• Home
• 3D Blu-Ray Players
• BUY NOW
• Blu Ray Facts
• Blu Ray FAQ
• Firmware Updates
• Glossary
• Contact Us

• Where to Buy Blu-Ray Players?
• List of Top 5 Best Blu-Ray Players
• Cheap Blu-Ray Players
• Hot Deal Alerts
• Privacy Policy

LG BD370 Blu Ray Player Review

LG was first to introduce the Blu-ray/HDDVD hybrid back when there was two competing formats. It’s not surprising that LG was the first to introduce network capable Blu-ray player in the LG BD300 with Netflix streaming. At this year’s CES, most of the Blu-ray manufacturers announced their second generation players. Samsung also included Netflix streaming with their new players while Panasonic added Viera Cast streaming to their players. LG BD370 is no exception. The BD370 model continues the inclusion of Netflix as well as addition of Youtube compatibility. In line with other second generation players, LG BD370 adds additional features not found on the LG BD 300 model. At 2009 CES, LG announced two new mainstream Blu-ray players. The BD 370 is the entry level model while BD390 is aimed at higher end market.

Features

The features on BD 370 are comparable to the features found on the new Samsung BDP-1600 and Panasonic DMP-BD60. It is profile 2.0 player with USB and RJ-45 ports. All of the high definition audio decoding options are present including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Another feature that’s being more and more integrated into the Blu-ray player is the integration of remote functions for same brand A/V equipments. LG calls their integration the LG SimpLink. It behaves similar to the Sharp Aquos Link where you can operate the television via one remote. Most of the manufacturers including Sony and Samsung also feature similar functionality. As with BD300, the BD370 features Netflix streaming. Combined with Youtube access, the NetCast offers free Netflix trial out of the box. Also, LG has promised to introduce CinemaNow by May. CinemaNow works like video on demand provided by the cable or DirecTV. While Netflix does offer streaming, most of the newer movies aren’t offered for streaming. CinemaNow should fill in the gap quite nicely.

Modern design?

Although I don’t consider design to be a big factor in purchasing a Blu-ray disc player, the LG BD370 offers a nice looking player. The dominant feature of the design is the flip down tray on either side of the silver square badge in the middle. The left side hides the disc tray while the right side houses the playback functions, USB port, and LCD for playback information. The silver badge in the middle has two playback functions on the bottom corner of the badge while the power button is placed in the middle. This design does add some cool look as well as functionality. The only drawback is the placement of USB port. If you want to utilize the BD-LIVE functions, you need to have USB drive plugged into the port. This means you have to keep the tray in open position. The USB port at the back of the player would have been a better placement.

The back of the player includes the HDMI, audio, and RJ-45 ports. The BD370 comes with standard component video and analog audio output. It also comes with both optical and coaxial digital audio output. If you need the 7.1 channel analog out, you will need to purchase the BD390 model due out in May.

Aesthetics of remote, a sight to see

The included remote is very functional remote. The layout is pretty good with directional buttons in the middle and the special function buttons separated by different colors. The playback function buttons are located below the special function buttons. The numeric buttons and other less used buttons are hidden beneath the sliding cover at the bottom of the remote. This was nice design feature as it hides away the seldom used buttons. I found this design to be really nice as it made the remote less cluttered. If you need to use the numeric buttons often, this might cause some hassle. But, most users will appreciate the out of sight numeric buttons.

Picture is worth a thousand..... well you get the "picture"?

A lot of defects in video processing seen on first generation players are virtually eliminated in the newer players. The major brand players all have similar video qualities. It’s fairly difficult to spot any video processing defects like in first generation players. BD370 is no exception. Put through several different movies, the player handles them without any deficiency in video processing. The player handled Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Marley and Me without any hitch in true 1080p 24fps format. The upcoversion of regular DVDs were also fantastic. In some cases, the upconverted DVDs looked almost as good as the Blu-ray discs. Most viewers will have no problem with the video quality. As with other newer players, BD370 improves significantly on the loading times. All three Blu-ray discs took less than 25 seconds to load which is fairly fast by any standard.

An earful for audiophiles

The audio performance boils down to the decoding options. Depending on the sound system setup, most users won’t be able to discern different audio outputs from different players. The BD370 offers decoding for DTS, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA. These should cover all the audio formats on all of the Blu-ray disc movies. Only downside is the lack of 5.1 or 7.1 channel analog audio output. Like the new Samsung and Panasonic player, the entry model lacks the multi channel analog outputs. You will need to step up to BD390 for the 7.1 channel output.

Overall

LG BD370 is another solid entry level player in the already crowded entry level player market. It’s becoming harder distinguish between different manufacturers when it comes to overall quality and value. They are all coming equipped with similar features and streaming capability. BD370 is a solid addition to the entry level market. However, if you want WiFi and internal memory as well as the 7.1 channel analog output, you will need to wait until May to purchase the BD390.

Pictures

Buy LG BD370 Now and Save $$

Video

Discuss This Review at Blurayforums.net

Click here to find out how you can save up to 50% off on name brand Blu-Ray Players!

