LG link (http://us.lge.com/products/model/detail/tv|audio|video_digital%20video__BH100.jhtml)


OK, got my LG BH100 today to review, and there are some pro's and con's, and some of the con's are pretty damn big, and not the one thing everyone has complained about: iHD or HDi.

Pro's:

1) EXTREMELY fast. The power-on time destroys the Samsung, Panny, Pioneer and Sony, and definitely the HD-A2 as well. The load times are on par if not faster than all as well for both HD-DVD and BD.
2) Ease of use. Very easy to setup and use. Picture quality is outstanding at 1080i and 1080p.

Con's:

1) Cheap build quality like the HD-A2
2) No ethernet for direct networking or updating. The RJ-45 is a service port only.
3) No 24P (at least for now)
4) Even though this is the first player with DTS-HD MA decoding internally, LG screwed the pooch as the HD decoding only decodes 2-channel over HDMI. Only the 5 analog outs decode 5.1 for HD. This should be an easy fix via firmware, but again, this is the biggest mistake I have seen on any of the players, as this was a bigger plus to me even than HD-DVD playback so I could enjoy Fox and MGM BDs with lossless compression over LPCM 5.1, but nope. I won't go back to analog out's when I have a preamp that can decode LPCM 5.1 over HDMI.
5) DD+ again is only 2-channel PCM over HDMI when set to PCM. It is decoded as DD legacy when set to bitstream. Plus must also be decode and sent to the analog outs to get 5.1.
6) DD True HD is also 2 channel PCM, and that does NOT change even on the analog outs. Again, as with plus and DTS-HD, this should be able to fixed just the A1 series was upgraded with a firmware upgrade.
7) No HD-DVD interactive support. This is really not a big deal for at least me, as I RARELY watch supplemental features, even though the Warner and Universal interactivity is pretty cool. The LG pre-renders an overlay menu on titles with the HDi layer, and it still does allow for scene selection, audio, play and the norms.

This player could be great if it got a quick firmware update, but for now, I wouldn't buy it unless you have no use for advance audio codecs via HDMI LPCM. This lack of support is a generation back at least, and something I am personally extremely disappointed in.

This mini-review is also posted in the HD-DVD forum.

Thanks Doc. Looks like on its haste to release a hybrid player LG overlook the basics. :(

Thanks for the quick review Doc. Can you answer something for me though - for the 5.1 analog outputs, does the LG have adequate bass management features? By this I mean variable crossover points, the ability to set speakers as either small or large and the ability to assign speaker distances / delay?

Thanks again.

DocDVD, did you really use the player or did you just read the manual?

The unit does support 1080p/24 and it works. We have it feeding our Lumagen Vision HDQ (with the latest firmware) and it looks great.

The service port is an Ethernet port and it works, however that's not how firmware will be updated, at least not yet. I imagine some future firmware upgrade will add some network settings in the setup.

We don't have an HDMI capable processor can I couldn’t test that, but I can say that sound quality was notably better even when using the tosslink output to our Linn Kinos with Active Akurates.

Since this is not an HD-DVD licensed player it doesn't support iHD (LG officially said support will not be in any firmware release) since the use of iHD would require licensure.

I suspect we will see a firmware upgrade soon but I imagine it will be disc based and I can't guess what it will fix.

Overall I think this player is a big step in the right direction. For most people buying a player this year HDMI 1.3 and HD audio is not going to be at the top of the list and for them this player will get them off the fence.

Well that sounds promissing !

As I see things the LG is a first step in the right direction.
But I would really enjoy a full agreement between HD-DVD and BD members to release full feathured players.
Also I would love a high-end version with 7.1 analogue output and full HD audio codec decoding and decent sound management.

We won't see such a beast soon ... but thanks to LG they started up a good strategie which is at last very consumer friendly and breaks the format war headache ! I hope others will follow and that we will see THE high end combo player in maximum 2 years !

Well, considering DD 5.1 and DTS surround are sufficient for me, the fact that it plays both formats is reason enough to buy it. I'm much more interested in PQ anyway. Digital surround sound has always sounded good to me.

DocDVD, did you really use the player or did you just read the manual?

After reading your post, it does make one wonder...

For those That have this player How does it picture quality compare to the Sony, Panasonic and Pioneer.


Thanks

Robert

7) No HD-DVD interactive support. This is really not a big deal for at least me, as I RARELY watch supplemental features, even though the Warner and Universal interactivity is pretty cool. The LG pre-renders an overlay menu on titles with the HDi layer, and it still does allow for scene selection, audio, play and the norms.

Are there any compatibility issues with regular hd dvd plackback and access to bonus material or does the lack of HDi only effect enhanced features like PiP commentary etc.?

What does the machine output via optical/coaxial out - DTS like the Toshiba?

Does the LG output correct RGB video to a DVI display?

larry

Since this is not an HD-DVD licensed player it doesn't support iHD (LG officially said support will not be in any firmware release) since the use of iHD would require licensure.

Wouldn't this mean on titles like Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift that you wouldnt be able to play it. Meaning the disc won't play at all? If so that is a HUMONGOUS reason to not buy this player. If it plays the movie part on discs with IHD then it is like a feature you are missing, which is still huge in my opinion, but at least you can still watch the movie.

What does everyone think? Am I going out on a limb saying this player is not the best option if you can't play certain movies?

Mike

Anybody want to sell one of these at a discount? (PM me). :D

Only speaking for myself, but if the list of cons in the first post is all that is wrong with this player I want one. Cost though is prohibitive for me. As to the faults with the player here's my take FWIW:

1) Cheap build quality like the HD-A2

I own an HD-A1. It's worked nearly flawlessly for me which is all I care about. Cheap build quality is too subjective for me.

2) No ethernet for direct networking or updating. The RJ-45 is a service port only.
Yawn. I can burn an ISO disc for updates.

3) No 24P (at least for now)
Pointed out later in thread that this may not be true. Even if it is, I own a 1080p DLP that cannot do 24fps.

4 and 5) Even though this is the first player with DTS-HD MA decoding internally, LG screwed the pooch as the HD decoding only decodes 2-channel over HDMI. Etc....

Although I would agree that not decoding over HDMI correctly is propbably the biggest fault, I have no problem with this. I have a non-hdmi receiver so I can't use it anyway. In addition, if this player decodes everything over the analogs NOW, this is the first player I have seen that can do this in the Blu Ray camp. If true, this is a BIG plus for me.

6) DD True HD is also 2 channel PCM, and that does NOT change even on the analog outs. Again, as with plus and DTS-HD, this should be able to fixed just the A1 series was upgraded with a firmware upgrade.

Not good. However, I'd give up TrueHD for now if I could get LPCM decoded over the analogs. I would want this fixed.

7) No HD-DVD interactive support. This is really not a big deal for at least me, as I RARELY watch supplemental features, even though the Warner and Universal interactivity is pretty cool. The LG pre-renders an overlay menu on titles with the HDi layer, and it still does allow for scene selection, audio, play and the norms.

No big deal for me either.

..Cost though is prohibitive for me.

I own an HD-A1. It's worked nearly flawlessly for me which is all I care about. .


Since you have that player already and the combo player is expensive, how expensive?, why not just by an HD-DVD player? I am almost considering that option, two players, maybe.

Overall I think this player is a big step in the right direction. For most people buying a player this year HDMI 1.3 and HD audio is not going to be at the top of the list and for them this player will get them off the fence.


Many are in this boat :D How is the picture for both formats? Outputs true 1080p? DD/DTS on digital outs? How much?

Am I going out on a limb saying this player is not the best option if you can't play certain movies?

Out on a limb? More like understatement of the year (which is only three weeks young but still... :) )!

Since you have that player already and the combo player is expensive, how expensive?, why not just by an HD-DVD player? I am almost considering that option, two players, maybe.

I've gone that route just recently. I paid more than I would have liked for a Blu Ray player, it's just a stepping stone to what I will eventually get as was the A1. I really planned on waiting for 3rd or 4th generation players before upgrading.

That said, this player has a lot going for it. I could sell my A1 to help alleviate the cost. The specs on this player look good. If first user reports/reviews in the next couple of weeks look really really good, I may reconsider the "prohibitive" cost.

Too many decisions. :(

The most interesting thing about this thread is that someone actually paid $1200 for an LG product.

The most interesting thing about this thread is that someone actually paid $1200 for an LG product.
No worse than those who paid $1000 for a Samsung product a few months ago.

I hooked up the player the moment I got obviously as I was excited to try it since its a first in industry. The audio issue I agree is indeed an easy fix via firmware and I did say that multiple times, and I did not see a 1080 24 option in the limited setup menu, nor is it in the manual. I do have a Lumagen that takes 24 in, and I have a Qualia set to take 1080 24sF in from the Lumagen for film sources, which my 004 displays at 96. What setting is being engaged to get 24P since it has a 1080P option in the rez menu, not 1080 24P?

Again, I do feel like this player has potential, it just needs some tuning and should have had these simple bugs worked out before it ships. And, they did know about them obviously as far as the audio, as the last page of the manual does say exactly what I said about HDMI, and I confirmed it. 2-channel PCM only for DD+, DTS-HD and DD True HD.

Again, I do feel like this player has potential, it just needs some tuning and should have had these simple bugs worked out before it ships. And, they did know about them obviously as far as the audio, as the last page of the manual does say exactly what I said about HDMI, and I confirmed it. 2-channel PCM only for DD+, DTS-HD and DD True HD.

I just bought a Blu Ray player and already hate it due to it's limited audio (I went cheap and am too embarrassed to say what I bought. It's going back. Only does DD 5.1. Might as well watch HBOHD). Except for TrueHD on analog which you say is 2 channel only, does this player deliver 5.1 LPCM, DD+, and more over analog outputs? I suspect that there are many of us that have analog ins, not hdmi, and having correct sound over analogs is a BIG deal to us. It is a big deal to me. Thanks in advance for any input you can give me!

BTW: Have an HD-A1 connected via analogs and DD+ is awesome with TrueHD notching it up a bit more. I was willing to live with DD DTS on Blu Ray but cannot get that with the "cheap" Blu Ray player I bought. And please, not interested in the PS3.

I just bought a Blu Ray player and already hate it due to it's limited audio (I went cheap and am too embarrassed to say what I bought. It's going back. Only does DD 5.1. Might as well watch HBOHD). Except for TrueHD on analog which you say is 2 channel only, does this player deliver 5.1 LPCM, DD+, and more over analog outputs? I suspect that there are many of us that have analog ins, not hdmi, and having correct sound over analogs is a BIG deal to us. It is a big deal to me. Thanks in advance for any input you can give me!

BTW: Have an HD-A1 connected via analogs and DD+ is awesome with TrueHD notching it up a bit more. I was willing to live with DD DTS on Blu Ray but cannot get that with the "cheap" Blu Ray player I bought. And please, not interested in the PS3.Samsung BDP1000? Please confirm as I seem to have discovered much the same deficiencies you mention with DD via the 5.1ch analog outputs (2.0 for DD and no DTS at all).

No worse than those who paid $1000 for a Samsung product a few months ago.

Yes, but samsung is a notch higher than LG. A little notch! :D

Samsung BDP1000? Please confirm as I seem to have discovered much the same deficiencies you mention with DD via the 5.1ch analog outputs (2.0 for DD and no DTS at all).

Oh I am so embarrased. Please don't make fun of me. It was a Philips BDP9000 at $599. Far, far worse than the Toshiba HD A1 I bought at $399. :(

I am not surprised that you found the same things I did as both the Samsung and Philips seem to receive the same reviews. However, never expected not to be able to get DTS over Toslink. Would have kept it otherwise since so much else works really well (load time, resume, etc.) It acts more like a DVD player than the Tosh. That said:

Never seen anything less than DTS for HD DVD on the Tosh A1 and I can get lossless sound on the tosh. All this from supposedly the lowest end of the Tosh players. A pox on blu ray low end players, they don't exist. (No PS3 rebuts welcome. I am talking standalones). From what I've seen, you have to spend >$800 for a Blu Ray player that can jst begin to equal the AQ of the Tosh over analogs. And that is being generous.

The LG BH100 may indeed be tha player I have longed for. Please someone verify that the analogs outs are fully functional. If so, I want one. Thanks!

It does 5.1 DD+ and DTS-HD from analog 5.1 out. 2-channel TrueHD from analog out and HDMI.

It does 5.1 DD+ and DTS-HD from analog 5.1 out. 2-channel TrueHD from analog out and HDMI.

Thanks DocDVD! I can live without TrueHD for now. DD+ is no slouch. One question if I may. How about on Blu Ray decoding LPCM over analogs? Seems like that one should be a no brainer.

I now this is the LG thread buty to be fair I need to post a qualified correction to one opf my earlier posts in this thread. First, I stand by the statement that the Philips BDP9000 does a horrible job over Toslink. If you use bitstream and connect via HDMI to a TV that does not support audio over HDMI you may have problems. This is not the place to fully discuss this.

I firgured that if the Toslink is screwed up, so would the analogs. So as a last chance, I hooked up via analog and from very limited experience <15mins with BlackHawk down I appear to be able to get the LossLess 5.1 LPCM to work. Actually sounds great. I'll be keeping this player a little while longer. Need to play with more titles. Wish it did a better job over Toslink (Dolby DTS would be a nice feature to add) but I can live with analogs only. I'll be moving any other comments I have about the Philips player to the correct thread.

That said, I hope the LG BH10 is a HUGE success! Hope they don't get into to much trouble over the HDi issue. I suspect that in a few months these units or their successor will be selling at around $800. One site had it already listed at $998, not yet available and proabably mis priced. But.... who knows. I can see why this unit won Best Of Show at CES 2007.

I now this is the LG thread buty to be fair I need to post a qualified correction to one opf my earlier posts in this thread. First, I stand by the statement that the Philips BDP9000 does a horrible job over Toslink. If you use bitstream and connect via HDMI to a TV that does not support audio over HDMI you may have problems. This is not the place to fully discuss this.

I firgured that if the Toslink is screwed up, so would the analogs. So as a last chance, I hooked up via analog and from very limited experience <15mins with BlackHawk down I appear to be able to get the LossLess 5.1 LPCM to work. Actually sounds great. I'll be keeping this player a little while longer. Need to play with more titles. Wish it did a better job over Toslink (Dolby DTS would be a nice feature to add) but I can live with analogs only. I'll be moving any other comments I have about the Philips player to the correct thread.

That said, I hope the LG BH10 is a HUGE success! Hope they don't get into to much trouble over the HDi issue. I suspect that in a few months these units or their successor will be selling at around $800. One site had it already listed at $998, not yet available and proabably mis priced. But.... who knows. I can see why this unit won Best Of Show at CES 2007.Have you tried DD and DTS via the 5.1ch analogs to make sure you get the full 5.1?

Pics!!!!

Have you tried DD and DTS via the 5.1ch analogs to make sure you get the full 5.1?

