LG BD390 Compare, Reviews, Discounts
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LG BD390 Compare, Reviews, Discounts.
Product: LG BD390 Amazon Price: Too low to display Availability: In Stock |
I have to say that I'm impressed with this unit. The wait times are not too dreadful at all, and as others have said, the describe quality is satisfactory. Standard DVD upconversion is suitable. There are a few minor issues that I've found, which I'll catch to.
Setup out of the box was hastily and simple. I plugged it in and location a few audio options, video needed no adjustment from the defaults.
The network setup wasn't too unpleasant, but I did have some issues with encryption. I also purchased a original wireless router (the Netgear RangeMax WNDR3300 Wireless-N Router) to replace the near-decade-old Linksys I have. I tried two different encryption types, and both both times the player could connect after entering the key, but refused to come by an IP address. Disabling encryption on the router caused the player to acquire an IP address fleet, and setup was complete. Currently I'm running without encryption but with MAC address filtering. I'm okay with that, but I might go befriend and try encryption again now that I've downloaded a firmware update for the router. Other reviews position no problems setting up with encryption, so the plight might be specific to my setup.
Netflix functionality took a few seconds to position up. Anything in your "Contemplate Instantly" queue is displayed in the Netflix menu and you can rate any of them from the player. Unfortunately, at this time there is no ability to browse or search for anything that's not already in your queue. With the upright connection, the higher quality video is quite pleasant - as reliable or slightly better than standard definition cable. At this point, audio doesn't win any better than stereo, and while it's not crystal certain, it's not unpleasant. Hopefully some unique features will be added in future firmware updates.
The YouTube player is nice too. This supports searches, "Top Rated", "Most Viewed", "Modern Videos", etc. It's fun to play around with, and I'm gay the feature exists on this player, even if the novelty might wear off a diminutive over time.
I did a firmware update this morning (it wasn't available yesterday), and now there is a modern menu item for CinemaNow. I haven't messed with it great, but apparently you can "rent" a movie for around $3.99 or "purchase" a movie for $15-$20. There's a portion for TV, but it merely says "Coming Soon". I don't peep the point in this really, since Netflix covers the rentals (for powerful cheaper), and the movies seems to be the same brand as going out and buying the DVD. I'd rather have the DVD than an over-compressed soft copy for the same stamp.
I can't catch the Media Server stuff to work at all [fixed! -- study updates below]. So far, I've dedicated about 6 or 7 hours to getting this to work. None of the other reviews have mentioned a quandary with this, so I guess it must be me. I installed the included Nero MediaHome 4 Essentials software, and added a directory to part. I started the server stunning, but the player constantly tells me "No Server Found". I have tried two different wireless routers and an infinite number of settings adjustments. My firewalls are off. I impartial can't rep a wreck. As a software engineer with a degree in the field, you can bet that it's fair frustrating for this to beat me. I'll update the review if and when I procure it working. Others have not had the same scrape as me, though. So I imagine that this is NOT a predicament with the player.
There are also a number of itsy-bitsy features related to the playing of DVD's and BD's that I like. The player remembers each movie's last set when it was stopped and/or removed. So the next time you begin up that movie, it will resume where you left off.
The video settings are reasonably full-featured as well. Brightness, Dissimilarity, etc. are all adjustable, and you can adjust colors manually (objective the reds, fair the yellows, etc.) Upconverted DVD's have a couple of NR options, and there's an auto-contrast feature which seems to work lovely well. There's also a zoom feature that let's you zoom in on a section of the camouflage to collect a closer glimpse. That's cold.
Overall, this player was definitely worth the money for me. I'm looking forward to the day when I can rep the media server working, but even without that feature, I like this player. It's worth every cent. Big video, immense audio, and instant Netflix that doesn't involve me using composite cables to mirror my laptop camouflage to the TV. Progress!
