Look No Further! Magnetar UDP-900 4K UHD Blu-ray Player Review

[@therealshanelee]

*WAS JUST INFORMED THAT REGION FREE AND NETWORK FILE PLAYBACK CAPABILITIES DO NOT COME STANDARD OUT OF THE BOX IT'LL BE $99 TO GET THE FIRMWARE UPDATE. The disc drive is also very quiet while spinning*

[@reedgrele6673]

Then how to get this capability?

[@mikeg2491]

@@reedgrele6673 As I understand it you add on the optional $99 patch “fee” at checkout from their website but they never explicitly tell you it’s a region-free mod

[@reedgrele6673]

Can it be told where to acquire this firmware update after the player has already been purchased from a retailer without it???

[@therealshanelee]

You purchase through their customer service.

[@reedgrele6673]

@@therealshanelee That would be acceptable. As long as I don't have to ship it back to Florida.

[@mywhitenoise_]

I'm glad I bought an Oppo UDP-203 for $550 back when they came out, these prices are insane.

[@Stupid_you_so_stoopid_UHF]

I just got a 203 for $800. Wished I bought it back when. Awesome demoing I've been doing the last 24 hours. Killer 3D images.

[@rhannay39]

Ain't that the truth. I got a region free one and I wouldn't part with it.

[@psbarrow]

Reading through the comments, it’s apparent that many do not understand what market the Magnetar UDP-900 is trying to capture. It’s trying (like the Reavon UBR-X200) to fill the audiophile vacuum left by the Oppo UDP-205 and to come the closest to the Oppo’s audio capabilities in a single universal disc player. It’s for audiophiles who want SACD and DVD-A playback with stereo XLR and multi-channel analog outputs, along with all the other 4K video stuff that other brands have. Price comparisons to Panasonic 9000 models are irrelevant if you don’t play those discs, or want hi-fi music quality. This is a niche product for those audiophiles who missed out on buying an Oppo-205, but who don’t want to pay the (now crazy) prices for a used one. All that being said, as a “niche” person myself who paid AUS$2,468 for a region-free Oppo-205 back in 2017 (which has turned out to be a bargain), I agree with the general sentiment that the Magnetar UDP-900 is indeed overpriced.

[@mikeg2491]

The problem as one guy above said is they are pricing this using used Oppos as a guideline versus what the MSRP for Oppos were back in the day, even after adjusting for inflation. I’m willing to pay good money for a good player but this needs to come down at least $1,000.

[@psbarrow]

@@mikeg2491 I bought a 205 before Oppo quit production, so I'm just hoping it lasts a long time, at which point maybe there'll be something better at a reasonable price. But I worry that at such a point in time, there will be no physical media & players anymore, and everything will be streamed.

[@martinaxiak5634]

I still prefer my Panasonic ubp 9000 for the HDR optimiser making picture quality much better than even todays newer players. If it weren’t for your fantastic reviews I would have never owned one, keep up the great work👍

[@robertdawood9920]

But the hdr optimiser is irrelevant today 🙄 because the oled tv is hitting 1500_2000 nits hdr plus all new TV's have excellent upscale 😮🤓

[@kennethlui2268]

Because Magnetar is too expensive, I bought a Panasonic UB 9000 and its picture is a bit better than my trusted Oppo UDP 203.

[@robertdawood9920]

@kennethlui2268 still the magnetar udp800 is much better than Panasonic ub9000 because it's newer with new processor and better sound quality 👌

[@psbarrow]

I think you're missing the point. It's meant to be the closest you might get now to the erstwhile Oppo UDP-205 for its audio capabilities, it's not meant to be compared to any Panasonic model.

[@martinaxiak5634]

It doesn’t matter if the newer tv’s have higher nits. The point of hdr optimiser is it enhances the details of the picture.

[@badgastein2]

My UDP-900 arrived this morning - the Postman struggled with the weight - this is a beast! The build quality is just superb - this player will still be running 100 years from now. Thanks for the review, Shane, this inspired me to buy this and at £2,800 in the UK, you really do get what you pay for.

[@therealshanelee]

Congrats. Great player.

[@badgastein2]

Hi Shane - I played with the Audiophile stereo of the UDP 900 , listening with Grado 1000 Headphones - compared it to my Marantz CD player/Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier and Russ Andrews external power supply, cost excluding the Grado’s is £1700 say $2000 dollars and I can bin these as the MAGNETAR 900 outperforms them - on this test the MAGNETAR is an absolute steal and if you add in the video 4K etc represents outstanding value for money if you are looking for perfection.

