First Look
The squarish, belt-buckle shaped Blu-ray symbol at the centre of the front panel wil attract your eyes at the first instance. What's interesting is that it glows blue at its centre when pressed, as its presence isn't just for propaganda purposes, but for turning 'On'/ 'Off' the power too. On either side of it are two, even more well hidden buttons, namely for 'Eject' and 'Play'. The blackness of the player is appealing standard, but the brilliant use of inconspicuousness buttons is praiseworthy. On the right half of the front panel (appears clear), is a flap that hides some more transport controls and the USB port. The back panel has been kept very minimal, which you will definitely like.
Technical aspects
The B0370 can be used to playback Blu-rays and DVDs primarily, but can also spin the occasional DivX, JPEGS and MP3s, if need be. Using the USB port, you can easily hook up your memory sticks to the player without having to go through the hassle of burning CDs/DVDs off your computer. It comes with one simple HDMI port on the back panel, along with the standard component/ composite video ports. There is also an Ethernet port to hook up the player to the internet or a local network for Blu-ray extras and file sharing respectively.
LG's OSDs have really gotten a lot better in these Blu-ray players. Here, It's tinted in blue with white text that's easy to read and even easier to navigate through. If you slide a disc in, the player won't bother you by going to its 'home menu' but would rather play the disc straight. However, If you like to switch inputs or the type of data you want to read (Including YouTube videos off the internet), you have the choice of going to the player's menu and studying it religiously. Here, you can also tweak the player's settings, especially the display and audio features.
Remote control Convenience
Just like the front panel, the idea of 'hiding buttons under flaps' has spilt over to the remote. On the top, 2/3rd of the remote features are well organized and spaced out buttons that protrude from the rather frail plastic body, sufficiently enough to withstand the test of time. On the bottom l/3rd is a black flap that you will initially be not aware of, until the remote accidentally fell to the floor and the flap flicked open. In that chamber there are more buttons; although the fact remains that their importance is nowhere close to the buttons placed outside.
Viewing experience of LG's BD370
The picture quality from the very first frame is exquisite, even though the animation is 2-D, stunning 1080p video quality, from the sharpness to the saturation. You will not find a single flaw compare to use the PS3 as basis for reference, this player's video quality was just as good.
The BD370 has the ability to increase frame rate to 60fps, for better clarity during the fast moving shots, but that again, just like digital televisions, tends to destroy the film-like quality of feature films. At the same time, the DVD quality is a couple notches below optimal as the player tends to Introduce a bit of pixilatlon as the upscaler on the player cranks up the resolution to 1080p. This was more apparent particularly during the darker sequences than the lighter ones. In the process, the sharpness also takes a beating, but the skin-tones remained spot on. Add to this the DivX that gets the player a little drowsier, starting with the time it takes to initiate the disc that extends well beyond a minute.
Bottom line
For Rs 17.999. the BD370 Is an affordable bet for sure, and It delivers in the Blu-ray department quite spectacularly. Even the aesthetic value of the BD370 is an added bonus. It also looks far better than some of the bulky looking options available. So, if you are looking at a Blu-player that Is aesthetically pleasing with user friendly options, besides delivering on audio-visual reproduction front, the BD370 would certainly meet your interests, quite reasonably.
