BETTER THAN 4K DISK?? // Zidoo UHD3000 THE BEST 4K UHD Player?

[@stevejeffery4857]

I recently finished ripping over 400 movies and I've been watching for something like this, with high quality playback at a reasonable price. You sold me, sir. Just pulled the trigger on the Z1000. Excellent review!

[@BuildMontage]

Perfect! Glad it helped.

[@estusflask982]

Where did you buy it from. Can't find it anywhere

[@stevejeffery4857]

@@estusflask982 Bought it on the Zidoo website.

[@Justeric78]

Thank you for the video Tony, very informative man. Good luck to all of my buddies on discord getting this player!!

[@peterlyons2526]

Brilliant video thanks Tony. I ordered a UHD3000 to supplement my Blu-ray player. My ripping project is coming along (MakeMKV software with Verbatim/Pioneer 43888 4K USB Blu-ray writer). Looking forward to the convenience of using Zidoo with a hard drive. But of course the disc player is always there for those DVDs or Blu-rays I don’t rip 👍

[@Juggerslaught]

Wow thank you at last a Zidoo 3000 review in English! Been searching for a while and you have convinced me to purchase this now as opposed to the alternative expensive model from the Zappitti range. This will go great with my new JVC NZ7 projector. Great review!

[@BuildMontage]

You won't be disappointed! Glad my video helped :)

[@waltkuiland9341]

I hope your channel continues to grow. You are becoming my go to guy compared to others in your space. Just got my Z1000 pro and I love it.

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks for message. Glad you are enjoying your Z1000 Pro! Plenty more of this content on the way!

[@onthecasejase]

Thanks for the terrific video Tony! I found this really informative and learned a lot from this video, as I’ve never really gone exploring down this path before. I’ll definitely look into this further down the track. Would love to see a video sharing your thoughts on comparing the Zidoo with the Zappiti!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks Jase - I wonder if you could even do it for your collection HAHA! You would be ripping your content for months and need a LOT of disc storage in a NAS. I am hopefully getting a Zappiti in a month or two to try out so I will post a video when it's done.

[@grahamoliver3306]

Thanks Tony. Great Vid. I have hundreds of 4k and Blu Ray discs but its hard to beat the convenience of Streaming

[@tonyparmstig679]

Great to view content about the UHD 3000. I imported mine about a year ago and using it with 2 8tb drives. Im using it with an EPSON TW9400 and it works great, when i tried it with my LG OLED i was blown away by Dolby Vision image.

[@BuildMontage]

The DV VS10 engine is incredible right?

[@dandan412]

What kind of movies you play there? You use streaming services or what? Does this thing make streaming services look better or regular movies? Because it says it does not use discs?

[@tonyparmstig679]

@@BuildMontage To quote my wife 'it looks like real fire'

[@tonyparmstig679]

@@dandan412 It does one thing very well, Playing movies from a disk or NAS.

[@Slashingthrough]

16tb is nothing of course if a 4k is 90gb.

[@sleazypig]

If I had a proper desktop instead of my surface laptop I would consider getting this thing. I would love to be able to put my blu rays up in storage and just be able to play them like a streaming service. That would be convenient.

[@michael-4k4000]

Try a chromebook u silly goose! Now let's go eat lunch and grab some cucumber sandwiches 🥪 with extra mayo and dill

[@SpecOfTech]

Great video Tony. The Zidoo did look better in the comparison, well done on the side by sides.

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks mate. Total cow to line them up and I moved the camera slightly when pressing record as the gimbal ram out of juice lol.

[@FatterTony]

Thanks for the video Tony, these look awesome. I love the interface and scrolling through all of the thumbnails, I think I'm especially interested in how much of a difference it made to the image though. I always want to buy more stuff when you upload :D

[@BuildMontage]

Haha sorry, not my intention but I love sharing what I discover with new HT products to me.

[@MOOVYGROOVY]

Thanks for the review, Tony. I picked up a Zidoo Z1000 Pro and I'm amazed at its stellar performance; it's a heck of a lot friendlier and more robust than my Zappitti Pro 4k.

[@BuildMontage]

Thats awesome. I'm yet to test a Zap myself but have been to friends places who have them and they seem to do a great job as well - but the Zidoo doesnt need logins etc... I prefer it personally, bang for buck its awesome!

[@adamjj85]

Very interesting option! Would love to see a more in depth comparison to Plex and Zappiti to see how Zidoo stacks up!

[@BuildMontage]

I have Plex, been an early adopter and lifetime member. There isn’t a real way to compare the way I have done my rips as ISO 1:1 and Plex cannot read iso. I did my own offline test of movies I had as rips Plex could read and both video and audio were not even close to as good as the Zidoo. The LFE tracks were lacking and the video was had leas sharpness. It was t possible to show this in the review - it would have blown out to an hour long if I included all of these things.

[@english9646]

Great review Tony covering all the main features of these units and how they would be an asset to any home cinema. Well done.

[@domenicvalente5162]

Love your reviews and videos great job as always. Long time viewer frist time caller. I could listen to you say aluminum all day. Keep up the great work

[@Junglecatwow]

I am hoping to be able to afford a home cinema one day. I will definitely come over and watch a movie in your home cinema.

[@MrJimmyBananas]

This is definitely on the shopping list now, great video Tony!

[@BuildMontage]

Awesome! Mick sells them so def hit him up… if u need a hand setting it up let me know.

[@BuildMontage]

💬 Join The Discussion on Discord - discord.com/invite/wvtvkaP - If you'd like to support the work of the channel, there is the Merch store and the Join button :)

[@UWtvx]

I have the Z1000 Pro for over a year and yes its a great player but I notice several negative points : 1) since bought not a single software update even there are several bugs and requested features from users. It feels abandoned from support 2) few times the players UI dimmed down and got unresponsive out of nowhere. A restart fixed it. 3) Starting a movie means few seconds no sound, which is annoying. Tried different settings, no change. 4) Having a NAS drive 6 bay Synology with over 70TB the player has problems to connect instantly with SMB Usually it takes multiple tries following an "unknown Error" before it finally can access the NAS drive. I tried to change some SMB settings on the NAS but nothing improved it. 5) Does not have USB 3.2 and is limited to 1 Gb network connection even 2.5 Gb is getting quite common with PC's and NAS often include 10 Gb Still great player from all what I have tested so far. The UHD3000 seams to me pretty much the same with just the claim of better audio. Its time to improve the hardware to the latest and greatest :)

[@BuildMontage]

I’ve had none of the issues you’ve described at all. Interesting. I also use NFS instead of SMB and find it better.

