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 BD forum.

Good review. I hope some of the mentioned issues are addressed by LG. Otherwise, I'm afriad we have a dud on our hands.

now if you hook up the 5.1 analog outs will it do true hd on the hd dvd side as well as the lossless on the blu-ray side.

this may actaully apeal to the people who don't want to upgrade to hdmi yet.

No, only 2-channel for True HD on analog outs or HDMI.

Thanks for the review, DocDVD. It seems the LG "dual-format" player is really a 1.35-format player. 0.9 of a Blu-ray player, and 0.45 of an HD DVD player.

I just can't understand why LG would release such a subpar player. They really had a chance to capitalize on both markets, but I'm afraid they've shot themselves in the foot. J6P won't buy it because its too expensive, so that leaves it up to people like us to buy it, but we won't because of the lack of features. Hopefully a Firmware upgrade is in the works.

I am sure they will, and I am not going to do my pro review on the site until they do out of fairness to them. It needs to be fixed though ASAP as this is beyond an "overlooking" error.

I hooked the LG BH100 to a Lumagen HDQ today and the Lumagen reported 1080/24p playback. This could be an EDID issue.

cons.
its lg
it cost more then what you can get a ps3 and hd2
it doesnt have ihd
ITS LG!

but really though they need to drop the price. i see this player failing miserably on the sales side. considering the top cons.

The A2 has cheap build quality??

I do not agree with this....

The A2 has cheap build quality??

I do not agree with this....

Same here, not sure what he is talking about.

Thanks for posting a review.

I also owned this player earlier this week, but ended up taking it back. You can find my comments on performance scattered around the various threads.

Couple of observations of mine:

I didn't find the load times particularly impressive. It took a while to boot up, and loading and HD-DVD was not fast at all. The player has to decided if it's a BD, DVD or HD-DVD and that takes some time.

How do you know DTS-MA decoding is happening in this player? The manual does not mention it's support at all.

Quote from the Blu-ray forum thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=9524876):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.
Did you test Blu-ray disks or just HD-DVDs? Since others claim to be getting 24p from this unit, I wonder if that feature currently functions only on Blu-ray disks?

and it's onsale at Circuit City right now. Wow that was fast!

The A2 has cheap build quality??

I do not agree with this....


people complain about this all the time but I have yet to hear a valid reason of how the build quality affects them...mine was unboxed and put in my component rack and hasnt moved since

unless you are playing catch with it whats the problem?

Nice assessment Josh. I agree. With an audio update, this player looks pretty killer. I wonder if the HD DVD part ofthe player will have any of the skips, freezes, audio drop outs, etc that plague many of the Tosh standalones.

Quote from the Blu-ray forum thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=9524876):
Did you test Blu-ray disks or just HD-DVDs? Since others claim to be getting 24p from this unit, I wonder if that feature currently functions only on Blu-ray disks?

PeterShipp, over at the BD board reports it working.

Nice assessment Josh. I agree. With an audio update, this player looks pretty killer. I wonder if the HD DVD part ofthe player will have any of the skips, freezes, audio drop outs, etc that plague many of the Tosh standalones.
I don't post very often, but I like to read many of the post here and let me say I see you posting quite often. It amazes me the time you take to negate Toshiba's product. I've owned a A1 since Sept. and have NEVER had any of the problems you keep mentioning, and yet I don't take the time or feel the need to tell everyone about it every chance I get.

I just can't understand why LG would release such a subpar player. They really had a chance to capitalize on both markets, but I'm afraid they've shot themselves in the foot. J6P won't buy it because its too expensive, so that leaves it up to people like us to buy it, but we won't because of the lack of features. Hopefully a Firmware upgrade is in the works.

I don't see how this sells either. And since you can already pick up *good* HD DVD players for less than 1/2 the cost of this one, I wonder if the Bd component to it will be seen as the reason the player doesn't ultimately represent a good value?

I had some interest in this unit. Kind of, anyway. I guess for now the PS3 and A2 will have to suffice.

I don\'t post very often, but I like to read many of the post here and let me say I see you posting quite often. It amazes me the time you take to negate Toshiba\'s product. I\'ve owned a A1 since Sept. and have NEVER had any of the problems you keep mentioning, and yet I don\'t take the time or feel the need to tell everyone about it every chance I get.
thebland=the owned!

Nice assessment Josh. I agree. With an audio update, this player looks pretty killer. I wonder if the HD DVD part ofthe player will have any of the skips, freezes, audio drop outs, etc that plague many of the Tosh standalones.

I totally agree with this..but lets throw in the PS3 too...mine has freezed up a few times allready..... :rolleyes:

I totally agree with this..but lets throw in the PS3 too...mine has freezed up a few times allready..... :rolleyes:
mines did to and the new owner says its locking up on him to... i might get a new ps3 again if they ever fix that problem. :rolleyes:

NO WAY guys!!
The BD players have ZERO ISSUES, Jeff will tell ya himself, they are flawless.......

I have some seaside property in Iowa if anyone is interested.....

BTW thanks for the review, there seems to be a bit of conflicting info though.
Either way, I appreciate the effort!!

