LG BD 390 Network Blu-ray Disc Player

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 16.9 x 2.3 inches ; 8.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001UQ6F5M
• Item model number: BD390
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (200 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Televisions & Video > Disc Players & Recorders > Blu-ray Disc Players

• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 6, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

(August 17, 2009)
It’s time to expect more from a Blu-ray player than just stunning Full HD 1080p. Way more. Feast your eyes on the first LG Network Blu-ray Disc Player with both NetCast Entertainment Access and Integrated Wi-Fi Connectivity. That means thousands of movies, shows and online videos straight to your TV from any wireless Internet connection. Streaming entertainment services like CinemaNow, Netflix and YouTube are at your fingertips, whenever you want them. LG BD390 has virtually endless entertainment built-in and it can be tapped into from any available Wi-Fi connection.

Features and Technology Less Clutter. More Possibilities. Cut loose from messy wires. Integrated Wi-Fi Connectivity lets you tap into BD390’s streaming services from the Internet almost anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection. (Learn more) Entertainment On Tap The end of “there’s nothing on”. NetCast Entertainment Access lets you stream instant, and virtually endless, entertainment from CinemaNow, Netflix and YouTube. It’s direct to your TV from the Internet—no computer required. (Learn more) Enjoy It At Its Best Why would you want anything but the best picture possible? Make the most of your HDTV. Blu-ray disc playback delivers exceptional Full HD 1080p video and audio performance. (Learn more) Making Old Just Like New No need to go out and replace your old DVD collection. Even your standard DVDs look better on Blu-ray with Standard DVD Up-Scaling.(Learn more) Capture The Silver Screen Ever wish movies looked more like they do in the theater? Wish no more. With Cinema Mode, you can watch movies the way they are meant to be seen. (Learn more) Don’t Just Hear It. Feel It. Great picture needs great sound. Blu-ray’s superior audio performance lets you listen in Full HD and supports up to 7.1 channels of surround sound in the latest formats. (Learn more) No More Waiting To Watch When you’ve decided on a movie, you don’t want to sit around waiting for it to load. Express Reaction Startup eliminates annoying load times. (Learn more) Your Personal Favorites It’s time to bring your favorite music files, digital photos, and videos from your computer straight to your TV. With MyMedia, it’s easy. (Learn more) Memories On The Big Screen Want to view a highlight reel of your family vacation in the comfort of your living room? You can with USB 2.0 Media Plus. (Learn more) Get More From Your Movies Want to hear real time commentary from your favorite movie director? You could do that, and a lot more, with BD Live. (Learn more)

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Integrated Wireless Connectivity
Convenient connectivity to your wireless home network allows BD390 to deliver you NetCast Entertainment Access and BD Live features, even in rooms where broadband connections can’t reach. All you need is an active Wi-Fi signal—it’s that simple.

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Netcast Entertainment Now buying a Blu-ray player from LG can also mean getting access to virtually endless entertainment and services from the Internet. Want to watch your favorite action film? If you have an LG Network Blu-ray Disc Player with NetCast Entertainment Access and an Internet connection, select an onscreen service and you’ll be enjoying it in moments. Tapping into virtually endless entertainment from the Internet no longer requires a computer or messy wires. This is the future of entertainment, and it’s available now with LG.

Cinema Now Now Hollywood’s latest hits can be viewed any time you want. With CinemaNow, LG consumers can get instant access to pay-per-view movies from major studios directly to any LG Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Find major release titles, along with broadcast and cable television programs. The entire premium content catalog can be browsed directly and selections can be watched instantly. CinemaNow and LG have redefined what can be expected of digitally available entertainment.

Netflix: Unlimited Viewing Make the most of the extensive offerings on Netflix. Users with a subscription can sit back and enjoy unlimited instant access to over 12,000 Netflix movies and TV episodes* streamed directly to their TV set. Most movies and TV episodes appear in standard definition and many selections are not new releases. *Netflix subscription required and sold separately.

YouTube Now you can watch everything on YouTube right in your living room. Blu-ray players with NetCast give you unlimited, direct access to the millions of Web videos available through YouTube, whenever you want them. All you need is an active Internet connection. Watch that one fellow making a fool of himself over and over again.

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The Best Picture This next generation optical disc format brings you the highest Full HD 1080p experience. That means it allows you to get the best picture quality available from your HDTV and even improves old DVDs with 1080p Up-Scaling, improving standard DVD picture quality so they look their best in Full HD.

The Best Capabilities Blu-ray utilizes the latest laser technology, offering up to 5 times the digital capacity of traditional DVDs. More space means more room for cool features and extra content.

