If you are looking for home theater gear, you may be like
most people who are stuck at home, quarantined during the pandemic. You
realized that you could use some better gear. Maybe you made the jump to 4k,
but are working on now getting content. Or maybe you have a cheap 4k player and
are now looking to upgrade to a quality 4k player. Either way, the Panasonic DP-UB9000
could be just for you.
Features and specs:
Our Highest Level of Home Entertainment
Reference class quality is here with the DP-UB9000. Our HCX
(Hollywood Cinema Experience) processor optimizes color, clarity and detail in
4K/HDR formats like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision. The result is a exciting array of
highest quality video and audio options from 4K UHD Blu-ray discs to 4K
upscaling, VOD 4K streaming, voice assist and more.
Ultimate Picture Quality
Panasonic's precision Ultra HD Blu-ray player supports
4K/HDR formats like next-generation HDR10+TM dynamic metadata, HDR10, the
standard HDR format for films and UHD Blu-ray discs, as well as Dolby VisionTM
and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG).
HCX Processor
Panasonic's Hollywood Cinema Experience processor enables
optimum HDR processing with precise chroma processing, a new HDR Optimizer, HDR
to SDR Conversion and HDR adjustment for a variety of viewing conditions.
Real Life Image Quality
Panasonic's image processing technologies produce HDR images
with higher-than-ever definition. From one scene to the next, mapping is
applied to instantly adjust brightness levels for true-to-life color and detail
in all your 4K/HDR content.
By upconverting Full-HD chrominance and luminance signals
directly into 4K signals, Panasonic's upscaling technologies produce 4K images
with natural textures and incredible depth. (To fully enjoy 4K Upscaling a
4K/UHD TV is required.)
The UB9000 provides analog audio circuits that include a
dedicated audio power supply, high-performance D/A converter and XLR balanced.
The player's stylish alumite-treated aluminum chassis is designed for high
rigidity and a lower center of gravity to reduce vibration for high sound
quality.
192-kHz/32-bit 4-DAC supports high-resolution audio to
reveal full, rich sounds and delicate tones of musical instruments, and even
the breathing of vocal performances. Twin HDMI terminals separate and transmit
video and audio signals for higher, more satisfying sound quality.
HDMI Low Clock Jitter Process faithfully reproduces the
original sound recorded onto your Blu-ray™ discs and DVDs for exceptional audio
no matter which brand of TV or AV receiver you have.
Theatre-Level Quality
The THX certified DP-UB9000 faithfully reproduces the finely
nuanced colors and rich, detailed images that the film creator intended, and provides
lifelike surround sound for theatre quality entertainment at home. *THX and the
THX logo are trademarks of THX Ltd., registered in the United States and other
countries.
Studio Master Sound
Connect to your home audio system to enjoy music sources
equivalent to true studio master quality. In addition to
WAV/FLAC/MP3/AAC/WMA/AIFF formats, DSD (5.6 MHz/2.8 MHz/11.2MHz) and ALAC music
files can be faithfully reproduced for Hi-Res sound.
Versatile Audio Outputs
Outputs include twin HDMI, a 7.1 channel and separate 2
channel equipped with a balanced XLR output terminal in addition to the RCA
terminal, and optical audio.
4K VOD Streaming for NETFLIX/ YouTube/Prime
YouTube, NETFLIX and Amazon Prime streaming enhances your 4K
content choices. These high-definition internet video signals are processed by
Panasonic's 4K High-Precision Chroma Processor to give you crisp, beautiful
images
Works with Alexa and Google Assistant
Panasonic's DP-UB9000 conveniently supports voice assist
with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant.
The Panasonic DP-UB9000 came in a great looking color
printed box, with photos and specs of the player. Opening the box revealed a
well-protected player, held in place by Styrofoam. Materials used in the
construction was almost all metal, with some plastic in the remote. Quality of
materials used was excellent, as was the fit and finish. Also found was the
power cord, remote, and manual.
I love the design of the Panasonic DP-UB9000. The first
thing that stood out to me was that this thing is built like a tank! There are
a lot of Oppo Digital fans out there among audiophiles and videophiles. I am
one of them. Sadly, Oppo Digital is long gone as far as providing new players.
