Why I Chose The Panasonic DP-UB450P-K Over The DP-UB820 - Play Tests And 1 Month Review of The 450

[@laurasands8322]

I live in Northern Ireland and bought this dp-450p at least six years ago, I can't believe it's only been released in America recently, it's been here in the UK at least seven years or so.

[@Kurtiscott]

My 820 has been problem-free for years. This is a great overview of these alternative choices though! Thanks for posting

[@Bassic778]

Thank you for a detailed and refreshingly REAL review! The more UB820 and UB450 reviews I watch the more I'm leaning to buying the UB450!

[@saviordream]

I just rearranged my home office and bought a 42" LG C4 TV to use as my PC monitor and for my game consoles. I wanted to get a 4K player in there for times when I didn't want to go downstairs to our main setup. I've had an 820 in our finished basement for four years and it's been flawless, but I didn't really want to spend that much for a secondary player. Just found out about this player, and it's got all the features I'm looking for and I was able to get it for $178 over the whole Black Friday / Cyber Monday time period. Was worried when I heard people complaining about the upscaling (or lack thereof), but I figured I could let the TV do the upscaling, and at the price I really couldn't pass it up. Looking forward to trying it out when it comes in.

[@waterfalls2000]

I’m in the exact same spot, couldn’t justify spending 400 for the 820. And I did some research and the C4 does have upscaling even in filmmaker mode, so it’s a no brainer.

[@Moviefudgetrumpet]

Had my 820 for 3 years never not played any disc. Even had it chipped to play any blu ray. Love it

[@daviddakin9275]

Had my 820 for over 5 years now with absolutely no problems whatsoever, I guess if you go on like a ford forum you'll see lots of people moaning about certain models with different faults while the thousands that have had no problems are very quiet and the same thing is true for Panasonic groups and forums

[@MrMoviebuff247]

You're not helping! What are you, Mr. Perfect? Pretentious much?

[@TELEVISIONARCHIVES]

The same. I've had mine for 3 years. No problems at all. I use it quite a bit, but if somebody wants to go with the lower cost model I guess it would be okay. Especially the one that now supports Dolby Atmos in Dolby vision

[@qhorton6743]

I opted for an extended warranty when i bought mine so even if it does go haywire im covered, at least for the first few years

[@Michael64425]

Very true,I have had my 820 for 15 months no problems so far and is very impressive at the price point sold at here in the UK which is slightly cheaper I think than in the USA.

[@sweezlesquee]

I bought mine 7 months ago or so. When I moved across the country I shipped the unit and a bunch of other packages with ups. I didn't get to the location in time to pick them up, and they sent it back across the country to the original store that I sent it from. Anyways, I had it shipped back again! And I wasn't expecting it to work anymore, but now a month later it is still working fine! I was very surprised because the box was really messed up by time I got it back finally. So it holds up well to pretty harsh abuse from the outside, we will see how the laser and insides hold up long-term. Either way, I'm glad the 450 is available now, I would have definitely gone with that. The 820 upscaling is quite nice, but if I need to replace it, it's probably not $200 nice.

[@snowymatrix]

I have the 820 and the 450 in my av rack. I've had no problems with the 820 and I've watched a lot of physical media on it for years. The 450 i bought already chipped by a specialist third party to be all region because I'm from UK and I have DVDs and Blu-ray from America etc. It also works flawlessly too and i also like that i can play most files from hard drive on the usb connection. The big plus for me is that the 450 will play dvd/r Blu-ray/r disks which i burn on my desktop computer etc that is fantastic because the 820 doesn't play anything from usb or its disk drive and it's fully up to date on its firmware etc. Also, i can use the bigger and better 820 remote with the 450 as long as the 820 is powered off which is nice as i agree the 450 remote is lame👍

[@DinoSpumoni213]

Why is the 820 remote better? I just got a 450 and people say to get a better remote but not sure why exactly.

