If you’re on the market for something that will satisfy your craving for 4K, then the Panasonic DMP-UB700 is where it’s at. It’s essentially a slimmed down DMP UB900 but with the capability of playing regular Blu-rays, in addition to DVDs and CDs, making it the best 4K blu ray player for anyone with a large visual and audio collection.
Why We Like It – Panasonic DMP-UB700
A trimmed down DMP-UB900 without bells and whistles, but still providing high resolution 4K UHD, hi-res audio file playback and backwards compatibility with audio CDs, DVDs, and regular Blu-rays.
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- Excellent image quality
- Hi-Res audio file playback
- Backwards compatible
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- Lack of DVD-Audio & Super Audio CD
- Lack of analogue audio output
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Performance
What’s most impressive about the Panasonic DMP UB700 is how accommodating it is. Paired with a 4K TV, you obviously get some of the best image quality in the business. Color accuracy and fine detail are as good as they’ll ever be at this point, going toe-to-toe with other blu ray players like its brother, the Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Player. It’s equally impressive sliding in regular Blu ray discs or DVDs. Digital audio was nearly as good, but lacks DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. It makes up for this with its superb Hi-Res audio file playback.
Design
The design of the Panasonic DMP-UB700 isn’t very inspiring. Place it next to an LG UBK80 in a dimly lit room and you’d hardly tell the difference aside from the logo. Thankfully, that doesn’t affect its performance. The outputs in the back are bare minimum. Two HDMI outputs are available, with one being strictly Audio Out. Though it lacks analogue audio output, it makes up for it with an optical digital output. Pretty standard stuff, as is the remote control. It has a few options for streaming and your typical Blu-ray buttons.
Value
We found, during our Panasonic DMP UB700 review, that it’s increasingly hard to get your hands on one. Panasonic doesn’t even list it on their site. Even its more expensive model, the DMP-UB900 is hard to find. So, what do you do? You can go with the Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Player. It’s packed with just about every feature the DMP-UB700 is, and priced about the same. Alternatively, if you want just straight 4K, the Sony Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Player is half the price.
Panasonic DMP-UB700 Wrap Up
The Panasonic DMP-UB700 is a good 4K UHD machine—if you can get your hands on one. It’s a slimmed down DMP-UB900, subtracting DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD, and analogue audio output for a cheaper price tag. It still offers that high end image and color quality with Hi-Res audio and DVD/Blu-ray backwards compatibility.
