{"id":1173,"date":"2009-01-09T01:20:59","date_gmt":"2009-01-09T06:20:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2009-01-10T01:32:58","modified_gmt":"2009-01-10T06:32:58","slug":"lg-bd390-blu-ray-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1173","title":{"rendered":"LG BD390 Blu-ray Player"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bd390.jpg\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

LG had a table at The Digital Experience where they were showing their new BD390 Blu-ray player.\u00a0 LG has made some Blu-ray waves lately with their BD300, which is the first player to ever beat Sony’s PlayStation 3 in a speed test.\u00a0 Unless you follow the format closely you have no idea how big of a deal that is.\u00a0 Believe me, it is a big deal and speaks well of LG’s engineering capabilities and their commitment to the Blu-ray format.<\/p>\n

Besides playing Blu-ray Discs, the BD300 also streams movies from Netflix.\u00a0 All you need is a Netflix subscription to access more than 12,000 titles.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the video quality of most of the streaming content\u00a0is not up to DVD levels yet, let alone Blu-ray levels.\u00a0 This is bound to get better over time, but I look at it as a convenient feature rather than a tool for the serious movie watcher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BD390 goes the BD300 two better on the streaming video by including YouTube and Cinemanow to Netflix, as well as multichannel 7.1 analog outputs and wireless connectivity for streaming and firmware updates.\u00a0 The BD300 is available now for under $300.\u00a0\u00a0The BD390 will be available later this year, price to be determined.\u00a0 My guess is it will be under $400, and it will be a major bargain at that!<\/p>\n

LG is to be commended for their efforts in producing some truly exceptional Blu-ray products, and their new players could move straight to the top of their class.\u00a0 I look forward to testing them soon.<\/p>\n