[@chriscangelosi9438]

I heard you can buy the ub9000 remote works with them too 😮

[@craigorlikowski2507]

​@@DinoSpumoni213word is 450/420 sucks. Small, battery case rattles, not very ergonomic in hand over the larger remotes.

[@oo-mp4ol]

@@DinoSpumoni213 I'm a bit late with this reply, but the 450 remote is smaller, poorer quality, and has a loose battery cover that rattles a bit. It still works though! I think the 820 remote will work on the 450 if you can purchase that separately, if your aim is a better quality remote. Personally it wouldn't bother me

[@gonzoret]

Nice review. Was looking for a Dolby Vision player to pair with our C3 and didn’t have the budget for a 820 specially since I don’t currently have 4k physical movies (only digital) and heard Sony x700 is not reliable. Came across the ub450 so went on Amazon and found one for a good price, wasn’t sure if it was a good buy but your video removed that buyer remorse I had. Extra money I saved am picking up a few 4k movies this Cyber Monday 😊

[@miltw3]

Thanks for posting this! You just convinced me to buy this player vs the 820 and save $300 bucks. Bought a Best Buy open box for $111bucks plus 2 year $15 geek squad protection to cover my behind

[@FewFew77]

Thank you for doing a one month after review. 99% of KZbin channels do their review seconds after they unboxed in the video and that's a bad way to know if the product is good or not.

[@reggiebuttsmash2321]

Underrated comment right here

[@gunthermangelschots30]

Yes, you are right, the UB450 indeed upscales as any other bluray player does. You, however, have to factor in the quality of that upscaling. The UB820 comes with a HCX processor and HDR optimizer to further improve the quality of the upscaling which upscales 1080p hd 420 to 4k 444 and takes 4k uhd 420 and colors to 444! The question you got to ask is if you really need that upscaling? If you have a quality TV you might wanna stick with the TV's upscaling abilities and you wont't have any need for the UB820 so the UB450 would definitely be a serious bargain considering it offer DV. Things are different if you have a cheaper model of TV with some poor upscaling abilities, then the UB820 would have to be your recommended choice since it is actually that good.

[@Revolver1981]

If you want it to start quicker switch the quick start setting on in the settings.

[@goldenserenity2385]

I have never had an issue on quality with any Panasonic product I've had. I still have the 61 disc player from the 90's, still working today

[@J-y4u]

I have gone through 2 UB820's since Dec 2024. The 1st started to pixilate and by week 3 started locking up. Returned and got another new UB820. By the 3rd day, the display would scroll across "please wait"..,by the "W" it powered off. Enough cheaping out, Im forking over for the UB9000, I'm done playing around, when it worked it was a beautiful picture and good sound quality....when it did...🙄

[@qhorton6743]

I prefer my 820 but Ive considered the 450 as a 2nd player in my home

[@warrenbottomley3284]

i have a 450 connected directly to a tv. if you set the video format to 4k. that's the first option in the picture settings it will upscale DVD and Blu-ray to 4k. blu-rays look fantastic. DVD's i have had mixed results but overall you do see an improvement.

[@LAvsMVP]

I bought one because it said it converts DVDs to full 1080 I don't need them to look like 4K but I wanted to make sure it does look like watching a blu ray? This would be my 2nd player I have a sony as well but I saw the upscale for DVDS and I got a huge collection of old UFC and wrestling DVDs so i ordered one

[@MrCREWCRUSHIN95]

Believe it or not - conventional wisdom in the AV community has said that you should always allow the 4K television and not the 4K player to do the upconversion on DVD and 2K Blu-ray

[@wendellwendellb339]

I haven’t had any issues with my 820.

[@gregoryjenkins8645]

Me, neither W.

[@MrMoviebuff247]

Why won't you acknowledge some people have problems with this Blu-ray player, Mr. Perfect? What do you live in a. fantasy world. Do you have any idea how infuriating it is when you trying to get help with something and all I every is pretentious douchebags like saying, "I never had problem with it" You're a word Stupid KZbin won't let me say because they hate free speech What I am doing wrong then Mr. Perfect? You're a Stupid head!