[@specialformula14]

You could use a nvidia shield with a external hard drive and play back dnlded , ripped contend hdr /Dolby vision / atmos / dtsx. For a fraction of the cost. Through kodi. And there is no delay or load times.

[@BuildMontage]

I may need to make a video on this as I'm getting a lot of questions about it... I have the Shield Pro and Kodi. When I play the same 1:1 ISO rips from disk on the Shield, there are a number of differences. Overall, the browsing experience is not as good, it feels clunky and outdated - but this can be subjective. When it comes to playing a movie, it doesn't apply any advanced tone mapping like the Zidoo does, so Dolby Vision LLDV VS10 engine isn't there on the Shield Pro so the image looks quite flat by comparison. The audio as well was quite lackluster by comparison to the Zidoo. There was more channel separation and overall, the volume levels were better... The Shield felt quite muted - and yes pass through to my receiver is enabled. The Zidoo is a DEDICATED player, so there aren't any 3rd party apps to install, it has been designed just to play rips, but in the best possible way. I know how it may sound, I have been a PLEX/NAS user for a VERY long time and I still use my streamer boxes for other downloaded content like TV shows, but with movies, the Zidoo and Zappiti players handle things in a nicer way. There are negatives to these players, but they are more when comparing to "streaming". I'm honestly not trying to convince anyone to buy one, I get no commissions or was paid for this video, I just was shocked at how much I really enjoyed the experience of this player over one from a streamer.

[@timramich]

Sponsored content usually doesn't make such wild claims, but this dude's video and his comment takes the cake for total lack of objectivity.

[@truegatorguyodonnell5092]

Hey, Tony -- thanks for the Zidoo review! Currently using a Nvidia Shield which I thought I was happy with. You may have peeled some scales away from my eyes, lol

[@BuildMontage]

I’m about to put a shield through its paces to compare :)

[@truegatorguyodonnell5092]

@@BuildMontage Yay! Look forward to it!!

[@cwescrab]

@@BuildMontage can’t wait to see that.

[@mwstorms21]

@@BuildMontage please, please, please 🙏!

[@MrBigspendn]

Thanks for the invite. I'll come over and listen. I'll bring popcorn and steaks.

[@enigmascv]

Great review Tony! I have been using the X10 Pro here in the States the other ones are hard to get ahold of. I have not tried to burn an ISO yet but the MKV's look spectacular.

[@BuildMontage]

The player will accept MKV format as well without any issue :)

[@martinbailey3408]

Great video mate, that interface looks so good and would love to have this in my setup one day!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks mate! Enter the competition ;)

[@D8099.]

My new favorite channel!!! About to watch all your videos. Movies are my life.

[@BuildMontage]

Appreciate you watching.

[@SandyToesDetecting]

Good review, I got the 1000 pro at Christmas, biggest problem was scraping my synology nas, I had to spend best part of day correcting errors of misidentification and lumping of series of films under 1 title, as a,b,c,d etc

[@SandyToesDetecting]

Forgot to say, picture and sound is awesome

[@BuildMontage]

Yes 100% the detection is not ideal for downloads, but I found when I ripped an ISO from my physical collection it worked wonders. I have kept my.... "other" collection on a different NAS and not connected to the Zidoo. All the thumbnails you saw in the video was me ripping them for two weeks straight just to make this video :)

[@SandyToesDetecting]

@@BuildMontage thanks, be nice to see video on ripping process, the link for 4k drive does not work for amazon UK (does not exist ) or amazon spain (not available)

[@BuildMontage]

@@SandyToesDetecting You may need to change to USA as it's available there - just change that part to amazon.com instead of .co.uk

[@SandyToesDetecting]

Ok thanks. Re ISO’s and mkv’s. Assuming best possible conversion to move has does quality stack up to iso ?

[@eli_il3333]

Great video Tony, thanks for the comprehensive overview!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks for watching as always and the feedback :)

[@boukeelsinghorst4848]

Thanks for the video Tony, I ordered the UHD1000 after seeing this video. Also ordered an external blu ray drive to rip my close to 350 4K and regular blu ray movie collection. I'm looking forward to the video about the making the iso backups using DVDFab ripper and DVDFab copy 😀

[@BuildMontage]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! If there is enough interest I'll make that video :)

[@SweatRiley]

Hi, What model external 4k bluray burner is being used in the video? I have had a lot of trouble getting clean iso rips with blurays and 4k blurays

[@zxcvb_bvcxz]

MakeMKV > DVDFab

[@boukeelsinghorst4848]

@@SweatRiley After seeing this video I purchased dvdfab and and a UHD friendly player to rip my 4K and blu ray collection. I use the Archon MD-8107S-U3YC-UHDB, I believe that is the same model as mentioned in the video. I have had some trouble with read errors, but that is usually solved with restarting my pc, or install a pending update.

[@michelegrassi3492]

@@BuildMontage Hi, did you make the video on how to build iso file library with DVDFab?

[@robcork2620]

Tony thank you for the video. I've just purchased one of these players and I'm struggling to add some hard drives. The manual is dreadful and their forums are worse. Can you make a video on how to add the drives or point me in the right direction to some good instructions. Cheers

[@BuildMontage]

I dont think I am in a position just now to make a whole video on how to add drives - you can join my discord though and chat to me and the community and ask questions - lots of Zidoo fans here

[@kiwigt3358]

Kia Ora Tony ,Cheers for review bought Zidoo 1000 pro / Blu-ray writer you recommended and dvd fab . ripped our Blu-ray's and dvd's but our 4k movies error comes up . using laptop to transfer . Cheers

[@ScalaneoPT]

Hi bro, this device looks really awesome and with tons of potencial. Keep inspiration coming Tony! Love you man!