[@DaneJacobsonMD]

@@badgastein2 agree, just got mine up and operational today and this is a capable audio device for anything below reference quality disk playing

[@MarkTallen]

As far as video processing goes, The Panasonic ub9000 can play 4K SDR content in the correct bit depth of 10 bit, all other mediateck chip players (including Magnetar), play it back incorrectly at 8 bit. The Magnetar player is great but nothing beats the Panasonic for video processing. The scaling on the Panny is superior too, spears and munsil test patterns confirm this. In real world content it might be hard to see unless pixel peeping is carried out under a microscope. No doubt for file playback and analogue audio, the Magnetar would come out on top. For me though, my 4k player is about picture quality and audio via hdmi, so it's the Panasonic ub9000 for far less money.

[@mrtickleuk]

Those are my needs also. For the exact same picture quality as the 9000, don't forget the Panasonic ub820 as well, for a sane price :).

[@thepuma2012]

sony x800(mks) are also very good 4k players, with good audio too.

[@oniiz8685]

@MarkTallen I'm glad that you brought this up as you are almost 100% correct, I can confirm that the OPPO UDP-203/205 players did in fact have this bug that flagged 4K SDR HEVC REC.709 material as 8-bit but thankfully was corrected within its first year of release they both now flag the material correctly as 10-bit, the Pioneer UDP-LX500/LX800 players do still suffer from this still to this day & flags 4K SDR HEVC REC.709 material as 8-bit which frankly is NOT good enough as like you've stated the Panasonics have no such issues, I believe even Samsung's 4K players were fine too ;) I believe these Magnetars are using OPPO's "skin" but the setup options are derived from Pioneer's UDP-LX500/LX800 players as the "Setup Menu" options are exactly the same plus the lack of "WiFi" is a dead giveaway ;)

[@MOHELS-rw1bz]

Do I need to process the image through the Blu-ray player, since I own a flagship TV that performs all the processing operations and upscale?

[@MarkTallen]

@@MOHELS-rw1bz - to replay encoded 4K SDR (standard dynamic range) in 10 bit, the Panasonic player will do that unless you deactive the setting. The 10 bit 4k video (such as A Fistful of Dollars- kino lorber) is encoded on the disc, the player plays it back so the TV can display it.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

Gotta say.... I'm an avid home theater buff, but after going through a Cambridge Audio CXUHD, which was basically a rebadged Oppo 203 without the analog outputs (it developed a weird ticking noise when only playing DVDs, and the repair center couldn't fix it even after I sent it back three times under warranty), and now a Panasonic UB9000 with a ridiculously loud cogging/vibration "bump" noise that can be heard from our listening/viewing distance of 12 feet when the disc drawer closes (not when it opens), I'm convinced that these premium, all-metal spinners don't necessarily equate to dead silent, high end operation.

[@nathanielenochs1843]

Me after looking seeing price: NOPE

[@bos6268]

I legit laughed out loud when I saw the price 😂

[@troyn8269]

😂 good lord

[@dtrejo9182]

What’s the price?

[@bondoon]

​@@dtrejo9182 $2,999

[@michaelb6293]

$3000

[@brianhorrorfan]

I am more than happy with my oppo 203. I know this unit is not directed towards me, but that is still pricey. the mental gymnastics i would have to do to justify spending $3000 on a uhd disc player instead of $1000 or $425 would be insane lol. If money wasn't an factor hell yeah.

[@MrCREWCRUSHIN95]

It's a gross cash grab. They know people want the Oppo quality- but to jack the price like that is insane.

[@psbarrow]

No, it's directed to those who wanted an Oppo 205, not a 203.

[@brianhorrorfan]

@psbarrow I didn't mean because i have a 203 it's not directed at me, i meant i am not the top 10% that have enough disposable income to afford this. I just find it weird that the 800/900 mirror the price of what a oppo 203/205 costs on the used market almost like that is why they're priced the way they are.

[@psbarrow]

@@brianhorrorfan Yeah, that mirror modeling struck me too; one for the video folks, the other for the audio nuts.

[@mikeg2491]

@@brianhorrorfan imo Oppo resellers are greedy, trying to hock 5-7yo USED machines for thousands more than its msrp. Not even vintage Mcintoshes have this insane markup. Likewise I think you’re onto something with Magnetar’s pricing, it’s obscene and way above what the Oppos originally sold for, from a company who is relatively unknown without years of trust. I’m in the fortunate income bracket to afford it but I too question its value/cost proposition. I think they are losing the opportunity to UNDERCUT the used Oppos and actually sell more units.

[@hdmoviesource]

Hi Shane, any chance of running that brightness test vs the Panasonic UB9000? I'd like to know if it can outperform the best player on the market.