[@MrMoviebuff247]

You're an Asshole!

[@macinman]

Hi, I have the 420 as my player. When I got into 4K, it was in 2016, and the Sony TV I got has HDR10, and HLG, and Dolby Vision wasn't as widespread then. I've enjoyed the 420 without issues. The TV still delivers a good picture, and Dolby Vision isn't something I'm going to buy a new TV over when this one still works. When I get a new TV, it will probably have all the current formats automatically, as I don't buy Samsung TVs. I typically stay with Sony, or possibly LG. Edit: wanted to add this video showed up in my recommendations, so was curious about the 450.

[@timh.7169]

is the fan noise of the 420 really that bad?

[@StingrayPresents]

Are there any Blu Ray players that play Audio CDs and retrieve the track listing and cover art anymore? Sony's Blu Rays used to but they discontinued their Gracenote database access in 2019. I guess Panasonic doesn't support this either.

[@juanlicona924]

I change my Sony player for the 820 olmost 4 years ago and for me is the best player out there for the price and the HDR setting thing is what I like more, I always want it something no to cheap and no to expensive the 820 is perfect at least for me

[@ramudon2428]

I have the DP-UB450EG-K and I just assume it's regional variance that mine is EG and not P?

[@rafacq]

Does it play SACD?

[@georgevillalvazo9154]

I went all out and got me the Panasonic UB 9000. What a great DVD player is.!👍

[@ians3207]

Does it support 3D like the 820 ?

[@TELEVISIONARCHIVES]

I've had my 820 for a long time and no problems. I can understand why somebody would want to get the lower cost player though

[@gunthermangelschots30]

yes, it depends one the upscaling capabilities of the TV. That is the sole reason (if we note take build quality into consideration) one would have to choose the UB820 over the UB450

[@DinoSpumoni213]

Can anyone tell me why you should swap the 450 remote with the 820 remote? What is the benefit and is it just a case of putting in batteries and pointing at the 450?

[@yt_support-03]

Thx. Same for normal DVD and ultra HD blue rays (4k)?

[@noecker97]

I Just Purchased This 450 The Other Day Because My 420 Stopped Loading 4k UHD Discs, Oddly Though It Has No Problem Loading Up Standard Blu-Ray Discs.

[@bitdevice]

The only reason I want 420 or 820 instead of 150/450 is because of the subtitle position and brightness settings. It doesn't matter if you don't use subtitles but big super bright subtitles on the 150/450 are super distracting to me.

[@johnsmithy7918]

Where did you read that?

[@bitdevice]

@@johnsmithy7918 I learned the hard way since I had to buy both.

[@bitdevice]

It's stated in the specs on the official Panasonic page. I also know because I own both.

[@johnsmithy7918]

@@bitdevice How much changing can you do on the 820 ? You mentioned position and brightness, how about size ?

[@bitdevice]

@@johnsmithy7918 You can move subtitles up/down quite a bit. Up is not useful on a TV but maybe on a projector with a wide aspect ratio. I always adjust the text down right to the edge. Unfortunately you cannot change the size, that would be really useful on big displays. Brightness adjustment extremely useful on some HDR content to avoid super bright subtitles.

[@0311uli]

Was about to get the 450 since I had seen on another video it could play MKVs with Dolby Atmos or Dolby Digital plus but you saying it doesn’t work. I’ll just get the shield media center.

[@BobFrostV]

I'm happy with my ub450 too. If someone gets a lemon, then return it for another ub450. Regarding the remote, you can do most of those functions with your TV remote if you turn on the right settings.

[@fabriziocadena9501]

this blu ray the DP-UB450P-K works with tv samsung? not the dolby vision but the hdr10? thankyou!

[@Torso6131]

The UB450 does both Dolby Vision and HDR10 or HDR10+ just like the UB820. All it's missing is the extra processing for upscaling or the tonemapping feature (which, to be fair, is excellent on the 820).

