Why Panasonic UB9000's HDR Optimiser is Such A Killer Feature 

Note: [HDR Optimiser] can only be applied to HDR10 & HLG content, and not to HDR10+ & Dolby Vision discs which already benefit from dynamic metadata.

I know this is an old video but I just got myself an 820 and the difference between it and the X700 and PS5 I was using is staggering.

This is the best explanation of hdr tone mapping you will ever see

Um, we love shenanigans. Please do not deprive us of such ongoings in the future.

Absolutely criminal that you don't have more subs and views especially on vids like this! Great job as always!

This was so helpful. Ordered 820 today. Thanks for the video.

Awesome, competent and straightforward demo and explanation!

Thanks so much for this video! I have an Optoma projector and a Sony X700 player and had been contemplating on buying the 420 or 820 only because of the optimizer. You saved me a few headaches by indicating that those options for projectors are only on the 9000.

Thanks for another informative video, Vincent! The auto dynamic tonemapping done by the player is indeed awesome, it's really amazing how it manages to analyze the picture and tonemap only what needs to be tonemapped from each frame without touching the overall APL. Panasonic strikes again! Now comes the million dollar question: will we see this killer feature within the Panasonic OLED's menu? I'm mainly interested in the 2019 range but I'm sure others will like to know if previous models may receive a software update including this feature.

Nicely explained. It makes a change for a feature to just work with the press of a button without degrading something else.

Wow... Thank you very much for this useful informations. You are the best !

A brilliant explanation of how the Panasonic works and the benefits of tweaking settings on both the TV and the player to get the best experience Please keep posting, very informative

Wow! This is impressive! Hopefully other manufacturers will follow process!

Thanks so much my panasonic 820 can now feed my new LG 810 projector 500 nits and now HDR is sorted really useful information thanks Vincent:)

Thank you so much for this video.I have a 77 inch Sony a80j and just got the panny 820 yesterday.I think following your guidance here will give me a great viewing experience with my 4k uhd movies.Appreciate your videos and I just subscribed.

There is soo much to learn, you are explaining well... just wonder how your demos are in person

Just revisiting this excellent video after playing with the settings on my LG CX and the UB820. It's true that the Panasonic optimizer even now in 2021 has better handling of tone mapping on HDR10 than the LG CX in my experience. I turned off the dynamic tone mapping on the CX and enabled the optimizer on the UB820 and got fantastic results. Thanks Vincent for an excellent video.

Ahhhhh Mr Vincent you good man keep up your hard work ✔👍

I am playing around with this and to be honest this tone mapping looks better than DV. Will continue to play around with it.

Love your videos!!! I especially love the wagyu beef analogy. I remember the first time I had wagyu, it was Miyazaki. After eating that, I started comparing everything to the beef. “If I don’t buy this amp, how much wagyu could I get‽” 😂

Excellent (and fun) explanation of a, indeed, killer feature. Actually, as the owner of an Epson EH-TW9300W, this was the final nudge I needed to buy this player. Cheers! :^)

Brilliant. Thank you Vincent. Mine is sitting in a box waiting to be plugged in. Lots of love from Sprinkles, Chris and Crystal xx

Love my ub820, great player

This is why I subscribe to this guy 12:15, look at the difference in the flames. I was about to buy a Sony UBP 700 yesterday as I have a Sony AG8 tv and StrDn 1080 receiver only to switch last minute to the Panasonic DP-UB820EBK. I can't wait for it to come now.

Hello, one more question about video projectors and HDR optimizer please : is the “basic luminance lcd” option on the ub 820 (500 nits) is that much different from the “Basic luminance projector” (350 nits) on the 9000 ? Or will it be very subtle? Thanks again for your work and for your answer.

Great video, thanks. Question: if you enable HDR Optimiser will it remain on at all times, even when changing disc? Or do I need to enable it each time I watch a disc?

Excellent tutorial..

Another question: Does this function do anything on Panasonic OLEDs? Theoretically player and TV should apply Panasonic tonemapping and there shouldn‘t be a difference, right?

I love your videos! I have a Calman Calibrated LG C9 and the UB820, should I be using HDR Optimiser on top of Dynamic Tone Mapping (included in the calibration)?

Fantastic video. Very thorough and well-explained. I wonder, for TVs like the Sony X950H which only has player-led Dolby Vision, is the HDR optimizer on the Panasonic players the answer to get the very best DV possible out of discs? I currently have the Sony X800M2 player and I don’t think it has this type of feature.

Thank you for this very interesting video. Would you recommend to activate the Tone mapping option on a LG C9 when watching TV or Netflix directly from the TV (it is clear that it must be disabled when watching bluray with the UB9000 or UB820). Thanks for your help !

