Panasonic DP-UB9000P1K 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player

You’re probably here looking at the Panasonic UB9000 and reading the reviews for one of two reasons: 1) you’re in the market for a 4K player and curious to know why this one is so expensive and/or 2) you’ve heard that the UB9000 is the best 4K player money can buy and want to know if it’s worth it. Of course, there may be other reasons you’re curious about it, but after half a year of living with this player I’m finally ready to review it and give you my unbiased and truthful opinion. Hopefully this information will help you decide if the Panasonic UB9000 is worth your time and financial investment.

Before I get into my thoughts on this player, it might be helpful to know (for context) the equipment I’m using with it and how I have it set up. All of my peripherals (including the UB9000) are connected to an 11.1ch Denon x3700h receiver. The receiver is the only thing connected directly to my TV (a 77″ LG G2 OLED) via HDMI ARC. All of the HDMI cables I use are high speed 48Gbps CERTIFIED. Zeskit is a reasonably priced brand and their cables are available on Amazon. You don’t need to spend a fortune on HDMI cables, but if you connect a premium piece of equipment like this using cheap HDMI cables, you will not be getting reference quality audio and video which defeats the point. Get any cable you want as long as its at least 48Gbps certified. And yes, it MUST say “certified”.

Also, all of my equipment (the Panasonic UB9000, Denon x3700h, LG G2 77″) are compatible with 4K HDR including Dolby Vision (keep this in mind if you’re using a Samsung TV as Samsung displays are not Dolby Vision compatible). I also watch content in Filmmaker Mode without any artificial image enhancements or motion smoothing.

Lastly, all of my audio equipment (including speakers) is compatible with premium audio formats like DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. I mention all of this because if you decide to purchase the Panasonic UB9000, you need to make sure that the equipment you’re pairing it with is compatible with the type of content you want to watch or listen to. So, for example, if you put in a 4K disc that has Dolby Vision, but your TV isn’t Dolby Vision licensed, then you’re not going to get Dolby Vision even though the UB9000 can render it. You’ll still be able to watch the movies, but in HDR10 only. Likewise, if a 4K disc has Dolby Atmos audio, you’re not going to hear it without Dolby Atmos speakers.

So who should consider purchasing the UB9000? IF you are a home theater enthusiast, or setting up a home theater for the first time, and you need a reference quality 4K player that will best showcase a high-end audio/visual setup, then the UB9000 is worth considering. Especially since there doesn’t appear to be an equivalent alternative on the market since OPPO.

IF you are a casual movie watcher with a 4K TV but don’t have a home theater setup and don’t have plans for one, then I think getting a high-end reference quality flagship player like this would be a waste of money. And that is because you’d be paying for so many bells and whistles that you don’t need and would have no use for. There are other perfectly good 4K players on the market (including by Panasonic) that don’t cost 4-figures and would be a better fit for the average consumer. Don’t pay more for what you don’t need.

So what are the benefits you’ll be getting with the Panasonic UB9000? For starters, it can process all of the common HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. One truly exceptional feature is its dynamic tone mapping ability. If you are watching a 4K movie that only has HDR10 static metadata this player has a dynamic tone mapping feature that will significantly improve the picture quality. Many higher end TVs also have dynamic tone mapping, but I find that the Panasonic UB9000 does a much better job at it.

The UB9000’s dynamic tone mapping ability WILL make a huge improvement on any 4K HDR television regardless of brand. That is because most (if not all) 4K discs have a base layer of HDR10 metadata. Dolby Vision content is still limited, and HDR10+ content is almost non-existent. This means that almost everyone will see an improvement in HDR quality with this player as long as you’ve turned on tone mapping (from the remote or settings menu). Especially on televisions that are not Dolby Vision capable.

Side Note: Dynamic tone mapping cannot be used or enabled if the film is already dynamic (Dolby Vision or HDR10+).

Another amazing feature that this player has is the ability to tell it what type of display you’re using with it such as an LED TV, OLED, projector, etc. You’ll find this option in the settings menu. The benefit here is that it will then optimize the picture based on your display type. It is especially useful for OLED displays which sometimes struggle to reach the level of nits required to accurately portray the brightness associated with HDR content. This player is likely the best choice for OLED and projectors. It’s also capable of decoding premium audio formats such as DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. It can also decode IMAX enhanced audio, though this audio format is less commonly found on physical media. This player is also capable of playing back 3D discs if that’s something you care about.

I only have two complaints about this player, though neither would prevent me from repurchasing it since there’s really no better equivalent on the market. And with physical media becoming more and more redundant (unfortunately) as streaming increases in popularity, I don’t know if there ever will be. The first issue I have is with the image quality of DVDs and standard blu-ray discs. By no means is it terrible, but believe it or not I find that my secondary blu-ray player, a $50 LG player, reproduces a noticeably better image. For that reason I typically only use the Panasonic UB9000 to play 4K UHD discs and/or discs that contain premium audio like DTS:X and Atmos.

The second complaint I have is one I don’t see as being a common issue and could just be me. And that is that I find this player to oftentimes glitch and freeze during playback. This happens regardless of whether it’s a 4K disc or standard blu-ray. I don’t know what causes this to happen, but it’s not because the discs are damaged because they are often brand new discs or they play fine when testing them in my secondary blu-ray player. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the lens reader is just super sensitive. So whenever it glitches, I just clean it with one of those blu-ray lens cleaning discs and that seems to resolve the issue (albeit temporarily). I have to do this about once a week, but it works. Other than that I’ve had no serious issues with it.

Hopefully this information will help you decide if this is the right player for you.

Wow amazing picture quality. Watching a DVD that I could swear is Blu-ray. Yes it’s a little less quality but in a blind test I couldn’t tell. Watching this on a 120″ screen and usually you can see a striking difference. Words on the screen are very clear and sound quality is amazing. I didn’t think I’d be able able to tell the difference between this and a mid grade Panasonic. I can see the difference. Is it worth 1k not sure. What I wish it had sacd 5 channel support and other formats then I’d get rid of my oppo. Sad this doesn’t replace it but still liking it.