I tried DD5.1 and Lossless PCM 5.1. They both work over analogs. Don't have a Blu Ray title that has DTS so I can't test that. I was in the middle of preparing a first user report in the Philips section when I accidently pressed some keys that destroyed my message before I could submit (hate that when it happens). It was really good too! Think I'll try again only this time I'll use Word, save often, and then cut and paste. :mad:

I just bought a Blu Ray player and already hate it due to it's limited audio (I went cheap and am too embarrassed to say what I bought. It's going back. Only does DD 5.1. Might as well watch HBOHD). Except for TrueHD on analog which you say is 2 channel only, does this player deliver 5.1 LPCM, DD+, and more over analog outputs? I suspect that there are many of us that have analog ins, not hdmi, and having correct sound over analogs is a BIG deal to us. It is a big deal to me. Thanks in advance for any input you can give me!

BTW: Have an HD-A1 connected via analogs and DD+ is awesome with TrueHD notching it up a bit more. I was willing to live with DD DTS on Blu Ray but cannot get that with the "cheap" Blu Ray player I bought. And please, not interested in the PS3.

I'd like to hear some more comparisons between DD and DD+.

Roger Dressler from Dolby says there isn't much difference because no one is taking advantage of the full capabilities of DD+ and he can't hear the difference between the 2.

Says it was specifically designed to work with the architecture of HD DVD.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=709111&page=1&pp=30

Too many decisions. :(


Yes, way too many, indeed. I waited for a long time to replace a CRT pj. Then an interim DVD that does progressive that ended up costing a lot after the warranty labor expired, now this decision :( Or, should one get the playstation and an HD player? Hooking up two? Room? HDMI switching? :(

Since this is not an HD-DVD licensed player it doesn't support iHD (LG officially said support will not be in any firmware release) since the use of iHD would require licensure.

I do not understand this part, So are you saying it will only play back BD at the moment and not HD DVD??

Thanks!




Thanks!

I do not understand this part, So are you saying it will only play back BD at the moment and not HD DVD??

Thanks!




Thanks!

I don't think so, Alan.

I think what folks are saying is that it just doesn't FULLY support ALL of the interactive, "iHD" features for HD DVD.

I'd like to hear some more comparisons between DD and DD+.

Roger Dressler from Dolby says there isn't much difference because no one is taking advantage of the full capabilities of DD+ and he can't hear the difference between the 2.

Says it was specifically designed to work with the architecture of HD DVD.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=709111&page=1&pp=30

Quite a nasty thread they have going on there! Currently don't have any DD+ on Blu Ray. I am using the analogs on my A1 and DD+ is all I use except when TrueHD is available. All I can add is that DD+ to my ears sounds far superior to plain old DD.

Quite a nasty thread they have going on there! Currently don't have any DD+ on Blu Ray. I am using the analogs on my A1 and DD+ is all I use except when TrueHD is available. All I can add is that DD+ to my ears sounds far superior to plain old DD.

Cool. So I'm guessing that you've A/B'd the 2 with the same disc?

What about DTS? Any opportunities to compare all 3 on the same disc?

I'm still on the fence, back in the stoneages with SD DVD, but me sure likes me DTS! It's night and day with DD, AFAIC.

I don't think so, Alan.

I think what folks are saying is that it just doesn't FULLY support ALL of the interactive, "iHD" features for HD DVD.

Ok, thats not so bad. Thank you.

The concept of a dual format player appeals to me, and I know I will buy one at some point. Maybe this model after it drops in price, or a future generation model. I know the fact that it does not play HD DVD iHD features such as U-control or PiP commentaries is not significant to me personally..........I rarely if ever watch extras other then trailers and 'previews'.


Edit: If anyone has this player and would not mind, I would be interested in seeing a picture of what the 'custom' HD DVD menu looks like.

The concept of a dual format player appeals to me, and I know I will buy one at some point. Maybe this model after it drops in price, or a future generation model. I know the fact that it does not play HD DVD iHD features such as U-control or PiP commentaries is not significant to me personally..........I rarely if ever watch extras other then trailers and 'previews'.

Careful about that. An example. As I understand it, King Kong which is on Universal only will not play on a Toshiba A1 with firmware 1.4 and before. Version 2.0 of the firmware in addition to other features added U Control (if I remember correctly) and enabled playback of KK. Don't know whether the lack of HDi will prevent playback, but lack of U Control may affect playback of some titles. I too rarely watch extras so I really don't know what the diff is in the two and really don't care. I just want to playback the movie.

Anyone willing to try King Kong on this player?

The unit does support 1080p/24 and it works. We have it feeding our Lumagen Vision HDQ (with the latest firmware) and it looks great. Just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. You are saying that the player itself will output 1080p/24 and not just that it will output a signal that the scaler can convert to 1080p/24, right? I'm guessing you know the difference, but since this confuses some people I just wanted to make sure.

--Darin

I posted pictures of the HD DVD custom menu in the official owners thread. It is not much of a menu but the content is still viewable... but have to hunt for it.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9537665#post9537665

Thank you for the pictures. The menu doesn't look very fancy, but certainly functional enough to watch a movie (assuming you're not the type that is very interested in extras).

Just want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. You are saying that the player itself will output 1080p/24 and not just that it will output a signal that the scaler can convert to 1080p/24, right? I'm guessing you know the difference, but since this confuses some people I just wanted to make sure.

--Darin
When you press the OK button on the Lumagen remote the on screen menu reports the input signal and the output signal. The Lumagen indicated 1080/24p on input with both disc formats in our prelim testing. The first day with the LG player it refused to output anything but 1080i or 480p. Then we updated the software in the Lumagen and activated the EDID setting of EXT+. This enabled the 1080/24p output from the LG.

this whole 1080p/24 is of interest to me too. what do you mean by "activated the EDID setting of EXT+."? From what I gather when I read this post you updated the lumagen and got different readings after you updated that unit. Was anything changed on the LG unit in order to change the output?

It seems odd that LG would deny this specification (or at least not tout it).

The EDID file is provided by the display manufacturer to communicate to the source over hdmi what resolutions the display supports. This is a plug and play feature designed to prevent the consumer from selecting a resolution his display does not support and entering a no picture situation. We have this same EDID relationship with our HD cable box. The problem I have seen is when the manufacturer does not write the EDID file correctly and the source determines the display does not support a certain resolution (even though it really does) and removes that option from the output menu in the source. With a external scaler we enjoy the luxury of an EDID file that can be updated to adjust for new sources. In the case of the LG BH100 Lumagen recently updated the EDID file to support the Sony BD player at 24p and this update also worked for the LG.

Could we get some clarification of this?

Is the Lumagen EDID facility being used to FORCE the LG to output 1080p24, or just ENABLING it?

I know that EDID edit allows Lumagens to extract 480i from DVD players that only output 480p over HDMI when left to their own devices, and I was wondering if the same could be happening here with 1080p24.

Cheers, Nick

The Lumagen simply provides the answer the source wants to see and this enables the resolution.

For most people buying a player this year HDMI 1.3 and HD audio is not going to be at the top of the list and for them this player will get them off the fence.

I disagree. For most people buying a player this year, this player costs way more than they're going to spend.

From the owners manual:

"Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD (DTS only) capa-
bility is limited to 6 channels (5.1)."

Anybody know which scaling chip this uses?

I disagree. For most people buying a player this year, this player costs way more than they're going to spend.

I'll stick to the facts which is that LG can't make enough of these and demand has far exceded forecasts. That tells me the price isn't too high; simple supply and demand.

Con's:

2) No ethernet for direct networking or updating. The RJ-45 is a service port only.
3) No 24P (at least for now)
4) Even though this is the first player with DTS-HD MA decoding internally, LG screwed the pooch as the HD decoding only decodes 2-channel over HDMI. Only the 5 analog outs decode 5.1 for HD. This should be an easy fix via firmware, but again, this is the biggest mistake I have seen on any of the players, as this was a bigger plus to me even than HD-DVD playback so I could enjoy Fox and MGM BDs with lossless compression over LPCM 5.1, but nope. I won't go back to analog out's when I have a preamp that can decode LPCM 5.1 over HDMI.
5) DD+ again is only 2-channel PCM over HDMI when set to PCM. It is decoded as DD legacy when set to bitstream. Plus must also be decode and sent to the analog outs to get 5.1.
6) DD True HD is also 2 channel PCM, and that does NOT change even on the analog outs. Again, as with plus and DTS-HD, this should be able to fixed just the A1 series was upgraded with a firmware upgrade.


This player could be great if it got a quick firmware update, but for now, I wouldn't buy it unless you have no use for advance audio codecs via HDMI LPCM. This lack of support is a generation back at least, and something I am personally extremely disappointed in.


Does anyone know LG's track record re: firmware upgrades for their products?

Hopefully, you will be able to burn an update to a DVD±r(w) (not a cd-r cuz it don't play 'em :) ).

I'd guess upgrading for outputting the Dolby TrueHD as 5.1 to the analog outs is possible since DD+ can do this.

Less likely that 1080/24p is an easy firmware upgrade.

Does anyone know what kind of bass management this unit has for the analog 5.1 outs?

I'll stick to the facts which is that LG can't make enough of these and demand has far exceded forecasts. That tells me the price isn't too high; simple supply and demand.

How do you know that? The player has only been available for a few days.

Does anyone know LG's track record re: firmware upgrades for their products?

Hopefully, you will be able to burn an update to a DVD±r(w) (not a cd-r cuz it don't play 'em :) ).

Less likely that 1080/24p is an easy firmware upgrade.


Firmware upgrades will be via a DVD ROM. Perhaps when this unit has been out for more than 1 week you will see a firmware release but I don't own a crystal ball.

1080p/24 is already supported. 1080p/60 is not.

I know about the supply situation and how firmware upgrades will work because we are an LG dealer and authorized service center.

...and I can confirm that the LG supports 1080p/24 and not 1080p/60. I have a display that does only 1080p/60 and another that does 1080p/60 and 1080p/24.

In addition, it only supports DVD upconversion to 1080i/60.

4) Even though this is the first player with DTS-HD MA decoding internally, LG screwed the pooch as the HD decoding only decodes 2-channel over HDMI. Only the 5 analog outs decode 5.1 for HD. This should be an easy fix via firmware, but again, this is the biggest mistake I have seen on any of the players, as this was a bigger plus to me even than HD-DVD playback so I could enjoy Fox and MGM BDs with lossless compression over LPCM 5.1, but nope. I won't go back to analog out's when I have a preamp that can decode LPCM 5.1 over HDMI.
5) DD+ again is only 2-channel PCM over HDMI when set to PCM. It is decoded as DD legacy when set to bitstream. Plus must also be decode and sent to the analog outs to get 5.1.
6) DD True HD is also 2 channel PCM, and that does NOT change even on the analog outs. Again, as with plus and DTS-HD, this should be able to fixed just the A1 series was upgraded with a firmware upgrade.Does this player really decode DTS-HD MA?

According to a LG rep at LG CES booth, it does not support DTS-HD, it only supports DTS core playback, and TrueHD would support 2ch decoding only. I suspect it's just decoding DTS core in the DTS-HD stream, downmixing to 2ch and output as 2ch PCM. I heard that 2ch only decoding of DTS-HD MA is not qualified to get DTS-HD Master Audio logo licence.

Is there the DTS-HD Master Audio logo on the player? And how about Dolby TrueHD logo?

This unit is already sitting on the shelf of my local Best Buy...I can't resist the temptation to buy it and bring it home to play with it... :D I'll let you know what I think...I have 1080P/24 capable projector and also 2 720P projectors. (I just "gotta" know how good this thing is)... :D

Avoid this player. I ordered it on BestBuy,com and I've had it for two days. The sound track is out of sync with the video with no way to adjust it. HD DVD's the problem is worse. I had a Toshiba HD-2a which I retuned when I got the LG BH-100 player. The video quality was much better with the toshiba. I'm also disapoointed with the Blu-Ray quality, although I;ve not been able to compare the quality.

The player seems to run hot. It locked up in one spot when watching the Borne Supremacy.

I will be returning the player to Best Buy.

My BH100 does not run hot... perhaps you had it sitting on another piece of equipment?

I did see the lip-sync issue once... I simply pushed the "audio" button to switch to a different sound track and switched back and the sound track was back in sync.

The Lumagen simply provides the answer the source wants to see and this enables the resolution.


Lurking on other threads. What does the pic look like using the LG and the Lumagen together????

Would you then return it to BB after you've played with it?

Only if it doesn't work correctly...and it doesn't!...There is no audio through HDMI. I can't believe it!...If you have an HDMI receiver (which I do) you cannot go through the receiver!...I can plug in to my projector direct, and get a great picture, but then I would have to use coaxial or optical for sound!...It simply will not even play through an HDMI receiver...I have 2 HDMI receivers and it will not play through either one!...I have swapped the unit out already but the other one is the same...wow!...BUMMER!!!!!!....NO HDMI AUDIO!... :mad:

My 1st post and I am a newbie. I get no HDMI audio or video through a Denon AVR 2807, although HDMI worked fine with my DVD 2910. HDMI direct to my Sharp 52D62U works fine, but only at 1080i. My gut is this thing is a piece of junk, but I would appreciate any suggestions.

Lurking on other threads. What does the pic look like using the LG and the Lumagen together????

This player does not need a Lumagen to look great but if you have additional sources like cable or dvd that could benefit from a scaler and your display did not support 24p natively the Lumagen would be a good tool to convert the 24p to 60p.

I got mine the other day, and it is not a piece of junk! Pic quality is great ! so far only watched one blu-ray(house of flying daggers) but about 3 times setting up my lumagen to get the perfect set up for my Marquee 8000 on a 159 inch diagnol screen @ 1080 p out of the lumagen but only 1080i out of component to the HDQ. Waiting for Moome to make more hdmi cards for the 8000. Even though 1080p is high band width for this marquee the pic was alot nicer than regular dvd at 800p from the HDQ. Next i'll see what the upscaling to 1080i does for dvd compared to outputting 480i and letting the lumagen do the processing.
I used the 5.1 analoge outs and the coax to see the diffence in audio. this fed my Adcom 830 processor. For me the decoding of the player was top notch! Better than the dd and dts out of the adcom! Dialog was alot cleaner and base was tighter, more controlled.
So do I yhink this is a piece of junk? not at this point...i'll have to spend some more quality time with it, and other titles i'm more familiar with.


Athansios

Love this new crt addiction i have !! :-)

I think without HDMI it could be classified as "junk"------ I mean come on, They should put "NO HDMI" right on the box as far as I'm concerned. How could LG drop the ball like this?------ :eek:

I'm sure a firmware update will solve that problem.

Here is a page from the printed manual which is not in the online manual:

http://jeffshome.net/LG/page.jpg

Hopefully this post from the other thread will reduce the confusion over supported audio with this player.