[@theshakyproject2971]

7:00 "I just put this up here today because this arcade is so dimly lit." KA-THUNK! "Oh crap!" :) I've seen videos that demonstrate the 820 as capable of playing Blu-rays from other regions, and it's been stated all other Panasonic models can do this as well. Do you know if your 450 has that feature (either via the top menu button or the color-coded buttons)? Because if so, I'm definitely getting the 450 model.

[@verissimus45]

Down on the Upside is so underrated.

[@ethanberry9846]

Nice review but you really don't want the fake added HDR to blu rays it's something that should be turned off and just let the player naturally upscale them

[@DobezMusic]

@@ethanberry9846 I'll try this out thanks!

[@ethanberry9846]

@DobezMusic yeah take any fake HDR off and all those smooth motion, eye comfort settings Off, they look super unnatural and even HDR tone mapping isn't how filmmakers want you watch their movies, there's a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles they apply to these players and tvs that supposedly sells their products but having them turned on just doesn't look good, as long as HDR is switched on to detect 4k films with HDR and Dolby Vision that's all you really need. Atmos sound etc.. You want the player to read blu ray discs at 1080p and not 2160p as they look pretty terrible

[@timh.7169]

​@@ethanberry9846so would 420/820 be better than 450 there or vise versa? I cant decide what to buy

[@ethanberry9846]

@@timh.7169 I would go in for the 820 but it's what's affordable to you, if you don't have dolby vision TV then the 420 for £100 cheaper will be probably all you will need

[@wendellwendellb339]

Is that a VHS player from Magnavox?

[@DobezMusic]

@@wendellwendellb339 Yup it's a VHS to DVD recorder. It was my late father's he took really good care of it so it's still in great shape.

[@kilroy4103]

What Pioneer Elite are you using here? Looks like mine.

[@DobezMusic]

@@kilroy4103 It's the LX-105

[@bjberge]

Does it update all Blu-ray movie to doby vison 4k

[@MarkSobkowiak-tk8up]

I have to disable the uhd setting on my vizio to get my 450 to play in HDR without triggering the vizios output banner over and over.

[@edwinrijos6679]

The middle of the line at one point was the ub420 same performance as the 820 without dolby vision and no preouts for a 7.1 which is no problem since i hook up to my receiver anyways. I have and love samsung tvs so no reason to get dolby vision. I believe they decided to bring out the 450 to add dolby vision to it. Im currious to see if the 420 is better than the 450. Update i doulbe checked and in my opinion ub420 is still better since it has the hdr optimizer. The 450 does not, it has only dolby vision. The hdr optimizer gives it an extra edge to the image.

[@Revolver1981]

The HDR optimiser is not needed.

[@clthokie]

@@Revolver1981 This has been my dilemma and I have about a 50/50 rate asking on reddit threads. I have a Bravia XR A80K OLED, and from what I have seen the optimizer in that is good enough to where the optimizer in the 820 wouldn't make much of a difference.

[@PerfumePerry]

This is the dilemma I am facing. I have a sony X90J and am wondering if the XR processor essential does what the 820's HDR optimizer does. Especially considering how old the 820 is.

[@clthokie]

@@PerfumePerry I finally gave up stressing about it and bit the bullet during Black Friday. So far so good. Haven’t really been able to test it much as the holidays were hectic but should be able to start diving in soon.

[@MrCREWCRUSHIN95]

TOTAL RECALL is, indeed, a triple layer 100GB disc

[@DobezMusic]

@@MrCREWCRUSHIN95 Good to know! I had no issues with my one play through of it so far on the player!

[@screamingeekmedia]

I still haven't heard reports of how the 450 handles the BD-100 discs, as most cheap entry-level players have issues with them. I have the Sony x700 and it glitches with those discs. Has gotten worse the last few months and I'm looking at replacing it with something better. This sounds like a great deal but am afraid of having those same issues because it's a cheaper model. Hoping to see more reports over the next couple of months before I buy a new one.

