GoKawiilThe Panasonic DP-UB450 is pretty basic as far as 4K Blu-ray players go -- for instance, there's no streaming services or analog outputs for connecting to a stereo system. Yet, the things it does include make it my pick for the dedicated player you should be buying in 2026. Of Panasonic's four "entry level" players -- the DP-UB420, DP-UB450, DP-UB154 and DP-UB150 -- the UB450 is the only one which includes Dolby Vision. So it's already the best for compatibility with your 4K disc collection.
Compatibility is nothing without performance, however, and I now use the Panasonic DP-UB450 as my main player in my test system. The reason is because it's actually better at playing some scenes better than the industry standard (and long outdated) Oppo UDP-203 and UDP-205. I use a scene from the movie 1917, specifically chapter 13. On the Oppo player, the dark scene appears washed out with "raised blacks," but when playing on the Panasonic, the scene is the same as you'll see on HDR streaming services -- with plenty of contrast and lots of low-level details.
Though I have not tested the step-up DP-UB820, the main differences appear to be better build quality, analog outputs and better upscaling of DVDs. As far as competition is concerned, there is also the Sony U700U, but it costs a little more than the UB450 and appears to have a very similar feature set. With the Panasonic UB450, I think that most people, especially those with large 4K collections, can simply let their TV natively upscale DVDs and enjoy high-quality HDR movies at a decent price.