Only if it doesn't work correctly...and it doesn't!...There is no audio through HDMI. I can't believe it!...If you have an HDMI receiver (which I do) you cannot go through the receiver!...I can plug in to my projector direct, and get a great picture, but then I would have to use coaxial or optical for sound!...It simply will not even play through an HDMI receiver...I have 2 HDMI receivers and it will not play through either one!...I have swapped the unit out already but the other one is the same...wow!...BUMMER!!!!!!....NO HDMI AUDIO!... :mad:Is this with both Blu-ray AND HD-DVD discs or SD-DVD discs? The LG seems to be modeled after the Samsung and Phillips BD players which won't output audio from DTS discs (SD-DVD and BD) in LPCM mode. Does the LG have the ability to set digital output to LPCM or Bitstream like the Samsung & Philips? If so do you get the same results in both PCM and Bitstream settings?

Is this with both Blu-ray AND HD-DVD discs or SD-DVD discs? The LG seems to be modeled after the Samsung and Phillips BD players which won't output audio from DTS discs (SD-DVD and BD) in LPCM mode. Does the LG have the ability to set digital output to LPCM or Bitstream like the Samsung & Philips? If so do you get the same results in both PCM and Bitstream settings?

I think chucken may have gotten booted for a while. Someone baited him and he bit. I have this player. I'm still in shock myself that it doesn't play audio period through the hdmi port------Not on any format. It does have the ability to set to LPCM or bitstream-----but yes, you do get the same results on HD material----- (optical or coaxial)----- If you look at that chart it seems that you should be able to get audio through hdmi when set to bitstream, but it doesn't work. You can set your amp to hdmi passthrough and use coaxial, optical, or analog, but the minute you switch the amp back from hdmi passthrough to "amp" well the picture freezes and no picture or sound will come through the hdmi. Hope "that" clears things up a bit.

Hopefully this post from the other thread will reduce the confusion over supported audio with this player.

Dude----- What that chart says and what the player actually "does" are two different things. If you actually had one of these players and knew what you were talking about, (instead of assuming that the chart is right) you would know that chucken was right. You need to spend more time reading and learning, and less time attacking posters. Nuff said.

I do have one of these players but I do not have a prepro that accepts hdmi audio. The original review that started this thread reported 2 channel PCM over hdmi and that agrees with the chart in the LG manual. I am here to read and learn. Chucken was posting the same information over and over here and in multiple threads so I asked him to direct his anger toward LG. His post is valid that he is unable to get audio over hdmi and I have no problem with anyone reporting their issues with any product.

If you need audio over hdmi this player is not for you. If you need audio from optical, coax, or analog this player is 90% supported for audio with only Dolby TruHD missing.

I think chucken may have gotten booted for a while. Someone baited him and he bit. I have this player. I'm still in shock myself that it doesn't play audio period through the hdmi port------Not on any format. It does have the ability to set to LPCM or bitstream-----but yes, you do get the same results on HD material----- (optical or coaxial)----- If you look at that chart it seems that you should be able to get audio through hdmi when set to bitstream, but it doesn't work. You can set your amp to hdmi passthrough and use coaxial, optical, or analog, but the minute you switch the amp back from hdmi passthrough to "amp" well the picture freezes and no picture or sound will come through the hdmi. Hope "that" clears things up a bit.

Thanks Jeff, That certainly makes sense, but doesn't work with the Denon AVR 2807 and still no 1080p directly to the Sharp via HDMI. Mine is going back. Purchased from BB online, they said I can return it to a local store, a long wait, or return it at my expense, or take a hike. I will dispute the charges through the credit card Co. I have avoided BB for years and now will forever, (LG as well).

Thanks Jeff, That certainly makes sense, but doesn't work with the Denon AVR 2807 and still no 1080p directly to the Sharp via HDMI. Mine is going back. Purchased from BB online, they said I can return it to a local store, a long wait, or return it at my expense, or take a hike. I will dispute the charges through the credit card Co. I have avoided BB for years and now will forever, (LG as well).

I took my LG back this morning and had them credit back my $$$ to my card then drove over to Tweeter and picked up the Panny for 999.99-----THIS THING ROCKS!!!-----The HDMI audio is superb!----When playing the flick "Crank" I even noticed all 7.1 channels were lit up on the front of my HDMI receiver. I also noticed the thing plays all movies with no hitches or lockups. Very Kool player!

I took my LG back this morning and had them credit back my $$$ to my card then drove over to Tweeter and picked up the Panny for 999.99-----THIS THING ROCKS!!!-----The HDMI audio is superb!----When playing the flick "Crank" I even noticed all 7.1 channels were lit up on the front of my HDMI receiver. I also noticed the thing plays all movies with no hitches or lockups. Very Kool player!

Let us (me) know what you think as you get more familiar with it.

I'm sure that new owners must be busy just going back and forth between HD DVD and BD discs, but has anybody tried a good old fashion DVD? How about a simple good, bad or ugly first impression?

Let us (me) know what you think as you get more familiar with it.

I,ve tried the PS3, (good, but no ir control)-----I've brought home the Sony and took it back after a week, (picture freezes and no future codec updates promised). And of course you know about the LG, (which has no HDMI audio)---This Panasonic simply is the best I've tried so far. I have played about 10 different Blu-ray discs and so far perfect!-----The PQ is great and the audio is really, really good!. The remote control functions operate smoothly and it loads pretty fast-----You'd have to pry this thing from my dead clenched hands!----- :D

I'm sure that new owners must be busy just going back and forth between HD DVD and BD discs, but has anybody tried a good old fashion DVD? How about a simple good, bad or ugly first impression?

It upscales pretty well, and the PQ wasn't bad, but with no HDMI it's a no go for me. I imagine LG will come out with a second gen unit that will improve on it's short comings. No HDMI was just stupid on their part.

I did read some information in another thread posted by jeffshome and at least according to him ithe BH100 is slightly better than his Sony DVP-NS700P. The HDMI is a non-issue for me. For once, being limited to component analog is not a problem:-)

I did read some information in another thread posted by jeffshome and at least according to him ithe BH100 is slightly better than his Sony DVP-NS700P. The HDMI is a non-issue for me. For once, being limited to component analog is not a problem:-)

Everything in the industry is going HDMI, so it would be wise to future proof your home theater. I would not think of buying "anything" without HDMI abilities.

Everything in the industry is going HDMI, so it would be wise to future proof your home theater. I would not think of buying "anything" without HDMI abilities.
I don't mean to sound negative, but I've kinda given up on keeping up with HDMI. Even if I got the latest HDMI compliant component today, it would be obsolete in one year. I plan on using my receiver for another 3 years and future receivers will also support analog inputs. It sounds like the BH100 is about as advanced as any player on the market for display support with 1080p 24fps. Again, I will skip over a 1080p 0fps only display:-(

I don't mean to sound negative, but I've kinda given up on keeping up with HDMI. Even if I got the latest HDMI compliant component today, it would be obsolete in one year. I plan on using my receiver for another 3 years and future receivers will also support analog inputs. It sounds like the BH100 is about as advanced as any player on the market for display support with 1080p 24fps. Again, I will skip over a 1080p 0fps only display:-(

I can tell you all my equipment is HDMI-----Projectors, receivers, Tivo's, HD-DVD players. Mega changers, and I've had almost all of them for a year or more, and I can gaurantee you they will not be obsolete for a long time----HDMI (unlike DVI and component) is here to stay-----There will be versions of it, (1.0, 1.1, 1.2A, 1.3 etc) but they are pretty much compatible with each other for the basic functions. I wouldn't be so sure component will be here at all in the not so far future. HDMI is awesome, one wire for audio and video----couldn't be sweeter!.

I can tell you all my equipment is HDMI-----Projectors, receivers, Tivo's, HD-DVD players. Mega changers, and I've had almost all of them for a year or more, and I can gaurantee you they will not be obsolete for a long time----HDMI (unlike DVI and component) is here to stay-----There will be versions of it, (1.0, 1.1, 1.2A, 1.3 etc) but they are pretty much compatible with each other for the basic functions. I wouldn't be so sure component will be here at all in the not so far future. HDMI is awesome, one wire for audio and video----couldn't be sweeter!.

Component will be legacy and probably supported for a long time. However, even with the current batch of HD players, upscaling is supported only on HDMI on some of the players. Eventually, HD players/ discs will be downrez'ed over component, all part of Hollywoods paranoi. We are being forced into HDMI.

My understanding is that the major HDMI deficiency with the BH100 was around audio not video (unless you happen to have a 1080p display:-(). Has there been any talk about Hollywood preventing analog audio output with ICT type flags?

My understanding is that the major HDMI deficiency with the BH100 was around audio not video (unless you happen to have a 1080p display:-(). Has there been any talk about Hollywood preventing analog audio output with ICT type flags?

I've never seen such a proposal. Others?

We are being forced into HDMI.

True-----But kinda sad that we have to "force" people into a superior technology. I am glad that HDMI is here.

My understanding is that the major HDMI deficiency with the BH100 was around audio not video (unless you happen to have a 1080p display:-(). Has there been any talk about Hollywood preventing analog audio output with ICT type flags? IIRC the problems reported by DocDvd were that the player was not properly decoding the audio bitstreams to multistream LPCM on HDMI. It had nothing to do with HDMI itself. Multichannel LPCM and 1080p output of 10bit YCbCr 4:2:2 can carry hidef DVD farther than what we have today. This is all supported at HDMI 1.1. Not sure how may audio channels of LPCM - at least 6. Sending the new audio bitstreams via HDMI will require HDMI 1.3.

Preventing analog audio output will never happen, there's no reason to do it. It's also very unlikely that analog video output will be forced to down rez.

larry

Preventing analog audio output will never happen, there's no reason to do it. It's also very unlikely that analog video output will be forced to down rez.

larry

It's already happened-----Toshiba has omitted analogs on their HD-A2 Player. This is just a sign of things to come-----and I'm glad.

It's also very unlikely that analog video output will be forced to down rez.

larry

Ever? In the immediate future for HD I would agree. This is a case where the format war is a good thing since it keeps studios like Sony (see link (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060314-6377.html) ) from down rezing for fear of losing to HD DVD. But the ICT flag is there. Any studio at any time can elect to turn it on. However, since we are still early in the adoption phase for Hi Def players, it is unlikely to be used anytime soon so actually I agree with you, for now. Two to three years from now? Hmmm....

Will this pass DD/DTS 5.1 over HDMI?

Miata, I agree with you,

I don't mean to sound negative, but I've kinda given up on keeping up with HDMI. Even if I got the latest HDMI compliant component today, it would be obsolete in one year. I plan on using my receiver for another 3 years and future receivers will also support analog inputs. It sounds like the BH100 is about as advanced as any player on the market for display support with 1080p 24fps. Again, I will skip over a 1080p 0fps only display:-(

First off, the play back or regular dvd's is great. I have watched a few and have been very pleased with the players own scaling to 1080i(using the component outs no hdmi on my Marquee 8000 yet) and having the lumagen HDQ pass through although with the lumagen doing the scaling and the LG outputting 480i looked noticeably better. The fith element looked as good witht he lumagen doing the scaling compared to the Blu ray disc through the lumagen at 1080i( i hear the transfer of the 5th E on blu-ray is not that great and i agree).
Stargate looked great on BD!!!! And the analog out puts for the audio was very involving and had great clarity. Apperently the internal audio decoding is top notch! This was fed into my Adcom 830's analog inputs and i went back and forth between the coax out of the LG. both had great sound.

My suggestion Miata is to go out a audition one for your self. if you dont like it take it back liek other on this thread have...for me i love it and will keep it! Just waiting for Moome to make some more hdmi cards for my Marquee 8000 so i can see what 1080p can do! butt he component out is also very good.


Athansios


Love this new crt addiction i have!

Will this pass DD/DTS 5.1 over HDMI?

No.

Only if it doesn't work correctly...and it doesn't!...There is no audio through HDMI. I can't believe it!...If you have an HDMI receiver (which I do) you cannot go through the receiver!...I can plug in to my projector direct, and get a great picture, but then I would have to use coaxial or optical for sound!...It simply will not even play through an HDMI receiver...I have 2 HDMI receivers and it will not play through either one!...I have swapped the unit out already but the other one is the same...wow!...BUMMER!!!!!!....NO HDMI AUDIO!... :mad:

I just got mine on saturday. Ordered online from Circuit City. I have it hooked up
to Panasonic 1080P 65" Plasma with HDMI. (no HDMI cable came with the unit.
Had to run out to radio shack and get one. Pain in the neck). Both video and audio come through HDMI. Have tested it with two Blu Ray discs and a standard DVD. Picture and audio is very good. I am very happy with it so far. The only thing I can compare it to is my McIntosh MVP 851 hooked up to a 768P NEC 61" plasma with component and analog audio through a McIntosh MX 134. There is a huge difference in picture quality. Much sharper. 1080P at 65" is noticeably different than a 1080i satellite, cable or OTA video picture. Audio is good. but I cannot really
compare because I do not have it hooked up to a 5.1 system. I am waiting for
the new Denon receivers to come out. It is hooked up to a 20 year old 2.0
McIntosh system.

I think chucken may have gotten booted for a while. Someone baited him and he bit. I have this player. I'm still in shock myself that it doesn't play audio period through the hdmi port------Not on any format. It does have the ability to set to LPCM or bitstream-----but yes, you do get the same results on HD material----- (optical or coaxial)----- If you look at that chart it seems that you should be able to get audio through hdmi when set to bitstream, but it doesn't work. You can set your amp to hdmi passthrough and use coaxial, optical, or analog, but the minute you switch the amp back from hdmi passthrough to "amp" well the picture freezes and no picture or sound will come through the hdmi. Hope "that" clears things up a bit.

My player plays audio through the HDMI port.

My player plays audio through the HDMI port.

This unit does not play audio through the HDMI port----I thought something was wrong so I took it back to BB and they tried hooking it up to HDMI and NO GO. We even tried another unit and no audio through HDMI-----I have hooked up 5 different BLU-RAY machines to the same PIONEER RECEIVER and they all played perfectly----I hooked the LG up the same way and no audio----actually unless I did "passthru" I couldn't even get a picture.---Trust me folks, this unit doesn't play audio through HDMI.

You may have to change HDMI to PCM depending on the many different scenarios you can have, but the unit definately plays 5.1 through HDMI. It is playing 5.1 not only going thru a Vantage but then on to a Halcro processor.

This unit does not play audio through the HDMI port----I thought something was wrong so I took it back to BB and they tried hooking it up to HDMI and NO GO. We even tried another unit and no audio through HDMI-----I have hooked up 5 different BLU-RAY machines to the same PIONEER RECEIVER and they all played perfectly----I hooked the LG up the same way and no audio----actually unless I did "passthru" I couldn't even get a picture.---Trust me folks, this unit doesn't play audio through HDMI.

The unit definitely plays audio through HDMI. My unit is playing audio. I have no
other cables hooked up other than HDMI.

You may have to change HDMI to PCM depending on the many different scenarios you can have, but the unit definately plays 5.1 through HDMI. It is playing 5.1 not only going thru a Vantage but then on to a Halcro processor.