There’s been talk about this being the new Oppo Digital. Seeing the build
quality of the Panasonic DP-UB9000, it looks even better! It can’t however
fully replace my old Oppo player as it doesn’t support DVD-Audio and SACD. But
other than that, I’m impressed so far.
The rest of the design of the Panasonic DP-UB9000 is killer.
Not only is the front panel brushed aluminum, but so are both sides. It’s front
is simplistic with just the display, power and navigation buttons, and single
USB slot. The rear has all of the connections you would ever need, with HDMI
out, audio only HDMI out, network connection, USB, optical, coaxial, 7.1 analog
audio out, even stereo XLR outputs. Panasonic also did things right on the
inside of the chassis, with separate power supplies for the audio and video.
The chassis itself features a dual layer design for rigidity to keep noise and
vibration low.
The Panasonic DP-UB9000 is also very projector friendly. So,
if you use a front projector in your home theater, this player is worth a
serious look. Projectors don’t have the brightness needed to fully take
advantage of HDR. But thanks to Panasonic’s 2nd generation HCX
(Hollywood Cinema Experience) Processor, it uses tone-mapping to extract the
best possible picture out of your projector. Now that we know it has the build
quality and features, let’s see how it looks and sounds.
To begin the setup, I was happy to see that the remote was
very well laid out, and easy to use…I especially liked the fact that the
buttons can light up, which is a necessity in a dark room. The home screen was
also very simply laid out. Here you can select from videos, music, photos, home
network, network service and set-up. And doing the initial set-up through the
set-up screen, as well as connecting the player on Vue, was simple to follow in
the Network Service Screens. Now that it’s set-up, let’s see how well it works.
For viewing, I turned to a few quality movies, The Great
Wall, Wonder Woman, and Avengers: Infinity War. No matter which movie I watched
or which scene, they all appeared true to the reference source. And the eye
candy that the Panasonic DP-UB9000 provided satisfies all of the expectations
for the 4k format. Fine details were resolved excellently. Shadow details were
also excellent. Colors were vivid without being overly saturated. And the depth
of image…as I stated before, it all translates to pure eye candy!
In the Great Wall, one of my favorite scenes is when they
are at the Imperial City. The towers have stained glass windows, with all the
colors of the rainbow. When the light from outside shines through the glass,
it’s a visual feast. In Wonder Woman, when she is standing at the dock with her
mom the queen, you can see the details of the individual strands of the fur in
her coat, as well as her hair. And the fine details revealed in the queen’s
armor, was exquisite. In Avengers: Infinity War, there were also a great number
of moments that were eye candy. When Thor shows up at Wakanda via the Bifrost,
the rainbow colors of the Bifrost was excellent, subtle, but well saturated.
When Wanda is using her red powers to destroy the mind stone in Vision’s head,
her powers are red and extremely bright and vivid yet controlled and not overly
exposed. Unfortunately, the details in the photos don’t do justice to what was
actually seen on screen.
The Panasonic DP-UB9000 does an excellent job on checking
off the boxes for a premium 4k player. There are built-in streaming apps like
YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon video. It’s even THX certified. The only thing
missing for it being the Holy Grail of 4k players, is SACD and DVD-Audio
support. Based on its design features, quality and performance, the Panasonic
DP-UB9000 has earned our Editor’s Choice Award. For more info and complete
specs, check out their website at www.panasonic.com.
Reference Gear: Onkyo
TX-RZ920 Receiver, Outlaw Audio Model 7000X Amplifier, Emotiva BasX A-500 Amplifier,
Helios AS-P603W Smart Power Surge and Line Conditioner, Panasonic DP-UB9000 4K Player, RBH Sound SI-663R
Signature Reference Series In-Wall Speakers, RBH Sound SI-760R Signature
Reference Series In-Wall Speakers, RBH Sound SI-615 Signature In-Ceiling
Speakers, RBH Sound SI-1212 In-Ceiling/In-Floor Subwoofer with DA-1802DSP
Subwoofer Amplifier, Sony Bravia Front Projector, Elite Screens fixed mount
screen.
