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LG BD370 Blu-ray PlayerLG BD370Blu-ray Disc Player - 1 Disc(s) - BD Video, DVD Video, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVCHD, DivX, MKV, MPEG-1 - Progressive Scan - Ethernet - HDMI - USB - Black
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9 Reviews from Epinions.com
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LG BD370 Blu-Ray DVD Player
I recently purchased a LG BD370, and it is my first Blu-Ray player. Yes, I'm a bit late adopting new technology, but I figure it was time to make the switch. I would assume that the hard-core enthusaists who want the latest bells and whistles have much more expensive options to consider, so I believe the BD370 is aimed at the casual buyer who values low prices in place of fancy features. My review is written from the perspective of someone that just wants to watch movies. I haven't been keeping pace with all the latest do-whiz-bangs out there, so my home theater system consists of a Vizio LCD TV, cable box, Xbox360, and a Blu Ray player.
Out of the box BD370 is amazingly easy to set up. From setting the box down, I had the unit plugged in and displaying its menu screen and was inserting a movie in a matter of minutes. There is no on-screen wizard to navigate; it's just set up from the get-go. Customers should be able to simply plug in the BD370 and begin watching a movie without configuring a single option.
At first I used the supplied component cables, but I later switched to HDMI. It would have been nice if an HDMI cable and ethernet cable came pre-packaged. LG heavily touts the Netflix feature, but you'll need an ethernet cable to enjoy it. I suppose if you have no idea what component cables are - you may find the installation daunting since component involves 5 plugs while HDMI is just one. But for the average person who already has an HDTV, I'm sure this is not a concern.
I do not think the loading times are excessive at all. Maybe it's because I'm accustomed to lower-end equipment - but I didn't think the load time was any different than turning on my cable box and waiting for ESPN to show up. The power-on time seemed reasonable and the disc-loading time seemed fine as well. In the past, I had heard of the horror-stories of the epic-wait experienced while Blu Ray discs load. But with the BD370 the wait time did not become uncomfortable.
Images are exactly as I would expect from watching high-def movies. I experienced no issues with the video cutting out or the image settings becoming unstable. From my untrained eye, things looked stellar. I'm not a videophile so I can't comment if jaggedness and moire were 0.13% worse than a comparable to another Blu Ray player; so I'm very happy with what I saw on screen. The remote is easy enough to use, and navigating menus and chapters was fine. Basically I had no gripes where I felt something was counterintuitive or difficult to execute.
I suppose the best way to describe the BD370 is that you easily forget that you're using it. I'm assuming that customers interested in the BD370 just want a device that plays movies on their HDTV - which it does fabulously. Setup was painless; the unit doesn't emit tons of light to blind you in a dark room; the menus are easy to navigate; and I was not inconvenienced by the load up times. There may be cheaper options out there, but at circa $200, the BD370 is a great value.
If you're looking for a entry-level stand-alone Blu Ray player, you will be very happy with the BD370 (assuming it's not broken or defective out of the box).
PS:
Regarding the Netflix support... I thought this was a nifty feature although it was not my primary reason for purchasing the BD370, since I have already used the "Watch Instantly" feature on my Xbox360. As with everything else on the BD370 setting up Netflix was amazingly quick. The Xbox360 requires that you download the Netflix application and install updates. But my experience with the LG370 was as simple as typing an activation code online. Perhaps an update will be required down the road, but for now setup was painless.
Bobbyslav wrote a review where he cited that the video quality of the "Watch Instantly" feature was worse on the BD370 versus the Xbox360. I will vouch for his claim, and reiterate that the image quality is worse on the BD370. I tested them with HDMI connecting both the Xbox360 and the BD370 and both devices plugged via ethernet cable to the same wireless router.
Both devices registered full bandwith/signal and asserted that I was watching in HD. The Xbox360 simply had less artifacts/noise on screen versus the fuzzies visible when watching the same movie on the BD370. So the Xbox360 wins on video quality for Netflix downloads, but loses due to the annoying "wwhhhrrrrrrr" of its cooling fan.