I tried every scenero in the set up menu---PCM, Bitstream, etc----NO AUDIO through HDMI---Could not get audio to work through HDMI. Had to hook the HDMI cable directly to my TV and use optical to get sound. The same with the second unit.

I tried every scenero in the set up menu---PCM, Bitstream, etc----NO AUDIO through HDMI---Could not get audio to work through HDMI. Had to hook the HDMI cable directly to my TV and use optical to get sound. The same with the second unit.

You must have a bad player. I do not have any other cable except HDMI and I
am getting audio.

Where can I buy one of these online other than Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.?

No 1080p output? My BH100 is working well with HDMI video to my panasonic 1080p plasma tv and optical audio to my receiver. The BH100 display option list will not let me select 1080p. It will only allow 1080i to be selected. Any thoughts?

maybe the hdcp "hand shake" didnt make a good conection. try to unplug the hdmi cable from the player then plug it back in. might help.

You must have a bad player. I do not have any other cable except HDMI and I
am getting audio.

You have yours hooked to a plasma tv and you are only getting 2 channel.----- If you hook it to a HDMI receiver you cannot get 5.1 sound. That is what we are talking about.

No one knows of a good online retailer?

are there any blu ray or hd-dvd players that output 1080p/60 (that most plasma tv's can input). if not what good is having a 1080p tv?

Hideffjeff, what reciever are you using?model number and version of hdmi?

Hideffjeff, what reciever are you using?model number and version of hdmi?

I have the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXsi---1.2 HDMI---The LG player will not play through it. All other Blu-Ray/HD-DVD players do. I don't care what "anyone" says on here----The LG will "not" play 5.1 DD through HDMI.

Here is a review from another forum...I also bought this player and returned it due to no 5.1 HDMI capability.

"LG is deceptive selling this player. It is not a real HD DVD player as claimed - it does not support HDi which is one of the biggest and coolest features of HD DVD that is used virtually everywhere down to the most basic menus most of the interactive features and lots of extras found on highdef discs will be inaccessible with this player. In addition, the player only appears to decode 2ch of audio over HDMI, meaning that you can't use the highest quality digital audio interconnect with this player either.

In other words, its really only an overpriced, mediocre Blu-Ray player with severely crippled unofficial HD DVD playback (LG was forced to remove the official HD DVD logo as the player does not even meet HD DVD spec). Definitely *NOT* worth the pricetag. Pick yourself up a Toshiba HD-A2 instead!"

Does this "only 2ch of audio over HDMI" problem apply to both HD-DVD and BD or just HD-DVD?

Does this "only 2ch of audio over HDMI" problem apply to both HD-DVD and BD or just HD-DVD?

Both....but to tell you the truth, I couldn't get mine to play even 2 channel through HDMI ...If I hooked up the LG player to my Pioneer, I got no Picture and no sound. But if I used "pass-through" on the receiver, I could get just the picture.

HDMI is awesome, one wire for audio and video----couldn't be sweeter!.
Sorry about replying to a week old post, but "one wire for audio & video" works in very few circumstances. My scaler accepts tons of HDMI/component/s-video inputs, but it's not an amplifier. I'd have to send HDMI to my scaler, then run ANOTHER HDMI cable to my amp (thus two cables) to get any product to work.

Even people who do everything with their A/V receiver need to run one HDMI cable from the DVD player and one to their television - essentially splitting the signal.

HDMI works best with a simple setup of a DVD player directly connected to a television - one cable does it all. Throw in an amp and speakers and you need two HDMI cables. The biggest advantage of HDMI is that it is capable of passing the new HD audio formats - which optical can not, but which can be done via analog. Since the digital signal has to be converted to analog at some point - this LG unit looks like a solution to my hi-def player. If it just had 7 channel analog outputs I'd own one today, but now I'm between the Panasonic BluRay and this unit.

the lossless audio over the analog sound awsome! i have it hooked up to my adcom 830. i also have it conected with the coax and the analog sounds better!

And the video is excelent! Even over the component outs to my marquee 8000 Projector. so what if the hdmi isnt working now. i'm sure a future firmware will alleviate it in the future. and for the HDi stuff, I only watch movies, i dont have time in my busy schedual to play with the extra features never di witht he regualr dvds why start now! Audition it in your own home and then make a decision. i might actually get another one for my every day viewing TV !


Athansios

Love this new crt addiction!

Sorry about replying to a week old post, but "one wire for audio & video" works in very few circumstances. My scaler accepts tons of HDMI/component/s-video inputs, but it's not an amplifier. I'd have to send HDMI to my scaler, then run ANOTHER HDMI cable to my amp (thus two cables) to get any product to work.

Even people who do everything with their A/V receiver need to run one HDMI cable from the DVD player and one to their television - essentially splitting the signal.

HDMI works best with a simple setup of a DVD player directly connected to a television - one cable does it all. Throw in an amp and speakers and you need two HDMI cables. The biggest advantage of HDMI is that it is capable of passing the new HD audio formats - which optical can not, but which can be done via analog. Since the digital signal has to be converted to analog at some point - this LG unit looks like a solution to my hi-def player. If it just had 7 channel analog outputs I'd own one today, but now I'm between the Panasonic BluRay and this unit.

You need to buy a receiver with 3 or 4 HDMI inputs and one output-----That's what I have. It works great!----This is the way things are going with A/V. Receivers with HDMI are awesome. 1 wire for both!----Simply the best---- :D

Audio receivers do not have any controls for adjusting video levels. What happens when the black levels don't match between two sources and they share the same input on the display?

Audio receivers do not have any controls for adjusting video levels. What happens when the black levels don't match between two sources and they share the same input on the display?

That's a silly question----You don't have any control when you use a switcher or a cable either---I am quite happy with the way my 4 sources show up on my projector. My HDMI receiver has a scaler built in but even without it my projector shows the approximate same black on all sources, and 2 of my sources are adjustable. HDMI for audio and video is the way to go. If you are really that worried about matching blacks there are HDMI scalers with multiple inputs that can calibrate your individual sources and send them to your projector the way you want them.

Yes I do prefer a scaler over a receiver so I can adjust the video levels independantly between sources. The hdmi audio is too buggy for me at this time so I will stick to analog until more companies are able to perfect this connection.

Yes I do prefer a scaler over a receiver so I can adjust the video levels independantly between sources. The hdmi audio is too buggy for me at this time so I will stick to analog until more companies are able to perfect this connection.


Ditto ! Thats why Outlaw audio and Lumagen(two great companies) preffer dvi over hdmi. better video and stick with audio via spdif or analog outs. hdmi still isnt perfected. Maybe by version 5.9 they'll have it right ! ;-)

You need to buy a receiver with 3 or 4 HDMI inputs and one output-----That's what I have. It works great!----This is the way things are going with A/V. Receivers with HDMI are awesome. 1 wire for both!----Simply the best---- :D
Unfortunately your setup is already obsolete. Without HDMI 1.3 you now can't sent the new hi def audio formats to your receiver. So you first have to send the output via PCM to your receiver, but if you have an existing receiver there is no way it can decode the DTS-HD or DD+.

Using the analog outputs, the only thing you need is a new player and keep your existing A/V receiver.

Now I'm still running analog 1.0 cables, so maybe when 1.1 cables are introduced I'll be in the same boat as the HDMI guys. :p

So, after reading all the posts, I'm getting the impression that this player, assuming you use the HDMI only for video, and the analog 6 channel out for audio, isn't too bad?

I've got a Pioneer Elite VSX-74txvi and can utilize I-link for DVD-A and SACD, so I have an open mulit-in.

Is there any negative from a sound quality standpoint to just using the 6-ch in on the LG to decode all the advanced formats?

So, after reading all the posts, I'm getting the impression that this player, assuming you use the HDMI only for video, and the analog 6 channel out for audio, isn't too bad?
And for just over a grand, it's a bargain to boot.

Is there any negative from a sound quality standpoint to just using the 6-ch in on the LG to decode all the advanced formats?
When you say 6 ch in, I'm assuming you mean 5.1 - and the only negative from using analog would be if your Pioneer Elite VSX-74txvi was so damn good at analog conversion that you would never use a $1,000 piece of equipment to do DAC - even for standard DTS/DD.

If you're willing to let another component do the DAC, then the only negative would be you need 6 more wires - rather than just an HDMI cable.

^^Thanks for the info. Yes, I mean 5.1.

Good to hear. While this player might not be perfect for everyone, it might be just the thing for others of us.

As I said in an earlier post The Analog 5.1 outs to my Adcom 830 Preamp sound is great, especially if the disc has lossless or uncompressed PCM . It seems the DA's in the BH100 are of good quality and actually sounds better than the 5.1 bitstream out to the digital inputs of my preamp. So to answer your question..YES, sound quality of the internal decoders for the uncompressed pcm is outstanding! IMO.

Athanasios

No one knows of a good online retailer?

Id like to know as well..anyone?

Has it been established yet that this machine definitely outputs 1080p24?

Thank you.

Has it been established yet that this machine definitely outputs 1080p24?
Alan,

According to a couple people on this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=789598&page=1&pp=10&highlight=lg+bh100

it does output 1080p/24.

Yes I do prefer a scaler over a receiver so I can adjust the video levels independantly between sources. The hdmi audio is too buggy for me at this time so I will stick to analog until more companies are able to perfect this connection.

There is nothing "buggy" about HDMI. I have all HDMI sources...SD-Mega Changer, Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, HD-Directv...and have had all but the Blu-ray for almost a year and have had no problems with HDMI whatsoever. Without HDMI this player is useless...I can't believe they made a combo player like this with no HDMI capability... :mad: DVI is garbage and component is archaic... :D

Unfortunately your setup is already obsolete. Without HDMI 1.3 you now can't sent the new hi def audio formats to your receiver. So you first have to send the output via PCM to your receiver, but if you have an existing receiver there is no way it can decode the DTS-HD or DD+.

Using the analog outputs, the only thing you need is a new player and keep your existing A/V receiver.

Now I'm still running analog 1.0 cables, so maybe when 1.1 cables are introduced I'll be in the same boat as the HDMI guys. :p

The decoding is done inside the player and there is no need to send it through 1.3 to the receiver.....1.0, 1.1, 1.2 is all you need...And according to Dolby HDMI is the ultimate way to get TrueHD and DD+ right now...(better than analog)...Go read at the Dolby site...Sorry, but facts are facts... :) The only thing "obsolete" these days are analog receivers... :D

If you are so unhappy with the LG you should return it and buy something else.

If you are so unhappy with the LG you should return it and buy something else.

I did...I bought the Panny Blu-Ray and already had an HD-A1...I am "finally" happy!... :) They are both playing flawlessly and the audio through HDMI is astonishing on both players. I can now finally concentrate on watching and listening to a wider selection of movies... :)

If analog recivers are Obsolete as you say so, and dvi then why do the manufactures of some of the best audio and video gear (outlaw Audio,Lumagen) still make there equipment with DVI and or analog 5.1 inputs? Hmmmmm food for thought. If you think about it Your digital reciever eventualy decodes the audio to analog to your speakers and or amp so the same chips that are inside HD Dvd and Bly ray players do the same thing your reciever does!!!!!!!!Also the hdmi swithching is most likely degrading the signal in some way even though mst say it doesnt. Almost all professional calibraters of displays tell you not to use the video swithching of recivers no matter how good they claim to be. so i Guess there not obsolete,they just use a different Method of getting the sound to your ears.

CKelly33 and Alan I just saw this posted on the source components for sale thread. though you two might be intrested i'll elt you two have first dibs but if not i might get a second LG !

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=801176

Athanasios

When I asked some of the high end manufacturers about the reason for the delay introducing audio source components with hdmi audio paths they replied that "hdmi introduced a lot of jitter into the digital audio."

I thought i heard that too, Also they said there is still alot of work to be done with the audio side of it, sems they cant get evryone onboard to make equipment compatible. small variences in hdmi audio set ups with different manufactures cause play back problems with certain recievers as with this LG some high end recivers work others dont.and this isnt only with the LG unit that is why smart manufactures still have the anlog outs for the decoding to be done internaly.

The decoding is done inside the player and there is no need to send it through 1.3 to the receiver.....1.0, 1.1, 1.2 is all you need...
Good point and I retract that point of my argument.

And according to Dolby HDMI is the ultimate way to get TrueHD and DD+ right now...(better than analog)...Go read at the Dolby site...Sorry, but facts are facts... :)
Now we're just splitting hairs - unless your ears hear digitally. At some point the 1's a zeros have to be made analog and doing that at the player level or at the A/V Receiver is a non-issue.
The only thing "obsolete" these days are analog receivers... :D
I appreciate your strong passion for HDMI, but from the products available today and those announced for this year, my analog receiver will be going strong for at least another ten years.

Good point and I retract that point of my argument.


Now we're just splitting hairs - unless your ears hear digitally. At some point the 1's a zeros have to be made analog and doing that at the player level or at the A/V Receiver is a non-issue.

I appreciate your strong passion for HDMI, but from the products available today and those announced for this year, my analog receiver will be going strong for at least another ten years.


HERE HERE !!!!!!!!

I have the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXsi---1.2 HDMI---The LG player will not play through it. All other Blu-Ray/HD-DVD players do. I don't care what "anyone" says on here----The LG will "not" play 5.1 DD through HDMI.


maybe its a compatibility issue with this LG player and your Pioneer receiver

I picked up the LG combo player tonight and connected it to my Anthem AVM 50 PrePro via HDMI with PCM selected on the LG and I was only getting 2 channel audio through HDMI. I switched to Bitstream on the LG and was able to get full 5.1 audio. I verified this with a couple different Bluray and HD DVD movies

I then brought the player upstairs and connected it directly to my Sharp Aquos with an HDMI cable and I wasnt getting any audio with Bitstream selected, I switched back to PCM on the LG and the audio came through correctly

for the record I use HDMI with all my devices without any problems

glad to hear its working fine for you!

Athanasios

CKelly33 and Alan I just saw this posted on the source components for sale thread. though you two might be intrested i'll elt you two have first dibs but if not i might get a second LG !

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=801176

Athanasios

Thanks Athanasios! That's great help.

Now that people are reporting 5.1 over optical, how does the sound compare to the other standalones (XA2, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, etc)?

And what is the difference (in a nutshell) between PCM and Bitstream? Is one considered better?

Does this player support lossless sound?

one more thing, is there an ethernet port on this that is available for firmware updates, or is it a disc-based service?

Now that people are reporting 5.1 over optical, how does the sound compare to the other standalones (XA2, Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, etc)?
5.1 over optical will sound the same as all other standalones since the best you can do is bitstream encoded. Basically, you can say that the bitstream is a compressed (hence encoded) stream of the original uncompressed sound (close enough). The decoding is done in the receiver, not the player, and a bitstream from one player to the next is exactly the same from the same disc and bitstream sound track.

And what is the difference (in a nutshell) between PCM and Bitstream? Is one considered better?