[@danmaier2077]

Great video Tony, very informative video. Thanks! Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹

[@BuildMontage]

Glad it was helpful! Hope you are doing well over there :)

[@thewishmastur]

Zidoo z9x menu looks like it is displaying in 480P resolution. HDR >> SDR setting does not persist after power off. Returned it after one hour of testing.

[@BuildMontage]

That hasn't been my experience with the Z9X or any of the Zidoo products. Did you update to the latest firmware?

[@jean-francoisr6239]

Great video. The Zidoo really does look the part un terms of interface, convenience. Just wondering if the image is so much brighter than you would get on a high end Bluray player, wouldn’t that may be indicate the image is being processed to something not intended? Same with the audio. Probably will not matter when you take into account the convenience and people will prefer a brighter picture…

[@BuildMontage]

I'm not sure, the thing is, you can make manual tweaks to the image output in the Zidoo so possibly that is what has happened. Either way, I prefer the image on the Zidoo vs my Panasonic. HDR has no "standard" as such so it's hard to know what the director intended, especially on a projector display vs a TV. Either way I'm very happy with it to the point I ordered two of my own!

[@robertwear1675]

Does it do Atmos? It also needs HDMI 2.0 in and out.

[@robertwear1675]

And the ability to connect an outbound drive.

[@robo3412]

So I finally bit the bullet and purchased this beast. Video playback is awesome. Right now my challenge is to better understand the music options. I am trying to understand when to use the “HDMI” vs. “DAC” with regards to “”Source In” to play audio. Choosing between these two options usually force me to change inputs on my AVR. But when sound does play it is also awesome (paired w/ AVM70 & Tonewinner AD-8300). I am also trying to figure out a couple of things…1, is it best to have HDR on “Auto” or “VS10” for SDR/HDR? 2nd, where can I download a google play store APK file that will work and not crash? 3rd, Is there a Neo Alpha forum?

[@BuildMontage]

Difficult one to answer but basically you have HDMI in for audio so it's just taking a bitstream or any kind of audio in, and then you can map it to play via the XLR for stereo. Your other question: I leave mine on auto because I have a HDFury which tricks my projector into playing Dolby Vision so it works. Also no apps are supported on the Zidoo - you can 3rd party side load at your own risk but its not suypported.

[@ChrisM541]

Huge thanks for this excellent, very informative video. I have a Zidoo Z1000 Pro and recently put a 16TB HDD into the internal drive bay. Unfortunately, as soon as I pressed play on the first film the immersion was totally ruined by the almost continual grinding and clunking from the HDD, a Seagate Exos X16. I've overcome this with an external 5 bay enclosure (Terramaster D5-300C) and a long USB cable to hide the enclosure in another room. All working well. I have a question if you could answer - would it be beneficial to put a small SSD (via a 2.3 to 3.5 adapter) into the internal bay and, if possible, set the Zidoo to use that internal SSD as a store for the posters, thumbnails etc? Would that load the posterwall etc faster? There is a 'Custom' location in the menu - is that the unit's own 32GB eMMC storage, or does it mean anything connected to the internal 3.5 bay?

[@BuildMontage]

I believe you can specify local disc to store your thumbnails. Mine are on my NAS in a central spot for both my players and it loads them quickly over the network.

[@paulrevere1479]

Zidoo is definitely the way to go!

[@adspie]

Wow great channel, it's like setting Netflix in my on home.. you earn my subs!.. I hope more content from your setting how to setup synology + x265 media player.

[@salahuddinmalik3787]

Very informative video 👍. I was confused between Zappiti One & Zidoo Z1000 pro, after watching ur video just ordered Zidoo 1000pro.

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks for watching. Glad it was helpful

[@salahuddinmalik3787]

@@BuildMontage can I stream Netflix 4k content on it.

[@anilsson5556]

My experience of zidoo is that they drop support of their products pretty quick.

[@chrismbroome]

Currently have a Zidoo X20 pro.....will be selling for the Neo X. Cannot wait!!

[@BuildMontage]

Nice that thing is a beast!

[@chrismbroome]

@@BuildMontage $2699 and expensive, but it was $2999, so $300 off. Won't upgrade ever again.

[@BuildMontage]

💬 JOIN OUR DISCORD!! - discord.com/invite/wvtvkaP - Congratulations to AudioHippo for winning the competition!

[@srsreddykanthala8255]

Please update discord join link

[@srsreddykanthala8255]

I needed your suggestion for my home setup

[@BuildMontage]

@@srsreddykanthala8255 it works… did it not work for you?

[@srsreddykanthala8255]

@@BuildMontage it didn’t

[@BuildMontage]

@@srsreddykanthala8255 press the link in the pinned comment. I just clicked it and it worked

[@D8099.]

I love that now with mist OS’s built into tv. I can have other devices just like this one live right next to an app like Netflix or my old aptv library. If only the os on the TVs remote could search for my movie on all the apps and this device. Would be great if this Device had an extra add on piece of hardware that made this the full OS for the tv. And could take inputs from ps5, have all the best apps and voice to search and pull from them all.

[@kirkellis4329]

Love your enthusiasm for these media players. What exactly is the HDMI-in used for ? Can you feed it from another source like UHD Disc Player directly ? What can the Zidoo do with that image before sending it back out ? Apply the VS10 color processing ? Scale a 2.35 to vertically fill a 16:9 screen ? I understand Kodi can run on even the Z9X model and Kodi can do these scaling functions and zooming functions -- I suppose only with ripped files -- but doesn't the Zidoo itself have some aspect ratio setting in the "Display" menus ?

[@BuildMontage]

There are aspect settings but as I have a 16:9 screen I can’t test that. I tried but it didn’t look right. I have so many other streamers I am not looking at this for streaming at all. I think for proper tone mapping a lumagen or madvr is best.

