New Magnetar UDP800 Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Review

[SRW1000]

For those of you looking for a premium product to replace your beloved Oppo player, Sound and Vision just posted David's review of the UDP800:

Magnetar UDP800 Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Review | Sound & Vision (soundandvision.com)

Looks like this thing is built like a tank!  One minor problem, though.  It's billed as a universal player, but it won't play any of my old HD DVD movies.  

It's out of my price range, but I'm sure that there are some here that will be interested in it.  Looks like a fantastic player.

[David Vaughn]

For those of you looking for a premium product to replace your beloved Oppo player, Sound and Vision just posted David's review of the UDP800:

Magnetar UDP800 Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Review | Sound & Vision (soundandvision.com)

Looks like this thing is built like a tank!  One minor problem, though.  It's billed as a universal player, but it won't play any of my old HD DVD movies. 

It's out of my price range, but I'm sure that there are some here that will be interested in it.  Looks like a fantastic player.

Thanks for posting Scott. I'll answer any questions people have. It's very expensive, that's for sure, but I think Oppo would still be selling players today if they priced their players at "market rates." As we've seen, people were willing to pay much more for them than they were selling them for. The UDP-203 should have been priced at at least $799, if not higher. 

[DLCPhoto]

Thanks for posting Scott. I'll answer any questions people have. It's very expensive, that's for sure, but I think Oppo would still be selling players today if they priced their players at "market rates." As we've seen, people were willing to pay much more for them than they were selling them for. The UDP-203 should have been priced at at least $799, if not higher.

I have both UB420 and UB820, and have 2 UHD Discs where both players choke at particular timestamps. I would be curious to find out if this player would play those discs (which presumably have a slight physical defect that is more than the Panny's can deal with). Did you happen to run into anything like this, where the Magnetar played a disc that the UB820 couldn't?

[David Vaughn]

I have both UB420 and UB820, and have 2 UHD Discs where both players choke at particular timestamps. I would be curious to find out if this player would play those discs (which presumably have a slight physical defect that is more than the Panny's can deal with). Did you happen to run into anything like this, where the Magnetar played a disc that the UB820 couldn't?

Yes...Victoria (BBC Series), Season 3, Disc 1. Would never play correctly in the Panasonic (when you chose episode 1, it would always play episode 2). In fact, you could never get to episode 1 on the Panasonic. No issue on the Magnetar.

Titanic UHD would pixelate on the Panasonic but the Magnetar played it perfectly. 

[DLCPhoto]

Yes...Victoria (BBC Series), Season 3, Disc 1. Would never play correctly in the Panasonic (when you chose episode 1, it would always play episode 2). In fact, you could never get to episode 1 on the Panasonic. No issue on the Magnetar.

Titanic UHD would pixelate on the Panasonic but the Magnetar played it perfectly.

Thanks Dave - very interesting.

Does this player also support "Source Direct" - meaning 1080p HD Discs are sent as 1080p, and 2160 UHD Discs are sent as 2160p?

The Panny's do not, which is why I have 2 of them: one is configured for 1080p output, which I use with HD Discs, so the Envy can handle the upscaling (and the other configured for 2160p, for UHD Discs).

Crazy expensive, though...

[Craig Peer]

These are good players but the Reavon X100 works for me, plays discs that the Oppo tripped up on, and has source direct too. And separate video and audio HDMI outs.

[David Vaughn]

Thanks Dave - very interesting.

Does this player also support "Source Direct" - meaning 1080p HD Discs are sent as 1080p, and 2160 UHD Discs are sent as 2160p?

The Panny's do not, which is why I have 2 of them: one is configured for 1080p output, which I use with HD Discs, so the Envy can handle the upscaling (and the other configured for 2160p, for UHD Discs).

Crazy expensive, though...

Yes...this feature was added with a firmware late last year. 

[SRW1000]

Todd at AV NIRVANA will be hosting a livestream with Scott Bradshaw, Magnetar's VP of Consumer Experience on Monday, 12/30/24 at 6:00 PM Eastern.

Here's a link to the announcement post:  On the Next AV NIRVANA Live, Magnetar Joins the Stream to Talk Discs and Its Universal Disc Players! | AV NIRVANA

Here's a link to the livestream placeholder:  



Todd has always been really good at monitoring the chat and presenting viewers' questions to their guests, so this is a great chance to learn and get answers to anything you might be curious about.  I've participated in these before and always been impressed by how well the Q&A part has been handled, with Todd even doing follow ups after the stream has ended.