The colors are dull and washed out when I turn the HDR on . Why is this happening ? Panasonic DP-UB420 connected to a Philips 436M6 hdr monitor . Can someone please help me ?

How does this feature work with the LG C7 active HDR? It’s my understanding that the C7 active HDR was a different approach than the current dynamic tone mapping found on the C8/C9. Would it be best to use both the hdr optimizer on the player and the active hdr setting on the C7?

Anyone know if the optimiser stays on when you've switched it on when playing an HDR disc or do you have to switch it on manually each time a new disc is loaded?

Thanks for sharing this video Vincent,i have the Panasonic UB820,do you remember the Sony DVP S735 dvd Player i really loved this dvd Player have you ever seen one before.

Will the optimizer work if being passthrough a receiver like the Denon 6500? Or does it need to be wired directly to the tv.

I use the Optimizer on my 75q9fn, and yes there's a difference with 4000 nit content.

Is the hdr optmiser utilized during usb playback? And also is there much difference in playback between the 3.0 and 2.0 usb ports? I have the Panasonic dp-ub420p thanks

Hdr optimizer is amazing feature! Game consoles need this for hdr games and movies

Hi HDTVTest under HDR Display Type on the Panasonic DP-820 I have a Samsung Q90R TV which would I select for my Qled tv?

Great video Vincent. Would you think it is better to set the player to output SDR BT2020 rather than HDR BT2020 when paired with a projector like the Epson HC5040UB? I keep hearing that SDR BT2020 is better for projectors since they can’t get close to the nits needed for HDR even with the player set to low light output projectors in the settings.

Cool video. I own the sony x950g. I believe the peak luminance of my tv is about 1250 nits. Should I set the player's "TV Type" setting to "Medium to High Luminance (1000 nits)" or "Super High Luminance (1500 nits)"?

Excellent excellent excellent video... on a side note my mrs bought my UB9000 from Richer Sounds Sheffield and I do use them for cables etc for my high end audiophile hifi setup. So I've switched on the optimiser on my 9000 and watched Warcraft in 4k DV, yes I can see the difference... in the bright areas how much it retains detail, wow what a difference... Thanks for the tip. Great video and you have inspired me to put a background onto my setup page... now to see if my mrs will let me lay our neighbours wife across our bed while get that perfect snap shot 😂😂😂 just kidding.. or am I...🤣🤣🤣 Vince we need a full vid when you can about this player... there is much I'm yet too learn about the best way to run this unit hooked up to my LG B755v keep doing what you do...

I’ve noticed that the UB-9000 has a high luminance projector option and the UB-820 does not, is this significant for people that own an HDR projector, or will the existing settings on the 820 serve?

Looking forward to seeing how it works on the zd9

So would this apply to a tv like the a80j? On the a80j gradation preferred is used by default for HDR. Can the Panasonic HDR optimizer be used with the gradation preferred?

Got to respect a man who prefers to keep his "shenanigans" on the down low.

Finally Vincent. Goin' up next level. I dont think so Lg was good panel choice to show the real magic. Would love to see GZ 2000 plus silver cable from Audio Quest plus UB9000 and then go straight to year 3000. Oppo cant match up Panasonic ,light years dfference,, We all learnin 'at the end.Have a good day everyone.

Do you recommend the DP-UB420 for a basic luminance projector? does it have those same options?

@HDTVTest What demo disk and scene are you using for this demo (actors with sun behind them)? Thanks

RS Manchester, Deansgate is my local too!

Looks great. I hope Panasonic returns to the US market.

Would this feature be beneficial when used in conjunction with jvc nx9 auto tone mapping? Or is that redundant and detrimental?

Would definitely get a Panasonic OLED and player if they still sold in the US 😩

Best explanation! I'm replacing my Sony X700 to Pana UB420 to have this feature. Thank u

I have the lg c7 oled. Through my Sony X700 uhd player, when I play dolby vision content, it is quite dark and/or has little if any peak highlights. When I turn off dolby vision in the X700 and force hdr, the highlights come back to a large extent. So being that the X700 doesn't tone map dolby vision, what's the solution to make that mode come through currently? Just only use hdr10?

Is the HDR Optimizer another name for Tone Mapping? I’m trying to turn off the Tone Mapping feature in my Panny 820 as I’ve just updated my Firmware on a JVC NX7 and the Tone Mapping on the Panny is no longer need. Any help is appreciated.

I have a Panasonic UB420 and just bought a sony x900h 75". What would you set the hdr optimizer to. I have it at its lowest setting 500nit. Ive seen that the sony can produce 730nit. Should I have it on the next setting up 1000nit? Thanks For any help.

So if I understand correctly...with my LG B9 I would be better to use the Basic luminance LCD setting rather than OLED setting?