[@kirkellis4329]

@@BuildMontage You can't tell if a 2.35 film gets stretched vertically to fit your 16:9 screen when using the "Fit" option or the "Screen Scale" arrows ? Should be obvious if they have any effect. When you say "didn't look right", what did they look like ?

[@chetanramesh951]

Hi Tony, this video got me go buy a UHD3000. I'm enjoying the difficulty of setting it all up. One major issue I'm facing is, there's audio delay of 4 seconds!! So my experience is getting disrupted. Imagine losing 4 seconds of music at the start. Please help. Great video BTW :)

[@costafilh0]

Nice! I have my eye on these! Dune HD looks nice with support for apps but the interface and usability don't look as good as the Zidoo. Did you try the Mobile APP control? Amazing tablet control instead of a universal remote would be very nice for what I have in mind for my next setup. Also... what made you choose the Z1000 Pro model? Thanks for sharing!

[@BuildMontage]

Yes the mobile app is a little limited. It has ip control and you can get an excellent experience from it. I chose the z1000 pro because cost and performance was perfect for me.

[@adamstar7516]

Nice review... BUT I've never ever ever understood why reviewers always split the screen vertically rather than horizontally when presenting comparison footage examples? Why? Surely it would be better to split it horizontally as then you can directly compare the frame top and bottom rather than side to side where normally the film shot is framed so that the lighting and exposure is totaly different on the left than it is on the right. This has always seemed crazy to me. For example if the have a scene where Bond is running left to right from in side a room to outside, the left hand side of the shot will be dark as he runs outside into the light on the right. So splitting the screen vertically you can't compare the two sides as one is dark and one is light. However if you split the screen horizontally you can compare dark and light, top and bottom. The whole shot

[@BuildMontage]

I get what you're saying, but the same could be said for the top to bottom. It all depends on the content being demonstrated. It's no extra work to do it the way you're suggesting but for some reason it demonstrates better doing a vertical split. I'll try it on my next comparison and see how it turns out.

[@adamstar7516]

@@BuildMontage I think you’ll find it much better

[@oze-bikes4life663]

Great Overview Video, Thankyou Question - Does the Zidoo Media Players have an Offline Mode (no internet required) once movies, medidata, poster art is initially setup ? Also can you view Utube & other basic apps through Media Player when online ? Im considering the Zidoo Z2000 Pro as it has the newer Android 11 operating System instead of 9 for the Z1000. Should be faster and less redundant for the future.

[@BuildMontage]

Yes you can install the G version of the OS and install Google apps on it. You can also operate the Zidoo completely without an internet connection. Once you have matched everything it will just work.

[@oze-bikes4life663]

@@BuildMontage Perfect, Thanks... as a current Zappiti Neo owner I wish my Zappiti worked like that. To add a "new title" to my offline mode (before Zappitis Liquidation hit) my entire 700+ movies & 22+ TV series had to be rescanned each & every time. A LONG & Painful Process ! The Zidoo setup & U.I looks great.👍 Just hope picture & sound quality is as good as my current Zappiti Neo. 🤞

[@AbeFreeman]

I would like to know more of the differences between the Z1000pro and the Z9X for playing off the NAS. There doesn't really seem to be any good use for the HDD slot, but I think the Z1000pro has twice the memory of the Z9X for storing metadata, which could be a big deal if your NAS is big enough. (What happens if you exceed the number of movies/shows/albums?)

[@BuildMontage]

I didnt seem to notice much difference - I have both models. Possibly additonal RAM may make it faster but I honestly do not notice any difference between the two.

[@Espiritiv]

Ok first thing first, WHy buy this over a Nvidia Shield Pro since you seem to still have to supply your own NAS beyond the two drivebays included with the Zidoo? Is the processor that much faster than Nvidia Shield? Will this Zidoo keep being updated for the longhaul with software enhancements like the Shield etc.?

[@BuildMontage]

I may need to make a video on this as I'm getting a lot of questions about it... I have the Shield Pro and Kodi. When I play the same 1:1 ISO rips from disk on the Shield, there are a number of differences. Overall, the browsing experience is not as good, it feels clunky and outdated - but this can be subjective. When it comes to playing a movie, it doesn't apply any advanced tone mapping like the Zidoo does, so Dolby Vision LLDV VS10 engine isn't there on the Shield Pro so the image looks quite flat by comparison. The audio as well was quite lackluster by comparison to the Zidoo. There was more channel separation and overall, the volume levels were better... The Shield felt quite muted - and yes pass through to my receiver is enabled. The Zidoo is a DEDICATED player, so there aren't any 3rd party apps to install, it has been designed just to play rips, but in the best possible way. I know how it may sound, I have been a PLEX/NAS user for a VERY long time and I still use my streamer boxes for other downloaded content like TV shows, but with movies, the Zidoo and Zappiti players handle things in a nicer way. There are negatives to these players, but they are more when comparing to "streaming". I'm honestly not trying to convince anyone to buy one, I get no commissions or was paid for this video, I just was shocked at how much I really enjoyed the experience of this player over one from a streamer.

[@Espiritiv]

@@BuildMontage thank you. I have yet to jump into NAS storage rips on my disks, but am considering it after seeing the review. Would be cool to see ac head to head with the shield in a dedicated video to this topic. 👍👍

[@BuildMontage]

@@Espiritiv I did the head to head with another bluray player because that is the direct comparison, but most of the comments I get are wanting comparisons to Shield! So I will have to get that video happening :)

[@Espiritiv]

@@BuildMontage Saw that. Definitely liked the pop it got from the Zidoo! Is it the Dolby Vision pre processing giving it that look? You have the JVC NX7 right?, so that has its own HDR type Tone mapping. So do you have to disable that on the JVC when switching between your Disk player and Zidoo when doing the comparison? EIther way it seems like the Zidoo is great compared to disks (totally surprised) . Look fwd to future video on Shield Pro comp.

