Panasonic Streaming 4K Blu Ray Player, Ultra HD Premium Video Playback with Hi-Res Audio, Voice Assist – DP-UB420-K (Black)

This is a great player. The picture and sound quality are superb.I gave the “User Interface” only 3 stars, because: The unit only comes with a Basic Owner’s manual, which is VERY limited. You need to go on the web to dig into what this player is capable of doing and that is about everything except make your breakfast! I have not had time to go through everything. But one item I use often is subtitles. There is a button on the remote for subtitles, however It does not always work on older DVDs or perhaps all DVDs. You have to know if the subtitles are digital or analog! In other words when you push the “CC” button to get subtitles, good luck. If you use your DVD player to stream (which I do) the only streaming service I have been able to get the player to lock into is Prime Video. Have not been able to get my VUDU account to come up. So it is a good thing that I have the Apple TV 4K !I would also like to mention the Remote Control. Why do they have to make it so the buttons are so small, except for the NETFLIX button which I keep pushing when using the arrow keys?Bottom line: I bought this player for the quality of the picture and sound when watching 4K, Blu ray and regular DVDs, then this machine shines.

Unlike my last 4k player, the Sony x700, bought early this year, this Panasonic is head and shoulders better. It does everything it does better than the Sony–not just a little better–a lot better. It’s real close to perfect, imo. Don’t buy the x700 Sony player unless you plan to start a betting pool on whether or not your streaming movies from Netflix and Amazon or your DVDs, your BluRays, or your 4k discs will lock up and freeze–or you want to take bets on how often a single stream or disc will lockup and freeze. The only relief for the Sony x700 when it locks up (not if) is a power off. I’m not anti-Sony by any means, in fact I originally bought the x700 because my streaming and BluRay experience with my prior Sony BluRay player was excellent–not a single freeze or lockup in years of use–right up until Amazon Prime Video dropped the player due to its obsolescence. If you are skeptical, just Bing/Google/Duck “Sony x700 freezes” or something similar and you will be amazed at how many similar reports you will discover. Unfortunately, for me, I bought the x700 before I did my usual due diligence on my experience with my last Sony player/streamer because that experience had been so good. One guy I read commented that he had never had a lockup with his x700 over a 17-month period; another guy I read commented in various AV forums that he had to swap his x700 out *five times* before he got one that wouldn’t freeze. It’s such a common experience with the x700 that Sony even addresses the freezes on the official support site for the x700, and provides power-cycling instructions.The only thing the UB420-k doesn’t have that some people want these days is Dolby Vision support. I don’t have a DV television, just an HDR 10 television, and didn’t want to pay $200 more for the UB-820 just to get Dolby VIsion support…;) (The x700 supports Dolby Vision, but in a constantly freezing product, who cares?)Even the settings pages for the UB420 are simple, direct, extremely easy to understand, and every setting has an explanation included on-screen. The interface couldn’t be simpler to use. Just tick the feature boxes down the list and the UB-420 does it right. (The Sony x700 setting pages were enough to confuse even me, and I like to think I know what I’m doing…;))One last comparative comment: the remote for the UB420 is far superior to the one included with the x700–because it not only is ~33% larger, which allows you to feel your way around the buttons comfortably, it also means the keys are often larger and spaced further apart. It’s very comfortable in my hands in use.I read the negative comments about the UB-420 in this forum and they left me shaking my head…;) Not even close to my own experience. It works seamlessly and perfectly with my Sony AV receiver-amp, as well, btw.Last, after ~48 total hours of disc playing consisting of DVD movies, BluRay movies and 4k movies, it’s a joy to report not a single lockup or freeze! (I use a ROKU Ultra to stream these days.)

After 3 Sony units failing us in 3 months decided to try Panasonic. Has been perfect thus far with no complaints.

I received this DVD player as a gift for Christmas. I got it set up in less than 5 minutes and watched two DVDs. The picture quality was incredible, even on a 1973 film-based DVD displayed on a 1080p monitor. The sound was excellent as well.

This unit is a huge improvement over my 8 year old Panasonic that looks identical, even the remote. It can take an older rather blurry DVD produced by the BBC/Acorn and render it crisp and new looking.Another absolutely wonderful feature is the CC (Closed caption) button on the remote. Some of these same BBC Acorn DVDs come with captioning embedded in them, but they’re not available via the main menu as in most US produced DVD/Blu-Rays. Somehow in the UK they play using a remote, but I’ve never been able to access the captions on these before. This button allows access, which for a deaf person is a wonderful thing. It’d be even better if the remote were back-lit.I bought the Atevon 4K HDMI Cable 6 Foot recommended in another review; I agree this really enhances the picture.Someone asked why I didn’t just buy a cheap player, since “everything streams these days”, (no it doesn’t); these two improvements above, which are huge for me, are why.Update: 10/10/22: An older movie that I’ve never really been able to watch is the US-made Hallmark produced “The Love Letter” (1998) starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. Box says it has CC, but it’s not on the disc menu – people even complain about it in their reviews of the DVD. The fantastic “cc button” on the upper right hand side of the remote magically made the never-before-seen Closed Captions appear, and suddenly I could understand why this is such a popular movie.