Customer Ratings & Reviews

Prior to picking up this 4k blu ray player I’d been streaming movies heavily or watching physical media on gaming consoles. Since picking up a new tv and a high end projector set up I wanted to step it up. This player is incredible. Gives options to choose different tone mapping for HDR content based on your screen type. The biggest noticeable difference, and why I try not to stream new content vs buying 4k discs is audio quality though. The lossless audio from ultra HD discs played on this player is 2nd to none for a home theater. The player is very well built, but is definitely pricey for what it is, so I took away a star for Value.

I bought this player as a back-up if my old and discontinued Oppo203 did die. I also have a Pioneer LX-500, discontinued too. UB9000 - the good: - Seems very reliable with all kind of discs, including 4K: no freezes, no skips, no image break-ups. Same as Oppo203 and more stable than LX500 which glitches with some UHD discs. - Exceptional image quality with UHD 4K discs, marginally better than Oppo203 or LX500. (Can't say the same for DVDs or even regular blurays - see below.) I think the difference comes from the slightly increased sharpening and saturation applied by the video processor. - If you like that and your TV can't do it, UB9000 does dynamic HDR remapping onboard. It's called "HDR optimizer" in options. - It allows separate enable/disable control for HDR10+ and DolbyVision. - Can do 2x (or it's 1.5x?) fast forward of video discs with sound, but not for CDs for some reason. - Superb construction, same as LX500, even better than Oppo203. - The remote can do TV basic control (power, volume), same as LX500 but unlike Oppo203. The not-so-good: - The user interface feels dated and not very clever. Annoying, large, and ugly messages overlaid on screen in a big grey text box ("now reading...", "this operation is not permitted", etc). - It takes longer than Oppo203 to load discs. - Very limited info on the unit display. The "dimmed" setting is almost the same as the very bright "normal". - The tray operation (eject/close) is quite noisy for a high-end player and has a cheap feeling. Nothing too bad actually - I think I've got spoiled by LX500. - Disc spinning is silent with CD/SACD/DVD/bluray but it can be heard with 4K discs if you are close to the unit, in a quiet room. - The CD seek is always muted. Oppo203/LX500 play brief segments of audio while seeking (regardless of speed), making easier to figure out where you are in the track. - It gets warm, even in stand-by with the "quick start" option activated. The user manual says that the fan may start spinning even in stand-by mode if the "quick start" is active. The 4K discs are getting rather hot after playing a full movie. Oppo203 and LX500 are always cold and don't have fans. LX500 doesn't even have venting holes. - It's helpless with many video/audio file formats, which makes it a less than ideal network player. Not even close to Oppo203/LX500 which can play a whole mess of formats. - Can't output video in anamorphic format (to be stretched full-screen by projectors with anamorphic lenses). The bad: - The upscaling and deinterlacing is not nearly as good as Oppo203 or LX500, especially with SD content (DVD). This is very easy to notice, it's not pixel peeping stuff. Upscaling from 1080 to 4K is decent but still not as good as Oppo203 (the best upscale I've ever seen - better than my high-end Sony OLED TV) or LX500 (very close to Oppo203). In fact, the SD upscaling is not much better than what you get from some other, cheaper players. - It doesn't have a "resume" memory function. If not implemented by the disc itself (Java program), it will always play from the beginning. Both Oppo203 and LX500 can remember the last position on recently played discs, even if the disc is not implementing the "resume" feature. - It powers down itself after 20 minutes of inactivity. You can't disable it. This is very annoying, given the lack of "resume" memory. - No SACD and DVD-audio support, so not really an universal disc player like Oppo203/LX500. - There is no zoom or A-B repeat function. The track/chapter replay is hidden in the options menu instead of having a dedicated key on the remote. It can't apply bookmarks. Also, it can't do slow motion with all supported file formats. - There is no "jump" function (like Oppo203) or "short skip" (LX500) for any kind of discs or files. - Limited control with CDs. For some reason it has only one speed for CD seek (but there are 5 for video discs) and it can't do short skips or jumps either. Same with mp3 files. (The CD control in LX500 is awful too, but for different reasons. Oppo203 is perfect with CDs.) - Software glitches. Sometimes I get that big "now reading" message stuck on screen, even though the movie is already playing, and I need to reboot to get rid of it. Or it gets stalled during power-up with the "welcome" message on display, totally irresponsive, so I have to forcibly reboot or unplug it. In conclusion, it's not a bad player and I'm not returning it, but Oppo203 is still my main disc spinner. At this time it's the only high-end UHD disc player still in production and probably not for too long. Another one to consider would be Tascam BD-MP4K, cheaper but not really designed for home theaters. There are also some Chinese imitations of Oppo203 but they are more expensive than UB9000 and I don't trust knockoffs.

