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LG BH200 Owner Review

335K views 3K replies 343 participants last post by  IrishLegend 
#1 ·
OK, here goes a quick review.


My system is a 61" DLP LED Samsung set w/ Onkyo 605 receiver. Connection is HDMI to the Onkyo and then HDMI to my Sammy.


Please note that I have never owned a standalone HD format player before. I do have an HTPC with HDMI out to my set and have 'previewed' some HDDVD and BR rips previously.


*HDDVD and Blu-Ray PQ are excellent.


*The player is slow to start up a new disc, compared to the PC playing a disc ripped to the HD. This is to be expected of course. BR seems to start slightly faster. This may be because it is earlier in the "what kind of disc is this?" sequence that the player is running. It takes forever to start a standard def DVD as well, so there you go. UPDATED: Actual startup times posted below.


*The player will re-compress the new formats to DTS on the fly. Never heard of this before. Guess since it does not have 5.1 analog outs this is a compromise. It will send the DTS out the digital output or HDMI. Since my HDMI is going to a new receiver that supports the new codecs and I pass everything to it directly I have no idea how good the re-compression is.


*All the audio bitstreams passed to my REC were detected and decoded. (PCM5.1, DD+, etc) Dolby TrueHD was NOT passed to my REC as expected. LG has already said this will take a firmware update. UPDATED: DTS-HD-MA was confirmed by LG at some point but still is not being passed. Only DTS Core.


*The player (at this point) does not have any option to output 24p.
The player definitely does not have an option to 'force' 24p.


*The network portion of the player does not seem to have a "check for new firmware" type option. It has basic net settings and login and password fields. I don't have the book so I have no idea what this is for.


*The standard DVD output is GODAWFUL. I don't plan to use this as a DVD player so I don't care, but be forewarned. Yes, It's that bad. UPDATED: Others report that the SD quality is not nearly as bad as I think it is. Read below for more opinions.


*There is no "zoom" feature. It handles all the aspect ratio stuff automagically and it does not appear to be configurable other than setting the output AR of the display. If it is standard def, NON-Anamorphic, widescreen material, ie. Extras, it is window boxed with bars on all sides I am afraid. No way around that on this player it seems.


*The remote is **** and slow to respond even in the native menu of the player.


*The menus resemble those on the BH100. (From the screens I've seen in this forum.)


*Navigating the HD disc menus is choppy and slow. Again, I am used to the PC and PowerDVD but it seems very clunky. It works, but just feels like a gui running on a machine who's processor is at 100%. HDDVD seems a little worse that BR in this respect but they are both slow.


Questions?


PS: How did I get it and where? See http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post11966731 .
 
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#2,208 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by ricsam1 /forum/post/14573787


I just tried my 3rd bh200 that I purchased from bestbuy. It's a feb. built date and I updated the firmware to April not the driver. I had 4 audio drops in 50 min.

I was playing an episode from star trek hd. My first 2 units were march built. I still have one of those and it plays fine on my Olevia 747i lcd . It suffers from audio drop outs on my 42" panasonic plasma. This bh200 has the latest driver and the april firmware. It may be a panasonic hdmi problem with certain brands. I've been talking with LG with no results other than shipping it to them.

I have mine hooked to a Panny plasma. You think this combo could be the problem?
 
#2,209 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by badwilly /forum/post/14574230


After six units I finally got 2 which play fine. I think LG is purposely not owning up to this problem. The fact I finally was able to get two that worked perfect with no changes to my system tells me they have either a hardware problem or serious quality control issues. I have always liked LG. My LG Plasma has been perfect with no issues. I'm going to really consider hard about another LG product after this experience however. Just my two cents.

Did you have the audio dropouts or other issues?
 
#2,211 ·
I just spoke to panasonic and my plasma(TH-42PZ77U) is hdmi 1.3 ready. They are going to mail me an sd card with the latest firmware. However, my firmware is from june of 08'.

Very recent. I'm going to take the bh200 and hook it up to my 747i. If it works like my other bh200 than I'm not sure where the problem is. If it still has audio drops, its an LG problem for sure. Stay tuned for more!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
#2,212 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TommyV /forum/post/14574260


Did you have the audio dropouts or other issues?

I had video and audio dropouts on HDMI and only video dropouts when I tested using component.
 
#2,214 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TommyV /forum/post/14574514


Wow this does not bode well for the LG. I am half tempted to just return it and get my money back. I may try one more but I just don't have the patience to beta test like I did with my first gen HD DVD player. I just want it to work.

I feel the same way. But to LG's credit, they have been pretty responsive to their customers so far...
 
#2,215 ·
Concerning the audio and video dropouts....This may be a long shot, but those of you having A/V drop outs, are your machines hooked up to your home network(Ethernet port)? If so, I'm wondering if network activity could possibly be causing these A/V blips some have been experiencing. If not, then it's a moot point. With the convergence of IP networks and the demands of high-bandwidth A/V components, just curious if the two could be interacting at some level causing the momentary drop-outs.
 