---------------- Update 05/27/2009 ------------------
Now I seem to be having an additional spot. I tried two DVD's that have an alternate picture-in-picture track that can be enabled. They pop up with a petite video in the corner of the veil every so often when the option is turned on (like a video commentary track) . I can't procure either of them to play with sound. The video shows up but you can't hear anything. There is no mention of this in the manual, and nothing that I can catch online about it. One person with the same scrape (but a different player) said that their player had a "Secondary Audio" option that was turned off by default, and turning it on fixed the sigh. This player does not have that option. None of the standard audio tracks hold the PIP audio. I've unprejudiced about given up. If someone can recount me how to fix this, I'd be grateful. Otherwise I'd knock this down to three stars until it's fixed in firmware. For reference, the two Blu-Ray discs I'm talking about are Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder and Groundhog Day.
---------------- Update 06/05/2009 ------------------
Following the recommendation of xoco (recognize Comments), I changed the audio from Considerable Pass-Through to DTS Re-Encode. This fixes the PIP audio track dilemma. I'm cheerful with that, although I'm not definite if I have lost anything by making the switch.
---------------- Update 08/25/2009 ------------------
SUCCESS!! Finally, I can seek my PC as a media server. Whatever issues I had were fixed with the latest firmware download (BD.8.08.498.B) . As soon as I finished the download and rebooted the player, my PC was visible in the My Media fragment. Nero MediaHome 4 quiet does not seem to work, but the standard sharing built into Vista works resplendent. That's the (very) beneficial news. The terrible news? I immediately shared one of my video directories to try it out. I tried a couple of videos that I had scaled down to 720p to effect on Flickr, and even scaled down they were horribly choppy and wearisome. I may need to inaugurate messing with router settings again to survey if I can fix this. Currently, the streamed videos are completely unwatchable.
Additionally, one of the previous firmware updates added high definition wait on for Netflix streaming. And they seem to have fixed an protest where the video quality was always lower than it should have been, given the urge of the connection. With a 22MBps connection, I was previously getting generally 50-75% "bars" on the quality scale. Now I'm usually getting 100% (HD), and sometimes one or two steps down from that when I'm using at peak times. It's a astronomical improvement. And the HD quality is better than I could have imagined for streaming video.
And I mean, 'so far.' This is my third BD player, since my last two did not form it past one month. My first was a SONY BDP S350. After a month, it broke down (explore my review on that player's Amazon page) . I figured, it happens. I traded that player in for a Samsung P3600, based on rave reviews (including those of the Best Assume sales people) . The Samsung did not last 24 hours! (again, watch my review on that player's Amazon page) . Now I started getting frustrated.
After spending enough (contrivance too distinguished) time on-line looking at reviews of several players on various sites, I decided to go for the LG BD390. Sadly, the Best Bewitch by me said it did not have this latest model. I was happily surprised to accept out, when I got to the store to bring in my Samsung player, that they DID have the 390! I snatched the last box they had!
While this may all change in time (I definite hope not), based on my past BD experience, so far this player is Fantastic. Where do I launch...
The owner's manual: the easiest to understand, best written I have seen in a long time.
The remote: flawless. The Sony one was too burly. The Samsung one did not acknowledge unless you pressed each button several times, completely directed at the player. The LG remote responds like a flash and is simple and to the point. It even responds when not aimed directly on the player's face!
Picture quality: No complaints either from the Sony, Samsung or LG. All were/are heavenly, using an HDMI cable on my 42 travel SONY WEGA. The LG makes connections and settings noteworthy easier to understand than the other two brands I mention. Of course, this being my third player, I can do the connections and settings almost in my sleep by now!
BD experience: So far the discs I have watched all played with no issues. Loading time is lightning bustle. While I quiz the other shoe to fall, based on people's reviews of unprejudiced about every BD player out there, so far it has not. Considering my Samsung player died 24 hours after I bought it, I am cheerful that this player actually turns on detached!
Sound: While the three are comparable, the LG's sound output is not only splendid, but it is also EASY to position up. I spend a DTS/Dolby Surround 5.1 receiver and hook it up with an optical cable. Setting the player for it was easy. The Samsung, on the other hand, spoke a language of its gain and I had to do some hit or miss until I got it to work with the receiver. LG gets the thumbs up.
