LG BD370 Blu-Ray Player
If you have been having a close watch on the Blu-ray market like us, then you might have clearly predicted that towards the end of 2008, standalone players need to innovate. This urge is because the step-up features that were considered as an upgrade such as Profile 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio had become almost standard in almost all the models released. LG was the company to finally break the ice with their LG BD300, which had very innovative features like built-in Netflix streaming and the overall performance was just satisfactory. The following review is on the LG BD370 which is an entry level successor of LG BD300.
The LG BD370 Blu-Ray player has very similar features of its predecessor but its major upgrades are, onboard decoding for DTS-HD master audio essential and much quicker loading times. Yet, it still proves to be having issues with the image quality on both the areas of Blu Ray playback and DVD playback.
BD370 - A completely unique design:
The LG BD370 Blu-Ray DVD Player has a unique look that makes it stand out from the rest of the crowd. The unit has a glossy black finish that is dominated by a silver square. The large silver button on the facia of the player adds to its handsome looks as it has got an engraved blu ray logo and glows blue when the player is turned on. The display panel is large and easy to read. You will not find an exposed tray as it hides behind an automatic door on the left hand side of the player. This arrangement is much better and wiser than the one found in the latest Samsung model. The basic functionalities and controls are not that obvious as the controls like open, close and play must be triggered by silver rectangle in the middle of the unit and the power button is a silver circle in the center. Though they are not that easy to figure out in a single look, they do a great job by keeping the front panel of the unit sleek.
The other additional front panel controls including an USB port are accessible under a flip-down panel. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that, this is the only USB port available and hence, if you insert a thumb drive for the sake of BD-live functionality, then the front panel has to be left open. The disk drive of LG BD370 is very slow and jerky which has nothing to do with the practical use of the unit but then this surely raises a question on the durability of the player.
Standard connectivity offered:
The connectivity that is offered by LG BD370 Blu-Ray Disc Player is very standard and it would have been great if an additional USB port had been included. The connectivity options include a HDMI port, a component video and for the sake of audio, there is a standard stereo analog output, with both optical and coaxial digital-audio outputs included. This a good move as most of the players tend to stop with just an optical output. And finally, a USB port in the front and an Ethernet port in the rear, but there is no WiFi option on offer. With the USB port included, it can not only be used for BD live purposes, it can also be used to playback DivX, MPEG-4, MP3, WMA and JPEG files.
Fine Remote control:
The remote control that is provided is one of the best ever ones that is provided with a blu ray player. Some of the controls like disc menu and Home have been separated appropriately and most of the playback controls fall very comfortably under your thumb. And the most like and appreciated part in the remote is that, some of the seldom used buttons are hidden under a slide down cover on the bottom half of the remote. This is a great thought and gives the remote a very simple look.
Snazzy graphical user interface:
The user interface that has been employed in the LG BD370 Blu-Ray and HD DVD player is similar to that of its predecessor. That is a wise move not to change it as it is good. It makes use of snazzy, bright and fashionable high definition graphics and easy to understand icons. The BD370 makes all its functionality available for the user right from the initial set-up. When you hit the Home button on the remote, you are presented with a gorgeous main menu, decked out in a bright, vibrant background skin which can be changed in the setup menu. In the foreground the different types of media available such as Movie, YouTube, Photo and Music, are presented with eye-catching icons.
Netflix:
The Netflix experience does not differ from the one that you could possibly get from the Netdlix player by Roku. You can watch all of the “watch now”videos. But we have to admit that there are a few flaws too. For instance, most of the standard definition content are not widescreen. But overall, it is a pretty good user experience. Though the initial catalogue of movies and TV shows are not that interesting, their recent deals with Disney and CBS have greatly improved the selections.