Recommended Entry Level Blu-Ray Player
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Pros: Very easy to use; Aimed at people who just want to watch movies
Cons: Not the most robust unit; Netflix Watch Instantly is subpar
The Bottom Line:
As long as you compare the BD370 to other players in its price-range, you will be very satisfied with its feature-set and performance.
I recently purchased a LG BD370, and it is my first Blu-Ray player. Yes, I'm a bit late adopting new technology, but I figure it was time to make the switch. I would assume that the hard-core enthusaists who want the latest bells and whistles have much more expensive options to consider, so I believe the BD370 is aimed at the casual buyer who values low prices in place of fancy features. My review is written from the perspective of someone that just wants to watch movies. I haven't been keeping pace with all the latest do-whiz-bangs out there, so my home theater system consists of a Vizio LCD TV, cable box, Xbox360, and a Blu Ray player.
Out of the box BD370 is amazingly easy to set up. From setting the box down, I had the unit plugged in and displaying its menu screen and was inserting a movie in a matter of minutes. There is no on-screen wizard to navigate; it's just set up from the get-go. Customers should be able to simply plug in the BD370 and begin watching a movie without configuring a single option.
At first I used the supplied component cables, but I later switched to HDMI. It would have been nice if an HDMI cable and ethernet cable came pre-packaged. LG heavily touts the Netflix feature, but you'll need an ethernet cable to enjoy it. I suppose if you have no idea what component cables are - you may find the installation daunting since component involves 5 plugs while HDMI is just one. But for the average person who already has an HDTV, I'm sure this is not a concern.
I do not think the loading times are excessive at all. Maybe it's because I'm accustomed to lower-end equipment - but I didn't think the load time was any different than turning on my cable box and waiting for ESPN to show up. The power-on time seemed reasonable and the disc-loading time seemed fine as well. In the past, I had heard of the horror-stories of the epic-wait experienced while Blu Ray discs load. But with the BD370 the wait time did not become uncomfortable.
Images are exactly as I would expect from watching high-def movies. I experienced no issues with the video cutting out or the image settings becoming unstable. From my untrained eye, things looked stellar. I'm not a videophile so I can't comment if jaggedness and moire were 0.13% worse than a comparable to another Blu Ray player; so I'm very happy with what I saw on screen. The remote is easy enough to use, and navigating menus and chapters was fine. Basically I had no gripes where I felt something was counterintuitive or difficult to execute.
I suppose the best way to describe the BD370 is that you easily forget that you're using it. I'm assuming that customers interested in the BD370 just want a device that plays movies on their HDTV - which it does fabulously. Setup was painless; the unit doesn't emit tons of light to blind you in a dark room; the menus are easy to navigate; and I was not inconvenienced by the load up times. There may be cheaper options out there, but at circa $200, the BD370 is a great value.
If you're looking for a entry-level stand-alone Blu Ray player, you will be very happy with the BD370 (assuming it's not broken or defective out of the box).
PS:
Regarding the Netflix support... I thought this was a nifty feature although it was not my primary reason for purchasing the BD370, since I have already used the "Watch Instantly" feature on my Xbox360. As with everything else on the BD370 setting up Netflix was amazingly quick. The Xbox360 requires that you download the Netflix application and install updates. But my experience with the LG370 was as simple as typing an activation code online. Perhaps an update will be required down the road, but for now setup was painless.
Bobbyslav wrote a review where he cited that the video quality of the "Watch Instantly" feature was worse on the BD370 versus the Xbox360. I will vouch for his claim, and reiterate that the image quality is worse on the BD370. I tested them with HDMI connecting both the Xbox360 and the BD370 and both devices plugged via ethernet cable to the same wireless router.
Both devices registered full bandwith/signal and asserted that I was watching in HD. The Xbox360 simply had less artifacts/noise on screen versus the fuzzies visible when watching the same movie on the BD370. So the Xbox360 wins on video quality for Netflix downloads, but loses due to the annoying "wwhhhrrrrrrr" of its cooling fan.
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