The examine of the player: flawless and lustrous. The player is a petite huge, so it has its enjoy shelf on the entertainment module...but it almost deserves it. The buttons are on the front of the player (imagine that! Samsung's are useless ON THE TOP!), except for the ON/OFF and EJECT buttons, which are on the front/top. Smooth accessible from the front.
Network Connectivity: OK, so I may not be a lot of encourage here. The other two players were a nightmare to plot up, and the Samsung's wireless was almost useless (witness everyone's review on this) . However, I expend a wireless bridge anyway, so I simply zigzag that up to the LG player's ethernet input port and, within a puny, had it all region up and running smoothly. The player was pleased and so was I.
The LG player needed one update, but I do not stare this as a unpleasant thing (I wish the darn Samsung would have had several!) as updates can --usually, though not always--improve your player's performance. The Sony had 9 updates when I got it! (now THAT was not a edifying thing) .
Netflix works big so far. Some people have complained that after an hour or so the movies will not stream any longer, or halt and then restart. This is, in my idea, an internet location up explain, not the player, and LG even tells you that. They recommend a wired connection for streaming, so we can't blame them. I veteran to peek Netflix movies streamed wireless on my MACBOOK PRO and, every so often, that would happen. Wireless connectivity is not flawless. On the upside, Netflix let's you launch the film from where you last stopped, or from the beginning. So, if the first stream should fail, try, try again! So far I have not had to. Only once, after streaming on Netflix, the player froze and I could not go around the Netflix menu. I had to force shut off the unit. The player reset itself and worked dazzling after that.
Netflix also keeps the movie on your queue until you manually delete it, which is vast. It also saves the location you were watching in case you have to finish the movie. Also, while not everyone likes it, I relish having control of my Netflix queue from my computer, not the player. I can then sit in front of my TV and have all the choices I have made earlier lawful there before me.
The LG does not offer PANDORA (as of yet, but I have a feeling it is coming), but it does offer YouTUBE and CinemaNow. The latter I acquire useless when one has Netflix. YouTube is a personal thing. I do not care for it (not to mention the YouTube video quality is usually poor on a computer mask, let alone on a 42 fling mask) .
So, while I may be missing some other gargantuan things about this player, fair now I am gay for one thing: IT WORKS! I may need to update this review at a later time but, for now, I can say this is the BEST BD player I have owned thus far. It works, it plays the discs, it streams Netflix and seems overjoyed doing it all. I can also say that, if it should ever die on me, I will probably secure another one of the same. I cannot say the same for the SONY or the SAMSUNG.
UPDATE:
Nearly three months later, the player is flawless. Only two updates were encountered in that time. It has played EVERY disc (DVD, Blue Ray, DVD+R, DVD-R) with no issues at all. None. All played astronomical. The Netflix streaming has also been large (and for the MAC users who have been complaining, I am a MAC user too, I unprejudiced do not utilize Airport to connect) . Considering what I keep up with from the other two brands of BD Players, I would replace this one with another LG anytime! My ONLY pet peeve: the player will shut itself off after a few minutes of inactivity and there does not seem to be any map to bypass this. That's all. Not poor I'd say!
Bottom line, this is simply the best network Blu-ray player on the market. Blu-ray playback, flawless. Streaming Netflix via wireless internet connection, flawless. Any complaints are most likely user error or due to monotonous internet connection rush, so I have an significant bit of articulate to potential buyers. HD Netflix requires an internet data rate of ~8mbps. Entry level cable or DSL data rates are 5 and 3 mbps respectively. You will need to upgrade (usually costs $5-$10 per month) to stream HD Netflix. Cable users will be able to sight SD no pickle at ~5mbps but SD requires about 3.5 mbps minimum, so entry level DSL users will have some problems streaming SD Netflix. Some DSL service is only 1.5mbps which is well, amusing.
One more note: I am a Mac user and I can connect the BD390 to the internet and hurry all the available applications advertised objective attractive. The only thing you can't do is route iTunes directly from your computer to your TV via the BD390, which you don't really need if you consume Netflix. Not a deal breaker.
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