#2,218 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr /forum/post/14574884


Concerning the audio and video dropouts....This may be a long shot, but those of you having A/V drop outs, are your machines hooked up to your home network(Ethernet port)? If so, I'm wondering if network activity could possibly be causing these A/V blips some have been experiencing. If not, then it's a moot point. With the convergence of IP networks and the demands of high-bandwidth A/V components, just curious if the two could be interacting at some level causing the momentary drop-outs.

No, the only thing my LG was hooked up to was the TV.


Good theory though.
 
#2,219 ·
I've yet to experience any audio or video dropouts on my LG BH200. I purchased it about a week and a half ago at Best Buy and it has an October 2007 build date. I've watched quite a few movies (BD, HD DVD and standard DVD) on it and only had a few mild audio popping sounds during the BD Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (which is known to cause issues even with the PS3, so I'm not really faulting LG on that). Everything else has played flawlessly.


I'm using HDMI connecting through an Onkyo 905 receiver and I bitstream all the codecs (Primary Pass-thru). My TV is a Sony KDL-XBR4 46" LCD connected to the Onkyo through HDMI.


Both the LG BH200 and my Onkyo 905 are always connected to the internet (in response to the Q a couple of posts above about network activity causing drop outs)


So far I'm really impressed with the LG.
 
#2,220 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by redjr /forum/post/14574884


Concerning the audio and video dropouts....This may be a long shot, but those of you having A/V drop outs, are your machines hooked up to your home network(Ethernet port)? If so, I'm wondering if network activity could possibly be causing these A/V blips some have been experiencing. If not, then it's a moot point. With the convergence of IP networks and the demands of high-bandwidth A/V components, just curious if the two could be interacting at some level causing the momentary drop-outs.


I have all three of mine connected to my network with static IP addresses. I have no audio dropouts.

One unit it set to send bitstreamed audio, one is set to send multichannel pcm, and the third one is set to send stereo pcm.
 
#2,221 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by aaronwt /forum/post/14575275


I have all three of mine connected to my network with static IP addresses. I have no audio dropouts.

One unit it set to send bitstreamed audio, one is set to send multichannel pcm, and the third one is set to send stereo pcm.

Like I said, "It was a long shot."
 
#2,222 ·
Hi..

I am running my LG BH200 with 0702 driver and SW BH02080402F and am unable to figure out how to properly view the bonus view PIP materials. I can see the PIP box pop up but am unable to hear the audio from it, or switch it to full screen. I have tried what I could think of trying, so I thought I would just ask the other owners if you have been able to view the bonus view content and how you did it?


Thanks!!


PS.

Personally, I prefer to have all the bonus materials seperate from the movie. Is there any way to just watch all the "bonus view" material continuously instead of having to re-watch the movie with it set to U-control on?
 
#2,223 ·
I reckon it might be the PCM setting, i've now set mine to 96khz and played a ton of scenes in Dark City with no issues at all - in fact it even seemed to sound better? (not sure if that was my imagination)
 
#2,224 ·
It seems that there's no definitive pattern to this issue with dropouts. I purchased my first 200 on Aug 27th, which was a Feb '08 build and promptly updated to June FW but did not update the driver to 0702.


I played quite a few different format discs without any kind of dropouts whatsoever. A couple of days later, I updated the driver and on the first boot of the player after the update, the display said it was on home screen but I had a black screen. I tried loading a BD and while the display was flashing a proper load sequence, I still had a black screen. A cold reboot brought back the video but when using the player on other occasions this was happening consistently. I should mention that I still had no dropouts while the movie was playing.


Through trial and error, it turned out that if I powered up the 200 first and then my TV, it seemed that the HDMI handshake wasn't catching. So, going forward I used a sequence of power up TV, switch to the proper input and then power up the 200. It also worked if I cycled through the inputs. I really love this player, so I didn't think this was any great inconvenience.


But as most on this forum, we're generally the adventurous type and we also want our stuff to work properly. I decided to try switching to an earlier FW and I changed to the April FW this past Sunday. I don't have an explanation but I have not had a single issue yet. No matter what sequence I power up in, I do not get a black screen anymore and everything is working beautifully.


I believe everyone's individual setup has something to do with it but here is my setup that has no issues and connected through the HDMI port.


Sony 46S4100 TV

Bh200 Feb '08 build

April FW

0702 Driver

No AVR


Mike T
 
#2,225 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike-tee /forum/post/14576413


It seems that there's no definitive pattern to this issue with dropouts. I purchased my first 200 on Aug 27th, which was a Feb '08 build and promptly updated to June FW but did not update the driver to 0702.


I played quite a few different format discs without any kind of dropouts whatsoever. A couple of days later, I updated the driver and on the first boot of the player after the update, the display said it was on home screen but I had a black screen. I tried loading a BD and while the display was flashing a proper load sequence, I still had a black screen. A cold reboot brought back the video but when using the player on other occasions this was happening consistently. I should mention that I still had no dropouts while the movie was playing.