[@BLM4ife]

Best review I’ve seen in a while. Great job thinking about upgrading.

[@stephenmanley4097]

How does it compare to the Panasonic 9000?

[@MarkTallen]

Hi, Shane. I've read through all the comments and I can't see any mention of how this awesome looking player compares to your Panasonic ub9000 for picture quality? You have a ub9000 in your list of testing equipment, I just wondered if you compared them? Obviously that Magnetar is better for audio, especially anything other than bitsream. Thank you, Shane.

[@jamiejwaters]

It's a gorgeous, capable unit, but based on the price, it's a hard sell. Sure, the 4k Oppo units are beginning to show their age, but that unit that stopped selling in 2018 was also selling for $500. The obvious choice for that niche of users who want both physical DVD and SACD playback would still be better in almost every way with the Panasonic DP-UBB9000. I would also be very surprised if it could stand toe to toe graphically with the Panasonic as even the Panasonic had begun to edge out the Oppo.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

The problem is that the UB9000 doesn't support SACD or DVD-A playback. It too, IMO, is also grossly overpriced (and I own one) based on all its shortcomings in terms of functionality (see my comments about this earlier in the comments section). The ideal UDP-203 alternative was the Cambridge Audio CXUHD, but they discontinued that too soon after Oppo dropped the 203 and 205 (I had one of those before I got the UB9000). What's most infuriating to enthusiasts is that Oppo left the market because they didn't see profitability with physical 4K disc hardware, yet all these "clones" have come out in response, which people are apparently buying, so they could have continued to make a fortune at least selling the more affordable 203 model. I wish they'd return to the market with an updated version of their players, but they've decided to focus on phones and other crap in China.

[@jamiejwaters]

@@MikeMargolis-j8f in my haste to reply I misspoke. I actually have an Oppo BDP-83 that I used for years for both Blu Ray and DVD-A playback (I never really got into SACD). When it started to glitch graphically, I sent it out to California twice for them to fix. It resolved most but not all of the issues. That's when I started looking at other options. I settled on the Panasonic DP-UB820. I wanted the 9000 but the 820 did almost everything the 9000 did, but I snatched it up for what was a steal ($390.99). What I meant to convey was that people would still be better off getting the 9000 and a secondary unit to handle the DVD-A and SACD than throwing down Magnetar money. My BDP-83 still handles audio brilliantly. I'm also right there with you with regard to Oppo. I've long believed they'd make a killing if they came out with a limited run of updated UHD 4k Blu Ray players. They could even come in at $1,000 to $1,250 and I think most of us would throw money at them :)

[@Shaken_AND_Stirred]

@user-kv3ue5fp4c I have a Cambridge CXUHD that is new and still sitting in the box. I just haven’t used it yet.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

@@Shaken_AND_Stirred If you're interested in selling it, let me know - mine suffers from a noisy disc mechanism ONLY when playing DVDs. The repair center couldn't fix it after sending it in under warranty THREE times.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

@drewyoung2102 It's actually not a dying format - it's just being pushed underground and online because of retail retards like Best Buy refusing to sell it anymore. Also - Oppo sure DID make money. Lots of it. From the day their first DVD player and then Blu-ray deck, the BDP-83 (I still have mine), hit the market, they couldn't keep them stocked fast enough. When the UDP-203 came out, it sold like proverbial hotcakes too. The problem was that the corporate suits at the company in China didn't see any future for physical media - the way I and many others see it, they were wrong, but that's why they pulled out of manufacturing disc spinners.

[@bened22]

10:48 - Honest question: How's that going to work? How could "upgraded internals" and "powersupply processing" make the image "slightly cleaner and brighter"? It's a digital signal over HDMI. The only way this signal would result in a cleaner or brighter image on the TV is if the player did an image transformation before sending it. Also if HDR did "pop" more this would mean the HDR metadata would have to be rewritten before sending it. So what does that have to do with internals and so called powersupply processing?

[@paulcomeau6]

The UI on this unit looks just like the latest OPPO 205 and 203 produced. I would be very interested to know via A/B test if they have a better DAC and video decoder worth the price upgrade for those of us who have OPPOs. Not yet convinced this is a better UDP as the build on the 205 is excellent. Any insights much appreciated. Thanks for the review.

[@garrypeak4277]

So fair to say that the 800 is aiming for the Oppo 203, and this 900 at the 205? I’m actually starting to look at the 2nd hand market for a 205.

[@Scorpion-king-c8q]

with UB9000 as option it hard to justify the 3K price. my Oppo and Pioneer LX500 still doing great. they know UHD player is niche market hence more geared towards high end market as target.

