4K Blu-ray player recommendations 2023

Phil87

Phil87

Phil87

Associate
Joined
1 Jan 2012
Posts
280
Hi all, I'm looking for a 4K Blu-ray player after finding out that the PS5 is quite limited as a Blu-ray player and doesn't support Dolby Vision.

My setup is:
LG 65QNED866QA
Denon AVR-X2800H DAB
Wharfedale DX2 5.1.2

I found some older threads where the Panasonic DP-UB820EB was recommended, but I'd like to know what would I be missing if I got something cheaper like the DP-UB450EB?

Both of these support Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and I'm not too bothered about upscaling, just want it to send the exactly what is on the Blu-ray to my receiver and support all current video and audio tech. In terms of playing a Blu-ray with Dolby Vision & Atmos, would there be any difference between those two players, and are there any others worth considering?
 
Phil87 said:
Hi all, I'm looking for a 4K Blu-ray player after finding out that the PS5 is quite limited as a Blu-ray player and doesn't support Dolby Vision.

My setup is:
LG 65QNED866QA
Denon AVR-X2800H DAB
Wharfedale DX2 5.1.2

I found some older threads where the Panasonic DP-UB820EB was recommended, but I'd like to know what would I be missing if I got something cheaper like the DP-UB450EB?

Both of these support Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and I'm not too bothered about upscaling, just want it to send the exactly what is on the Blu-ray to my receiver and support all current video and audio tech. In terms of playing a Blu-ray with Dolby Vision & Atmos, would there be any difference between those two players, and are there any others worth considering?
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Picture quality is better on the 820 as the build quality and built in WiFi. It's just a much better rounded player and unless they've been ironed out the 450 was meant to be quite buggy. Can pick one up from Cexx for £260 as well if not fussed on it being brand new but least you get 2 year warranty from them anyway.
 
Thanks for the reply. When you say picture quality is better, in what way?

I thought if it's just sending the video data down the HDMI cable there would be no difference, or are you saying the 820 has better picture enhancement features or upscaling?
 
Phil87 said:
Thanks for the reply. When you say picture quality is better, in what way?

I thought if it's just sending the video data down the HDMI cable there would be no difference, or are you saying the 820 has better picture enhancement features or upscaling?
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Enhancement and upscaling both yes (custom settings though). Obviously though you will use the default setting which will have no difference in the picture between both players. The main thing is usually build quality, loudness, speed of menus and handling of say triple layer disks etc that sometimes justify the price difference.
 
I have the Panasonic DP-UB820EB myself and the picture quality is excellent. I am by no means a video / audiophile though and I am sure I would be perfectly happy with a cheaper 4K player. As far as the built quality goes, I was surprised how light (cheap?) it felt. It's perfectly okay though.
 
Another one for the UB820. Great quality picture. I'm a strong believer in having as good an input as you can, within reason, otherwise any other upgrades are pointless. I'm very surprised how good the upscaling from Blu-ray to 4K is.
 
Troezar said:
Another one for the UB820. Great quality picture. I'm a strong believer in having as good an input as you can, within reason, otherwise any other upgrades are pointless. I'm very surprised how good the upscaling from Blu-ray to 4K is.
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Even a good DVD is pretty great too. One with low compression- means scaling works well. I watched the DVD version of a movie and didn't realise until I put it back it's DVD disc until I saw the BD in the case
 
hornetstinger said:
Even a good DVD is pretty great too. One with low compression- means scaling works well. I watched the DVD version of a movie and didn't realise until I put it back it's DVD disc until I saw the BD in the case
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At the risk of sounding elitist I never buy DVD's. I do have a few kicking around but don't watch them. I'd say the gap from DVD to Blu-ray is much greater than Blu-ray to 4K disk. Depends of course on the transfer etc.

I've got a modest collection of 300+ blu-ray/4K. I'd say well over half bought second hand, very cheap in a lot of cases. I think I've had one with an issue that was returned. What I have noticed is the quality of the audio over streaming, far better on disc.
 
The 820 is a great player, I've had one for a few years now and the performance is good and I've never had any trouble with it.

The only downside, as other have said, is the build quality. It does feel incredibly cheap and cheerful. That translates into the drive being far from silent as there just isn't any bulk to block out the whir.
 
SenTineL said:
The 820 is a great player, I've had one for a few years now and the performance is good and I've never had any trouble with it.

The only downside, as other have said, is the build quality. It does feel incredibly cheap and cheerful. That translates into the drive being far from silent as there just isn't any bulk to block out the whir.
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Which was the reason I got the UB9000, yes far more expansive but amazing build quality and the drive is silent.
 
SenTineL said:
The 820 is a great player, I've had one for a few years now and the performance is good and I've never had any trouble with it.

The only downside, as other have said, is the build quality. It does feel incredibly cheap and cheerful. That translates into the drive being far from silent as there just isn't any bulk to block out the whir.
Click to expand...

I have no noise problems with my 820
 
Broken Hope said:
Which was the reason I got the UB9000, yes far more expansive but amazing build quality and the drive is silent.
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That's also the reason I keep on thinking about making the switch to a UB9000.

The problem is most of what I want to watch I've ripped to my Plex server (full bit rate), so I don't find myself reaching for a physical disc that often now.

I don't want to put people off it, but I just feel Panasonic could have made a bit more effort externally.
 
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