YouTube:
The LG BD370 Blu-Ray player also offers CinemaNow access which allows pay per rental pricing same as that of satellite and cable video on-demand services. As expected the YouTube functionality has been included and is surprisingly very responsive. It just takes a fraction of a second to get the featured, most viewed and the top rated videos. A search functionality has also been offered. Initially the videos are played in a small window but you can always see it widescreen by clicking over the Display button. The bad news here is that, it does not have an aspect ratio control. It is worth a few clicks.
Other features of LG BD370:
As in the case of all the other blu ray players in the market, the BD370 is too Profile 2.0 compatible. Profile2.0 compatible means it has the capability to play back the internet enabled BD live features that are available on some of the new Blu-ray movies. As you might be already aware, an Ethernet cable has to be connected for the access and a flash drive for its storage. You will be able to see an array of logos in the player, including the support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD master audio.
As we had mentioned in the introduction one of the major upgrades in LG BD370 is its support of on board decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential. This allows the player to decode these soundtrack formats so that they can be played back on almost all the HDMI capable AV receiver. If you are not happy with the range of features offered by LG BD370, then you may choose the LG BD390 that offers built-in WiFi, 1GB of onboard memory and even 7.1 analog outputs, with a great operational speed.
Blu Ray and audio performance:
Now let us move on to performance. Now a days, the image quality of many of the high end players have become virtually impossible to differentiate. Yet, a slight variation can be noted in the entry level models. LG BD370 had a lot of jaggies and hence fails on part of film resolution and video resolution. But practically while watching real time movies these shortcomings are not that dominant. Hence, it is worth mentioning that these issues occur only the player is set to 1080p with the 24fps mode disabled. Said that, if your HDTV accepts 1080p/24fps signal then the BD370 would give you a pristine image quality. As for sound quality, the LG does a fine job at transferring HD audio bitstreams and converts to PCM without compromising the dynamism of the original soundtrack.
Quick loading:
Though the LG BD370 does not have the best image quality in this price range, it makes it up with its swift load times. The player takes an average of 15 seconds to load the disc when switched on and this value increases when movies with extensive menu options are inserted.
DVD performance:
DVD performance is also another very important factor to consider before purchasing a Blu-ray player. The initial resolution is very good and the LG BD370 displays all the details very clearly sans any image instability. Jaggies are a problem again in the DVD playback too.
Verdict:
The BD370 is one of the most exciting Blu-ray players to emerge in quite some time. This player has encountered an equal amount of hits and misses. If you find the netflix feature too hard to miss, then LG BD370 is itself the best choice. Else if you find the issues with the image quality too pricking, you could opt for Samsung BD-P1600 and Panasonic DMP-BD60K , both of these models exhibit a better performance. So finally, what we have got to say is that, if you are a videophile and would accept only premium image quality, then you would surely want to look for another player.
LG BD370 Blu-Ray DVD/Disc Player - Technical Specifications, Features
| Manufacturer | LG |
| Model Name | LG BD300 Blu-ray Player |
| Blu Ray player type | Blu-Ray Disc and HD DVD |
| Dimension (H x W x D) | 12.1″ x 16.9″ x 9.6″ |
| Weight | 6.6 lbs |
| Colour | Glossy Black |
| Form factor | Table top |
| Number of disc trays | One |
| Supported media | CD, DVD, BD-R, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL |
| Video DAC | 10bit / 108MHz |
| Video standard | NTSC, PAL |
| Digital output | 1080p |
| Digital audio format | Dolby True HD Dolby Digital Dolby Digital Plus DTS decoder DTS HD |
| Audio DAC | 24bits |
| Audio output | Surround sound |
| On-board decoding | Yes |
| Additional Features | JPEG photo playback, Progressive scanning |
| Persistent storage management menu | No |
| Parental Lock | Yes |
| Remote control | Universal remote control |
| Additional features | MPEG4 capable JPEG photo playback |
| Cables included | HDMI cable component video cable composite video cable |
| Accessories included | Remote control Batteries cleaning cloth |
| Operational power consumption | 18 Watt |
| Warranty | 1 year |
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