Supreme with 4K HDR Blu-ray discs but also a cracking all-round media player, Panasonic's DMP-UB900 is a must-have for AV enthusiasts. 4K Netflix and Amazon on board First-class audio CD playback Hard to justify if you don't have an HDR TV Some elements of the UI look clunky Chassis is a fingerprint magnet Update: Panasonic recently announced that it will bring the DMP-UB900 4K UHD Blu-ray player to the US starting in September for $700. It may have landed several months later than promised, but the arrival of 4K UHD Blu-ray is perfectly timed to partner the first out-of-the-box HDR (High Dynamic Range) TVs – and the result is a marriage made in AV heaven.Ultra HD Blu-ray is no small incremental improvement over 1080p – it ushers in a level of picture performance that hasn't been seen in the home before. We know that 4K streaming services from Netflix and Amazon look good, but what we have here is a class apart.The DMP-UB900 is the first Ultra-HD Blu-ray player to launch in the UK, sneaking in ahead of Samsung's K8500.
It's better specced that its rival, and that's reflected in the steeper £599 price point (that's about $855 / AU$1,125 – pricing and availability for the US and Australia have yet to be announced). It's also certified by THX as a 4K source component, another first.Design-wise the UB900 looks much like Panasonic's previous high-end Blu-ray player, the DMP-BDT700. Behind the translucent drawbridge fascia the disc tray sits off to the left, with a USB port and SD slot beneath the central display.There are two HDMI outputs on the rear. One delivers sound and vision, while the other is intended for audio only. In a typical home cinema setup all source components route via an AV receiver, but for this player you'll ideally need a receiver with HDMI 2.0a HDCP 2.2-compatible inputs.Absent one of those you can route the Video/Audio output direct to your 4K screen, leaving the audio HDMI to route multichannel sound to the amp.Additional connections include 7.1 analogue outputs, plus a stereo phono pair and two digital audio outs (optical and coaxial).
Networking is via Ethernet or dual-band Wi-Fi. The player also supports Miracast, for smartphone mirroring.Build quality is solid, with a nice finish, but the chassis is an unapologetic fingerprint magnet. The deck ships with a glossy IR remote.Built for 4K entertainmentThe raison d'etre of the UB900 is to play 4K HDR Blu-rays, but the deck is also backwards-compatible with standard Blu-rays (including 3D discs), DVDs and CDs.The player reviewed here is a stock UK release, which is to say Blu-ray support is geo-locked to Region B, while DVD playback adheres to Region 2. For other regional variants the same local rules apply. The good news is that all 4K UHD Blu-rays are region-free, which means any player will play any 4K disc.The UB900 is also an accomplished media streamer and file playback device. Network content services include Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, both of which are 4K enabled, plus BBC iPlayer, BBC News and Sport, MySpace, YouTube and DailyMotion (amongst others).A versatile DLNA media player for USB and networked sources offers codec support for MKV, MP4, MOV and MPEG2 video files.
Audio is similarly well catered for, covering DSD (both 2.8 and 5.6MHz), AAC, ALAC, FLAC, MP3, WAV and WMA.Explore the menus and you'll find plenty to tweak, particularly on the audio side. There's a Dialogue Enhancer, which lifts the centre channel level, and 7.1 channel audio reformatting for 5.1 soundtracks, if you play out in PCM. For Dolby Atmos you'll want to leave the player outputting bitstream though.In fact, there are so many minor settings adjustments that can be made that it's easy to get confused; when bamboozled, remember that Automatic is usually your best friend.For all its cleverness though, the UB900 is not averse to looking daft. The screen saver is literally a box with the words 'screen saver' displayed inside – it's almost as if the text was put there as a placeholder, and then forgotten about. Pretty much anything else would have been preferable.Pristine performanceSo how good is 4K Blu-ray? In a word: amazing. The detail and colour depth available is stunning. Disaster flick San Andreas proves to be a visual feast.