OP,
Thanks.
Looking forward to a review of PQ & SQ.

Random addendum: the eBay Gouge Posse is on the case (http://cgi.*********/Brand-New-LG-BH100-Combination-HD-DVD-Blu-Ray-Player_W0QQitemZ300071758695QQihZ020QQcategoryZ50600QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem) already...

In fairness to the stand-alone Toshibas, I have a Pioneer BD, Panny BD, Sammy and Sony, and a HD-XA1 and HD-A2, and all of them have frozen every now and then on different titles, and it really isn't that big of a deal, and it has gotten better with the firmware updates that have been done.

This is all new technology, and small bugs are expected. I am not trashing the LG, and in fact, I give them props for doing something first, and some firmware fixes, it will be a nice player.

I know this is like asking for everbody to help stop world hunger or wishing for world peace, but it would be nice to stick to the LG (unless comparing features) and refrain from the personal comments directed at other members. If you really feel a need to make a personal comment to somebody, please do so via PM.

larry

I'm glad too see someone, anyone, making a combo player. i am not a fan of LG, but at least they let me buy whatever software i want to. i'm not forced to choose. cost is still an issue, but when you compare it to standalone BD players, it looks pretty good. I have not really used iHD yet, even on titles that have it. i would like to see truehd 5.1, but that seems do-able, as with the A1. So, if you have been waiting out the war, this might move people to buy. if this product had debuted with the other initial players, i think many who would pony up 900 to 1100 dollars for blu-ray would have jumped on this.

How is the upconversion on this player? Everything isn't in HD yet...

Where is the new Forum Multi-Format Players/Software? :confused:

I was thinking the same thing. Keeping track of any one single format player is tough. Now we get posts in both forums for this player. :)

larry

I don't post very often, but I like to read many of the post here and let me say I see you posting quite often. It amazes me the time you take to negate Toshiba's product. I've owned a A1 since Sept. and have NEVER had any of the problems you keep mentioning, and yet I don't take the time or feel the need to tell everyone about it every chance I get.

Same here with the player I bought in August. The suggestion that the Toshiba players are unreliable and "plagued" by problems is wrong. Some BR partisans are so desperate for some good news that they invent bad news about HD DVD.

Come on guys -- debating people's opinions is one thing, but let's not attack the people.

Same here with the player I bought in August. The suggestion that the Toshiba players are unreliable and "plagued" by problems is wrong. Some BR partisans are so desperate for some good news that they invent bad news about HD DVD.

Because you have no trouble doesn't mean that others are the same. I know that my player likes to skip and it likes to turn on without opening the drive (despite it telling me the drive is open) and it likes to freeze. I've had an A1 since Day 1.

I love my HD-A1 otherwise and I'm afraid to take it back to BB for fear of getting a crap A2 like the ones I keep reading about (low LFE, etc.), but the truth is the A1 is flawed for a great many people and denying it or complaining that someone else mentions the well-known problems the A1 had, well that's silly.

The A1 was infamous for the skipping, audio losing sync problem. When a problem becomes as specific as that one and as talked about, you should know when to be happy yours works without it (if yours does) and not criticize others for pointing out that they weren't so lucky.

I too hope that someone releases HD DVD players that don't suffer from these problems that have cross from A1 all the way up to XA2 in some limited reports. But then the XA2 has its own fair share of problems, right?

Back to the LG, its deficiencies prevent it from being the bleeding edge buyer's friend (TrueHD, DTS HD limited to 2.0 over HDMI) and its price keeps it out of the range of anyone considering joining the format war. Even now, it's cheaper to buy one of each than buy this.

I think the LG's DOA.

I think the LG's DOA.

I don't know if I agree.

It sounds to me like the problems are mainly audio. I think there are plenty of folks out there with a wad of cash in their pockets that wouldn't know DD+ from Dolby B. They may see this as the answer to that whole war issue they've been hearing so much about.

Just a thought.

It's January (typically slow) so we may have to wait a few months before we can have a real idea of how it's going to sell.

Because you have no trouble doesn't mean that others are the same. I know that my player likes to skip and it likes to turn on without opening the drive (despite it telling me the drive is open) and it likes to freeze. I've had an A1 since Day 1.

I love my HD-A1 otherwise and I'm afraid to take it back to BB for fear of getting a crap A2 like the ones I keep reading about (low LFE, etc.), but the truth is the A1 is flawed for a great many people and denying it or complaining that someone else mentions the well-known problems the A1 had, well that's silly.

The A1 was infamous for the skipping, audio losing sync problem. When a problem becomes as specific as that one and as talked about, you should know when to be happy yours works without it (if yours does) and not criticize others for pointing out that they weren't so lucky.

I too hope that someone releases HD DVD players that don't suffer from these problems that have cross from A1 all the way up to XA2 in some limited reports. But then the XA2 has its own fair share of problems, right?

Back to the LG, its deficiencies prevent it from being the bleeding edge buyer's friend (TrueHD, DTS HD limited to 2.0 over HDMI) and its price keeps it out of the range of anyone considering joining the format war. Even now, it's cheaper to buy one of each than buy this.

