Stock and availability does vary from region to region, however.
In terms of picture quality, 4KHDRimages look fantastic through the UB154, with excellent detail and contrast.
Design-wise, this is a very simple machine.
The Panasonic DP-UB154’s (pictured) menus are much more stripped back compared to the more premium Panasonic DP-UB820
The disc tray can also be slow to respond and feels a little flimsy.
However, it still has a fairly solid overall design for the price.
For audio playback, it supports hi-res (via USB) and CD.
The Panasonic DP-UB154 lack connectivity options compared to more premium 4K Blu-ray players
The UB154 doesnt support SACD discs, so youll need to upgrade to theMagnetar UDP800if thats what youre after.
HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG support are onboard, but not Dolby Vision.
For music files, the UB154 can decode FLAC, WAV, ALAC, DSD and AIFF.
4K pictures, as shown byGodzilla vs Kong, look particularly good through the Panasonic DP-UB154
Connectivity on the UB154 is more limited compared to the Panasonic DP-UB820.
The simple, stripped-back nature of the UB154 also carries across to its menus andoperating system.
The Panasonic UB154 performs well and is easy enough to navigate, but can sometimes be slow to respond.
The Panasonic DP-UB154’s disc tray can be a little slow to open
The software within the UB-154 would also stutter and pause at times, but this happened infrequently.
This was sometimes marginally quicker, but overall a minute was the norm.
For testing, I used aPanasonic MZ1500OLEDTV as the display with the Filmmaker picture preset mode active.
The supplied remote for the Panasonic UB-154 is a little on the small and cheap side
I first checked out 4K Blu-rays on the UB154 and despite the budget price, pictures looked fantastic.
Textures were incredibly detailed, with the scales on Godzilla coming across as well-defined without being too crisp.
Its worth noting that so you can get HDR10+ on the UB154, youll need a compatible TV.
Other TVs that support the format include theHisense U8KandPhilips OLED808.
Although the 4K Blu-ray ofMaverickdoes not support HDR10+, the picture was nonetheless impressive in the default HDR10 format.
To test 4K upscaling, I used the same scene fromGodzilla vs Kongon regular Blu-ray.
Moving on to DVD, I watchedThe Amazing Spider-Man.
Upscaling was not as effective as on the Panasonic UB820, but it still did a very good job.
Bass and vocals balanced well with each other, with the vocals coming through clean and clear.
Its also very light, weighing just 1.2kg compared to the UB820s 2.8kg.
The supplied remote for the UB154 is on the light and small side and cheaply made.
Panasonic DP-UB154 review: Should I buy it?
This is a shot of the Panasonic DP-UB820, but the testing process for the DP-UB154 was exactly the same.
You want Dolby Vision supportThe UB154 supports HDR10+ but not Dolby Vision.
For that, you’ll have to look to other players such as the pricier Panasonic DP-UB820.
It has more connections than the UB154 including optical and Wi-Fi capabilities but comes at a higher price.
As a result, you will be paying a lot more money in comparison.
Here’s ourReavon UBR-X100 review.
I watched the same scene across multiple formats inGodzilla vs Kongto test upscaling effectiveness as well.