[@bobsibert1968]

My Panny has frozen, my Sony player never has,, so far lol

[@screamingeekmedia]

@@bobsibert1968 I've had my Sony since 2019. Maybe the new ones have gotten better. Should try updating mine again. Last time I tried, it told me there were no updates.

[@yenoymusic]

What about all the bad reviews on amazon? 4.1 stars from 81 reviews. only 59% are 5stars and 13% are 1 star (kinda high!) Im interested in this but is not looking pretty. Lots of people saying it skips, freezes and not reads some 4k discs... i have a ps5 right now as my player but i wanted something with dolby vision since i have an lg oled. but im afraid to pull the trigger

[@DobezMusic]

@@yenoymusic Mines been working great and I use it about 4-5 times a week to watch various DVDs, blu rays and Ultra Blu Rays. I believe this is an issue you'll run into with most new Blu ray players (and electronics in general) regardless of the manufacturer. I feel it's more along a quality control issue. I'd recommend whatever player you get, to use it as much as possible during the return period and return or exchange if you have any issues.

[@yenoymusic]

@USADroneParts thanks for the reply! I guess your right. Maybe ill give it a try and finger cross i get a good one (im just a lil afraid because many years ago when i got a samsung ks8500 i had to replace it 2 times and opened like 10 boxes on best buy with an employee and the last one was the good one (still have that one working)

[@sykodjiuia]

Can you turn off those pop-ups in the settings? Info boxes popping out of the corners of my screen when playing a disc would annoy me.

[@Revolver1981]

They pop ups you're seeing is the TV pop ups. Not the disc player.

[@sykodjiuia]

@@Revolver1981 Ah, thank you!

[@markandy21]

I just bought this player and its ok at best. You can kinda tweek the settings, has less than some of the more expensive Panasonics. I was able to update the player via ethernet, didn't seem to change anything. The remote is awful. The interface is clunky and has the feel of a cheap 90's dvd player. I am on the fence as far as keeping it.

[@johnsmithy7918]

Seems everyone complains about remotes unless they buy the ub9000 or smthn.

[@TechRyze]

Cracked CD in your new 4K player is a bad idea. rip it at low speed using an old drive, then stop using it after burning a replacement.

[@DobezMusic]

@@TechRyze I don't play that CD normally and actually just got a replacement for it so it's on the wall now in my music room with other beat up CDs. It was more to test and see how well the player took a super scratches disc.

[@Adrianek81]

UB150 and UB450 dont have hdr settings button on the remote. UB420 has one,i regret i sold this amazing player,if i see one i will buy again,best colors and brightness i ever seen on 4k movies

[@peskypeet]

I have the UB9000 and I really don't care for it upscaling a DVD to 4k. 1080 is as far as I let it go. When It comes to regular 1080p blu-ray's I don't even let it upscale that to 4k. I can't quite put my finger on it but it doesn't seem quite right when scenes have a lack of detail.

[@cubsfan-l9x]

I kept my LG UBK90 around only so I can watch all my discs. I just don't see the point of buying them anymore though. Apple copies arguably look just as good, are usually cheaper, don't have to wait on shipping, release earlier. The only real downside is a lack of control, but I've never lost anything I bought directly in Apple. What will really make or break physical media in the next few years imo is if Sony and Panasonic keep making the players.

[@xJI00]

The point is you own something. If you’re streaming or purchasing from a streaming service you have access as long as you pay the endless subscription. If you stop paying you lose access. This includes movies you buy outright. Read yours T & C you only have access to your purchased library for as long as you’re paying the subscription for access.

[@toubeelo1979]

It's just about ownership. You technically don't own anything you buy digitally. You never know when the streaming service will stop or if the service loses license to the content, then you may end up losing everything you paid for. Reason why I stopped buying digital movies on Fandango at Home, previously known as Vudu. May never happen with Apple, but never know. Also, many physical copies of 4K these days come with a redeemable digital code anyway.