4K Blu-ray streams off disc at the best part of 100Mbps, compared to Netflix at 15Mbps, and has 10-bit colour with HDR grading.I auditioned the player with Panasonic's 65-inch DX902 Ultra-HD Premium set, and I had to scoop my jaw repeatedly from the floor.For 2160 50/60 content an HDMI cable that supports 18Gbps is required. If your TV only supports 2160/24p you'll be able to get away with something slower.Optimum picture quality is display-dependant. For comparison, I used the player with a non-HDR 4K panel. While its pictures still looked terrific, image quality wasn't quite so dramatic. An 8-bit 4K panel with SDR performance really doesn't show the format off to its best advantage.Indeed, a comparison between The Lego Movie in 4K SDR and its regular BD counterpart, upscaled on the same 4K screen, reveals few obvious differences. The same comparison on a bright HDR screen is (literally) night and day. Regardless of HDR, 4K disc playback needs an HDMI TV input with HDCP 2.2 support.The deck is also a superior music player.
The UB900 may not support legacy disc formats DVD-A or SACD, but it does a fabulous job of upsampling and massaging standard CDs. The deck's 192kHz upconversion is brilliant, while a so-called Sound Effects settings menu offers up some really nice refinements. There's a trio of audio resampling modes which lift upper frequency response, tailored to pop/rock, jazz and classical.My favourite tweaks, though, are the Digital Tube presets, of which there are six. These emulate the characteristics of vacuum tube amplifiers, and while that might sound hokey, give them a try – I really dug Digital Sound Tube 2.Amazon Echo as well as the Amazon Echo Dot are finally on sale in the UK, two years after the devices were launched in the US.The 10 best launch partners for Amazon Echo's Alexa The unveiling came in September, after weeks of rumours and reports, and the original Amazon Echo started shipping on September 28. The Echo Dot went on sale on October 20.UK launch partners include Just Eat, Uber, and Spotify and users can order a taxi or get a meal delivered with just a few sentences of voice commands.
The price for the UK version of Amazon Echo is £149.99 and it's available now, in black and white.A smaller version of the Echo with the same Alexa abilities, the Echo Dot, is available for £49.99 and will ship on October 20. The Dot can also be paired with smart thermostats and plugs.WIRED has confirmed that the Dot does not need an Echo to work.Amazon Echo is a voice-activated home audio speaker system with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. It's a cylindrical speaker that uses a personal voice assistant named Alexa. /k5VRjUiNVf— Jeremy White (@jeremywired) September 14, 2016 The Echo is always connected to Wi-Fi, allowing you to connect it to your home network and access cloud services. Alexa is the 'wake word' for the device and acts very much in the same way Siri does on iOS. Alexa will fulfil your spoken commands, such as setting an alarm or finding the answer to a question you may have.The Echo is always learning, to adapt to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences.
The reason it has taken so long to get to Europe is because Alexa needed to learn enough accents."Alexa been in UK and Germany in over 1,000 homes learning accents - we wouldn't ship it until the experience was enjoyable," Limp told WIRED.The Bluetooth aspect means Amazon Echo and the Amazon Echo Dot doubles up as a 360-degree speaker, allowing you to play music from any Bluetooth-enabled device. It offers hands-free voice control for Amazon Music, Prime Music, Spotify and other streaming services.Even when you're playing music, Echo can use one of its seven hidden mics and so-called 'beam forming technology' to always be able to hear your next request, in spite of how loudly you like your music.Alexa can also learn new skills, such as enabling the device to connect to the seven-minute workout app for instance, on command. Owners can tap 'Your Skills' in the Skills section of the Alexa app to see which skills have been enabled on the device.For customers who have multiple Echo devices within hearing distance, Amazon’s ESP technology intelligently calculates the clarity of the customer’s voice and determines which Echo is closest and should respond to the request—instantly.
This feature is smart and its performance gets better over time, so ESP will continuously improve as you use Echo. This feature is now available to customers using both Echo and Echo Dot, with a software update pushed to Echo devices already in use.In the US, Amazon partnered with brands such as Domino's and Uber to allow you to order a pizza and request a taxi using through Alexa. At the UK launch, the firm announced it has partnered with Jamie Oliver, Spotify, JustEat, Network Rail and also Uber.In the home, Echo will work with devices such as lights and switches from companies including Philips Hue and SmartThings. Click here to find the compatible smart home connected devices that will work with Echo.Elsewhere, Alexa can make shopping easier. You can ask her to put items on your Amazon shopping list as well as order Prime products you’ve purchased before. After a purchase has been made, check the product and order details in the Alexa App. It is possible to turn off this setting, and input elements such as the need for a speakable confirmation code, to prevent it being taken advantage of.