Purchased this for the dual HDMI output; one for video and one for audio, to complement my audiophile-grade home theater. The sound quality improvement is noticeable and worth the purchase. The player is whisper quiet when reading discs and has played every disk I tried; DVD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra Blu-ray. Very happy with this purchase.

Huge upgrade from my old Sony player. Solid build quality which leads to a much heavier player. HDR and sound are improved greatly. Very quiet while in operation. In my limited use of the player over the last month, I have yet to have an issue with disc freeze. Do wish for the cost it played SACD and DVD audio.

I compared sony ubp x800 and panasonic 820 and 9000 with 160" screen and 5.1 system. The Sony had smoother sound than Panasonic 820, but the picture of Panasonic was cleaner and better. I wondered if the Panasonic UB9000 was really the same as the 820 except for the analog audio out, UB9000 sounded much better than the ub820 even with HDMI, and the picrture was also better. Since the ub820 is just a good sound, the ub9000 is an audiophile sound ; I could hear the details of every instrument in the movie music very reliably and clearly. It cost me $1000, but with the sound and picture, it's definitely worth it. If you have a home theater audio setup and projector, I highly recomand it. I've had a Sony Blu-ray player for 10 years, but I didn't realize how much a high-end Blu-ray player could change the quality of my home theater.

This is the best of the best if you have a oled tv and a banger sound system, the. This is the go to for a 4k player. Don’t waste your entertainment system on using a console as your 4k player. The hdr on this is top tier better than the magnets and reavon players.

I own a Panasonic UB820 but I was interested to see why this unit cost 2X as much. As soon as I pulled it out of the box, the differences were obvious. It's rock solid, heavy and built like a tank. Quality internals and separate power supplies for audio and video output. It's THX certified. It has an HDR optimizer, that helps with tone mapping. All of this produces the best picture from a 4K player I've ever seen. I watched these two decks side by side, and while the UB820 produces a great picture, the 9000 is a step up. The colors are more realistic. The sync between lip movement and voices are spot on, but if an adjustment is needed, there is a setting for it. It automatically switch's to Dolby Vision unlike my Sony 800 M2. This was one of the reasons I replaced my Sony. My Blu Ray DVD's look better on this machine which auto up-scales to 4K. It has high grade 32 bit DAC's to give it a full rich sound. There's a quirk...you must go into settings to turn off the digital out to allow the analog audio to play. It's the only way to utilize the DA's. Another take away is that it doesn't play SACD's or DVD-Audio. However, If watching 4K DVD's is your main reason for getting this machine, and you want the best picture, and great sound, this unit delivers

Picture is fantastic, nothing really bad to say about this player, whisper quiet when loading disk.

The weight of the unit is impressive, as are the features and performance. I only wish Panasonic still sold TV's in the US to take advantage of the player's ability to play all 4 HDR formats. When I picked it up at the store the clerk said, "wow, this is an expensive dvd player," I laughed and said, "yeah, the best you can buy in the US and I have been waiting for it's availability." The only lackluster thing about it is the streaming interface. It is the same as the old Vera Cast which most developers dropped support for. You get the basics, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and maybe Hulu... not sure as I don't use it. I do hope Panasonic will update this interface at some point to something more modern, but I am not holding out hope that they would push it out to units already sold. If you are a audio and video quality purist, then this unit is the only one to consider. I prefer to spin discs over streaming, as streaming is a long way off from delivering the best quality image and sound.

