LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player
by LG
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List Price: Our Price: $75.22 You Save: $174.73 (70%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of LG BD 370 Network Blu-ray Disc Player
Customer Review: A Slim Fast Blu-ray Player for under $220?? Yep!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'd been waiting on the Blu-ray sidelines for a while now, watching it evolve, go through higher iterations of specifications, and did the back and forth between PS3 or Player. And could I get a decent one for less than $300?
This one deserves all the great reviews its garnered here (thank you all) and my choice of this version was justly rewarded. BD-Live, Netflix Streaming, You-Tube streaming and even CinemaNow (pay per view-Rent/Buy Movies & TV Shows/Seasons).
Set-up was a snap. Did not even need to open up the quick guide. Ethernet cable from my Powerline extension ensures that my streaming was not interrupted like what a wireless connection would (so save your money on the wireless capable BD 390 unless you have a close, rock solid wireless access point in the same room). The HDMI cable went to my TV and finally the power cable. Easy Peasy.
Powering up to ready-to-play is mercifully quick. The sleek looking informative front panel avoids the clutter of other players. (Love the blue circle power indicator glowing red when it is on)
The menuing system was really nicely laid out and simplified. The Netflix streaming has been good to excellent. And the You-Tube Streaming (Standard def only) was good and entertaining. Activation of both the Netflix and CinemaNow was simple and quick, although you need to pay CinemaNow for TV series' that you can stream for free on Hulu.
I am a newbie at the upscaling from Blu-ray so I don't have any reference but my Battlestar Galactica DVDs looked very good (maybe a bit grainy but better than soft & blurred). The one Blu-ray disk I did have had a deliberate grainy look to the production so did not help me guage how good the picture looks.
The slim and light remote (1 AAA battery included) is nicely laid out with TV controls hidden beneath a slide back panel.
Look: for a price of $[...] delivered, this represents a great value for a first time Blu-ray buyer. I would recommend this player with no reservations.
Customer Review: Easy Setup and Great Features
Summary: 5 Stars
I previously had a Panasonic Blu-Ray player that did not have neywork abilities. I am tickled pink with the LG BD370. Setup was simple and quick. Since I use a wireless internet signal throughout my home, I connected the Blu-Ray unit with the TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter to allow the player to connect to our network without running any cables. Connecting to my internet connection was a breeze - it did everything automatically after searching for the signal. I checked to see if there were any updates available but it stated the updates were up to date. I own the LG 32LH30 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and the picture was so vivid it was like you could almost reach out and touch the image. The sound is superb and clear. Syncing the units was painless and allowed me to work both units off one remote since they were both LG brands. The DVD up-scaling allows you to view your older DVD movies without any hassles and it "cleans" up the picture to better HD viewing quality.
Net streaming connectivity is pretty quick and painless. The menu options are easy to use. It is stylish, sleek and overall sharp to look at. It comes with the HD component cables but no HDMI is included. I connected using the HDMI option which is by far the best choice when wanting to have the best possible image quality. I purchased the Mediabridge Ultra Series - 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable which are excellent cables at a great price. Nothing frustrates me more than waiting for the tray to open and the content to load up. The LG BD370 loads up quicker and the tray opens instantly.
I highly recommend this unit if you are looking for an easy to use network Blu-Ray player that is affordable and offers real entertainment at your finger tips. Honestly, there is nothing negative I can say about it.
Warranty is 90 days labor and one year parts.
Customer Review: A great player for Netflix
Summary: 5 Stars
We just bought this unit on sale yesterday for $200. Our primary purpose was to have something we could use to watch Netflix on our TV as well as to replace an aging DVD player. So far it's been great. We were able to get connected to Netflix immediately - from the player you receive direction to go to the Netflix activation page. You get an activation code from the player and enter it in on the website, and that's it! The player picks up the movies in your "watch instantly" queue. Mine needed some cleanup - sometimes you add movies into your main queue and they get picked up in the "watch instantly" queue, and sometimes they don't. It looks like the player uses the same Netflix player which is better although fast-forwarding and rewinding don't work as well as they do on a DVR. For the firmware update, it took two attempts to get that working - we got hung up on the "getting the update" page. After powering off and on the update worked fine. Ironically we haven't played a Blu-Ray disk yet - I don't anticipate owning a lot of those given Netflix's service, but I did add Blu-Ray to Netflix for $4/month.
