There should be an HDR contrast setting adjustment while playing the movie.. It makes quite a big difference with my Panasonic UHD player..

 

I've played with that but so far the results have not been stellar.
My UB9000 is still returnable which is why I was wondering if the Magnetar might be an improvement in this area.

 

I know of just two devices that are truly better (in fact awesome) with HDR>SDR conversion:
Those are video processors from Lumagen and madVR.
But they clearly outprice a new TV, which is why they get mostly used in combination with video projectors.
So a new 4k HDR OLED TV (nothing else will satisfy, let alone stun you, coming from plasma) might be your best bet.
The Magnetar is a stellar player.
But not because it has some special HDR-SDR conversion skills (it hasn't).

 

I had the Panasonic UB820 and then switched to the Newest Panasonic UB9000 at the time.
My 2020 UB9000 is still working perfect ............

If I was buying "NOW" I'd definitely go for the Most-Modern and Highest Tech Magnetar UDP900 !!!

Buy once and keep it,
Terry

How about the Magnetar UDP800? Outside of the analog audio capabilites is there a major upgrade otherwise (upgraded Mediatek chip, etc.)?

Sorry I don't know any useful "Facts" on the UDP800.

I can only speak for what I'd do if I was in the market right now.
I'd DEFINITELY go for the Highest-End UDP900 !!!

However, as I said in my earlier Post above my Panasonic UB9000 is still working like the 1st day it was installed.
I'm content with it ^^^

If ???????
I was to purchase now because the UB9000 Panasonic stopped-working I'd immediately get the Newest Magnetar UDP9000 and Never-Look-Back.

Terry

 

Oppo 203 + backup bd drive, this is a better choice in every respect. It's hard to believe that people would buy or want buy such an overpriced product. Oppo firmware is still better...

And by the way, in the case of HDR to SDR neither Panasonic nor Oppo and neither any Magnetar or other clone is suitable for this. Despite everything, Panasonic is better in this respect, Oppo, Magnetar do it the same, same soc and similar firmware.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I've decided to stick with the Panasonic UB9000 and I still have my Oppo 105 for the discs that the Panny can't handle. I did like the fact that the Magnetar could play remote files via NFS but since it doesn't have WiFi that really is a moot point as I have no network cabling run. Looking at the Magnetar docs it's clear that both the UBP800 and UBP900 use the same Mediatek chip so in terms of "digital performance" there is likely little no difference.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I've decided to stick with the Panasonic UB9000 and I still have my Oppo 105 for the discs that the Panny can't handle. I did like the fact that the Magnetar could play remote files via NFS but since it doesn't have WiFi that really is a moot point as I have no network cabling run. Looking at the Magnetar docs it's clear that both the UBP800 and UBP900 use the same Mediatek chip so in terms of "digital performance" there is likely little no difference.

I've decided to stick with the Panasonic UB9000

As I said I purchased my Panasonic UB9000 back in 2017 and it is still performing like Day-1.
And for the price compared to the Newest, High-Tech UDP900 I hope my UB9000 Panasonic just keeps right on working as it has since 2017.















Enjoy your Panasonic UB9000 I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Terry Honaker
Franklin, TN.

 

Today is the day of some testing.
How does a 4k HDR disc look on a 1080p Plasma TV. The only 4k Blu-ray I have is Van Helsing.

 

First test shot (same manual camera settings)

SDR and then the 4k Disc

 

This is where the magic happens. The Panasonic has some kind of tone mapping slider:

Minimum:

Maximum Setting:

 

SDR:

4K

 

SDR:

View attachment 3705998

4K

View attachment 3705999

 

SDR

4K

 

Deleted

 

SDR

4k

SDR with darker Gamma

 

Deleted

 

Yikes, I see banding in some of those 4K shots

 

Those are camera issues with the Plasma TV.
I made new shots. Mainly the colors are different, but the 4k disc in general is quite a bit darker. I made one picture with the SDR Blu-ray with a darker gamma setting. It comes closer to the 4k version in overall look..

 

It is not possible to capture the difference entirely with pictures.

Switching back and forth between the 2 versions, I have to set the standard Blu-ray to gamma 2.6 vs 2.2 on the 4k disc. So I have to make it a lot darker to get an average equal look.

4k version is much more colorful. In some scenes too much. However without a reference HDR screen next to it, how can I know how it should suppose to look. I can just test what this player does.

There is more detail with the 4k version. Which makes sense. 10 bit and much more data.

It is also worth mentioning that the 4k version got a new mastering that also includes colors/white balance, etc. The Blu-ray is the old version. So some of the differences can also be a result of the new grading, and not 4k or HDR.

Anyways.. The player is really quiet for its budget price. Very happy with that.

 

Some general shots..
Verdict: It is totally watchable, nothing is washed out, it is the opposite. Quite amazing to see that you can play the newest **** on such an old Plasma.. Haha

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film9/blu-ray_review_123/van_helsing_4K_UHD_blu-ray.htm

 

Now with HDR, of course you have to set the light output/ contrast to max.. I have never put my Plasma to max brightness.. 😅 Anyways, this is how it looks:

 

Got a new 4k Bluray for testing..

 

Not sure what point exactly you're trying to make, but I think you're mixing up 4K/HD and HDR/SDR. What do you mean by "comparing 4K and SDR"? These are two independent attributes. 4K often goes together with HDR, but not necessarily. You could have 1080p in HDR, or 4K in SDR.