In addition to the features that launched with the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot, there have been a number of additions. These launched on the same day the Echo Dot went on sale in the UK.Now, Prime members using Echo or Echo Dot can say “order paper towels,” “order dog food” or “buy some LEGO” and Alexa will find a product that ships with Prime and apply available discounts. Just say “Yes” to buy it.Elsewhere, Echo and Echo Dot owners can manage their to-do lists, get Champions League scores and more. The Alexa Skills Kit recently added a new List Skill API, and now customers can integrate Todoist and Any.do lists with Alexa, with the ability to add items to your Alexa Shopping or To Do List.Set the default list provider in your Alexa app, and then say “Alexa, add laundry detergent to my shopping list” and it’ll integrate directly into your preferred list service, whether that is Todoist, Any.do, or Alexa. Amazon told WIRED that more list services are coming soon.The device measures 9.3 x 3.3 x 3.3 inches (235mm x 84mm x 84mm) and weighs 37.5 oz, or 1,064 grams.
It comes with dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi and supports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks.It does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks, though.Elsewhere, it has a 2.5-inch woofer and 2-inch tweeter.Out of the box, Amazon Echo comes ready to connect to Wi-Fi and its Alexa App is compatible with Fire OS, Android, and iOS devices and also via a web browser.Every Echo sold comes with a one-year limited warranty and service included and included in the box is a power adapter, and quick start guideWIRED had a brief, albeit crowded, hands-on with the Echo running Alexa at the UK launch event.Admittedly we were asking the device questions from a list of approved queries on the demo station surrounded by other journalists all chatting away – but this, in fact showed Alexa’s beam forming and echo cancelling capabilities using that seven-microphone array really works when attempting to lock in on someone calling on the digital assistant in a party environment.
The effect is impressive and inspires confidence in using Echo even in conditions where one would normally not bother trying.The price for the UK version of Amazon Echo is £149.99. Amazon Prime customers can get it for a limited time at a discount of £50, dropping it to £99.99.Alexa comes complete with its own set of enabled-devices that will also be available:Amazon Tap is a smaller version of the Echo and allows users to be connected to Alexa on-the-go, available in the US. The focus with the Tap is more on music quality. It has dual speakers with Dolby processing and 360-degree omnidirectional audio. Unlike the Echo, which is always ready with Alexa, you have to 'tap' the microphone button on the Tap device to access Alexa's help.The Tap has a range of 'sling' cases in different colours to protect your device on the move, and a nine-hour battery life.No release date has been set for the Tap in the UK.The Echo dot is even smaller than the Tap. It is a disc-shaped device that has all the elements of the Echo;
connects to Alexa voice service and can connect to speakers over Bluetooth, but in a smaller space.The new and updated Dot features a more powerful speech processor than the previous generation, to deliver improved far-field speech recognition accuracy.The small device will be available to buy from Amazon's website as a single device or in multipacks: buy five and get one free, or buy 10 and get two free.If you have more than one Echo-type device, or two of the same, you can set different 'wake words' in order to not confuse all your smart devices.The new Echo Spatial Perception (ESP) in the devices means that if you have multiple Echo devices within hearing distance, the technology will detemine which Echo is closest to your voice and respond to the request. This feature will be avaiable as a free update to all Echo devices, in the coming weeks.Now that the Echo and its companion Alexa are becoming more widespread, we may see the integration of Alexa into more products.Amazon recently upgraded its Fire TV Stick to include a remote that has Alexa capability.
Owners will be able to use their voices to find content to watch from over 7,000 HD channels.The new Fire stick is being released in America on October 20 for $39.99 (£30.74), but there is no word yet from Amazon about when it will be available in the UK.Orion Labs has created the Onyx, for example – a wearable communication accessory you can clip onto your shirt or wear it as a pendant necklace. It allows you to transmit real-time voice messages to other Onyx users.Orion has announced that, from October, the Onyx will have Amazon's Alexa built in. This means you will be able to access any Alexa skill, such as ordering pizza and Uber cars, through the Onyx. You just won't be able to play music through it.Amazon recently announced the Alexa Prize, an annual competition designed to improve conversational artificial intelligence (AI). The goal of the inaugural competition is to build a “socialbot” on Alexa that will talk to people about popular topics and news events.The team with the highest-performing socialbot will win a $500,000 prize.