I think the LG's DOA.

Agreed. It is simple reality. Not all Toshibas but a number that cannot be ignored. Heck, read all the problem threads.

Let's stop the name calling.

I don't post very often, but I like to read many of the post here and let me say I see you posting quite often. It amazes me the time you take to negate Toshiba's product. I've owned a A1 since Sept. and have NEVER had any of the problems you keep mentioning, and yet I don't take the time or feel the need to tell everyone about it every chance I get.

Yes, you've noticed that? To 'pretend' you're objective and then knock the Toshiba at any & every chance you get is actually pretty humorous. I always wonder why people like this go out of their way to contend they're 'objective' and then most everyone sees right through to the truth. A simple look at his signature tells you everything you need to know. Amazing stuff. :)

It is no secret that I hope Blu Ray wins!

That said, I own HD DVD and totally dig the PQ and sound!

I have nothing against the HD DVD technology. It's excellent. I just prefer Blu Ray to win the war.

I know this is like asking for everbody to help stop world hunger or wishing for world peace, but it would be nice to stick to the LG (unless comparing features) and refrain from the personal comments directed at other members. If you really feel a need to make a personal comment to somebody, please do so via PM.

larry

Needs repeating.

Does anyone have comments about the LG player?

How do you update the firmware on this player in the future?

How do you update the firmware on this player in the future?

DVD-R?

Needs repeating.

Does anyone have comments about the LG player?

Yes...I think if it were priced 300.00 less alot of folks would be buying the crap out of these...I personally feel that dual format will be the norm in 6 months and I'm half tempted to buy one myself just for sh1ts and giggles... :)

And if Toshiba or Sony put out a player for $299 the format war would be over.

It is no secret that I hope Blu Ray wins! I just prefer Blu Ray to win the war.So then why do you post here and not in the Blu ray threads. Looking back on your posts it seems like you never post much in the BD threads...but here it is everyday. :confused:

Yes...I think if it were priced 300.00 less alot of folks would be buying the crap out of these...I personally feel that dual format will be the norm in 6 months and I'm half tempted to buy one myself just for sh1ts and giggles... :)

The player is best targeted towards BluRay enthusiasts who also want to be able to spin HD-DVD (HD_DVD exclusives?). Only $200 more and they have both formats convered (albeit with limitations on the HD-DVD side). I think LG will sell a boat load, probably more than any two of the other BR standalone products.

DVD-R?

DUH. Brainfart on my part.

Well it sounds like a good player for a first gen combo I'm sure in time all will be supported. Via a update.
If I get a combo ill wait till generation 3-4. As all the bugs should be gone and they will be cheeper buy then.
Until sad time my A1 works great just watched corpse bride. No issues. Amazing PQ...

But back to the LG. As far as it putting in its own menus on HDDVD are you say that the cool little pop up menu is gone in favor of a bland automatic one. The little pop up in movie menus are cool corpse brides was neat. As well as most WBs. Universal is bland for the most part so not a big deal for them...

But being I have the A1 I may get a ps3 this summer for blu-ray playback. Buy then they may have enough exclusive games/movies worth the price. So far that what's killing them no exclusive games their all multliplatform only a few.

But back to the LG. As far as it putting in its own menus on HDDVD are you say that the cool little pop up menu is gone in favor of a bland automatic one.

But being I have the A1 I may get a ps3 this summer for blu-ray playback. Buy then they may have enough exclusive games/movies worth the price. So far that what's killing them no exclusive games their all multliplatform only a few.

1. That's what I've read.

2. Agreed on the PS3. And it doesn't look like there are a flood of exclusive titles coming anytime soon. That wouldn't matter had it not been so far behind the 360. Oh, and the price tag is no big help for gamers either.

DUH. Brainfart on my part.

Well don't think for a minute that I said that condescendingly. It was just something of a... semi... educated guess.

Was I right?

Well don't think for a minute that I said that condescendingly. It was just something of a... semi... educated guess.

Was I right?

A disc of some sort. Most likely a CD'r or either. I didn't take it as you messing with me I totally forgot about using a disc now that I have been using other methods lately (LAN for my A1 and USB for my Outlaw 990).

It is no secret that I hope Blu Ray wins!

That said, I own HD DVD and totally dig the PQ and sound!

I have nothing against the HD DVD technology. It's excellent. I just prefer Blu Ray to win the war.

Still, it seemed like a bit of a cheap shot. My Xa1 has been fine, no more buggy than my PS3....very few minor quirks for each.

That said, it seems that LG rushed this to market without thinking it through very well. Makes sense, since:

1) it was meant to be a BD player orignally
2) It's and LG!!

In order for other CE's for come out with a dual player, it would seem to me that the LG would need to have some success. So, for that, I hope they do fix some some of these issues....and lower the price.

A disc of some sort. Most likely a CD'r or either. I didn't take it as you messing with me I totally forgot about using a disc now that I have been using other methods lately (LAN for my A1 and USB for my Outlaw 990).

Cool. I don't think it plays CDs though.