[@veganelduderino9392]

I got my Panasonic ub820 brand new for 300$ canadian , and I'm more than happy with it.

[@mrtea7562]

Does this have better internals/higher quality output than the Oppo 205 ? Or about the same?

[@jessechristensen6028]

I’m wondering how it’s DAC (especially for SACD) sounds compared with oppo 205?

[@Sanjjeev21]

thank you very much for doing this review Shane :)

[@monasteryintibet]

@therealshanelee what do you think about the retrotink 4K?

[@donjaun540]

Shane how is it better than the 1k Panasonic ❓ What can it do better or exclusively ❓

[@lawrencegreywolf1397]

Shane, what are the top three TVs that could showcase this high end 4K UHD player ? Great review, thanks a lot.

[@theonlyredspecial]

Great overview thanks. You might want to manually set the focus on your camera to stop it locking on your hands and blurring the product while you point at buttons etc.

[@jnvivian]

Which Blu-ray Disc was used to show the spiral and rotating wedges test pattern that exposed the upscaling artifacts? Some old TVs are so bad at upscaling that letting external devices do upscaling can boost image quality. I personally used one of these really old TVs before my family eventually replaced it. EDIT: I found the answer in Shane Lee’s UDP800 review. It is an upscaling test from the Spears & Munsil UltraHD Benchmark.

[@levinile7221]

Would have liked to see how well it cleaned up 240 & 480p content, re: upscaling. I know the newer Sony TVs are great in these areas.

[@droidx1191]

I am thankful I have an Oppo. Nice that some others are continuing to make similar devices.

[@RonWillemsen]

I have 2 somewhat older Oppo's in house, and a new Panasonics Flagship player under my A95K, so I think I'm good. Although the Magnetar is a good looking device, but maybe a bit on the expensive side.

[@christianmalardeau828]

D’autant plus que si la 3D se retrouver en 4K cela vaudrait la peine d’investir sur ce matériel qui pour moi la 3D a été abandonné quel dommage un peu comme le SACD la subit Je ne crois pas trop au streaming prendre des abonnements pour écouter de la musique de temps à autre entre 9€ et 19€ je vois mal l’intérêt est veulent nous faire croire que revenir au vinyle c’est la panacée pour ma part je reste sur le numérique et la théorie de Shannon ou les harmoniques sont beaucoup plus représentative bien évidemment cela implique un excellent matériel mais quand on veut la fin faut les moyens

[@ubacow7109]

I wish magnetar would send one to Vincent Teo at HDTV test for benchmarks and measurements

[@boba2783]

How does the DAC work? Can one plug in an iPad into the back and stream iTunes atmos and/or hi res music files?

[@BMWF15]

For file playback on network, does it also support HDR 10, HDR 10+, and Dolby Vision? You mentioned the audio support for file playback but not HDR support which is what I want to know as I'm sure others would also. For the price I would hope it would support all of these formats with file playback.

[@therealshanelee]

Yes it does

[@kevinoconnor6570]

@@therealshaneleeHi Shane when you say Dolby Vision are you confirming that this will play Dolby Vision Profile 7 with the FEL layer? I'm curious as to whether this is actually supported via the network in the BDMV / ISO formats.

[@jb.2986]

Great review Shane. We use three physical hi-resolution formats: Blu-ray pure audio, DVD Audio, and SACD’s to play some of our favorite music. We prefer the multichannel auromatic up mixing of music to a 7.2.6 system using Auro 3D. This player may replace out Marantz someday which does 99% of what we need. McIntosh just discontinued its Blu-ray players this year so it’s nice to see other options especially since Oppo has disappeared. Great to see SACD support too. I like the look. Which HDMI version is listed in the spec? Love your vids buddy. Keep ‘em’ coming my friend.

[@therealshanelee]

2.0

[@wa2368]

Who is "WE"? You and who else? Do you always comment together on KZbin? You don’t have a mind of your own?

[@Cybertron-cs7sk]

​@therealshanelee the specs look insane, not sure about the 2 tone choosing the 200 Reavon but might wait until I see the 900 in person before pulling the trigger. Thanks for reviewing Shane much appreciated.

[@johny_007]

CD is easyest way to hear high quality music.Who is playing with dvd audio?

[@LSOreal]

Thanks for the video. Some time has gone by since you posted it, and I was curious what you thought about it versus the Panasonic UB9000.

[@kennethlui2268]

Overpriced. But I am sure many people have money to burn. Oppo made their 4k players affordable five or six years ago. The cheapest Magnetar is $1600. Why couldn’t Magnetar make it affordable. Higher price with less features. I do know that used Oppo in eBay asks for three to four times their original price. Is that the reason why Magnetar costs so much?