Hello Vincent I have the UB820 connected to Panasonic GZ1500. Which device would you use to process HDR, the player or TV. Unless mistaken I think the TV has the same processing capabilities as the player…? Thanks for your help

Ok, so I have 75Q9FN calibrated by Maciej Koper from HDTVPolska, I see in my calibration report that measured nits on tv is 1890,5cd/m2. Super high luminance on panasonic is 1500 nits, also Q9FN has his own eotf curve which overblowns a little bit hdr. Should I be still interested in UB9000's?

What about if I have JVC N7. Will this help more ? Cause option already has it on jVC ? Thanks

So if you have the UB820 and want to use it with a projector which of of the options do you go with? Basic Luminance LCD?

Hi. I'm using an Epson 2250 projector (2700 lumens, 1080P resolution). When playing a 4k movie, which Panasonic (ub420) setting do you think would look better: 1. Panasonic set to 1080P output (let the Panasonic process the picture) 2. Panasonic set to 4k (4:4:4) output (the Epson would have to downconvert the 4k to 1080P). I would think the first option looks the best.

Very helpful Vincent. Great video. One comment - I found the youtube picture quality less brighter and slightly less enjoyable than other typical videos you've done. I dont know whether thats a function of your Blacklight camera trial. Pete

Vincent its looks very intrested this [HDR Optimiser] function on Panasonic if you have video projector. Old JVC projectors already show some information about MaxFALL and MaxCLL will this upgrade his function for bether tonemaping? Can you explain me if there are some of function SDR BT.2020 on this Panasonic? Thank you

I have a Samsung Q80r. It's rated for 1500 nits but according to Tech Radar it does "1200 cd/m (aka nits), using a 10 per cent HDR window.". Based on this should I use the High Luminance or Super High Luminance setting?

Is the calibrator option bot in the ub820 make a substantial difference in picture for an oled?

It's a shame that the Optimiser induces some slight posterisation (which I noticed even when using the Optimiser with a 1000-nit UHD that didn't need tone mapping, i.e. the mapping itself didn't change but some banding was introduced) but then I can smooth it out with the Smooth Gradation on Low on my ZD9. For content that's been encoded well enough then it's slight enough not to notice, but for stuff that's already a bit more fragile e.g. the bright sky in the final shot of Exodus on UHD disc then it can make it look worse.

Hello. How about SDR TV? any particular option on this blurry to improve performance quality or sound? Thanks.

Vincent I have a Sony x900f and currently using the Sony 800x UHD Blu ray player. I watch in theatre dark so I can't stand blooming. SDR looks great at brightness 1, but HDR has lots of blooming. I can lower the HDR brightness, but then the whole picture looks to dark. Would the Panasonic 820 HDR optimizer help with this? Like if I were to set it to the low luminance lcd, the peaks might not be as big of an issue with blooming right?

I saw a few people ask whether to use the HDR Optimiser along with the TV's HDR Dynamic Tone Mapping and from my experience with a LG C9 the answer is yes. Took the time to test using Fury Road with the Dynamic Tone Mapping on/off and on scenes that have brightness that exceeded the OLED limit (1000 nits), the Optimiser reigned it in to the 1000 nits and brought out more details in those bright areas. It did not affect the rest of the tones whether the rest of the scene was bright or dark. With the Optimiser off, the Dynamic Tone Mapping would darken the entire scene including the shadows to try and achieve this and still not bring as much detail as the Optimiser in the bright area. However with the Optimiser on bring the brights to the set limit (1000 nits in my case) and the Dynamic Tone Mapping set to on, it will map the rest of the scene, lightening as needed giving a brighter picture with more shadow detail since it reads that the scene is within the 1000 nits (so no darkening needed for the highlights) and it does a good job doing so IMO. I am using the UB-820. A great player because of this feature IMO. HTH and a BIG thank you for this video. Really helped me get the most out of my setup.

Hi there, great video. I just got an LG G3, should this setting be off or should it be set to Super High Luminance? Thx

Excellent review and explanation Vincent. I currently have a UB900 I wonder if it has the same capability.

Cani ask you if i use this type of player with a jvc rs45 1080p projector, can i benefit of hdr iven.if transduced to sdr ?

Can you explain how this may be different than the HDR -> SDR conversion by Sony players? Is that just an even more exaggerated version of this Panasonic player, or like the Panasonic’s “basic LCD” mode? I don’t have HDR tv (upgrading soon) but where do I set this at on my current tv? It’s got a slider bar but I don’t know exactly what is correct.

Would it have this added value when used with a JVC NP5 (RS1100) projector With JVC’s great HDR?

Hello Vincent, Thanks for the excellent video. How do you compare the Panasonic ub9000 to the Magnetar 900 and Reavon 200 in 2023? Thans in advance for your input !