PCM stands for Pulse Code Modulation and can be sent via HDMI to an HDMI capable receiver or TV. Each bit of the original recorded signal is in the PCM stream, no attempt is made to compress the signal. You may also use the analog outs on the DVD player, if available, to feed analog inputs on your receiver and get lossless sound. To have lossless sound on a Blu Ray disk, look for a sound track called LPCM. On HD DVD, the equivalent is TrueHD.

Bitstream is an encoded soundtrack and is a lossy format (some better than others). It lowers the bitrate so that you can either send the signal via Toslink or Coax. IMO, 5.1 DTS Dolby which is the best you can expect right now on bitstream is very, very good, BUT, lossless is even better.

Does this player support lossless sound?

Yes, but only over HDMI or analogs. There are conflicting reports in this thread as to whether the HDMI actually does do 5.1 lossless. No player supports lossless over Toslink or coax, it's not possible with the current standards.

one more thing, is there an ethernet port on this that is available for firmware updates, or is it a disc-based service?

Don't know.

thanks for schoolin' me James. I appreciate the information. I'm soaking up as much information as I can so I can decide on a BR player.

My 1st post and I am a newbie. I get no HDMI audio or video through a Denon AVR 2807, although HDMI worked fine with my DVD 2910. HDMI direct to my Sharp 52D62U works fine, but only at 1080i. My gut is this thing is a piece of junk, but I would appreciate any suggestions.

HDMI direct to my Sharp 52D62U is also fine but I too can only get 1080i. I called LG and was told this was the same with Samsung and Sony displays (so is this what some of you guys have been sayings is an EDID (via HDMI) problem through these 3 company's displays?) . I asked if there was a fix in the works and the rep had no idea.

I'm not sure I'm going to return the LG yet as I'm going to try it hooked up through a 1080p scaler (Gefen) when it arrives.

So far every one of my A/V equipment choices has been bad! Sharp 52D62U with banding issues, Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi (and 82) with several firmware and at least one hardware issue. At least my Oppo upscaling DVD player was a good choice! Hope the Gefen scaler is a good choice. Cannot afford the swank DVDO units.

I wonder if some of these technologies are ready for prime time yet.

I'll stick to the facts which is that LG can't make enough of these and demand has far exceded forecasts. That tells me the price isn't too high; simple supply and demand.

Or it could mean that LG literally can't make them... And thus has only unleashed a "few" on the world, hence demand outstripping supply.

It's already happened-----Toshiba has omitted analogs on their HD-A2 Player. This is just a sign of things to come-----and I'm glad.

I assume he's referring to two channel analog audio. Toshiba did not "omit" the six channel analog outputs from their A2 - they were simply out of place for the initial $500 A1. One doesn't find six channel analog audio ports on generic box store DVD players.

Two channel analog audio isn't going anywhere for a long, long time.

I have a pretty good understanding of video specifications, but all of this audio-talk is new to me. Would someone mind answering a few questions:

1. What is the BEST audio connection for this unit? I have a Denon 3806 and can run either HDMI for video and analog for sound, -OR-HDMI fpr both (**I have read in another thread that the LG does 5.1 over HDMI when switched to Bitstream) .
2. Using the BEST audio connection - what are the best modes will I get?
3. I have read that Denon receivers have a "known issue" with this device- if I use HDMI through my Denon 3806, what issues can I expect?
4. Has anyone done a comparison of SD upconversion with the Toshibas or other BR players?
5. How does HD & BR video compare?

I have read through these threads but there are so many of them scattered throughout the HD & BR player forums. There's also a little discrepancy between them as far as the information goes.

Thanks for the help! This will hopefully make my decision on this unit vs. two better standalone units.

The analog outs are the best sounding i've heard, it does the lossless pcm internaly and sends it to your reciever via analog 5.1 inputs on your reciver if it has it(most High end recievers do). I'd try that as well as the regular coaxal digital out. I now Use the analog outs exlusivly out of my LG, Watched Tokyo drift last night and was blown away! great tight base and clear dialog.

now you just have to decide on player !

Remeber two sperate players means more cables!!! and more $$$$$

I assume he's referring to two channel analog audio. Toshiba did not "omit" the six channel analog outputs from their A2 - they were simply out of place for the initial $500 A1. One doesn't find six channel analog audio ports on generic box store DVD players.

Two channel analog audio isn't going anywhere for a long, long time.

Yes they did...I am reffering to 5.1 analog...Toshiba omitted the 5.1 analog outs on the A2---if you want DD+ or true HD you have to have to use the HDMI out. There is no 5.1 analog out on the player. Plus who gives a crap about 2 channel anyways?---Surround sound it the "only" way to watch movies--- :rolleyes:

thanks nashou66! I think I may be giving the LG a try. I've been concerned that I wouldn't be able to get quality audio, but you seem to have settled that.

Is everybody that owns one happy with the BR & HD-DVD video quality? Everything I've read seems positive. There is some question, however, in regards to its SD upscaling capabilities. Does anyone have a comment on this - especially someone who has used the Toshiba HD-DVD models? I have been VERY happy with their upscaling capabilies (I have owned the XA1, A2 & now the XA2. I doubt its as good as the XA2, but if it hangs in there with the A2 & the XA1, I'd be happy.

I don't need HDi BUT I am concerned that future developments with HD-DVD which require a firmware upgrade will not be supported with thes "non-certified" unit, thereby leaving it unable to play certain titles (weren't there players that had trouble with King Kong or some other title until firmware fixed it?).

Hideffjeff read this,



I assume he's referring to two channel analog audio. Toshiba did not "omit" the six channel analog outputs from their A2 - they were simply out of place for the initial $500 A1. One doesn't find six channel analog audio ports on generic box store DVD players.

Two channel analog audio isn't going anywhere for a long, long time.

Toshiba omited the analog out on their CHEAP Players but there included on the X Variants of there players. the X series players are marketed towards people who have high end gear with analog inputs to get the most out of the lossless audio formats till hdmi is a more stable product.


Ckelly33,

the up scaling is not as good as the x2 but it is just as good as the X1. But for me i will be using a panasonic with SDI output for my sd discs, or i might have JBV digital add sdi out for the sd dvds to my lg. i havnt decided yet and not sure if they can do it. but it definatly is better than a standard upscaling dvd player.

glad to help !

has anyone on this forum used this player with the Denon 3806 receiver?

The salesman at the local BB in my area said he keeps selling the same 3 LG players over and over again!...He said folks keep bringing them back because of no 5.1 HDMI or they can't get something or other to work right...I laughed my ass off when he said that...(I reluctantly told him that I was one of those customers). I went there today to grab a HD-DVD and a Blu-ray movie and he said...Yep!...we're all sold out until tomorrow when someone brings one back again.... :)

Tell that to T-Smith in an earlirt post who seems to have it hooked up to his Anthem reciever via hdmi and is having no problem with the 5.1 out of hdmi. But then again BB doesnt carry much High end gear and probably neith do most of their customers . ;-)

LG Technical support called me on Thursday and said that the BH100 only outputs 1080P
at 24 or 30hz, which I knew. However, there is only one plasma TV on the market that
accepts 1080P at 24 or 30hz and that is the LG 71 inch. My Panasonic TH-65PX600U only
accepts 1080P at 60hz. So I can only get 1080i. LG tech said some Sony LCDs and
Mitsubishi DLPs accept 1080P at 24hz or 30hz. Very misleading on LG's part especially
with 1080P in large numbers on the box. The LG tech admitted that the instructions
with the BH100 does not explain this. He was going to make a report to send to the
factory. He said that I would have my unit back tomorrow. He said at the moment there
were no plans for a firmware update.

I know all yuo people on this thread want to use the hdmi to get the 1080p out but in reality there is not much a difference from p to i . Houndpr just for fun when you get your player back try using the component inputs vs the hdmi to see how the pic compares. i dont have a 1080p display with hdmi at the moment but i am outputting 1080p to my Marquee 8000 projector via a lumagen scaler and 5 bnc's using the component outs of the LG, waiting for a hdmi card for the projector to come it so i can do comparisons from the lumagen and a direct conection to the projector. I think this is a very very great loking set up even on my 12 foot screen!!!! The store Fixed pixel displays showing blu-ray and HD DVDS dont look any where as good even at 1080p straight digital connection.

So i'd like to see hwat your impressions are of the displays deinterlacing to 1080p vs the LG.

I know all yuo people on this thread want to use the hdmi to get the 1080p out but in reality there is not much a difference from p to i . Houndpr just for fun when you get your player back try using the component inputs vs the hdmi to see how the pic compares. i dont have a 1080p display with hdmi at the moment but i am outputting 1080p to my Marquee 8000 projector via a lumagen scaler and 5 bnc's using the component outs of the LG, waiting for a hdmi card for the projector to come it so i can do comparisons from the lumagen and a direct conection to the projector. I think this is a very very great loking set up even on my 12 foot screen!!!! The store Fixed pixel displays showing blu-ray and HD DVDS dont look any where as good even at 1080p straight digital connection.

So i'd like to see hwat your impressions are of the displays deinterlacing to 1080p vs the LG.

I will try it and let you know. The 1080i output looked very good with HDMI.

The description on the bestbuy site says "Support MPEG-4." Does it play divx/xvid files? If it does, it would be awesome, a truly universal player.

However, there is only one plasma TV on the market that
accepts 1080P at 24 or 30hz and that is the LG 71 inch.

The Pioneer PRO-FHD1 plasma accepts 1080p/24 and displays at 1080p/72.

Avoid this player. I ordered it on BestBuy,com and I've had it for two days. The sound track is out of sync with the video with no way to adjust it. HD DVD's the problem is worse. I had a Toshiba HD-2a which I retuned when I got the LG BH-100 player. The video quality was much better with the toshiba. I'm also disapoointed with the Blu-Ray quality, although I;ve not been able to compare the quality.

The player seems to run hot. It locked up in one spot when watching the Borne Supremacy.

I will be returning the player to Best Buy.

mine has locked up as well - have to power down to restart. standard dvd's won't even play on my mahine - tried several and none will play.

LG support offered to send me a shipping label & they would send me a new one. not sure if it's worth the hassle.

mine has locked up as well - have to power down to restart. standard dvd's won't even play on my mahine - tried several and none will play.

LG support offered to send me a shipping label & they would send me a new one. not sure if it's worth the hassle.


what display do you have and what are the settings on the LG...are you going HDMI out or component?

I have only tested a couple SD DVDs and so far the upconversion on this player set at 1080i is right there with my Oppo 970

Send it back with the shipping lable, i have had mine foir over a month and love it. no problems at all, never froze once. on any format. if using hdmi try turning on everything in the chain then, the lg last this is true with all hdmi stuff for the most part. Ship it back and dont return it to the store. the Morrons at the store just put it back to be sold again instead fo sending to lg for repair or replacement.


mine has locked up as well - have to power down to restart. standard dvd's won't even play on my mahine - tried several and none will play.

LG support offered to send me a shipping label & they would send me a new one. not sure if it's worth the hassle.

display is a jvc g15u projector & connected via component. lg video settings are 16:9, 1080i

sounds like this player wont upscale over component and that it wont automatically change to a lower setting

I would try the lowest setting ( 480p? ) just to see if you get a picture

For those of you who have this feature, is there a " resume" feature on ANY format? Resume from stop? resume from poer down? resume from eject & reinsert?

HDMI direct to my Sharp 52D62U is also fine but I too can only get 1080i. I called LG and was told this was the same with Samsung and Sony displays (so is this what some of you guys have been sayings is an EDID (via HDMI) problem through these 3 company's displays?) . I asked if there was a fix in the works and the rep had no idea.

I'm not sure I'm going to return the LG yet as I'm going to try it hooked up through a 1080p scaler (Gefen) when it arrives.

So far every one of my A/V equipment choices has been bad! Sharp 52D62U with banding issues, Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi (and 82) with several firmware and at least one hardware issue. At least my Oppo upscaling DVD player was a good choice! Hope the Gefen scaler is a good choice. Cannot afford the swank DVDO units.

I wonder if some of these technologies are ready for prime time yet.

That's weird---I have had the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi for almost a year and absolutely love it!---Use all 4 HDMI inputs and it switches and scales perfectly...Everyone I have talked to that has one loves theirs--- :)

For those of you who have this feature, is there a " resume" feature on ANY format? Resume from stop? resume from poer down? resume from eject & reinsert?

all BD players resume just fine on stop and most of them on power, HD just the opposite

both feature bookmarks for reinsert

the LG resumes on both because the cause of no resume on HD is the interactive stuff which the LG doesn't have ;)

-Gary

The Pioneer PRO-FHD1 plasma accepts 1080p/24 and displays at 1080p/72.

(My first post)

6th and 7th generation Pioneer plasmas and maybe even earlier ones will accept 1080p/24. (I DO understand they are not 1080p displays.)

So has anyone with the LG BH100 tried it out with a Pioneer plasma to see if they can engage its 1080p/24 output ?

(My first post)

6th and 7th generation Pioneer plasmas and maybe even earlier ones will accept 1080p/24. (I DO understand they are not 1080p displays.)

So has anyone with the LG BH100 tried it out with a Pioneer plasma to see if they can engage its 1080p/24 output ?

I will let you know next week. I ordered one from CC in a moment of weakness. I was planning on using both an XA2 and a BDP-HD1 but the BDP-HD1 is hard to find unless you want to pay the full price...which I can't bring myself to do. I got tired of waiting.

I will let you know next week. I ordered one from CC in a moment of weakness. I was planning on using both an XA2 and a BDP-HD1 but the BDP-HD1 is hard to find unless you want to pay the full price...which I can't bring myself to do. I got tired of waiting.

It doesn't surprise that Pioneer would charge a premium for their BR player. But spare a thought for us Brits who have to pay a 30% mark up for almost everthing.

You might be pleasantly surprised with the LG.

Please also tell us about its SD DVD upscaling abilities !

Kudos to LG for being first to market a machine that will at least play both .

It doesn't surprise that Pioneer would charge a premium for their BR player. But spare a thought for us Brits who have to pay a 30% mark up for almost everthing.

You might be pleasantly surprised with the LG.

Please also tell us about its SD DVD upscaling abilities !

Kudos to LG for being first to market a machine that will at least play both .
The player is actually going to be delivered tomorrow!! I'll put up a review as soon as I can comparing the three formats.

That's weird---I have had the Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSi for almost a year and absolutely love it!---Use all 4 HDMI inputs and it switches and scales perfectly...Everyone I have talked to that has one loves theirs--- :)

We agree 110%. The Elite VSX-84TXSi is my personal favorite.

-Robert

The player is actually going to be delivered tomorrow!! I'll put up a review as soon as I can comparing the three formats.

Kelly when you use it, make sure your Pioneer display is set to dot by dot so there is no overscan. This will get the best picture possible- I have seen it done when connected to 1080p/24 output from a Pioneer blu ray player; it not just for PCs.

Hopefully when the LG bh100 reaches the European shores it will be the 2nd gen version. I don't care about HDi support but Dolby TrueHD over analogue 5.1 is something I would not want to miss having got used to it with my tosh HD-A1 and region 2 SD DVD support is a must for me this time as the HD-A1 does not do this and I do not have a decent upscaling player !