[@djlalorocks]

I have a zappiti one se , and don't like a mkv rip of Rogue One that I have. The openning scene where Krennic is addressing Galen Erso with his troopers. There are clouds in the background that look pinkish and pixelated along the horizon. However, same file on my Oppo 203 the same hoizon clouds have a more appropriate "sunset" orange'y hue and no pixelalization. This has been my reference scene if a device is worth it. I am interested in Ziddo, but I also see the new Zappiti line up coming soon. Torn on which to get.

[@BuildMontage]

I am hoping to get Zappiti in a couple of months to do some comparisons. I find the Zidoo as good as the disk player with all of the convenience you get from a streamer.

[@MarcAngello]

Great video!!! Just like everyone else I would love to see a comparison between say a Z100Pro vs a Zappiti Neo. $1500 vs $450 seems like a no-brainer to go with the Zidoo but there's gotta be something i'm missing.

[@BuildMontage]

There are some differences, but until I get my hands on one I won't be able to do the review. I have experinced Zappiti on a number of occasions but not able to provide a lot of feedback other than to say, the cost difference doesn't imply reduced performance from the Zidoo.

[@martinweston7144]

Was the video capture of the differences in the look of a movie played back via the Ziddoo V's disc player taken from your projector or a TV? It's just that you said that your projector inserts a filter normally when playing via a disc player, but can be bypassed when using the Zidoo. I suspect it's the filter being engaged on your projector with the disc playback that is the reason for the stark differences differences seen in your video review, and those difference wouldn't be so noticeable if played back via a TV screen which wouldn't have such a filter. Interesting product.

[@BuildMontage]

You may have misunderstood or I didnt explain it properly - the filter is a physical filter on the projector set when I use "Cinema" mode - so i was engaged on both examples.

[@martinweston7144]

@@BuildMontage OK, got it, I thought you were talking about some sort of digital contrast increasing filter that switched in on your projector [which would been news to me, as I've never heard of anything like that existing ], sort of like a additional Tone Mapping, or auto iris on the lens. I, like you, have my own calibration gear, did you use the same single PJ calibration for both Zidoo and Disc player when shooting the video?, or did you make a separate calibration for each and then videoed them separately ......It just seems like a abnormally big difference between the two sources played through the same projector.

[@jimmy_dee]

Great video, seriously considering getting one now. Do you think the audio and or video quality is better than a shield?

[@BuildMontage]

I can't say yet as I don't have a shield to compare it. I need to get one!

[@mwstorms21]

@@BuildMontage please do compare those!

[@BuildMontage]

@@mwstorms21 I did. Videos live!

[@mpitogo1978]

There needs to be a review focused on video performance. Out of the box there some serious issues, at least for me when playing back UHD 4K discs ripped to MKV. The blacks are seriously crushed and looks dark. I compared the same file played on an AppleTV 4K (2022 HDR10+) using plex and the Zidoo using SMB. In the movie Passengers, go to 10:30 and play for a minute or so. The Zidoo is dark and you’re not able to see details in the blacks eg. Chris Pratt pants shadow details, on the Zidoo there’s no definition. On Apple TV you can see the pants the wrinkles and details. I’m running the latest firmware and shouldn’t have the black clipping issue. Right? Projector is JVC RS2100. I’m able to get the Zidoo close to the AppleTV by setting HDMI Range from Auto to 0-255.

[@BuildMontage]

I didn't have the issues you described, however, I also manually tweak every video before I watch as my projector doesn't do frame adapt HDR like JVC. My experience though is not what you have described - I showed the video performance in the video from my perspective and I still use it every day and it just gets better and better with every update. I also use Zidoo with NFS which is far better than SMB, but I will check Passengers - its a great movie to test HDR performance - and I'll report back.

[@mpitogo]

@@BuildMontage Good to know perhaps my unit is bad. Another good scene on crushed blacks is Chapter 13 of 1917. I'm also going to try out the Spears & Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark disc to see if there's still issues with blacks. The main setting I see this issue with is with the default setting for HDMI Range. If I leave it on default Auto there are issues with dark scenes and blacks. If I manually select 0-255 it's much better. Could be good to switch to NFS but UHD stream bitrate is not demanding, I don't really suffer from dropped packets since I upgraded my network to 2.5G with an ASUS ET12 and a 2.5G switch.

[@donmorton4597]

Great review buddy. Excellent players.

[@imranmajid123]

Fantastic review Tony, really informative and sounds a like great product. Can I ask which version of dvdfab you recommend for ripping lossless 4k UHD discs?

[@BuildMontage]

For DVDFab, I got the UHD Copy and the UHD Ripper.

[@imranmajid123]

@@BuildMontage excellent, thanks Tony, keep up the great work!

[@boukeelsinghorst4848]

@@BuildMontage So first you use UDH copy to remove copy protection, and afterwards you use UHD ripper to rip the disc?

[@MegaGEZZZ]

I’d love to do this but I just can’t justify the cost of the unit and the huge HDDs I’d need to store all my 4K/blu rays 😅

[@BuildMontage]

Sure its not for everyone. My 4x nas setup has cost me well over 15K

[@grantterry5921]

Cool vid, I've been doing the same thing for years using my oppo 203, use dvdfab to rip movies to main movie only, get rid of everything you don't need, but if you can't afford expensive players, plex does exactly the same thing for free

[@BuildMontage]

Plex/Kodi do "similar" things, but the whole purpose of this video was to show 1:1 rips of a disk on a dedicated media player, not a streamer box like shield or apple tv :)

[@floz9718]

Why is the Zidoo so much brighter then the Panasonic 820? That's a huge difference that shouldn't be there!

[@SD-oe6vv]

Hey Great Video, nicely explained, I wish if Z9X had HDMI out for audio, I recently bought one and accidentally connected Box HDMI In to sound bar and surprisingly it worked, box literally output audio to sound bar. But after firmware update it stopped outputting audio :(. I know that sound silly, HDMI has differ purpose…but how it worked as Audio out was still shocking to me. My LG CX block DTS and sound bar cannot pass through DV HDR. I am stuck

[@BuildMontage]

Thats interesting, I thought you could do HDMI audio out on the Z9X, I'll have to go check that. To me the sweet spot with Zidoo is the Z9X.. nicer form factor for a rack and also powerful enough for fast browsing.

