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@ Keith Mukai
2024-03-13 15:02:34I recently completed my home 7.1.4 speaker setup and have been really enjoying digging into high-end Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision material. Playing around with nip23 long-form content to share this kind of niche nerd stuff that doesn't quite make sense as a regular nostr note.
tldr: For videophiles there's really only one option: ~$450 Panasonic UB820. Just do it.
Videophile nerd standards hell
I'll have to do a post to really dig into the 4k UHD video formats: HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision.
The short version:
HDR10 is the baseline high-dynamic range format that's on all 4k UHD blu-ray discs. Better than HD / 1080p blu-rays due to HDR10's greater dynamic range (duh!), more intense contrast, and richer colors. But HDR10 is an inherently compromised HDR format compared to the two more advanced options below.
HDR10+ is an optional enhancement that maximizes the data on the disc (more data and more efficient usage of that data). Part of this additional data — dynamic metadata — is a ginormous game-changer. Imagine an opening scene that's way too bright. So you dial back the Brightness control on your TV. But now dark scenes are way too dark. That one Brightness control is just too blunt a tool to give you good results over an entire movie. HDR10 is (metaphorically) limited to that one Brightness control. HDR10+'s dynamic metadata is like the cinematographer adjusting it for you on a shot-by-shot basis. Absolutely massive improvement. Except there are almost no 4k blu-rays that use it.
Dolby Vision ("DV") does everything HDR10+ does, but better (has even more, richer data!). Dolby Vision leaps further out in front because it also incorporates a kind of communication layer with a DV-capable TV to optimize how the content is displayed, including locking down certain adjustment options. No tweaking; just hit play. BLISSFULLY relaxing for an otherwise OCD videophile! It is the best format we have to watch video content. Period. It's well worth it. And more and more content (especially streaming, but also 4k blu-rays) is in Dolby Vision.
Dearth of Dolby Vision-capable players 😢
My original 4k blu-ray player (from 2016!!), a Samsung UBD-K8500, only supported baseline HDR10.
My Xbox One X can output Dolby Vision (and maybe HDR10+?) but only for streaming services (e.g. Netflix) or gaming. On-disc Dolby Vision is not supported because — this seems beyond ridiculous — the onboard laser hardware literally cannot read the DV data off a 4k blu-ray disc.
Current-gen Xbox Series One and the PS5 can't read disc-based DV data, either. wtf?
Look carefully at the specs for cheap, dedicated 4k blu-ray players. Very few support Dolby Vision.
Triple-layer disc woes
Another really dumb technology problem: the biggest 4k blu-ray discs have 100GB of data stored on three different layers but plenty of players — including the prominent gaming consoles — are reported to freeze or skip ~2/3 of the way through a movie when the laser tries to refocus itself to the third data layer. Or they'll struggle to even load the intro menus.
Again, wtf? Does this tech shit work or not?
So even if you find a more affordable 4k blu-ray player with Dolby Vision support (they do exist), odds are that it'll still struggle on some 100GB discs. Because those triple-layer discs store the most data, they offer the best possible picture quality. The reference-quality, demo-worthy 4k blu-rays will fill a 100GB disc. So if you want to experience the best that the format can offer, your player better be able to read triple-layer discs reliably.
So there's only one option
It's the Panasonic UB820.
It's not cheap but it's not a back-breaker, either. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support. Flawless reads for triple-layer discs. There are other, more expensive players that can achieve all this. But there are zero cheaper players that can do it.
Yes, it's worth it
If your TV supports Dolby Vision — and especially if it's rated for more than 1000 nits — then the Panasonic UB820 is just a must-have for any hardcore videophile.
"nits" are a measure of how bright the screen can get. I call this out specifically because all the HDR formats can be authored to target intensities beyond 1000 nits. That's when the dynamic range of your TV really starts to impress.
If your TV can't go that bright, it does its best to smoothly ignore the extra-bright (or extra intense color) information.
But if it CAN go that intense, whoa baby is it amazing! And with Dolby Vision optimizing how that intensity is mapped to your TV... just pure videophile nerd bliss.