LG BP620 Blu-ray player
Time marches on and firms make new material, which is why I now find myself looking at LG's newest entry level 3D BD player, the BP620. I am confident should you whine when purchasing a 3D TV you can convince a retailer to throw a BP620 to the offer. I will start out things by shedding the bad news for MOG supporters: that app isn't available on the BP620. Nevertheless, the good thing is that LG intends to add Hulu Plus to the media-streaming combination for its newer, cheaper player. (Right now, there is only a Hulu Plus placeholder sitting in the superior programs menu.) In addition, when it comes to perfomance and characteristics, it holds up nicely to last year's BD670.
One thing you won't find on the BP620 that was comprised on BD670 is a component-video output. The basics you'd expect: composite video, HDMI, optical digital/stereo analog sound are included by other jacks on the BP620. There is also a LAN jack for a hard wired connection to a network (the BP620 pf course also has built-in Wi-Fi) and a front-panel USB port.
LG's remote has a partially backlit keypad and big, well-spaced buttons that are not difficult to locate by feel alone in a dark room. One feature worth mentioning here is Music ID. This searches the Gracenote on-line music database for song information when you press the accompanying distant button while viewing films, saving you the trouble of having to pause during credits to learn information of a specific tune - something I do fairly regularly.
Upon found it from my iPhone, the firm's new iOS/Android program, lG Smart Remote, easily discovered the BP620. And even although the brand new program's interface has a more pleasing look than its predecessor, the functionality isn't nearly as great. It worked fine for cd playback, but once I attempted to navigate Netflix, it wouldn't let me scroll through and choose things. Useless! (I could navigate Netflix just good using the LG Remote program used to control the BD670.) Additionally, even though LG suggested it'd be adding this feature, the app has no computer keyboard screen to enter text during searches in Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, etc.
Performance
Checking my customary round of BD player evaluation discs out, the LG sailed through every trial I subjected it to. Basically, this means that video performance is well above-average to get a $120 machine. One key thing that the BP620 does lack is noise reduction adjustments, a characteristic which will help enhance the appearance of DVDs and lesser -quality Bluray transfers -- and one that you'll find on more costly players like those from OPPO, etc. Some players have NR settings specifically made to smooth out compression sound from video sources that were streamed like Netflix, etc. So while the BP620 can be mainly relied upon to deliver pure graphics from a high-quality format like Blu-ray, you should not expect it to work miracles with lower-quality ones.
My speed trials discovered the BP620 to actually be slower than last year's BD670: It took 8 seconds to call up the Home display upon power up, and 18 seconds on average before the F.B.I. warning popped up with standard, non-BD Live-accentuated Blurays. (The BD670 clocked in at 3 and 14 seconds, respectively, on those same tests.)
Bottom Line
LG's entry level 3D Blu-ray player is a pretty sweet deal. It offers high quality playback of DVDs and BDs, and it provides you with accessibility to a reasonably wide selection of other programs. (As for MOG, well, I Have moved on to Slacker Radio as my go to Internet music source, largely due to Slacker's magnificent iPad app.) So, while I 've a couple nits to pick with all the BP620 I am not complaining much.