[@TerminatorJuice]

Seems like an awesome product Tony! As someone who doesn't have any server storage, I'm wondering what are all the ways that you can hook up storage to these players? Would I have to get the flagship model and use the internal bays, or is there another option for me without investing in a home server?

[@BuildMontage]

Yes, depending on which player you get, the UHD3000 has two internal bays - so you could get 32TB of storage, and the Z1000Pro has options for 1 internal drive bay and also a SATA connector - and USB for USB attached discs. I prefer home server so I can use in multiple locations and have all the redundancy options as well. Yes it's an investment!

[@TerminatorJuice]

@@BuildMontage I really have no interest in adding a home server, so that won't be an option for me. But I would definitely be interested in seeing how the setup for the other options work when it comes to adding movies to a HDD and then playing them, so I'll have to do some research on this.

[@sahilpassi]

@@TerminatorJuice They work alright with a normal usb hard disk or a flash drive. It has 2 usb 3.0 ports and you can play movies without any issues through them. I use them both.

[@mephInc]

You can build a cheap NAS box to house your storage and feed one of these players. Many people are put off at the idea of a server but once you take that step, it's hard to go back. Everything is simple, organized, and right at your fingertips anywhere in your home (or on the go if set up for it).

[@fivelevels]

Big Thanks for the great video!! it really helped

[@BuildMontage]

Glad it helped!

[@ThommyGunnGaming]

Hey Great video, always fun watching these. But this one is something i've been looking to do, similar to the Kelidescape but more my price range. However, you might have said it and i missed it, but if i didn't want to RIP all my movies or instead of buying new and ripping, does the player have a digital store i could buy my movies from? Like a Kelidescape or even if i have the Disc already it gives us a discount to download the movie RAW from the server? I got many movies and will buy more, but i don't know if i would RIP for days on end ;) Thanks man.

[@BuildMontage]

Unfortunately not, it is a player only, so whatever you feed it, it will play. Yes it's a lot of work. I took two weeks ripping my disks just to make this video....

[@ThommyGunnGaming]

@@BuildMontage and Tony, we appreciate you and all the work you do, thank you sir!

[@MegaDMan2323]

@@ThommyGunnGaming That's what makes Kaleidascape so special. They partners with studios to be able to download them movies right to the player but usually higher quality than you get on Bluray or 4k Blurays.

[@zackpetrovic3029]

I like the Z in the name, but I've been playing off ISO's off my discs on my HTPC (from old gaming pc) for a while

[@ag121171]

Hi Build Montage, awesome content as always - very informative, on a different note: what do you mean by keystone when setting up an ultra short throw projector? arno

[@BuildMontage]

Keystone is when you manipulate the edges of the image to conform them to the screen rather than alignthe projector physically to meet the edges of the screen.

[@ag121171]

thanks for the tip, looking forward to setting up the vava shipping sometime soon, happy days

[@cranksv477]

Great review thanx Tony. Wondering if you have your Z1000Pros yet and if you have tried installing Netflix on them?? I'd be keen on buying only if Netflix operates without any issues??

[@BuildMontage]

Not yet, hoping to. And you can side load Netflix but I have no intention of doing so. This is a media player, not a streaming box. I have Apple TV, Chromecast TV, Shield TV Pro etc etc for that if I want to stream. Using a universal remote makes it really easy to switch.

[@cranksv477]

Yeah I have the Shield TV Pro too and use it for all streaming from Netflix and ripped DVD from my NAS using Kodi. Do you consider the playback of ripped DVDs on the Zidoo to be far superior to the Shield??

[@BuildMontage]

@@cranksv477 I have a shield on its way for me to test!

[@D8099.]

Omg you can change how the posters are laid out. I don’t know why I’m so excited about that but I’ll be buying this for every member of my family since I’m the theater nut everyone runs to for setups. Switching between profiles on Apple TV just doesn’t cut it for us anymore. Too confusing

[@BuildMontage]

I was VERY excited by this device too!

[@ProfessorOtakuOfficial]

Hi, I'm undecided between Zappiti, Zidoo, Reavon and OPPO UDP-203. The main use is the reproduction of 4K movies in MKV or ISO, always in native resolution without compression. Audio-video quality is very important to me. Which one do you recommend for this? I play with a Sony 4K XW-5000 laser projector and Denon 4800H. Thanks in advance for the answer.

[@BuildMontage]

I love Zidoo but I will be testing a Zappiti soon. Both devices will give you a great result.

[@reyoktayhan]

Great video! Q: Is there something similar for streaming? Like Netflix, Amazon, HBO, etc. ... I'd love that.

[@BrianKotowski]

Streamfab or anystream

[@daeejon3100]

Thank you for your great review. I don't have it yet What is the first step of starting with this? considering I have a big collection of physical 4k disks and i don't know how to rip them. My movie room is complete, looking for more things to do. Thank you.

[@BuildMontage]

Big job - you have to rip all your media to a NAS first - thats the big part of the job. Once that's done, you can choose a player.

[@Peter-qg2oh]

Hi, thanks for the great overview! Can I maintain the movie data like poster, own genres or more dedicated genres to a movie, own ratings via e.g. a windows webbroser? Can I access movies and music via Windows explorer?

[@BuildMontage]

Yes, for the most part you can access from your Windows PC to update via a web browser.

[@michael-4k4000]

We're gonna need a bigger boat! Lol

[@BuildMontage]

HAHAHA!!

[@KevinMullarkey]

What's it like as a music player? Does it come with a 'music jukebox' GUI? What's the file explorer like? Are the fonts large enough to see well on a 4L 65" TV? (I find this an issue with games on my PS 4pro and my current Zappiti 4K HDR media player).

[@BuildMontage]

Looks fine to me. You can see it on my latest NEO Alpha video - its the same interace

[@andrewm6179]

For $1700 would I not be almost better off with a HTPC of some sort? Maybe an APU based one with plex?

[@joewertman4314]

2nd..... your Amazing I love your videos. I would like the comparison between this and a zappiti.