[@victoremanoel8402]

The only thing missing is the capability to connect one external video streaming source like Apple TV to extract the sound signal like the OPPOs used to have.

[@carlosbucio6869]

I think I’ll stick with my OPPO UDP-205. It might be an older 4k player but it hasn’t given me any playback issues whatsoever. In my eyes it looks better than the Magnetar. But that’s just me.

[@MarcusMaximus909]

205 is still the best player out there period! I have one

[@damonappel]

Is the Magnetar really $2600 better than a Sony UBP-X800 easily purchased as region-free from Amazon for $399? I've had my Sony for years. It's easier to use as region-free (only 1 button-selection on tray-open), and seems to boot much faster than the Magnetar. It also does everything (SACD/DVD-A) aside from some of the file-playback (I don't think the Sony can play ISOs), but it will do network-attached storage, and do it speedily. I would also consider the Sony UI to be much preferable. And, I would venture to guess that in a side-by-side for upscaling, the Sony stands a good chance of beating the Magnetar if your Sony TV beat it. For a $3k player, with as much fancy internals as it has, there's no way it should be beaten by a TV. I guess the Magnetar does have those XLR outputs, though. If someone absolutely MUST have those.

[@dlbsyst]

If I was going to get one of their players it would definitely be the UDP-800. I could justify the price for a high end player. This players price, nope.😄

[@joshuablodgett8694]

I might consider this as my Panasonic UB9000 no longer plays 4K discs. I just wish it was available for sale somewhere where I could get an extended warranty for it. At that price, I’d certainly appreciate the peace of mind.

[@kingofuseddurablecars.ls6040]

Your Panasonic stopped working ?? That player cost $1100 dollars. SMH

[@reedgrele6673]

Will this play ISO files from a hard drive connected to the USB port? Or only through a network connection? I have the UDP-800 but it will not play ISO files from a hard drive. I haven't tried a network connection yet however.

[@reedgrele6673]

UPDATE: I was unaware when I ordered my UDP-800 that it DOES NOT automatically come with region free or ISO / BD folder playback. BIG MISTAKE believing all the KZbin HYPE that it does! Now I have to hope that Magnetar will sell me the "custom" firmware to enable these "special features". My 15 day return window is closing soon. I better get this resolved on Monday.

[@therealshanelee]

@reedgrele6673 have you emailed them. It's available as far as I know.

[@reedgrele6673]

@@therealshanelee I e-mailed the vendor that I bought it from on the date that I received the player (August 11), but they only replied that "they will check with Magnetar". No other replies after repeated attempts. So I went to the Magnetar web page Friday night and filled out a "contact us" form asking if there is any way that they could help. No reply yet, but then, it's the weekend.

[@zelko0768]

Nice. Does the region free code work with the 800 version as well

[@cruise2023]

Considering how good the Oppo BDP105 and 205 is, how does it compare to these players , not only video but audio ? Is it worth ditching a 105 ( I know no 4K ) or 205 to get the UDP900 ? That's what I would like to know, if anyone gets the chance to do a comparison .

[@danieltuval8879]

Just recently bought reavon x200 to replace my oppo 203,im extremely impressed with the images it produces,this looks very similar in many ways.the x200 was expensive, and i dont think i could justiffy magnetar over it

[@neillumbard7419]

Thanks for the review. You just saved me a ton of money and headaches with this 4K Blu-ray player. The marketing on the player is good and it is nice that it is a somewhat comparable Oppo clone but after seeing and considering the upscaling resolution test, there's no way it's worth the exorbitant high price. (I suspect based on this test that the Oppo 203 is still better than this player). I need a second Oppo for another home theater build I'm working on. I guess off to eBay I'll go! I love the build quality, though - just not worth the cost.

[@jamied1579]

Does this player have any kind of adjustable HDR optimisation like the Panasonic range of 4k players? That is such an insanely useful function I'm not sure I co do without....

[@therealshanelee]

No

[@johnwayne2103]

As soon as I see any piece of equipment that runs Java I am out. I noticed that you did a voice over as you ran through the menu, did you speed up the menu changes or was that real time changing of the features.

[@marcmainguet3556]

Hello, how do you compare the image quality to the Panasonic ub9000?

[@1Aquadon]

Thanks Shane another banger review! I dont care much for the aesthetics and price yeh bit beyond what i'm willing to pay.. especially since i got my Oppo 203 region free for ebay inflated prices. UDP800 seems the sweet-spot for most I think.

