Panasonic 4K Ultra HD Streaming Blu-ray Player (Open Box)

(Updated, mid-2024) Eight months so far with DP-UB9000 and the hype is true: picture and audio quality of 4K UHD disks - and many standard BluRay disks - is extraordinarily more beautiful than I had expected. (My setup passes thru a Denon AVR to an LG G3 (65") OLED display and 5.1 B&W Speakers w/sub.) With many fine professional reviews detailing UB9000's superior specs and performance, and with similar fine buyer reviews at this page, I'll discuss personal impressions, a couple usage tips, and some findings regarding the 4K UHD BluRay disk media any buyer would use with this model. UB9000 is my second 4K player. The first, other model (happened to be UB820) I'd bought days earlier from a local big box but returned it as defective when it failed to play 50% of my conventional BluRay disks with some erroneous message about unknown media type, all of which played flawlessly on my Oppo BluRay player. (Was just a bad unit. It happens.) Didn't plan to go as costly or high-end for my 4K UHD project as UB9000, but after reading its high praise reviews, noting its beefy build quality and viewing online videos demonstrating its superior video output in contrast to other 4K models, I chose it from Amazon and so far, impressive build quality, stability, and stunning output. Very happy with everything about it other than a separate software quality control issue with the early 4K UHD BluRay disks from the film studios. So here's my cautionary tale about 4K BluRay studio releases. (This pertains, regardless of 4K player brand or model.) The maturity/reliability of 4K UHD media is "almost, almost" ready for prime time. User forums describe this issue: the high specs required to read the extreme data density of 4K UHD media tend to make such disks especially vulnerable to microscopically tiny flaws, oils, dirt - which can result in visual pixilation, skips, loss of audio. As forums describe, 4K UHD media ships inside plastic molded cases, some of which are NOT fully cleaned of factory oils before packing disks for sale, so buyers find the need to preview their 4K media and ritually clean the disk to eliminate invisible gums and tars that thwart a seamless playback. (Cautious owners may then store their cleaned disk into a fresh paper or archival envelope, so it won't get smeared again by the off-gassing or dirty plastic case.) And a very few 4K UHD disks cannot be fixed merely by cleaning, and must be replaced. I don't recall this problem over years of buying/renting hundreds of conventional BluRays. But my first 4K BluRays tested on two 4K BluRay players confirm it's common enough. One forum poster even described giving up entirely on 4K BluRay purchases for this reason. Personally I'm not giving up; I love 4K media, and the best releases are stunning. But yeah, media does need to play properly without loss of audio/video. Sample checks of my first few 4K UHD titles demonstrate the fail. Your mileage WILL vary. These were just my own disk results. • The Ten Commandments - stunning visuals. Pixilation and loss of audio in two scenes. Used a microfiber cloth to clean the disk, a method suggested in user forums. Result: full movie played with zero errors, 100% fixed. • Vertigo - stunning visuals. Same fail, but more stubborn to fix. Hand washing with Dawn dish detergent multiple times (another forum suggested method) gradually reduced the fail points till they were no longer visible, and the full movie played properly. 100% fixed. • The Wizard of Oz - breathtaking visuals. Spent 90 minutes doing multiple cleanings (Dawn dish soap, then eyeglass alcohol wipes, even a spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol) - which improved but never resolved the first failed section from 0:21 - 0:23, nor the later scene. Ultimately returned the disk as defective. Reordered the title. The replacement 4K set was completely flawless. • The Lost Boys - gorgeous transfer, noticeably better than 4K playback from a subscribed streaming channel. Two short disruptions (0:46 and 0:47). Hand washing with Dawn dish detergent followed by cold rinse, gentle paper towel dry, completely fixed all errors. • Casablanca - beautiful transfer, zero flaws. • Singin' in the Rain - gorgeous transfer, zero flaws. • Yesterday - All sampled portions have played without flaws. I love to invite friends over for movie nights, always insisting on showing seamless films without technical failures. Gradually gaining confidence with UB9000 as a 4K program source for guests which was part of my plan, but it's too early to feel fully safe due to this somewhat common read fail with 4K UHD media. (Unless I fully screen the movie first for no serious flaws.) Never needed to prescreen conventional BluRays before inviting guests for a film. In fact we've now had several guest nights showing standard BluRays on UB9000 - and it is a superb upconversion player. Zero flaws with conventional BluRays so far and depending on the transfer quality, many are substantially improved by UB9000's beautiful upconversion, greatly better than viewing on my older Oppo BDP-93 conventional BluRay player. * A TIP * Regarding Universal Studios films (BluRays and 4K BluRays). You will likely need to disconnect your internet connection from your UB9000 - or, better, follow this simple online tip which rescued my Universal Studio disks - all of which were failing to launch to a menu or a movie, instead getting stuck at the spinning "Universal" logo screen. The forum author shared this solution: "I wrote Panasonic about some Universal Monster blu-rays not loading unless I disabled wi-fi. "I just got this response: " 'Please try to solve this by turning off the BD Live feature: 'Home – Setup – player settings – network – network settings – BD-Live internet access – select PROHIBIT. 'We trust this information will be useful. However, if you have any further inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us. 'Sincerely, Customer Care Panasonic North America ' ” * A TIP * Add a dedicated streaming box to your 4K home theater. UB9000 streaming has only a small handful of streaming sources - and a clunky, 2013 user interface. No worry: add an inexpensive streaming player to your home theater. I love Panasonic. Loved my 2013 "Viera TC-L55WT50" TV before I upgraded to my LG 4K. The old Panasonic Viera TV running 2013 firmware, supporting a 2013 streaming interface with a tiny handful of streaming sources only: is the very SAME streaming experience used on today's UB9000 player running the most recent, 2023, firmware. Ten years passed with no visible updates to Viera streaming. Little wonder a couple buyers complained of inadequate streaming (with just Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, and a few minor oddball channels, and that's it, and apparently you can't expand the list to add more). Having read those streaming complaints, I expected nothing then - and was not disappointed. Evidently 4K player manufacturers are market-driven to add rudimentary streaming so they can boast about it. Even if it's low quality, the player just has to say "yes" to: "Does it offer streaming?" Q. How, then, to watch great streaming? A. Don't stream from your UB9000. Add a small, dedicated streaming player to your mix - they're "dirt cheap" and terrific. Or use the streaming built into your newer, smart TV. (Why double-duty a fine 4K media player as a streamer, if it doesn't shine there?) Treat yourself to a cheap, amazing Roku Ultra from Amazon or another great streaming player. A UB9000 plus a Roku Ultra make a great partnership in a 4K home theater setting, each one, its own "best of breed" solution. Hope this helps you! Enjoy your shopping!