for about a $450, player, you could squeeze in a $8. light!

Easy to set up and use. Quality picture and audio. That being said it seems that 4k Blu-ray Discs are not being sold at the Best Buy near me anymore.

Great Picture Quality, dolby vision support works well with my Hisense Television. My only complaint is the slightly cheap drive mechanism, I would expect more at this price point. I came from an old Oppo BDP-93, so this thing had some image capability shoes to fill. Happy to report that gamble was not in vain. The Panasonic HCX chip is incredible, a must for 4K HDR panel owners. It's too bad this is ultimately a dying practice, as the discs image quality is vastly superior to any streaming service, running comparable resolutions and color palettes.

If you want the best movie viewing experience you need to go with a 4K Blu-ray player. There is a noticeable difference in picture quality and sound quality on a player vs a streamed movie even when it has Dolby vision enabled. This player has been excellent with no issues noticed so far. I would highly recommend!

Absolutely the best UHD 4K player for the money. I had the Sony UHD-700 and replaced it with the Panasonic. I have the LG OLED and a higher end Yahama AVR. The picture quality is just phenomenal! Along with the sound for my home theater is a big improvement. If you have invested the money for a higher quality home theater set up, you need the player! it does make a difference, and I never right reviews. Cons: The remote and user interface for set up looks like it was left in the early 90's. But I use a Logtech remote setup for my system anyway.

The blueray player works great. So far so good. I have had it for awhile now and haven't had any problems with it.

goes really well with my oled tv picture is perfect

I've been through two prior 4K players (both Sony, different models) and grew more and more frustrated with quirky random issues with Blu-Ray and 4K disc playback. I've even had disc menu navigation issues previously that firmware upgrades never fixed. I decided to say goodbye to Sony and researched these Panasonic models... and decided on this one. It has been perfect out to the box and plays my prior blu-rays perfectly. No issues. The user interface is also more interesting/interactive. The only negative is some awkwardness with the remote control. There is an annoying Netflix button placed directly above the arrow/directional buttons and if you're using the remote in a dimly lit room... you're going to hit that Netflix button and it'll open/launch in the most disruptive way. Poor design in my opinion, but I'm willing to overlook it because the device itself plays my dvd, blu-ray, and 4k discs flawlessly.

amazing picture! 4k is so much better than 1080p. dolby vision kicks pq to a higher level. sound? my 4 height speakers suddenly came to life compared to just streaming it via internet (netflix, disney, amazon prime video, etc). if you want unlimited quality performance - picture and sound, you got to have a 4k uhd player. 4k uhd discs do not use data compression whatsoever. the dp-ub820 did not disappoint. and the price is quite within reach. $-wise this model is imho a better alternative compared to the next model of panny 4k player which is $1000!

I have owned several 4k players - this has been by far my favorite. Excellent picture and sound playback, very good build quality, automatically recognizes Dolby Vision content and adjusts automatically (some others do not). It is more expensive, but a great player. Even better if you catch it on sale like I did.

This unit was easy to install, basically up and running within 10 minutes. The menus are intuitive and deep as you want or you can just use the easy setup feature and quickly follow the prompts. The picture with 4K disks is first class without stuttering or artifacts, and upscaling of Blu-ray near flawless. It’s a visible improvements over streaming because a player can supply your receiver or TV with far more data than your Internet or cable provider can. Although you’ll see the difference where it’s really noticeable is the audio!! For reasons unknown all streaming services compress the audio channels and we miss out on the movie theater experience. Using a Blu-ray or 4K disk allows you to hear it the way it was recorded; this might not be as important if you’re watching it on a computer screen with little pc speakers but for anyone with a home entertainment system it’s a must. 4K audio is massive and this Panasonic unit delivers! Grab it on sale and it’s a steal and worth every cent!

best UHD blu ray player runs very smooth picture is crystal clear

The Panasonic 820 4K DVD player is a great choice for playback of all phases of standard blueray and 4K discs as well as music CDS. I enjoy the playback so much I bought a second one for my new LG TV, I recommend this Panasonic 820 to anyone for excellent audio and video playback!! Best Buy was great in shipping this to my home overnight and that is why I have been buying products from them for years!! Excellent customer service as well. J. Rogers