I used to use a PS5 as my 4k Blu Ray Player. This is worth the upgrade if you have a home theater system. Better sound and better picture quality

The Panasonic DP-UB9000 is currently the only player in its peer group capable of coming close to the high end Oppo players. It has great HDR and image quality. While it has XLR outputs, this is not a serious audio player. Stick to using it for video. Good-ish build quality.

I had originally bought the Sony ES player but had to return due to movie freezing issues. I had this for a couple of days now and no issues at all. The picture quality is outstanding. So many option to adjust the hdr mode. Amazing audio and no adjustment needed on that side although there is a lot of options. The unit is very heavy for a player and very solid. It looks very elegant sitting in my AV tower. I am very impressed.

This is the top of the line Panasonic 4K Blu-Ray player. I also have the model below it which is half the price. If you’re looking for an excellent player built like a tank. Even though the 2 machines I own are basically the same, the 9000 seems to have little nuances and subtleties that the 828 does not. Also, you have a finer control over HDR 10+ content. The remote lights up, too. It also has more analog outputs for a full home theater set-up. Overall, if you can afford this machine and looking for something that is a reference player look no further. I’m very satisfied with this machine. H

Seems like a great 4K player,built very well,weighs 17.2 lbs. Menu easy to use although some have stated it’s complicated.Have only played 2 4K movies with it so far as I have not had much time but everything has worked perfectly and looked great so far.I have a great Sony 800 4K player also and haven’t used the Panasonic enough yet to tell if it looks better.

I bought this as an upgrade to my home theater, replacing an Oppo BDP-103D. The picture quality is outstanding! It allows adjustment for the HDR output which really adds to the video definition, and something that was not available on the Oppo UDP-205. The XLR outputs and high clarity sound output is a great feature for my old CD collection. Doesn't read DVD-As or SACDs, but I have none of those, anyway. I highly recommend this machine!

I will start by commenting on the purchase experience at Best Buy, which was a very good process and the equipment arrived with its box in perfect condition without any bumps, a symbol of good treatment in the handling and transport of a premium equipment, quite the opposite with the experience at Amazon, where I had to return 2 equipment with faults in its playback with signs of damage and more handling in the handling and storage. The Panasonic UB9000 equipment plays 4k discs with video and audio quality at a premium level in these 3 weeks of uninterrupted use.

As a 4k UHD player, this is a spectacular machine. Excellent build quality, and it has SO many features to make sure you're seeing the best 4k picture possible. Lobe that it has both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ (if any studio actually starts using it). Blu-ray playback is good, and DVD works fine, but you can get better picture quality from older players. The 9000 introduces some picture "enhancement" that sometimes makes non-UHD content look less than perfect. Minor complaint is that there's no zoom feature for really old non-anamorphic DVDs, so you can't scale them up to full your screen. But seriously, at this point, almost nobody has many of those in their collections. Really happy with the player so far. It feels way more sturdy than Panasonic's next step down (the 820), even though the features are nearly identical outside of build quality and audio connections.

Fantastic build quality, tons of options for HDR modes. More expensive than the Sony counterparts but worth it if you are looking for the best performance for HDR.

Purchased this due to OPPO not manufacturing any more players. I've owned 2 Panasonic units over the years and their quality/reliability is beyond reproach. Has analogue 7.1 analogue inputs which was very important d/t owning legacy components. While it may be a bit costly compared to other players the construction and quality are worth it IMHO. Highly recommended.

I originally had the Panny 820, but almost immediately upgraded to this top-of-the-line 9000. The 820 was decent, but it began to pixelate a number of discs (even after I cleaned the discs). I have found this 9000 to be superior in every way. It plays everything without issue. It is rock-solid and doesn't have the plastic feel of the 820. The video and audio are also noticably cleaner on my calibrated LG-G2 77" OLED. Yes, it's pricy and twice the price of the 820. However, in all the decades of my purchasing higher-end audio/video equipment, I've come to learn you really do get what you pay for in equipment. I thought the 820 would suffice, but at the end it was the 9000 that hit the sweet spot. If you spent good money on your display device, do yourself a favor and don't skimp on the player that feeds it.