@HDTVTest Are you sure that the picture looks more realistic? I've tried this feature myself, and I'm not convinced. If you stare into a spotlight, do you really see that much details in the light, or are you blinded (i.e. are the details blown out?)? I am worried that the HDR optimizer takes away the punch of explosions, lights etc. How would the sane content be represented on a Dolby Pulsar? What are your thoughts?

Hi Vincent. Keep coming back to this video as it's so good and informative. It's such a shame that the 820 does not have as many options and only the 9000 has all of them. One question I have, if you get the player and set the dynamic tone mapping on the player, should you disable it on the display (as the panasonic's is better) or have both? I'm going to get a new projector and have been looking at the Benq W2700 (it needs to be fairly short throw because of the size of the room). The W2700 has a dynamic iris and I'm wondering whether having the tone mapping on the Panasonic set to 'basic luminence projector' will mean that the iris is engaged less (because the peak brightness exceeds the capability of the projector less) or whether the dynamic iris will not be that clever and engage the same amount, therefore potentially robbing the picture of even more dynamism. It seems like potentially a match made in heaven, because the reviews for the W2700 I've seen praise the performance for the money, but a lot of them say the picture is a bit dim when receiving hdr and using the dynamic iris (a bit like your demo it sounds like it reduces the brightness of the picture generally). Do you have any thoughts?

If I have a TV capable of a peak brightness of close to 3,000 nuts would it make any sense to cap the peak brightness to 1500 in this case for the ultra high luminance panel? I think it would be better just to turn this feature off. or just get a player that costs less because it doesn't have this feature? like I have the Vizio p series quantum x which at least advertises a peak brightness of 3,000 nits

What if your LCD has Max Nits of 750? Should you choose the 1000 setting (MIddle or High) or the 500 setting (Basic)? My TV is a TCL 55P605

I just ordered this player to go with my Epson 5040 projector. I have a silver ticket grey screen. Any suggestions?

Is the Ub9000 the US model number too? Sorry if you said and I missed. Wanting to pair this with my JVC RS540.

Hi, I have a Samsung QLED Q80T which one I need to choose? Is it the Super Luminance LCD?

So is it recommended to use the dynamic tone mapping setting on an OLED with the Panasonic hdr optimizer on or turn off the setting on the tv and just let the Panasonic take care of the mapping?

Does HDR really have benefit on a PC monitor or lower luminance LCD TV?

* * * I'm trying to decide between the Samsung Q70R and the Sony X950G. As per your Reviews The Sony has a "Blooming Issue" which a scene with a dark back ground and a bright object will Bloom sometime even into the Black Bars and the Samsung does not do this but instead has a "Blach Crush Issue" where where there is a dark background and a bright object there is no "Blooming" and the Black Bars stay Black but it loses some Shadow Detail. Question: are there any Setting on the Panasonic that can Help either TV with their Issues or in the Sony TV Menu (to darken the Black Bars or on the Samsung Menu to Brighten the Picture just a touch ?

Can you do a video on the proper use of RGY and B buttons on the remote? Thanks

Hello, i did not realise you were based in Manchester. I would like to ask how much do you charge to calibrate a tv ?

Why is the LG not picking up Dolby Vision playback when the disc is started? It goes to regular HDR? I've had this problem, when I load Netflix on the panasonic the LG automatically changes to Dolby Vision HDR yet I play Bladerunner 2049 and LG reckons it's playing back in standard HDR

Hi Vincent, I have a Sony AF9 and the Panasonic UB820. You can't turn off the tone mapping of the AF9. Should I use the Panasonic HDR Optimiser on top or should I just stay with the Sony tone mapping?

I have a Samsung KS8000 (QLED) and Sony X800 UHD player. Will I notice a difference If I get this or a UB820?

They really need to start getting some standards for HDR content, it really is hit or miss for me; and pretty complicated to get it exactly the way I like it to look.

I'd like to see some tests with this on a 1500nit display as I suspect the benefits there will be far more subtle.

When i turn the hdr optimizer on the 9004 on , must turn the hdr optimizer on the lg c9 off or on? Thanks!

I have the UB820 and the LG C3 and I have no idea if I should use the TV dynamic tone mapping or the ub820’s. Obviously I want the tv’s one on for other content but for 4k Blu-ray Discs what would actually be better?

Great video! We have the Panasonic UB820 and a Sony A9F Master series TV. Would you recommend using the HDR Optimiser on the UB820 with this combo of TV/Player? As far as I can tell you can't seem to turn off tone mapping on the A9F? Thanks!

Are HDR Display Type option also available on the UB450?

Which is the best hdr picture mode on a tv set eg LG C line with this player? Filmmaker mode? With Dtm off.