[@awilderireland]

My 820 is fine. But this cheaper model seems fine for most users... Including me. 😂

[@shanecavanagh7060]

Works excellent on my movie projector 4K blu-ray DVD or look excellent…

[@dr.impossibleofcounterpunc1984]

Panasonic doesn't make it's own circuit boards anymore. All the components inside are made by a separate company, just like their TV's. Products these days are made to fail, so consumers go out and buy same or different product to make more revenue. Sony is the only company I can trust. Panasonic and even Samsung have become trash. Back in 2004, Panasonic produced products that were manufactured by Panasonic, including all the inner electronics. Now, its just farmed out other companies. The build quality is not to the standards of the past....that's a guarantee 😂

[@sethm.woodiwiss786]

That's fine, but Panasonic still has great quality control. Every Panasonic player I own, which I do own 2 different models and are great, but my Sony 800 4k players glitches constantly. I already sent it back and replaced it once, and it still glitches, so that's actually why I bought another Panasonic. Now my Sony is sitting in my closet. So to each their own.

[@danemoreno88]

I’ve had my 820 since Aug 2019 and it has never had a problem ever info were to do it again though I’d probably get the 9000

[@imniallg]

I’m older now, I’m 40 😂

[@sweezlesquee]

The 820 remote is waaaay worse. 7 months, and hundreds of movies Iater, and Im still hitting the wrong buttons. Would love to have the one that comes with these units, its simple. The backlighting thing is a pain in the a.

[@mataiguana5]

I own a 420 for three years now and only on 4k discs is failing to recognize previously played discs.

[@zz_zamurai_zzzzz390]

They probably didn't get a 4k HDMI cable

[@Michael64425]

Agreed lots of people haven’t a clue and as you suggest using the wrong cables 😂

[@Michel-r6m]

Do not go with assumptions. Check and double check 😉

[@mark_r49]

I can really see the difference on KZbin!😂

[@mataiguana5]

The difference between the 820 and 450 is the Dolby Vision HDR. All of them up converts

[@Revolver1981]

What do you mean? The UB450 has Dolby Vision as well.

[@mataiguana5]

@@Revolver1981 820 have Dolby Vision . Is the one I'm looking forward to, currently own a 420 which only supports HDR 10 and 10+

[@MsModestyBlaise]

@@mataiguana5he’s not talking about the 420. He mentioned the 450 which DOES have Dolby Vision, as does the 820

[@mataiguana5]

My mistake dear friends, mixed up the UB150 model with this one, my sincerest apologies.

[@victormarrotti2575]

If something looks good to you ,then you should be happy. Then again if you're long some people I know,it is never good enough.

[@DobezMusic]

@@victormarrotti2575 It's good enough for me! As well as it holds up for at least a few years (it's sad we have to say that about today's electronics.. I have CD, cassette, and DVD players that are decades old and still work great) I'll be happy with it.

[@lonewolf5316]

we had an 820 and it was a pile of shit. it just shit the bed in a years time. the ui and app store fucking blows slow and sluggish!!!! since we have a sony tv we bought another sony player after not having any problems with our 1100ES deck. though the upscaling on the 820 was as good as the oppo decks!!! the ui is the same on all o f the panny 4k players.

[@dennistaylor3009]

If you have any problems just factory reset the unit all problems gone.

[@JedEckert]

That doesn’t work for my 820 anymore.

[@RogerandDebi]

Before you do a video you should know all what your talking about.. if you buy cheaper it is what you get.. we have the Panasonic UB-820-K paid $400 and it is wonderful

[@DobezMusic]

@@RogerandDebi What makes you think your 820 is of any better build quality? Because you paid more for it?? 🤣 "I have the Panasonic UB-450P-K that costs less then half of what you paid for your 820 and it works great for my needs".

[@MrMoviebuff247]

I hate KZbin!

[@JamJamToast69]

Thanks for sharing?