[@BuildMontage]

I don't often do comparison videos between brands but if there is enough interest I could do one.

[@BryanLydia]

Currently have the Z1000 Pro paired with AVM 90 and Sony XW6000ES. Very impressed with the image quality over Nvidia Shield. Is there any difference in video quality moving to UHD3000?

[@BuildMontage]

No - same quality on all Zidoo models I have tested. You just get better audio components for 2 channel music via XLR and an additional 2GB ram and additional HDD port.

[@rangerscoach]

I have an ultra techy question it says the unit has hdmi audio out on 1.4. Does this mean it jailbreaks the Dolby true hd audio from 4k content. That would unbrick my anthem mrx700 while still getting 4k to my lg oled. That would be a game changer!!

[@BuildMontage]

I believe that is the case although on this unit I didn't test it - but there is the ability to separate audio and video out - it just depends how you intend to use the signal you are getting. To fix your problem though, you could get a HDFury Arcana2 or VRRoom which will allow you to split the audio and video for any source/multiple sources. Or if budget is an issue, you could use this to achieve it and that way use your MRX700 only for the audio processing: amzn.to/3GujKGP

[@wakawaka12320]

Hey Tony you have great content, I'm early in my home theatre journey I've got a 5.1.2 system made up of klipsch/denon and svs sub in a small room but I'm wondering what u would go with, either the panasonic ub9000/820 or should I just go the zidoo and start ripping my discs to watch that way, i can only afford one of these options, ive currently only got the ub420 4k disc player but it lacks DV and obviously isn't in the same league as these other options

[@BuildMontage]

Personally, if you have the UB420 already, stick with that and get a dedicated media player.... IF... (here's the caveot) you are prepared to do the 1:1 ISO rips, and have storage (NAS or disks inside the Zidoo) - that way you still have your player if you need it, but the best of both worlds with the Zidoo. I will probably never ever use my physical player again - and as I have my entire collection ripped, as I get new disks, I just rip them as needed without spending a lot of time - 30 minutes and its done. Then convenience of the experience you get from the Zidoo.

[@wakawaka12320]

@@BuildMontage that's exactly my thoughts too I don't mind ripping them I've got a 4k compatible drive on its way. Thanks for your opinion

[@terrisharkles2313]

@@BuildMontage Can you really rip A 4K UHD blu ray in 30 minutes the consensus is 58 minutes DVD’s in 30 minutes but definitely not 4K UHD in 30 minutes. Not unless you are ripping in a different manner.

[@paulmardis1512]

Hello Guys, he's right. the video is washed out because the contrast and brightness is set too low. I had the Zidoo Z10 Pro and noticed the same thing. Yo can tell if you watch Gemini Man on 4k. Once I made the settings correction it was fine. The unit is okay for what you get but you should compare it with the Zappiti Reference or Signature players. You will then see a clearer different in VQ and the SQ is on par with this one. The thing I did not like about the Zidoo was every time you started a movie it would have sub titles turned on and you would have to manually turn it off. This issue alone I could not live with so I returned it. The Zappiti units does not have this issue and it has better VQ, better picture wall that is similar to Kaleidoscope and a better UI. Please review a Zappiti unit and compare to the Zidoo UHD3000 and share your thoughts. Good Luck. PM

[@BuildMontage]

Definitely on my list to review. I have been in contact with Zappiti and should have units to review in March. It could be the recording as well. In person there is not any washed out section. There is a lot of dynamic range. My projector is calibrated as well, greyscale and colour accurate for dci-p3 and I have that mode enabled on my projector as well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I will certainly look into the zappiti signature but it’s also 3 times the price :)

[@paulmardis1512]

The Zappiti Reference model may only be 100 dollars more but you can check it out to be sure. I would start with that one first. It lines up better with the Zidoo UDH3000 than the signature. Also, when you hover over a movie using the Zappiti it will play the movie sound track in the background. Also, the picture wall on the Zappiti is awesome as it looks just like the Kaleidascape picture wall. Thanks PM

[@BuildMontage]

I have friends with zappiti - I may see if I can go over and do a review on it :)

[@markw6662]

@@paulmardis1512 What Zappiti player are you referring to Paul that has better VQ than the UHD3000? Also are you talking about adjusting the the contrast and brightness within the players settings?

[@paulmardis1512]

@@markw6662 , I am referring to the new model Zappiti players Reference and Signature models. Yes, in the Zidoo Z10-Pro It may be under the display settings, colour or picture settings. I can't look it up since I no longer have that unit. Thanks PM

[@marcgil256]

Is there a shuffle and auto play feature?

[@larsv6144]

Can a Zidoo convert Dolby Vision (DV) to HDR10+ like the HDFury Vrroom can? My JVC NZ8 projector and Apple TV 4K can handle HDR10+, but my Arcam AVR30 receiver can’t. So I am looking for a device that can receive Audio from the ATV 4K and UHD Blu Ray player, and passes it on to the AVR30, but at the same time converts DV to HDR10+ and passes this video signal on to the JVC NZ8 projector.

[@BuildMontage]

The Zidoo won't convert into HDR10+ - it does support it but won't convert. The only conversion it will do is for VS10 engine for Dolby Vision content - but if you have a VRRoom you could essentially achieve the same thing.

[@frahu284]

Just some questions for one old video freak like me. What about HD or even SD material? How does it look on the Zidoo? I really have a lot of older movies on my NAS. But they are not 4k. Nvidia Shield is maybe good for me. But the Zidoo looks much nicer.

[@BuildMontage]

Zidoo has options for SDR and 1080p content. I know people that use it for bluerays as well as UHD.

[@frahu284]

@@BuildMontage thanks

[@aceofspadez131]

This seems like a A hobbiest thing. Definitely a hidden gem tinker toy. it doesn't look very adapt to your average consumer of media content and movies And it seams like to use one of these to it's full potential yo got to have at the very least an entry level understanding of how ripping content works and so on. you have to be the kind of person that enjoys the setup and configuration more so then sitting and watching the actual content put on it. Personally I enjoy more plug and play methods, some light tinkering to get colors and sound right, this product would collect dust after the first few movies I put on it lol.