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Standard DVD Up-Scaling
It’s not just Blu-ray discs that look great on a Blu-ray player. Standard DVD Up-Scaling delivers exceptional image quality from standard DVDs to near full HD picture quality. That means even your older movies and shows look better on an LG Blu-ray player.

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Cinema Mode
Stay in for the theater. Enjoy a true cinema-like experience in your own home with movies the way they are meant to be seen. LG’s Cinema Mode precisely displays 24p source frames on your screen, the same as on a movie screen. If you love movies, you’ll love LG’s Cinema Mode.

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Superior Audio Performance Blu-ray lets you enjoy the best sound available from your movies and shows. Supports surround sound up to 7.1 channels with Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Advanced Digital Out technologies.

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Express Reaction Startup
Some Blu-ray players can take what seems like an eternity to load your Blu-ray disc. With Express Reaction Startup, the quick start-up and quick opening tray will have your movie loaded and ready to play before you even hit the couch.

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MyMedia
Gives you access to videos, photos and music from your home network through this DLNA-certified media player. Your digital collections are now within easy reach and simple to view in the comfort of your living room.

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USB 2.0 Media Plus
Bring your digital library to life on your television with USB Media Plus. View family photos, watch videos and listen to music from USB storage devices.

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BD Live
Now you can tap into live chats, trivia games and newly developed content right from your Network Blu-ray Disc Player. Coupled with a high-speed Internet connection, BD Live allows you to take advantage of interactive experiences, exclusive downloads and tons of extra features.

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What's in the Box
LG BD390 Unit, Remote Control, Owner's Manual

Product Description

Blu-ray Disc Player w/1GB Memory, 7.1 discrete analog output, BD-P, Netflix HD, YouTube, CinemaNow Full HD 1080P Output via HDMI, DVD 1080p Up-conversion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

175 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Features and Solid Performance, May 15, 2009

By	Jeff Kraus (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have to say that I'm impressed with this unit. The wait times are not too bad at all, and as others have said, the picture quality is excellent. Standard DVD upconversion is excellent. There are a few minor issues that I've found, which I'll get to.

Setup out of the box was quick and simple. I plugged it in and set a few audio options, video needed no adjustment from the defaults.

The network setup wasn't too bad, but I did have some issues with encryption. I also purchased a new 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 obtain an IP address. Disabling encryption on the router caused the player to obtain an IP address quickly, and setup was complete. Currently I'm running without encryption but with MAC address filtering. I'm okay with that, but I might go back and try encryption again now that I've downloaded a firmware update for the router. Other reviews state no problems setting up with encryption, so the problem might be specific to my setup.

Netflix functionality took a few seconds to set up. Anything in your "Watch 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 right connection, the higher quality video is quite good - as good or slightly better than standard definition cable. At this point, audio doesn't get any better than stereo, and while it's not crystal clear, it's not bad. Hopefully some new features will be added in future firmware updates.

The YouTube player is nice too. This supports searches, "Top Rated", "Most Viewed", "Recent Videos", etc. It's fun to play around with, and I'm glad the feature exists on this player, even if the novelty might wear off a little over time.

I did a firmware update this morning (it wasn't available yesterday), and now there is a new menu item for CinemaNow. I haven't messed with it much, but apparently you can "rent" a movie for around $3.99 or "buy" a movie for $15-$20. There's a section for TV, but it merely says "Coming Soon". I don't see the point in this really, since Netflix covers the rentals (for much cheaper), and the movies seems to be the same price as going out and buying the DVD. I'd rather have the DVD than an over-compressed soft copy for the same price.

I can't get the Media Server stuff to work at all [fixed! -- see 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 problem with this, so I guess it must be me. I installed the included Nero MediaHome 4 Essentials software, and added a directory to share. I started the server fine, 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 just can't get a break. As a software engineer with a degree in the field, you can bet that it's pretty frustrating for this to beat me. I'll update the review if and when I get it working. Others have not had the same problem as me, though. So I imagine that this is NOT a problem with the player.

There are also a number of little features related to the playing of DVD's and BD's that I like. The player remembers each movie's last position when it was stopped and/or removed. So the next time you start up that movie, it will resume where you left off.

The video settings are reasonably full-featured as well. Brightness, Contrast, etc. are all adjustable, and you can adjust colors manually (just the reds, just the yellows, etc.) Upconverted DVD's have a couple of NR options, and there's an auto-contrast feature which seems to work pretty well. There's also a zoom feature that let's you zoom in on a part of the screen to get a closer look. That's cool.