I've got the Oppo 203 in my theater. This Panasonic DP-UB820 is the family room 4k player. I would have no qualms about switching them, letting either feed my 4K OLED 65" or my 4K Sony projector (and 120" screen). I don't know about you, but I'm no longer willing to buy fragile, short-lifespan electronics that struggle to get to the end of the disc without some problem. I also want a full suite of features that enable me to address special situations re: video or audio formats. The Panasonic DP-UB820 is not as heavy as the previous king of 4K disc players, lacking the full metal chassis/case that OPPO provides. But, then, OPPO withdrew from the marketplace. With the introduction of this Panasonic DP-UB820 no one makes a better feeling or better designed player. It solved recurring problems I had with other, less expensive brands unable to negotiate those layer transitions at the movie halfway point. (Sometimes it was as simple as a fingerprint smudge in the wrong place.) This is a robust mechanism. Color is brilliant, contrast is accurate and natural, and detail is jaw dropping. If you feel a need to modify a 4k Disc's HDR to match your TVs limitations, Panasonic let's you do that, reliably and repeatedly. The Panasonic DP-UB820 leaves you with the impression that it will run reliably for years, and that it will be supported by Panasonic if new video and audio codecs are released. This is a premium 4K/Blu-ray/DVD player that has no peer in 2018.

I bought the Sony UBP-X700/M. I returned it and bought this Panasonic player. Oh boy, the amount of features and setting are great. This player doesn't have many streaming apps but I have a Roku and a apple 4k tv for that. My 4k Blu Ray movies have never looked this good. I have a tv that can show HDR 10, HDR 10 plus and Dolby vision. So can this player. It's a nice match with my tv. The adjustments on the settings you can make to HDR 10 movies is simply awesome.

My previous player was an Oppo BDP-103; however, I sold it a few years ago when we moved into a new home. Ever since I sold it, I regretted my decision... well, until now! The DP-UB820 provides a fantastic 4k image! I don't have the Oppo to compare it to, but the image from this player does not disappoint and puts a smile on my face each and every time I spin up a disk! The menu system is relatively easy to navigate; however, to take full advantage of the image quality that this player can provide, there are various default settings that need to be changed as well as a couple of hidden options. I won't go through them here as there are various YouTube videos that you can follow, but once set, you will see the difference. I'm not a fan of the glossy finish and full length disk tray door, but most players have gone this route, so it's more of a general opinion than a con for this otherwise fantastic player. After spending several weeks with the DP-UB820, I have zero cons with the player itself... the audio / video quality the player provides is simply stellar! When on sale, don't wait... grab it before they are sold out! Highly recommended...

What separates this player from LG and Sony's offerings is the HDR tone mapping (known as HDR Optimizer) this player performs. In effect, the player tries to adjust its output depending on how the disc you are watching has been mastered, to ensure that the dynamic range remains within the boundaries of what your particular TV can actually display. This results in less blown out details on discs coded with nit ranges beyond your TV (think Mad Max: Fury Road) and a picture that's more palatable for most. It's pricey for sure, but if you watch a lot of HDR10 content it may be well worth the investment. Keep an eye out for open box deals, as that may be the best path forward if you want to enjoy this player's advanced features without totally breaking the bank. Beyond that, this player supports Dolby Vision (the holy grail of HDR picture quality today) and every major audio standard you can think of. Definitely a premium feeling machine, even though the software interface does look/feel a bit dated now in 2021.

I don't really see how the picture is that much better than any other player but I don't have them side by side to compare to and I'm limited to what my TV can do. The machine is a little slow but I think all of the good ones are. It performs flawlessly for everything I've asked it to do and I kind of wanted one that had a display on it. I'm satisfied

I went with this unit over the Sony x800m2 due to the auto-detection of Dolby Vision. It’s a great unit. 4K discs boot up fairly quickly and even standard Blu-ray Discs look really good. The only issue I’ve had is when it comes to playing movies distributed by Warner Bros. When I put in ‘Joker’ 4K or any of Christoper Nolan’s films, a “control” pop-up appears and the only way to get rid of it is to unplug the polarized, power-cable and then plug it back in. I purchased the GSP, so I’m hoping another unit will not have this issue. Otherwise, I’ll just have to wait for a firmware update from Panasonic. And when it comes to cleaning the unit, I would use a micro-fiber cloth, as a paper towel will scratch the top plastic of the chassis.

This Blu-ray streaming player is awesome and so far is the best Blu-ray I've owned