Also, the player did come with component cables, so you don't need to buy them. No HDMI cable included though. The remote is simple - only one AAA battery needed! I was able to replicate this remote with my Logitech Harmony 720 programmable remote with some customization needed. I didn't see any issues with the DVD tray. I think the styling looks great - the circle in the middle lights up "red" just for regular disks and online movies I think, supposed to be blue for Blu-Ray? I like that LG put a 800 number for service right on the unit - I would anticipate that they would be very helpful given that they're that proactive. (We had LG service done on our Plasma and they were great.) We played a regular DVD and didn't find any issues with playback, but we're not audiophiles. We figured with a Cnet editor's choice award we couldn't go wrong, and so far that's the case.
Customer Review: Good Blu Ray and netflix player
Summary: 5 Stars
I was initially skeptical of the player but after reading the reviews thought of giving it a try. This player is sort of a replacement to my Home Theater PC (HTPC) which I still use but certainly the frequency has gone down.
Pros:
1. The picture quality is good, plays Blu-ray an DVD just fine, fast loading time and decent sound quality. I have not used it with my 5.1 surround as yet.
2. Very very very easy Netflix setup. Just get the code, login to your Netflix account using a computer, enter it and you are all set.
3. Virtual keyboard and intelligent entry system makes it easy to search and view videos on youtube.
4. Sleek design, blue and red indicator for BD and DVD. Easy to read display which tells you the current action being performed.
5. Remote is intuitive, easy to use, has all necessary keys.
1. Would have preferred if it had 5.1 surround sound output (3.5mm jacks apart from the digital out option that it has).
2. Cannot search and add movies from Netflix for instant view. A computer is required.
3. No Wireless connection but then this model is not a wireless option model. A newer version has wifi. Personally not a con and a wired connection gives you a faster connection with lesser overhead.
4. Could have played video from a thumb drive/external HDD.
5. The sliding cover to access numeric keys and TV control keys on remote is flimsy. These extra keys are also very small.
LG is a good brand, though not very popular in the US. It is a trusted brand in many other countries and I have heard good things about the brand in general. This player is recommended for anyone who does not want to spend a fortune and wants to get a good blu-ray player, replace existing DVD player and upgrade to a blu-ray, does not want to invest in an HTPC, or is not fond of computers too much.
Customer Review: Great Netflix and all around entertainment unit!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been a big fan of LG media products, owning two large screen TV's and now this Blu-ray player. I've liked this blu-ray player so much that I've contemplated buying a second for my other TV. It's a good, easy to use and easy to navigate unit. The sound and video are exactly as you'd expect - fantastic. I do *highly* recommend buying an HDMI cable instead of the enclosed component cables, especially if you're looking for the best audio experience possible. Amazon Originals sells a great HDMI cable at a low cost. If you have any external audio system I'd also recommend buying an optical audio cable as well. Once I got the right cables for my setup I couldn't believe at how much I was visually and audibly missing from my movie experience. Once of the compelling reasons for this unit was the Netflix support. This support doesn't let you modify your instant queue by making additions, so you'll still need to do some planning on your computer - but it works as described and as long as your internet connection isn't choked for bandwidth you can watch movies in HD just like you got them in the mail. I would love to see LG make the wifi version of this player cheaper, but fortunately I have a RJ-45 hookup near the television. I wasn't prepared for the CinemaNow feature, which was a pleasant surprise. This adds on-demand like functionality to the television. I'm secretly hoping that Amazon Video will make it onto this unit, but with CinemaNow I'm content. The YouTube feature is cool too for those who are into that sort of thing. If you're looking for a blu-ray player and are a Netflix subscriber I would definitely encourage you to go with this unit. If you're not a Netflix subscriber and don't plan to be, you might find another unit out there that is cheaper - but keep in mind all of the networking features of this great product.