Have a good one !

looks like it won't arrive until Tuesday. That's the third delivery date fedex has given!

After about a month playing around with this player, I've decided to return it to the store. Here are some of my thoughts:

Pros:

1. Player does 1080p/24 and puts out a nice sharp image on my Panasonic PT-AX100U (the projector can only display 720p but supports 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 signals). The image is noticeably sharper in 1080p/24 then 1080i/60 or 1080p/60 on the Panasonic projector. I also compared it to a Toshiba HD-XA2 at 1080p/60 and the LG at 1080p/24 was slightly sharper than the XA2. However, when both the Toshiba and the LG was connected to my Sony SXRD, the 1080i/60 of the LG was slightly less than the 1080p/60 of the Toshiba (LG does not support 1080p/60 so I couldn't do an apples to apples). I think that the difference in video quality on the Panasonic projector has to do more with the projector than with the players.

2. Player has 5.1 analog outs that properly handle PCM, DD+, DTS MA lossless, TruHD. The sound on movies that support these advanced audio formats are noticeably better in terms of directedness, immersiveness, detail, balance between the music/effects and the dialog, and proper reproduction of the soundstage. I never tried the optical or coax outs since I did not want to be limited to DD 5.1 or DTS.

3. Strong Blu-Ray picture quality. I was more impressed with the picture quality on the LG of the top tier blu-ray titles (Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of While the image quality of the Blu-ray of LG was comparable to that of the HD-DVD on the XA2. Now, I'm not an expert on all the little details that some of the more die hard folks notice on this forum, but this is just my subjective opinion.

Neutral:

1. Disc load is not fast but not slow. It averages about 30 seconds from power on to play start. Certainly not as fast as the PS3, but probably on-par or faster than the other first generation devices (from the times I've read).

2. Good but not great SD-DVD video quality. It compares well with other up scaling SD-DVD players like Sony's DVP-NS75H but takes a back seat to the XA2.

Cons for Some People, not for Me

1. No HDMI 1.3. Since there are almost no display devices that support this, I don't feel a loss here.

2. No HDi. On the one hand, this is annoying. On the other, LG's menu system is more than adequate. There are some side advantages to not having HDi. First, it goes straight to playing the movie. I like this since I don't like previews or having to get past all that other junk. Second, it allows you to stop the HD disk and resume play. Because they had to build their own HD functionality, they included something that's missing on HD-DVD players. Of course, most HD-DVD players can't resume because that advanced feature is not implemented on most HD-DVD titles. But LG demonstrates that you can do this without that feature being implemented. So the lack of HDi has good and bad. I personally didn't mind at all.

Cons for Me

1. SD-DVD upconversion resolution. It only does 1080i. I want 1080p out of this device for the money I'm paying.

2. Lack of 1080p/60 support. This is just lame. It won't support most existing 1080p devices (like my Sony SXRD), and it seems there are no plans to upgrade it from a firmware perspective from the other posts in this thread.

3. Does not include HDMI cable. I know most manufacturers aren't, but we all know that a good HDMI cable will cost them less than $7. To not include one is just cheap.

4. Remote with poor backlight and battery life. The remote has no real backlight, and it burned through 2 AAA batteries in the 30 days I used it.

5. Freezing, skipping, and glitches while playing back titles. I played about 20 different Blu-Ray and HD-DVD titles on this player. Only about 1/2 played without problems. Of the rest, there was one title, Crank on Blu-ray that I ended up not being able to watch at all because it didn't recognize the first copy I obtained (From Netflix) and it had massive audio skipping on the second copy (from Blockbuster). I cleaned both disks before using them. They did not look to be in bad shape. It had trouble also with a number of other HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks. Nothing that made them unwatchable like Crank, but definitely annoying nevertheless. On Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (HD-DVD) and Underworld: Evolution (Blu-Ray) there were chapters that would consistently freeze. Sometimes, powering off the unit would fit the issue, sometimes it would not. Clearly, the freezing and skipping was more common on the rented titles than ones I purchased, but glitches were still visible on some new titles. I also played the HD-DVD titles with problems on my Toshiba XA2, and they showed none of the problems. I think the bottle line is that the LG player is not very good at handling less than perfect media.

Reason 5 is the key reason why I returned the unit. It is unacceptable for it not to be able to playback over 1/2 the titles without freezing, skipping, or glitches.

Hope this helps. I think LG made a good first attempt.

I have played over 30 titles on the player, not one has skipped to date, but then again i clean all me discs before i use them, most dvds Hd or Sd need to be cleaned well for the best performance for video and audio, I know anal. i agrre with you on upscaling abilities, hence my desision to buy a SDi modded panasonic for SD playback.

On the subject of not deciding to suuport 1080P30/60...I believe bluray and HD DVD are encoded at 1080/24p so players would scale the image to 1080p30. this would most likeley need another chip set to scale to 1080p30/60 most 1080p dispalyes will do the scaling for you, so why really need it? Unless the Displays scaling is really bad and the player s is superior which i Highly doubt. Plus images scled to 30 or 60 frames need to go through the 3:2 puldown process if it is a film source to reduce judder, adding another step of processing the image till it gets to the display. Ithink in the near future most displays are going to lean towards an denomination of 24p sclaling and not 30/60 that is 24,48,72, ect....

Any how i think its is also a great first step and hope the next unit will do the little things better.

Peter: Just wondering if, when set to 1080p/24, if the SD upconversion is any different than setting it to 1080i (since the player does not do 1080p/60). I'm afraid that if I have the same experience, #5 is gonna be the killer for me too. I can afford the XA2 & the Pioneer BDP-HD1 but I don't want two boxes (if I can help it) and I would prefer 1080p/24 out of both. While the Pioneer has this, the XA2 has just pushed this back to July (tentative, I'm sure).

For me it all hinges on player stability and SD PQ. I think I'll be ok with vidoe via HDMI and lossless audio via analog. We'll see tomorrow, I guess.

ckelly33. sd playback is not bad at all, actually very good and as i said before i have not had one sd or other disk skipp or freeze in the month plus since i have own it and i have used it at least 5 out of 7 days a week. I have a feeling LG just let alot of bad players past Quality control and this could be the reason for so many skipping reports, maybe i was one of the lucky ones! :-D

Athansios

5. Freezing, skipping, and glitches while playing back titles. I played about 20 different Blu-Ray and HD-DVD titles on this player. Only about 1/2 played without problems. Of the rest, there was one title, Crank on Blu-ray that I ended up not being able to watch at all because it didn't recognize the first copy I obtained (From Netflix) and it had massive audio skipping on the second copy (from Blockbuster). I cleaned both disks before using them. They did not look to be in bad shape. It had trouble also with a number of other HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray disks. Nothing that made them unwatchable like Crank, but definitely annoying nevertheless. On Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (HD-DVD) and Underworld: Evolution (Blu-Ray) there were chapters that would consistently freeze. Sometimes, powering off the unit would fit the issue, sometimes it would not. Clearly, the freezing and skipping was more common on the rented titles than ones I purchased, but glitches were still visible on some new titles. I also played the HD-DVD titles with problems on my Toshiba XA2, and they showed none of the problems. I think the bottle line is that the LG player is not very good at handling less than perfect media.

Reason 5 is the key reason why I returned the unit. It is unacceptable for it not to be able to playback over 1/2 the titles without freezing, skipping, or glitches.

Hope this helps. I think LG made a good first attempt.

Peter,

You had a defective unit. I hope you told the retailer when you returned it so someone else didn't get it. There have been a few of the original units (December build date) that had this problem. We have tested every unit before installing it and only had this problem on the first one. All players we are receiving now have a build date of January. January units also have a later firmware date than the December ones so I think they must have fixed something, or there was a hardware issue.

I checked yesterday and there has yet to be an official firmware release to ASC's with any feature changes but I'm told it's in the works.

If that was your main issue I would get another one.

Petership,

does the later firmware also enable Dolby TrueHD over the 5.1 analogues, do you know ?

Thank you.

Tausifs.

Petership,

does the later firmware also enable Dolby TrueHD over the 5.1 analogues, do you know ?

Thank you.

Tausifs.

DD TrueHD works as stated in the specification which is 2 channel only. DTS MA works on the full 5.1 which I think someone on here said did not. I did not get a chance to test the analog connections with the December dated unit so I dont know if this is something that was fixed with the newer firmware.

Peter,

You had a defective unit. I hope you told the retailer when you returned it so someone else didn't get it. There have been a few of the original units (December build date) that had this problem. We have tested every unit before installing it and only had this problem on the first one. All players we are receiving now have a build date of January. January units also have a later firmware date than the December ones so I think they must have fixed something, or there was a hardware issue.

I checked yesterday and there has yet to be an official firmware release to ASC's with any feature changes but I'm told it's in the works.

If that was your main issue I would get another one.

I did tell the retailer that it had a problem playing back HD-DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. I may very well have had a defective unit. Good to know that it wasn't a problem on all LG players. Since I ordered mine in December, it fits the situation you described.

Would I consider getting another one? I think I will still hold off becuase my primary objective was to pair it with my SXRD TV which only supports 1080p/60 rather than my projector.

Since the 2nd Generation Blu-Ray players are coming out in March/April, I don't have a problem waiting for those. Unlike most people, I am ok with having two different players right now especially if they have great SD upconversion. It sounds like the 2nd Generation Blu-Ray players will have that.

I may end up reevaulating the LG in March/April with the firmware update.

Peter: Just wondering if, when set to 1080p/24, if the SD upconversion is any different than setting it to 1080i (since the player does not do 1080p/60). I'm afraid that if I have the same experience, #5 is gonna be the killer for me too. I can afford the XA2 & the Pioneer BDP-HD1 but I don't want two boxes (if I can help it) and I would prefer 1080p/24 out of both. While the Pioneer has this, the XA2 has just pushed this back to July (tentative, I'm sure).

For me it all hinges on player stability and SD PQ. I think I'll be ok with vidoe via HDMI and lossless audio via analog. We'll see tomorrow, I guess.

It won't display SD-DVD at 1080p/24. It will only do 1080i for SD-DVD. I did not have problems with SD disks freezing, skipping, etc. However, I did not watch many SD titles all the way though. I only watched them on certain scenes to do PQ comparisons.

I was very happy with the audio support and some of the other features of the LG. It certainly wasn't a return that I wanted to make, and I certainly miss some aspects of the player now that it's gone.

My a/v receiver does not decode HDMI audio and I have no plans to upgrade in the near future. It does have 7.1 channel analog audio inputs. My TV can accepts a 1080p24hz signal (it will convert it to 768p72hz) via HDMI.
I don't have a BD or HD-DVD player currently.

I would like to be able to hear all the possible HD audio formats that BD and HD-DVD can offer, as well, I'd like to feed a 1080p24hz signal that is direct from the disc (not re-built in the digital domain, meaining no interlace/de-interlace step).

Other than the interactive layer of HD-DVD, which I understand the LG unit does not do, is there anything I would be giving up that is available in other players if I buy the LG?

Since the 2nd Generation Blu-Ray players are coming out in March/April, I don't have a problem waiting for those.
Which 2nd gen players are coming out in March/April? The only one I'm aware of is the Samsung 1200.

Jedi, If you don't care for special features on a DVD, I doubt you'll care for them on HD-DVD or Bluray.

I got mine today. I was shipped form CircuitCity.com and was clearly a previous return (although I didn't get the open box discount). December build. I sampled all three types of movies and all looked great. I am using video via HDMI and audio via 5.1 analog. I didn't even try audio over HDMI after all of the reports here. I thought both video and audio were fine. Even SD upscaling on the "Finding Nemo" scene everyone complains about was fine. I am able to receive 1080p via this unit because my PRO-FHD1 accepts 1080p/24. The unit showed a few signs of bugs (basically locking up when trying to eject), but this IS a December build.

The unit housing is probable the worst thing since the "new look" of the series 2 tivos. My 1980's VCR looked more modern than this thing BUT it stays behind closed doors so who cares!

Jedi, If you don't care for special features on a DVD, I doubt you'll care for them on HD-DVD or Bluray.

I got mine today. I was shipped form CircuitCity.com and was clearly a previous return (although I didn't get the open box discount).

If it was me. I would be complaining to them rather loudly about being sent a returned unit!
And I'd also be complaining for being charged full price for it, like as if it was a new in box unit.

Which 2nd gen players are coming out in March/April? The only one I'm aware of is the Samsung 1200.

Supposedly Panasonic is putting out a DMP-BD10A product that's rumored to have DTS MA lossless support and HDMI 1.3. Basically, a slight upgrade to the BD10.

I was thinking of trying the 1200 in March and if that doesn't work, the BD10A in April.

My a/v receiver does not decode HDMI audio and I have no plans to upgrade in the near future. It does have 7.1 channel analog audio inputs. My TV can accepts a 1080p24hz signal (it will convert it to 768p72hz) via HDMI.
I don't have a BD or HD-DVD player currently.

I would like to be able to hear all the possible HD audio formats that BD and HD-DVD can offer, as well, I'd like to feed a 1080p24hz signal that is direct from the disc (not re-built in the digital domain, meaining no interlace/de-interlace step).

Other than the interactive layer of HD-DVD, which I understand the LG unit does not do, is there anything I would be giving up that is available in other players if I buy the LG?

The only things you give up are 1080p upconversion of SD-DVD (it only supports 1080i upconversion). 5.1 instead of 7.1 you get from the Panasonic blu-ray player. Lack of DVD-A support like the Pansonic blu-ray player. No 5.1 TruHD like the Toshiba XA2 (only 2 channel).

Other than that, the LG is probably one of the more complete packages you'll see.

The only things you give up are 1080p upconversion of SD-DVD (it only supports 1080i upconversion). 5.1 instead of 7.1 you get from the Panasonic blu-ray player. Lack of DVD-A support like the Pansonic blu-ray player. No 5.1 TruHD like the Toshiba XA2 (only 2 channel).

Other than that, the LG is probably one of the more complete packages you'll see.
And lack of CD playback like you'd get from the Panasonic BD10.

Peter,

You had a defective unit. I hope you told the retailer when you returned it so someone else didn't get it. There have been a few of the original units (December build date) that had this problem. We have tested every unit before installing it and only had this problem on the first one. All players we are receiving now have a build date of January. January units also have a later firmware date than the December ones so I think they must have fixed something, or there was a hardware issue.

I checked yesterday and there has yet to be an official firmware release to ASC's with any feature changes but I'm told it's in the works.

If that was your main issue I would get another one.

How do you tell the firmware version? What version is known to have a problem? I must have one of the Dec. build date units as I am also seeing freezing with FF, RW & Pause on Blu-ray King Kong and Superman Returns.