[@BuildMontage]

Im not sure I see eye to eye with you on this... Zappiti is much the same, as is Dune, only K-scape is "better" at 100x the cost... what non-consumer product in this genre do you recommend I try?

[@aceofspadez131]

@@BuildMontage I think you miss understood me , I do apologize I'm not the best at wording things lol. I guess I was comparing a product like this being main stream I guess. Like for example : in terms of consumer friendly I mean compared to let say a 4k streaming device to consume media , or 4k disk in terms of ease of convenience. I would take simply building an impressive movie collection to display rather than tinker with ripping my content onto a device, a prossess that takes time. I. Get it's kinda apple to oranges but it's how I found this channel. I was browsing to add to my theater room and I was doing alittle research into true 4k and found this, great video by the way.

[@BuildMontage]

@@aceofspadez131 oh yes I see now. I guess it all depends on the experience you’re looking for. I love browsing my physical library on the Zidoo. I’m making a new video this week on it to showcase it a little more

[@kack7130]

hi do you use xlr output to sound for example watching hdr suicide squd movie, which one better hdmi or xlr?

[@naushadali6784]

Hi Tony between Apple TV 4K,ZIDOO AND ZAPITTI WHICH IS THE BEST OPTIONS FOR ME.CAN YOU DO COMPARISON.THANKS

[@BuildMontage]

It’s a very broad question - Apple TV is a streamer. Zidoo and Zappiti do very similar things but I haven’t reviewed the Zappiti yet.

[@triplerinse]

Awsome love the iso feature!

[@mustangfred2006]

I'm just torn. I either want to buy a Zappiti Reference or a Zidoo UHD3000. Now I am leaning towards the Zidoo. A little cheaper too.

[@BuildMontage]

I am about to do my review on the zappiti reference if that helps at all.

[@mustangfred2006]

@@BuildMontage Can't wait. Been looking for a comparison video all over KZbin and can't find anything.

[@BuildMontage]

@@mustangfred2006 it won’t be a comparison video. It’s a full review video of the reference. I don’t do vs videos at all on my channel for a number of reasons. But it will be as thorough as my Zidoo videos.

[@mustangfred2006]

@@BuildMontage Works for me. I will hold off on buying anything for now until I see your video. Thanks.

[@BuildMontage]

@@mustangfred2006 it’s in the works as we speak. Join my discord server. U get early access and sneak peeks too!

[@daeejon3100]

Just received my uhd 5000, but doesn't stay on when try to turn it on, Nothing is happening. I haven't even done the initial setups yet. Any ideas? Thanks

[@BuildMontage]

I would contact Zidoo support or the person you bought it from. I don't know what that may be.,

[@typhoonf671]

Hi Tony, are you still intending to do a comparison between the Zidoo UHD 3000 and the Zappiti Reference? Thanks Alex

[@BuildMontage]

If I can get my hands on one yes - unfortunately I haven't been sent one yet so I can't do the comparison.

[@gioNxs6]

Can you transfer files from an attached portable hard drive to the installed hard drives in the bays…? By remote control or attached mouse and keyboard…?

[@BuildMontage]

Yes you can :)

[@OscarAguiar1]

How does this compare to Nvidia Shield TV Pro running Kodi or Plex?

[@BuildMontage]

I am yet to test out Shield Pro. My experience thus far with PLEX is that the player is eons ahead of the PLEX experience. Just my opinion, not facts

[@BCThunderthud]

How many times would you have to watch the same movie before the faster load times vs. disc made up for the time you spent ripping it? Like I get it, I'm the same kind of dork and I've ripped plenty of discs but that just means I see through that supposed advantage. If the main use-case involved people who owned discs, they'd have put a drive in at least one of their products.

[@BuildMontage]

It’s a non starter. I put the disk in to rip and walk away and do something else… come back and it’s done so literally it’s the same amount of time spent as if I was to put it in a player to watch :)

[@darthdank1993]

Is there a shuffle option to have the movies shuffle every few minutes instead of skating around the library?

[@BuildMontage]

You can make demo mode in the settings of your favourite time stamps and let it cycle.

[@paulnathanieltan6597]

What would you recommend between z9x z10 pro and z1000 pro?

[@antoniolinardi3786]

Hi, im new to the home cinema game so i need enlightening about these zidoo products. How are they any better than a device such as a fire stick that has HDR10 and dolby vision and 4k and also owning a panasonic ub9000, surely it cant be any better than streaming movies using that from prime, disney+ & youtube?.....im looking at these devices with interest but im really unsure what it would offer me in comparison to what iv got already

[@BuildMontage]

Hi, happy to help but just checking if you watched the whole video? I went into great detail about what these players are for. Ultimately nothing your 9000 can’t do but it’s about convenience of having your library to browse around, load quickly and easily without searching for a disk and having the same experience. I’m not trying to convince anyone to buy one, more sharing my love of this hobby and the various options and choices we have.

[@txag007]

With the UHD5000 release, any chance we will see a side by side comparison?

[@BuildMontage]

Zidoo are not ready to send me one in for review. I wouldn't generally do a side by side review of an older model with a new one. I look forward to getting on in and then I can give my opinions about it vs the UHD3000 for sure though.

[@txag007]

@@BuildMontage I look forward to it! The 5000 has peaked my interest and might push me over the edge into the world of 4K players.

[@gary4593]

Great video clip I enjoy watching it.

[@BuildMontage]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mcraeh]

Great video, you got my attention on the Zidoo!! Did anyone know if the z1000 pro could take one internal 16tb and then same using external sata? would make sense it would just not sure. thx!

[@BuildMontage]

Pretty sure I saw a raw sata cable in the box... I'll have to go check but I think you're right if you are having it hidden away.

[@mcraeh]

@@BuildMontage guess im just making sure once the 14tb is in the internal, you can still have more to add using either the esata or usb but would think so since it has all those ports avail

[@gmartin0312]

So whats the point of a kaleidascape? Just that you download the movies in 4K? SOOO much more money for that?