Overall, this player was definitely worth the money for me. I'm looking forward to the day when I can get the media server working, but even without that feature, I love this player. It's worth every cent. Great video, great audio, and instant Netflix that doesn't involve me using composite cables to mirror my laptop screen to the TV. Progress!

---------------- Update 05/27/2009 ------------------
Now I seem to be having an additional problem. I tried two DVD's that have an alternate picture-in-picture track that can be enabled. They pop up with a small video in the corner of the screen every so often when the option is turned on (like a video commentary track). I can't get 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 find online about it. One person with the same problem (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 issue. This player does not have that option. None of the standard audio tracks contain the PIP audio. I've just about given up. If someone can tell 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 (see Comments), I changed the audio from Primary Pass-Through to DTS Re-Encode. This fixes the PIP audio track problem. I'm satisfied with that, although I'm not sure if I have lost anything by making the switch.

---------------- Update 08/25/2009 ------------------
SUCCESS!! Finally, I can see 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 section. Nero MediaHome 4 still does not seem to work, but the standard sharing built into Vista works fine. That's the (very) good news. The bad 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 put on Flickr, and even scaled down they were horribly choppy and slow. I may need to start messing with router settings again to see if I can fix this. Currently, the streamed videos are completely unwatchable.

Additionally, one of the previous firmware updates added high definition support for Netflix streaming. And they seem to have fixed an issue where the video quality was always lower than it should have been, given the speed 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 vast improvement. And the HD quality is better than I could have imagined for streaming video.

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So far, it's a winner., June 8, 2009

By	SIBIE - See all my reviews

And I mean, 'so far.' This is my third BD player, since my last two did not make it past one month. My first was a SONY BDP S350. After a month, it broke down (see 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 Buy sales people). The Samsung did not last 24 hours! (again, see my review on that player's Amazon page). Now I started getting frustrated.

After spending enough (way too much) time on-line looking at reviews of several players on various sites, I decided to go for the LG BD390. Sadly, the Best Buy by me said it did not have this latest model. I was happily surprised to find 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 sure hope not), based on my past BD experience, so far this player is AMAZING. Where do I start...

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 bulky. The Samsung one did not respond unless you pressed each button several times, completely directed at the player. The LG remote responds fast 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 beautiful, using an HDMI cable on my 42 inch SONY WEGA. The LG makes connections and settings much 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 speed. While I expect the other shoe to drop, based on people's reviews of just about every BD player out there, so far it has not. Considering my Samsung player died 24 hours after I bought it, I am happy that this player actually turns on still!

Sound: While the three are comparable, the LG's sound output is not only gorgeous, but it is also EASY to set up. I use 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 own and I had to do some hit or miss until I got it to work with the receiver. LG gets the thumbs up.

The look of the player: flawless and smart. The player is a little large, so it has its own 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. Still accessible from the front.

Network Connectivity: OK, so I may not be a lot of help here. The other two players were a nightmare to set up, and the Samsung's wireless was almost useless (see everyone's review on this). However, I use a wireless bridge anyway, so I simply hooked that up to the LG player's ethernet input port and, within a minute, had it all set up and running smoothly. The player was happy and so was I.

The LG player needed one update, but I do not see this as a bad 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 good thing).

Netflix works great so far. Some people have complained that after an hour or so the movies will not stream any longer, or stop and then restart. This is, in my view, an internet set up issue, not the player, and LG even tells you that. They recommend a wired connection for streaming, so we can't blame them. I used to watch 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 start 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 move around the Netflix menu. I had to force shut off the unit. The player reset itself and worked fine after that.

Netflix also keeps the movie on your queue until you manually delete it, which is great. It also saves the spot you were watching in case you have to stop the movie. Also, while not everyone likes it, I enjoy 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 right 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 find 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 awful on a computer screen, let alone on a 42 inch screen).

So, while I may be missing some other great things about this player, right now I am happy 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 happy doing it all. I can also say that, if it should ever die on me, I will probably get 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 great. The Netflix streaming has also been great (and for the MAC users who have been complaining, I am a MAC user too, I just do not use Airport to connect). Considering what I put 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 way to bypass this. That's all. Not bad I'd say!

62 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars !!Exceptional!!, April 30, 2009

By	Justin B. Bschleede (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 slow internet connection speed, so I have an important bit of advise 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 watch SD no problem 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, silly.

One more note: I am a Mac user and I can connect the BD390 to the internet and run all the available applications advertised just fine. 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 use Netflix. Not a deal breaker.