[@teemusalonen7419]

Jeez, that price is a real nut cracker! You guys probably know that you can add external dac with very capable headphone amp to pretty much any player for couple hundred bucks if analog input and outputs is a deal for you. Anyway it's a nice player and if i didn't have to worry about money, I'd buy it instantly!

[@perchr.halling772]

Ohhh my ...I have currently an Oppo 203. Consider sell that to get this. Instead of buying a separate new for one for CDs and one for movies.

[@montag4516]

My Oppo 203 went wonky recently. It can no longer read/playback 4k discs properly, all it get is flashes color blocks and the readout shows 4k disc playback is at about .75 of normal speed. The main menu on the player (even without a disc in it) is weirdly pixelated, same with 203 setup menus. I've tried reset, on/off and other troubleshooting methods to no avail. Up until all this my 203 was deeply satisfying and covered all my needs (including region free blu ray with an aftermarket kit I installed). So, that's my dilemma, and what player option to go to from here.

[@gsmd770]

I love my Pansonic UB9000 just fine.

[@Bikes-guitars]

As an Oppo 205 owner I would be curious to know how this compares fir image quality or even against the Panasonic 9000 for image quality?

[@christianmalardeau828]

Comme dit plus haut dans les commentaires c’est le téléviseur qui fait la différence au niveau de l’image

[@bomt697]

Overall, if someone just needed UHD disc playback and player being connected to a AVR, is there any reason to get the 900 over the 800 (minus build quality)??

[@housbinpharteen7445]

can you hook up a HD to the usb's? and whats the capacity of HD that you can hook up via usb?

[@jameschambers2053]

Got 1 but still on the fence. Can’t wait to hook this up via XLR to my pre-amp. Tough decision to buy as an 203 owner already, but an audio upgrade is what I was aiming for and $3K for a universal just seemed to make more sense than a high-end SACD player

[@raulgutierrez1501]

My player UHD works fine. I would put that money into a bigger Oled tv. The quality of 2k, and 4k depends on the shut. You can not add a resolution that is not there. Noise reduction is another story but not at this cost. Next!

[@pieterbalk-ht7kq]

Sorry @Shane Lee did I understand you correctly that you review this $3000 UDP900 and you do not have a HDR10+ Display?!?

[@racecrashrepeat]

Wait... So is the OS the same as the oppo player? The Menuslook identical apart from the wallpapers

[@ASwiss65]

The Setup Menu still looks the same as the oppo-203/205 so its just another "copy" as the rest of the players that came out in the last 3 years - and the price range is very high, even its well built. as long as my 203 is working, no reason to change.

[@ThatHz-]

This is closer to a 205 than a 203

[@ethanberry9846]

The oppo dosent support dolby vision but the Magnetar is still not worth the price tag imo.

[@andrewholt5659]

@@ethanberry9846 Oppo added Dolby vision in a firmware update.

[@MrNorcal81]

​​@@ethanberry9846The Oppos do indeed support Dolby Vision. In addition the Oppos have an HDMI input which can be very handy at times.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

The menus look similar because they're all based on the MediaTek chipset.

[@oldsnwbrdr]

With fiber optic internet so widespread why don’t we have ultra high quality streaming yet?

[@joeyyung911]

Data caps...aka, ISP milking people.

[@TopDiggerYT]

Will this play 3D Blu-Rays in 3D?

[@justchilling4491]

Yes

[@mikereilly7760]

Is there any info on the new magnetar dedicated sacd player.

[@ubacow7109]

Does it support Auto Detect Dolby Vision?

[@jakemarsh149]

Really nice, but I'll stay with my Oppo 203

[@MikeNepomuceno]

Nice that it can read ISOs but can it read 66 and 100GB BD-RE discs? If it’s such a Swiss Army knife it better read ‘em!

[@lawrencematty961]

This may be the player I've been looking for, unless there's another that's better yet. Is there Shawn ? A best of the best?

[@BrunoDeMarques]

Great review, Shane! I’m still on the Oppo bandwagon too but with streaming not being as lucrative as expected to providers and a surprising physical media revival happening, physical formats may still get some love from manufacturers

[@BrunoDeMarques]

@@acidangel111 According to Forbes, Disney Plus is expected to become profitable only by mid 2024. It’s been bleeding subscribers for 2 consecutive quarters (especially from India) and it’s also pulling out content (probably to reduce operating costs with storage). According to subscribers, Disney is not putting out enough fresh content as Netflix (although IMHO, some of questionable quality). Disney is also planning on releasing Disney Plus titles in physical media, to regain some of that revenue stream, even if residual at this point. Physical media is experiencing a revival - not in retail - but I suppose in other commerce platforms, as, more and more titles (even from decades-old titles) get the 4k / steelbook / “collector edition” treatment. They’re even releasing new titles, first in Blu-ray and then, a few months later, in 4k in an attempt to have us physical-media-loyalists double-dipping which, at least, shows interest in the format. Personally, I believe there’s no going back from streaming but the market is long due for consolidation, as there are simply too many streaming platforms. In the meantime, producing content exclusively for streaming is extremely costly and it’s not translating to enough new subscribers to justify it and, so, successful titles are being sold across platforms and being considered for physical release.