Through trial and error, it turned out that if I powered up the 200 first and then my TV, it seemed that the HDMI handshake wasn't catching. So, going forward I used a sequence of power up TV, switch to the proper input and then power up the 200. It also worked if I cycled through the inputs. I really love this player, so I didn't think this was any great inconvenience.


But as most on this forum, we're generally the adventurous type and we also want our stuff to work properly. I decided to try switching to an earlier FW and I changed to the April FW this past Sunday. I don't have an explanation but I have not had a single issue yet. No matter what sequence I power up in, I do not get a black screen anymore and everything is working beautifully.


I believe everyone's individual setup has something to do with it but here is my setup that has no issues and connected through the HDMI port.


Sony 46S4100 TV

Bh200 Feb '08 build

April FW

0702 Driver

No AVR


Mike T

I should stress that I've only experienced one dropout so far, and only with one disk...LOTR-ROTK. Happens at the same point of the film every time, so for all I know, it could be an issue with the dvd itself.
 
#2,226 ·
Most DTS-HD & TrueHD audio tracks are 48khz or 96khz and I wonder if by setting the BH200 to 192khz it is forcing it to up-sample to 192khz?


Anyway now that i've have dropped this setting to 96khz i'll let you all know if the audio dropouts go away on my main system (dont get them at all on my second system outputing 2ch PCM to LCD TV despite swapping players).


ps. my 2 are both Jan 2008 builds.
 
#2,227 ·
Just an update...I swapped out my March 08 unit for a January 08 unit. Threw in Return of the King dvd and had the same dropout, and also noticed an additional one besides that on the same disk. None of the HD DVD's that I've thrown at it have had problems.


I've decided that it's not really a deal-breaker for me as long as it's one standard def movie. I'm going to trust LG to stay on top of the updates and just enjoy it.
 
#2,228 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by hhaller /forum/post/14582555


Just an update...I swapped out my March 08 unit for a January 08 unit. Threw in Return of the King dvd and had the same dropout, and also noticed an additional one besides that on the same disk. None of the HD DVD's that I've thrown at it have had problems.


I've decided that it's not really a deal-breaker for me as long as it's one standard def movie. I'm going to trust LG to stay on top of the updates and just enjoy it.

You're very lucky. I have a feb. 08 player and a march 08 unit. Both units work good on Olevia and toshiba lcd's. But when I try them with my panny plasma I get audio drop outs on any format the players can dish out. If any LG experts want to chime in, be my guest.
 
#2,229 ·
I went to BB to grab one of the BH-200's before they were gone. They would not honor a 10% discount so I happily settled for the $339. price. I wanted Blu-Ray and the Qdeo upconverting and was willing to settle for buggy HD-DVD as this base was already covered by an A-30...have an Oppo 970 that is still satisfactory for upconvert.

The Jan.'08 build had buggy sound, video dropouts..would lock up for the night...but major sin was inability to accept new firmware with CD and USB/chip media.

I brought the new firmware to BB to get the last 200 available; an Feb '08 unit.

It accepted the upgrade without a hiccup; so I brought it home.

Happy camper here!...no video dropouts, no audio dropouts..and so far plays

everything perfectly( still early!).

I know it is heresy to suggest my satisfaction with the compromises with sound..but I'm very happy with the downcoverted DTS/5.1 output at the optical port. The sound is wonderful and I don't aspire to more.

The Blu-Ray is the equal of the HD-DVD and while I haven't A/B'd the SD results with the 970 or A-30, the resultsare thus far, just fine.
I've one only nagging question?

When I power it on, it takes 15-20 seconds of "PLEASE WAIT" before the indicator reads "HOME".

Another thread has suggested that is a failure indication. I called LG who stated it should not be of concern but how my particular unit functions..ie: normal for me.

Do I have a real problem? Should I return this unit or live with the risk?

Thanks!

ps- I use an Outlaw 990 and varied power amps with a JVC-RS1/1080p and a 104 inch screen at 15 feet..so real faults are fairly visible....mains are Carver AL's...center is Phase Technology..Definitive Tech S/W ...all told fairly decent sound/field. 5.1 is enough for me.
 
#2,230 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian227 /forum/post/14583277

I've one only nagging question?

When I power it on, it takes 15-20 seconds of "PLEASE WAIT" before the indicator reads "HOME".

Completely normal, mine does the exact same thing. No worries - enjoy!
 
#2,231 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian227 /forum/post/14583277


I went to BB to grab one of the BH-200's before they were gone.

I joined the club just today as a result of this deal. Mine was from bb.com and arrived double-boxed via UPS. Perfectly new though a Feb 2008 build FWIW.


Not sure when I will get around to hooking it up, but I'm blushing a bit purple these days!
 
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