Review: First look at Panasonic DMP-BD55 blu ray player

The Panasonic DMP-BD55 represents a very real challenge to the PS3 for Blu-ray supremacy. Playstation 3 represents a near perfect Blu-ray player through constant updates and its variety of audio decoding options. Some of the earlier players lacked the latest profile and the plethora audio decoding options that Playstation 3 is capable of. Furthermore at the price around $400 which includes game playback, the Playstation 3 is very attractive option for high definition player.

The Panasonic DMP-BD55 offers up a great alternative to Playstation 3 if your not looking for a game machine along with your Blu-ray player. The one thing that bothered me a lot with Playstation 3 was that it used Bluetooth for remote interface. This was hinderance if you wanted a universal remote control for your entire high definition enertainment system.

The main attraction for this player is that it has the latest features when it comes to Blu-ray discs. This means profile 2.0 that supports BD-Live features that are included in most of the newer Blu-ray
movies. Also, the player has ethernet port that naturally comes with profile 2.0 players. This means it will be fairly easy to update your player should there be need for future updates. Another nice addtion
is the SD card reader. You can pop in your SD card from camera or other devices such as mp3 player. You can view picutres from your digital cameras. The unit itself is standard looking player. The center has the disc tray for your disc with LCD on the left. On the right there is flip down face that has access to SD card slot and playback function buttons. The player seems smaller than most other players. It's not work of art. It's functional unit thats easy on the eye.

The video and audio playback is the real selling point of this unit. The test run with several Blu-ray movies revealed nothing out of ordinary. I played the Batman Begins and Transformers. Both of these
movies have great action sequences that should reveal artifacts and jaggies. I paused in several places to look for jaggies and none were present. I'm sure more comprehensive tests could be done but 99.9% of the people wont notice any difference even on big screen television sets. The upconversion was excellent as well. Some of you with the big DVD collection might place importance on upconversion capability.

The audio quality was great. I have a receiver that decodes high definition audio streams so the onboard decoding wasn't as useful as it might be for some other people. The onboard decoding can handle Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD master audio. The player also supports the legacy analog audio via 7.1 channel connectivity.

Overall, this is an excellent stand alone player if you don't wish to go with Playstation 3. The price point of around $400.00 (less during holidays) might be little more expensive than some players. But, it
is well worth the price for this feature rich player.

Rating:

Video Review

Review of Panasonic DMP-BD35 blu ray player

Panasonic updates their mainstream consumer Blu-ray disc player with the DMP-BD35k. Like Samsung and for obvious reasons, Sony, Panasonic has jumped on Blu-ray band wagon early on. They introduced the popular DMP-BD30 as the mainstream consumer model. However, the DMP-BD30 lacked many features that are now standard on most of new models. Mainly, it lacked high defintion audio decoding and Profile 2.0 compliant with the BD LIVE features on the newer Blu-ray movie discs. The DMP-BD35 fixes these problem.

The DMP-BD35 supports new sleek design over the DMP-BD30 model. The length is same as the old model but the width and depth has been drastically reduced. Also, the new model cuts about almost 4 lbs over the older model. The DMP-BD35 sports black glossy finish. The disc tray is located in the middle with the LCD to the left of center. The other function buttons are hidden behind pull down tray at the base of the player. There are plenty of connectivity including HDMI, component video, SD card reader and the important Ethernet. There are no direct 7.1 channel audio output which might deter some buyers. But, the SD card reader is definitely a big plus. The player supports the Profile 2.0 out of the box which is nice bonus. And, future firmware upgrade should be easy with the ethernet port.

The video quality is stellar. The colors were spot on without any noticeable hue difference. Again, different set up might produce different results from the player. I've ran it through two different television set and found them to be consistantly excellent. I noticed no jaggies or artifacts watching Batman Begins disc. The addition of high definition audio will be a great plus for many buyers. If you have older receivers, the decoding of high defintion audio might not be possible. This model will decode most high definition audio formats including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD Master audio. As I've stated earlier you can go with analog 7.1 channel only thorugh receiver. Otherwise, the quality of audio is simply amazing.

If you already own older model with latest receiver, this might not be a necessary upgrade. Even if you want the Profile 2.0 which has limited support as of now. However, for little more money, this player will had onboard decoding of the latest high definition audio as well as latest profile support. And the video and audio quality simply amazing.

Rating:

 

Video Review

« Previous Page

Hot Deal Alerts - Click Now!

Vote For 2011 Best Blu Ray Player!

Please click here to vote for The 2011 Top 5 Blu Ray Players!

Top 10 Best Selling Blu-Ray Players

• Playstation 3
• Oppo BD 93
• Panasonic DMP-BDT210
• LG BD630
• Sony BDP S580
• LG BD670
• Sony BDP S380
• LG BD640
• Panasonic DMP-BD75
• Panasonic DMP-BDT110
• Panasonic DMP-BDT310

Deals on Blu Ray Player at Amazon