UPDATE: I finished watching Superman Returns today and it played perfectly. I'm stumped as to why one day it froze and hung and today it's playing fine. Yesterday I had cleaned the disc even though it was in pristine condition. I even powered off the unit a few times. Today I simply power up the unit and started playing the movie and it seems great. I even reloaded the disc a few times to see if maybe it was a loading issue but each time today it played fine. I also played an HD DVD movie and then played Superman Returns and everything played fine.
So if you experience freezes on FF, RW or Pause it could just be "sunspots"!

anyone able to open the disc tray from the "off" position? Mine locks up everytime.

I tried that function today and it worked normally. No lock ups.

Guess it is the December build.

Anyway, I called Circuit ity.com in regards to the "Open Box" which was sent out instead of the NEW FULL PRICE unit I had selected and paid for. The lady on the phone couldn't care less. When I told her of the problems I've been having with the lockups and that likely, this is why it was returned. She still didn't give a crap. She told me to send it back and they'd send out another. I guess even after they got busted sending out returns as new they couldn't even offer a bone? Not even an advance exchange for their error?

Circuit City is not only expensive, they aren't real consumer-friendly.

I'd return it directly to one of their stores if there is one anywhere near you, instead of sending it back.
Because if you send it back, then you also have to pay to ship and insure it's return.

yeah, that's what I plan on doing. I don't know why this unit got bad reviews. I guess the whole 1080p thing IS bad for the LG, but my display accepts 1080p/24 so I get 1080p. The audio isn't the best but it's clearsly surround sound and works pretty well (obviously I can't hear the intricate differences between DTS and TrueHD, etc). I'm pretty happy with it when it turns on...and they say Janusry builds have all of that stuff fixed.

However, it is, by far, the UGLIEST component I have EVER bought. I rank it right up there with the Series 2 TiVos (with the big white glowing face - and no buttons). Man it's ugly.

all BD players resume just fine on stop and most of them on power, HD just the opposite

both feature bookmarks for reinsert

the LG resumes on both because the cause of no resume on HD is the interactive stuff which the LG doesn't have ;)

-Gary

Gary, good points. I may be wrong here, but I believe LG's resume play works on HD DVD discs because it is built-into the hardware as a feature.

HD DVD players are relying on the software to provide the resume play function. I believe we will see a fix for this soon on HD DVD players.

-Robert

Gary, good points. I may be wrong here, but I believe LG's resume play works on HD DVD discs because it is built-into the hardware as a feature.

HD DVD players are relying on the software to provide the resume play function. I believe we will see a fix for this soon on HD DVD players.

-RobertIf my memory serves, LG player doesn't have power-on resume function even on BD disc. It always started from the beginning no matter what I once stopped or directly turned off the unit during feature playback, when I tested.

If my memory serves, LG player doesn't have power-on resume function even on BD disc. It always started from the beginning no matter what I once stopped or directly turned off the unit during feature playback, when I tested.

Nope. No resume play regardless of HDi. No resume play on either format after power down. However, just like the standalone HD-DVD players, resume works fine UNLESS you power down or eject.

Very disappointing. I had high hopes after Gary's post but it doesn't work after all.

Well if you return it for another one that's not a open box and that also may have actually been a defective return, that should have never been resold. And you get a NIB one with the newer firmware to replace it. Then it is possible that a lot of your problems and glitches that you have with the open box unit, may no longer be there with a new unit.

Has it been confirmed that the 1080p24 output is straight from disc and has not gone through any inverse telecine, de-interlacting steps like the HD-DVD players do?

Has it been confirmed that the 1080p24 output is straight from disc and has not gone through any inverse telecine, de-interlacting steps like the HD-DVD players do?
I can't say "definitely", but considering 1080/24p is on the disc and everyone is complaining that it doesn't have 1080/60p, I can't imagine LG would be doing anything other than outputting. The engineers at LG would have to be complete idiots to create 1080/60i only to have to program a processor to reconvert that back to the original 1080/24p.

Now for the disclaimer - just because only total idiots would do such a thing, doesn't mean that isn't exactly what they're doing, but I'd say their is only a 1 in 1,000 chance they are doing anything other than outputting an untouched 1080/24p source.

Nope. No resume play regardless of HDi. No resume play on either format after power down. However, just like the standalone HD-DVD players, resume works fine UNLESS you power down or eject.

Very disappointing. I had high hopes after Gary's post but it doesn't work after all.

doesnt ps3 does do resume play, so far my most fav machine

Does the LG do vertical stretch/fill for 2.35 videos? Are there any (other) players that do either for blu-ray or HD-DVD?

Without 1080p this player is not an option for me. And I am on the Neutral Team! :eek:

Heard from an LG sales rep that there may not be any firmware updates for 5.1 PCM or any other additional features. I'm a bit dismayed, but there was mention of a gen 2 player in the 3rd quarter

2 generations in a year? Sheesh! They should be firmware updating these things for a bit longer and supporting the early buyers a bit better. While the ability to firmware update over the net/by disc seems like a good idea, it just gives manufacturers the ability to rush to market, promise 10 patches, then give 5 before producing a "Next Generation" model and forgetting about you. Why should they patch their defective product when you will buy a replacement to fix the problems you bought into (and trusted that they would fix)

Now I am glad I decided to wait! ;)

Any word of a firmware upgrade to for hddvd menu compatibility?

In the last review I read it stated LG would not offer firmware upgrades for anything...

...and no doubt include it in the next revision...

Anyone know if there is a way to make the DVDO VP50 talk to this BH100 player over hdmi and get the 1080p to not be grey'ed out in the players setup menu? VP50 is a high end scaler, but I guess it dont support 1080p/24 in. If it did, then the EDID hand shake over hdmi should have allowed for 1080p output. For now, it dose support 1080i/60 into the VP50, and that scales to 1080p60 and looks just great for both HD and BD disks.

Also, the analog 5.1 outputs are wonderfull on this for all but one of the new HD auido formats, which only work as left right stereo. But the rest are all in 5.1 and way better then the normal dd5.1 and dts we have now.

I have only had my player for a day, but its been just spiffy so far. I just wish it had 1080p60 out support.

I would think a $3000.00 scaler would take 1080p24 or 30 right?

just output it in 1080i i do this with my lumagen and have the lumagen output the 1080p. still looks great.

And yes the analog outs rock!!!!!

The Lumagen will support 1080/24p from the BH100 if you have current software and set the EDID mode to EXT+. I have this configuration and it works great for 24p input. The VP50 sounds like it might need a new EDID file to trigger the LG for 24p.

Has anyone experienced audio dropout problems with the BH100? I just got the player over the weekend and have played 1 HD-DVD and 2 Blu-ray movies on it so far. On the HD-DVD I had one place where the audio got out of sync but after pressing pause and then play again it was back in sync. Then on the blu-ray movie Click and had numerous audio dropouts. If I pause and play then audio is fine for a few minutes. If I rewind and play in same spot audio was fine, so I don't think it was the disk. This happened both over optical and analog audio outs. I don't have HDMI so can't test that.

Yes i know this Barry, and thanks! I just dont have a hdcp compatible display so i'm using the components out to my lumagen hdq and sending 1080/72p to my Marquee 8000. i get a bit of horizontal steaking on dark sceans but new neck boards from an 8500 with higher bandwidth will hopefully resolve that problem.

Athanasios


Love this new crt addiction

My audio got out of sync tonight on Fantastic Four (BluRay). Pausing/restarting, stopping completely/restarting, powering down/restarting didn't fix it.

Is there a known issue with this movie?

I did find that the audio was in synch when playing on a PS3. I decided to try again on the LG, now it wasn't out of sync but when I looked at the LG's front panel it was playing at 1080i. So I stopped playback, went into the BH100's menu and selected 1080p and started playing again. Now it is out of sync again.

I have a December build on the LG, is this a known problem when playing back certain BR titles at 1080p?

I've played 6 more blu-ray movies on the BH100 and have not had another audio issue.
I'm playing at 1080i, don't have 1080p tv yet.
I've got 3 more weeks to test this player before my return window is over.

The picture quality is great and the uncompressed audio over analog sounds great. So far I like the player. I don't use it for SD DVD's so the 480i only over component is not an issue for me.

THe other quirk I noticed is that the player won't eject with the TV off. I say won't it might but I quit waiting after 3 minutes. I powered it off, turned on the TV and powered it on again (by pressing the eject button - same as before). With the TV on it took about 24 seconds to open the tray.

Has anyone else tried this - or can they explain it?

Does the LG play the 'The Descent' BD that several players have difficulty with?

How do you tell what firmware version or build the BH100 has?

How do you tell what firmware version or build the BH100 has?
It is printed on a label on the back of the unit. It says either December or January. According to reports here, the January build is much more dependable than the December.

The big question is, what is more dependable about the January build. Can anyone answer that?

How do you tell what firmware version or build the BH100 has?



With your remote press setup, go to tv aspect make sure 16:9 is highlighted yellow then enter in with the remote 1,3,9,7,1,3,9 press enter. Now you can see your firmware version.

With your remote press setup, go to tv aspect make sure 16:9 is highlighted yellow then enter in with the remote 1,3,9,7,1,3,9 press enter. Now you can see your firmware version.

Wow, how did you ever figure this one out?

Does anyone know what firmware version is supposed to have the Denon & Pioneer HDMI compatibility problem fixed. If it is fixed.

I was seeing a video flicker on all movies I watched over component video. Was very noticeable where the background was a lighter color like the sky or a wall. I returned unit and picked up another one and had the same problem. I think I will now just give up on the BH100 for now and get a standalone blu-ray player.

P.S. Tested the movies on PS3 and picture was perfect. Also tried different component cables, so I'm convinced it is the player.

I repair them this is how I know.

I repair them this is how I know.

My BH100 has stopped working. It will recognize Blu-ray disks but then displays a black screen for a while then goes to "Stop" and displays the blue LG screen. This is with a disk it played fine when new. It plays HD DVD disks but there is a 20 second delay between navigation button pushes; i.e. press "Pause" and it freezes (ignores button presses for display or menu) for 20 seconds then goes to pause then when you press "Play" it freezes for 20 seconds (or longer) before resuming play.

I called LG for service and they said they are having problems with "dust" on some units. They suggested I insert a lens cleaner disk. I said the "dust" is not environmental and must be due to an internal defect and I wanted warrantee service. So they are going to "repair" the unit (not swap it) after I mail it to them (I am in Atlanta) and it will take three weeks. I am past the BB 30-day return time.

Needless to say I am not impressed with LG and their handling of a newly manufactured device. You would think they would do all they can to make the BH100 a success even if they have a few initial issues but it sounds like business as usual.

Sounds like the DVD drive is defective. Your unit will be coming to me in Huntsville, AL for repair.

It is printed on a label on the back of the unit. It says either December or January. According to reports here, the January build is much more dependable than the December.

The big question is, what is more dependable about the January build. Can anyone answer that?

I just purchased the BH100 last week. So far I have had only two minor glitches, loss of audio on one disk (worked after stopping the BH100) and one loss of audio sync (worked after setting BH100 on pause for a few seconds). I have the December build.

I called LG customer support (the phone number is on the cover of the manual) and asked the man if there is any difference between the "December" and the "January" build. He put me on hold for a few minutes; he came back and told me that "technicians" said that there is NO difference between the December and the January "build."

Well, take this FWIW.

The January build has the newest firmware version.

Sounds like the DVD drive is defective. Your unit will be coming to me in Huntsville, AL for repair.

Will part of the repair include upgrading the firmware from December to the latest version?

master,

This thing gonna be able to do vertical stretch?

Con's:

1) Cheap build quality like the HD-A2


I just checked mine and it still seems to have not fallen into a pile of miscellaneous parts. I didn't have time to see if it still works, though.

Will part of the repair include upgrading the firmware from December to the latest version?


Yes, the firmware will be upgraded to the latest version.

master,

This thing gonna be able to do vertical stretch?


That I do not know thats up to the engineers.

The January build has the newest firmware version.

When I return home in a couple of days I am going to use your instructions posted in this forum to see what my "December Build firmware" is. Please post the January build firmware number so I can compare it to my firmware build. Thanks.

Your unit will be coming to me in Huntsville, AL for repair.

Yes it will! I received my return label today.

When I return home in a couple of days I am going to use your instructions posted in this forum to see what my "December Build firmware" is. Please post the January build firmware number so I can compare it to my firmware build. Thanks.


SW Ver: BH01070115A/PKG114

Thanks! I will check my December S/W as soon as I get home.

So far my December build BH has met almost all of my needs with only a couple of minor glitches (see above). I have bought a hatful of BR and HD-DVD movies, and first blush is fantastic for me re quality of video.

For the individual who wanted to know if there is a problem with the Denon 3806/HDMI combination, I have the 3806, and it is working perfectly with the LG

Video quality on my Pioneer Pro FD-H1 is fantastic. GOOD.
Audio quality for BR and HD excellent going thru optical and coax GOOD.
I have not tried the analog connections yet.
Minor hiccups with sync and loss of audio. DON'T CARE. I see similar posts on other BR and HD players.
Ability to do both formats. REALLY GOOD. Didn't want to buy two players.
Inability to use extras in HD-DVD..DON'T CARE. All I want to do is watch the movies.
Resume on stop not functional. DON'T CARE.
No ability to play CD's. NOT GOOD. I have a regular Denon DVD for that now.

So... for someone who wants to get into HD with a DVD player and is just starting out like me, I recommend this player. I paid a grand for this one at BB; divide by two and I got "two" players for $500 each. When the players get down in price, the technology is more mature, and the format war is over (?) I will get one (or two if the war continues) for my other home entertainment system.

Maybe I got "lucky" with the "Lucky Goldstar" player, but for me it is my cat's meow. Two months ago I had no home entertainment equipment, and I could not spell "PMV."

One last question: Is there any information what the January build "cures"?

Hooray!!!

Thanks! I will check my December S/W as soon as I get home.

So far my December build BH has met almost all of my needs with only a couple of minor glitches (see above). I have bought a hatful of BR and HD-DVD movies, and first blush is fantastic for me re quality of video.

For the individual who wanted to know if there is a problem with the Denon 3806/HDMI combination, I have the 3806, and it is working perfectly with the LG

Video quality on my Pioneer Pro FD-H1 is fantastic. GOOD.
Audio quality for BR and HD excellent going thru optical and coax GOOD.
I have not tried the analog connections yet.
Minor hiccups with sync and loss of audio. DON'T CARE. I see similar posts on other BR and HD players.
Ability to do both formats. REALLY GOOD. Didn't want to buy two players.
Inability to use extras in HD-DVD..DON'T CARE. All I want to do is watch the movies.
Resume on stop not functional. DON'T CARE.
No ability to play CD's. NOT GOOD. I have a regular Denon DVD for that now.

So... for someone who wants to get into HD with a DVD player and is just starting out like me, I recommend this player. I paid a grand for this one at BB; divide by two and I got "two" players for $500 each. When the players get down in price, the technology is more mature, and the format war is over (?) I will get one (or two if the war continues) for my other home entertainment system.