[@BrunoDeMarques]

@@acidangel111 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmfOg3VprqimqdEsi=8oj5j5Dt8Rpp0swD

[@glyn2370]

I was going to buy one of these but changed my mind. The reason all that money and no wifi. What good is it without wifi.

[@MarceloHenriqueAlmeida]

I can KINDA understand analog equipment being expensive, despite diminishing returns, because analog is dependent of a lot of things working properly to increase quality, but isn’t digital all the same if the equipment has the same ports and certifications? Does it worth that kinda money?

[@brucemargolin3986]

Any news about any of the Magnetar models functioning as Roon endpoints?

[@ChrisGerhard66]

I am a big fan of the Sony UDP-X1100ES and would sure buy it at a fraction of the price of this player. If the Sony UDP-X800M2 meets your needs, it is a much better deal as well.

[@TheatreStyle]

Am I understanding this correctly that you can change the player's Region as often as you like?

[@Tomomoto9000]

For $3K it better not eventually lock into the most used region.

[@antoniomoreno6944]

Los menus de configuración son igual a los de los bluray pioneer por lo que veo que pioneer tiene que ver algo aunque ya no fabrique bluray

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

For all those saying that this player shares "mad Oppo style," notably in the setup menus, it's because a bunch of machines are all based on the MediaTek architecture, including the Oppos, the Cambridge Audio CXUHD, the Reavons, the Magnetars and the Panndes.

[@damonappel]

That's interesting to know...but the Magnetars also share the exact same packing sensibilities as the Oppos. Sure: Not a hard thing to copy, but it does make one think that the same people that built the Oppo built the Magnetar.

[@MikeMargolis-j8f]

@@damonappel Well, yes - and all the players I mentioned are also packed with the thick black Styrofoam and "tote bags" (which I never understood personally from the day I got my first Oppo, a BDP-83). Also, it's not necessarily that one entity "built" these players, it's more that they all share a version of the MediaTek processor, which is why the menus look so similar.

[@jarodreddig63]

Menu is mad Oppo style. I still have a 203. This seems like a great option for a disc player.

[@we8463]

Glad my OPPO BD-205 is working!

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Same. I keep waiting for a newly purchased 4k movie to skip or not play at all, but it plays everything I throw at it.

[@andrewholt5659]

Love my 205 too. It is great for audio too.

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

@@andrewholt5659 I've had it going straight to my amplifiers since I got it, and it's awesome for movie night. I miss some of the bass adjustments/room correction, but it's still a wholly immersive experience. I just with I would have purchased two when I go the fist one!

[@mrneworleans504]

My 1500$ Oppo 205 makes me smile more and more each UDP player review

[@zerostat]

Great review! I am surprised there is no WiFi option at this price point, disappointing.

[@ryanfuller5]

Are all these units just Oppo rebranded? The software and GUI interfaces are identical...

[@joyofmvid]

I am surprised that you deemed audio to be near the same between the Magnetar 900 & 800. Are you sure you where playing "analog audio" (PCM) on the HDMI. With all the hi-res ANALOG AUDIO circuitry, DAC, Power Supplies, etc. the Magnetar 900 analog audio superiority should have been noticeable. Please double check your audio tests.

[@frommatorav1]

he did say, through an HDMI connection... I think.

[@Hexagore666]

What does Watermark level3 do?

[@bethany_dawn5222]

The user interface looks an awful lot like the Oppo 203/205’s.

[@supercompooper]

🧐🤔😜

[@dastiffmeisterman]

Does it have M2TS file support and does it auto detect dolby vision for these files?

[@therealshanelee]

Yep

[@nicochoco03]

Hi, dolby vision mkv support ?? Thanks

[@MyFireVideos]

This is heavy Doc

[@letstalkcriterion]

I think it's a high price tag nice it's all region on 4k? but why can't others do this for 4k at a lower price tag. Nothing really new here many cheaper players offer similar.

[@efraim.]

Can you load external subtitles ?