Maybe I got "lucky" with the "Lucky Goldstar" player, but for me it is my cat's meow. Two months ago I had no home entertainment equipment, and I could not spell "PMV."

One last question: Is there any information what the January build "cures"?

Hooray!!!


From what I was told new firmware makes it "more stable". Thats all the details I was given.

Maybe I missed this somewhere in this thread but....

While this player (LG hd-dvd/blu-ray combo player) take a SD-DVD and upconvert it to 720p like the Toshiba HDXA2 does?

thanks!

OK, got my LG BH100 today to review, and there are some pro's and con's, and some of the con's are pretty damn big, and not the one thing everyone has complained about: iHD or HDi.

Pro's:

1) EXTREMELY fast. The power-on time destroys the Samsung, Panny, Pioneer and Sony, and definitely the HD-A2 as well. The load times are on par if not faster than all as well for both HD-DVD and BD.
2) Ease of use. Very easy to setup and use. Picture quality is outstanding at 1080i and 1080p.

Con's:

1) Cheap build quality like the HD-A2
2) No ethernet for direct networking or updating. The RJ-45 is a service port only.
3) No 24P (at least for now)
4) Even though this is the first player with DTS-HD MA decoding internally, LG screwed the pooch as the HD decoding only decodes 2-channel over HDMI. Only the 5 analog outs decode 5.1 for HD. This should be an easy fix via firmware, but again, this is the biggest mistake I have seen on any of the players, as this was a bigger plus to me even than HD-DVD playback so I could enjoy Fox and MGM BDs with lossless compression over LPCM 5.1, but nope. I won't go back to analog out's when I have a preamp that can decode LPCM 5.1 over HDMI.
5) DD+ again is only 2-channel PCM over HDMI when set to PCM. It is decoded as DD legacy when set to bitstream. Plus must also be decode and sent to the analog outs to get 5.1.
6) DD True HD is also 2 channel PCM, and that does NOT change even on the analog outs. Again, as with plus and DTS-HD, this should be able to fixed just the A1 series was upgraded with a firmware upgrade.
7) No HD-DVD interactive support. This is really not a big deal for at least me, as I RARELY watch supplemental features, even though the Warner and Universal interactivity is pretty cool. The LG pre-renders an overlay menu on titles with the HDi layer, and it still does allow for scene selection, audio, play and the norms.

This player could be great if it got a quick firmware update, but for now, I wouldn't buy it unless you have no use for advance audio codecs via HDMI LPCM. This lack of support is a generation back at least, and something I am personally extremely disappointed in.

This mini-review is also posted in the HD-DVD forum.
I don't see the purpose of especially Blu-ray boasting about being the superior format when they are not making sure that the basics are probably not being covered. For example I think that with some Blu-ray players that they probably cannot play recordable Blu-ray recordings so what is the purpose for paying about 100% the amount of HD DVD players.

Most people have forgotten that Blu-ray licensees don't want people to be able to record HD; programmes and films for personal use, to watch at a later date.
So, why did they make the Blu-ray recordable and rewritable players and also boast about the recordability part?

Somebody did a breakdown of the cost of the Power station 3 and I think that the Blu-ray parts costed about U$125. Therefore, taking short cuts, whilst charging people initially about U$1,000 (USA) and £1,000 (UK) is probably a rip off.

All Blu-ray and HD DVD players should contain all the features, which the top of the range SD (standard definition - non high definition) DVD players contain. For example my; Pioneer 747 DVD player and Denon 2802 AVR contains features which Blu-ray and HD DVD players don't contain for example Prologic II that converts Nicam Stereo to 5.1 at least.

The amount of money being charged for HD products they should be made properly, and the prices should be substantially be reduced.

For example HDMI 1.3 it is virtually impossible to find out what is the HDMI for each product. Despite that the official HDMI organisation and the manufacturers state that consumers should be able to easily obtain the information:

I have been told that I cannot include URLs, because administrators think that they are spam. Hopefully, administrators will test official sites, which will verify that they they are not spam sites and will allow people to place into internet search engines or better still replace with the correct websites, which I have deleted. ((HDMI Org faq 1.3))

The principal advantages of HDMI 1.3 features:-
1) Better picture quality (present picture quality have been capped despite the complaints about poor SD (standard definition) picture quality.
2) Wireless future connectivity also with HDMI PCs.
3) Digital HD sound that should have been implemented with all HD TVs also
A) Dolby Digital Plus
B) Dolby True-HD and
C) DTS-HD
4) HD products should be properly tested by HDMI instead of the fiasco with HDCP unreliabilities affected probably millions of people whilst the establisment rarely mentions the various problems.

I have been told that I cannot include URLs, because administrators think that they are spam. Hopefully, administrators will test official sites, which will verify that they they are not spam sites and will allow people to place into internet search engines or better still replace with the correct websites, which I have deleted. ((Dolby com HD)), and ((DTS com DTS-HD))

LG's BH100, Super Multi Blue Player's HD DVD was deliberately badly designed it appears, based on the fact that the computer version probably contains HD DVD features left out of the stand alone BH 100 player - cannot trust anything that the establishment claims until properly verified independently.

It appears that frame rates of 24 and 60 are essential in all HD products. This is to maximise for example; picture quality and storage life.

Ethernet and HDMI 1.3 are also essential in all HD products.

All forms of HD sound should also be included especially DTS-HD, and Dolby Digital Plus should be included and also all Prologic standards.

With my Denon 2802 I use digital optical for 5.1, and which I could use for 6.1 also, so why does Blu-ray and HD DVD use the inferior 5.1 analog connectors instead?

I am probably completely disappointed with all HD products and the consumers probably being ripped off, which also includes useless warranties for example 'burn-in' images and 'dead pixels' some times in TV panels not covered.

I almost forgot, Blu-ray and HD DVD should have:-
1) Twin digital tuners
2) Time shift
3) PVR (Pause Video Recorder) and DVR (Digital Video Recorder) features with at least 500Gb but preferably one Terabyte (1,000GB) about one week's HD recording.
4) Upgrade all forms of SD properly to 1920x1080p standard - perfect picture
A) Not only USA's standard about 460/470 and
B) UK standard 576.
5) Allow or create properly True Blacks and colour.
6) With my JVC SVHS recorder HR-S9600 video recorder it was possible to speed up or slow down 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, 7x and 9x I think it is with perfect picture and excellent sound it should be able to do the same things with DVD players. Therefore if I have an hour of recording but only enough time to watch 30 minutes I could use 2x and watch and listen to it, which would only take 30mins instead of an hour.

I shall stop here before I remember some more things HD products should contain.

My BH100 has stopped working. It will recognize Blu-ray disks but then displays a black screen for a while then goes to "Stop" and displays the blue LG screen. This is with a disk it played fine when new. It plays HD DVD disks but there is a 20 second delay between navigation button pushes; i.e. press "Pause" and it freezes (ignores button presses for display or menu) for 20 seconds then goes to pause then when you press "Play" it freezes for 20 seconds (or longer) before resuming play.

I called LG for service and they said they are having problems with "dust" on some units. They suggested I insert a lens cleaner disk. I said the "dust" is not environmental and must be due to an internal defect and I wanted warrantee service. So they are going to "repair" the unit (not swap it) after I mail it to them (I am in Atlanta) and it will take three weeks. I am past the BB 30-day return time.

Needless to say I am not impressed with LG and their handling of a newly manufactured device. You would think they would do all they can to make the BH100 a success even if they have a few initial issues but it sounds like business as usual.

I have read a number of posts and was going to suggest a len's cleaner.

It is typical that technicians usually:-
1) Give the wrong advice
2) Try to pass the buck.

It appears that manufacturers in the USA as well as in the UK rely on the 30 day rule for not refunding money. Most manufacturers once they have sold something couldn't care less about the after sells service.

Probably, the only reason why we are getting HD products, albeit badly designed, is because the establishment have been losing too much money for probably all non high definition products for years. It is probably impossible to blame low TV sales on piracy. The principal problem appears to be their gross incompetence - which includes useless after care service. In England in theory there should be about one hundred each Blu-ray and HD DVD films. But in Bristol, the UK, I am certain that if I went to one of the super record stores, I would be lucky if I could find two Blue-ray or HD DVD discs on the shelves. Despite, the thousands of SD (standard definition) DVD discs. Whilst the movie organisations are claiming that their lost of profits are due to piracy. Blu-ray until recently marketed far less films than HD DVD, but yet boasted that about 7/8 film companies were supporting Blu-ray.

If HD products including TVs were as reliable as the establishment claim than:-
1) Guarantees should cover
A) 'Dead Pixels' and 'burn-in' within panels
B) Five year free guarantees for all HD products (including their claims that HD TVs should last at least 13 years)

Once this player goes a lot cheaper I will jump on one....

Maybe I missed this somewhere in this thread but....

While this player (LG hd-dvd/blu-ray combo player) take a SD-DVD and upconvert it to 720p like the Toshiba HDXA2 does?

thanks!
I now see why you asked a question which appears to be simple but relatively difficult to solve - lack of information by manufacturers and editors is a nuisance.

Probably the simplest way to solve your problem is to find out if either Blu-ray or HD DVD upscales SD (standard definition) DVD. In theory the LG BH100 Super Multi Blue Player (dual player) should but with the numerous short cuts taken by the establishment I wouldn't guarantee one hundred percent.

reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-6462511-2.html?tag=lnav

The only thing that I can suggest is for you to telephone LG and hope that a technician can tell you the truth. This is because LG in England wouldn't have a clue, because it isn't marketed yet in the UK. USA and UK versions of the same companies are treated as separate companies it appears, which also applies to their websites and product model numbers also.

What I eventually found out, which is unrelated is that LG can only support certain types of 1080p resolutions. LG can only supprt TVs with 1080p 60 fps (frames per second), which means that it will only support LG's 71" plasma TV, if a person wants a plasma TV, (a person was told by a LG technician) and not 24fps or 30 fps TV. The person also contacted Panasonic since had a 1080p Panasonic HD TV but Panasonic thought tht it should work and also LG until the person sent the player to them to be repaired.

reviews.cnet.com/LG_BH100/4864-6463_7-32312334.html?messageSiteID=7&messageID=2371860&tag=uolst&cval=2371860&ctype=msgid

When I am ready to buy HD products I now also have to take into account, which fps HD products contains besides the long list of other things to reduce being con.

Barrington, I agree and could not be more confused now than when I started my research on what HD disc player to get a month ago! Geesh you'd think this could easier and if it does not get easier and products are compliant with each other then how do these company's think this technology will ever succeed?

If this HD technology really worked you would think you could go out and buy a HDTV and a HD disc player and plug the 2 together and watch TV....BUT...NO....this player will not do this and that player will not do that and this TV only accept such n' such FPS, and that TV will not work with this player and this player will not play that and the other player will not convert this...it is all just a freakin' mess!

Barrington, I agree and could not be more confused now than when I started my research on what HD disc player to get a month ago! Geesh you'd think this could easier and if it does not get easier and products are compliant with each other then how do these company's think this technology will ever succeed?

If this HD technology really worked you would think you could go out and buy a HDTV and a HD disc player and plug the 2 together and watch TV....BUT...NO....this player will not do this and that player will not do that and this TV only accept such n' such FPS, and that TV will not work with this player and this player will not play that and the other player will not convert this...it is all just a freakin' mess!

Perfectly stated.

What I eventually found out, which is unrelated is that LG can only support certain types of 1080p resolutions. LG can only supprt TVs with 1080p 60 fps (frames per second), which means that it will only support LG's 71" plasma TV, if a person wants a plasma TV, (a person was told by a LG technician) and not 24fps or 30 fps TV.

You are adding to the confusion by posting the LG only supports 1080/60p when the opposite has been well established earliar in the thread. This player only supports 1080/24p and does not convert the native rate to 1080/60p.

You are adding to the confusion by posting the LG only supports 1080/60p when the opposite has been well established earliar in the thread. This player only supports 1080/24p and does not convert the native rate to 1080/60p.


This is true the BH100 will not do 1080p/60p.

how's the dependability of this machine so far?

Every current player out there has issues but I decided not to wait and be an early-adopter guinea pig.
The reasons I went with the LG BH100 include:

HD-DVD playback (with internet issues I don't care about) and Blu-Ray.

Video may not ideal for 1080p, but quite adequate with 1080i feeding a 720p display I plan to keep using for several years.

Analog 5.1 audio outputs - This player (supposedly?) outputs some version of DTS HD and DD+ on the analog outputs. I got a brief audition of this sound from an otherwise high end HT setup; and it sounded really good. I have a 4x6 analog preamp/switcher I use for MC SACD and 5.1 DD/DTS (satellite/DVD player sources) from an archaic preamp/processor. I just need to add another set of analog cables for 5.1 from the LG. Even the DD/DTS from this player may be better than my own pre/pro's because of the newer DACs.

I don't plan on adopting HDMI until my pre/pro craps out; hopefully that won't happen for several years yet while the pre/pro manufacturers work out the "jitters" on HDMI high resolution digital audio implementations.

Hopefully, I'll have it this weekend; though more likely it'll be backordered for several weeks.

I have an audio question. I am very interested in purchasing one of these but would like confirmation of an audio question based on what I have read in this thread(I read all 9 pages so far, ugh). I have a Marantz universal player that I use for playing CD, SACD, DVD-A and regular DVD. This Marantz does an excellent job of upconverting regular DVD to 1080p. Because I listen to surround audio I have the Marantz hooked up to a NAD Masters Series M15 via analog 5.1. I therefore would not be able to hook up the BH100 via analog for the audio to the M15 since it only has one 5.1 analog input. Just for information sake, all my video connections run through a DVDO VP50 and then HDMI to a new Sharp Aquos 57" LCD.

Since I do not have any free analog 5.1 inputs available would I have to hook up the audio side of the BH100 via optical or coax? I assume therefore that I would lose the new hi rez audio signals and it would all be compressed to DTS and/or DD5.1? If I am correct, then which is better: coax or optical for the audio please?

Thanks.

I have an audio question. I am very interested in purchasing one of these but would like confirmation of an audio question based on what I have read in this thread(I read all 9 pages so far, ugh). I have a Marantz universal player that I use for playing CD, SACD, DVD-A and regular DVD. This Marantz does an excellent job of upconverting regular DVD to 1080p. Because I listen to surround audio I have the Marantz hooked up to a NAD Masters Series M15 via analog 5.1. I therefore would not be able to hook up the BH100 via analog for the audio to the M15 since it only has one 5.1 analog input. Just for information sake, all my video connections run through a DVDO VP50 and then HDMI to a new Sharp Aquos 57" LCD.

Since I do not have any free analog 5.1 inputs available would I have to hook up the audio side of the BH100 via optical or coax? I assume therefore that I would lose the new hi rez audio signals and it would all be compressed to DTS and/or DD5.1? If I am correct, then which is better: coax or optical for the audio please?

Thanks.

Buy a component video switcher. It will allow you to have 2 or more 5.1 audio inputs. For example, Zector makes such a switch. I know it works because that is exactly what I am doing.