[@Chris-xz1ii]

Hello Shane/everyone. Could someone tell me if the Magnetar udp800 is also region free?

[@tracyherbert2978]

Can you review the Cerwin Vega 215?

[@weust2672]

What is with the 99 USD firmware update package/subscription? No info on their site.

[@Tomomoto9000]

Wait you gota drop a $100 just to get a firmware update? That ridiculous lol

[@weust2672]

@@Tomomoto9000 Again, the site doesn't mention it but that's how I am reading it too.

[@jnvivian]

It is to have Let’s Get Physical, which was Magnetar’s USA distributor until recently, to modify a legal region-locked Magnetar player into a probably-illegal region-free player. Based on what I understand about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, this is likely illegal and therefore Let’s Get Physical would not clearly advertise what the “firmware update” really does unless it wants a lawsuit or possibly cops arresting its employee(s) and shutting it down as a criminal enterprise. However, I am not a lawyer, so I could possibly be wrong about one or more of the details.

[@luciusblackwood2640]

Awesome. I love the look of it. On a side note, I'm not sure why anyone that could afford this player would want 7.1 analog outputs? I'm sure there is a reason.

[@rizydude]

It's all about the DAC, could output straight to a power amp. Unfortunately cannot be used with other inputs like streaming stick or game console like the oppo 203/205 could.

[@luciusblackwood2640]

@@rizydude Yeah, I can see that. But I got to think that is a very small crowd that would want a system like that without spatial audio and all the other features you would get with a processor.

[@rizydude]

​@@luciusblackwood2640I think anybody who would be buying this wouldn't want fake surround effects. That being said, I have the Cambridge audio 752 (oppo 105) and it has the option of DTS neo 6 to simulate surround sound but I have it off.

[@Scott-DJ]

Because people that can afford this player realize that analog audio still blows the doors off digital sound. I'm sure it would sound incredible hooked into my all analog Audio Research system...but with no HDMI INPUT I can't find out :(

[@luciusblackwood2640]

@@Scott-DJ True. But if you have this hooked up in a home theater environment I'm not sure how you would do both. I mean you could buy this as a cd player or 5.1 blu-ray player just for audio but it seems a bit odd to me.

[@robmika9560]

Shane, how many hours did you put on your unit prior to you review? I am finding that the UDP900 needs at least 200 hours on it before it looks and sounds it’s best. It’s internal video processing is getting better and better as well as its audio performance

[@scanspeak00]

Complete nonsense.

[@chriswelljack4910]

Is it that you just got use to it

[@chriswelljack4910]

Funny I change a piece of equipment in my system and I instantly heard a huge difference. It was an upgrade to how it sounded before but then I got use to it and it was what can I do to make it sound even better all over again lol

[@robmika9560]

I am not saying putting more time on the unit will provide a night and day difference. But my experience with high end audio is that subtle but distinct changes occur as electronics are burned in. When the target of this player is the high end audio and videophile market incremental improvements can make the audio and video experience more enjoyable. It’s definitely not for everyone.

[@gingerninja7187]

Wow that’s a beast of a 4K disc player ,personally most only want a player that plays 4K discs ,and not really bothered about all the other formats, for instance, the Panasonic ub9000 fantastic player very stylish, but like myself, decided to buy the Panasonic ub820 , a fraction of the price , and still does a great job ,going back to the magnetar ,like most will just see the price ,3 times the price of the Panasonic ub9000 that’s nuts ,is the picture any better 🤷‍♂️ , the magnetar is going to be purchased by the person that thinks paying that sort of money is getting the best ,if you have any sense, stick with something like the Panasonic ub820 , it’s a brilliant 4K player ,more money doesn’t mean a better product.

[@carlosr.2027]

Yeah it’s a money grab, cuz people are still willing to pay for a use 205 two to 3 times the msrp i remember a use 205 back when they came where selling for $1000-$1300 now $3k lol they can keep it I’m good with ub820

[@georgewilliams482]

I have the Oppo UDP 205 which is same spec and the same UI as this.

[@josega7320]

Any test regarding playing music?

[@56dinosaur]

Should it really sell for more than double the price of Oppo's UDP-205? I understand inflation, but this is outrageous.Luckily, my Oppo BDP-105D is still going strong, and I have stockpiled a UDP-205 as a spare. Both are modified code-free units.

[@therealshanelee]

205's have been discontinued for 6yrs. Why compare it to something people haven't been able to purchase for over half a decade?

[@ShallowRavers]

Why is this allowed to do BD/4K ISO when oppo and reavon are not ?

[@birgerolovsson5203]

I'm happy with my Oppo BDP-95 & UDP-205