LG BH100 HD DVD / Blu-ray hybrid player reviewed

As promised after teasing us with their unboxing pics, the folks at Gadgetaholic have put down the camera and delivered a full review of LG's format-agnostic BH100 HD DVD / Blu-ray hybrid player. On that all-important point, they found that the player handled both formats "flawlessly," with picture quality for each pretty much in line with standalone HD DVD and Blu-ray players. Of course, you'll have to make do without HDi functionality or HDMI 1.3a support, which LG now says won't be able to be remedied with a firmware update. They also found the player to be somewhat lacking when it came to the still-important question of DVD playback, with the quality of upconverted DVDs varying noticeably from disc to disc. Add all that to the relatively steep $1,199 price tag, and Gadgetaholic has a tough time recommending the player for most users, finding it notable for what it achieves, but ultimately viewing it as more of a historical footnote than a serious contender.

[Discosis @ Jan 30th 2007 4:57PM]

So ... where to from here? Does LG have more hybrid players up their sleeves?

[Michael Calderone @ Feb 14th 2007 6:03PM]

I bought the LG BH100 yesterday. I hooked it up to my Sony 60" Grand WEGA™ SXRD™ Rear Projection HDTVKDS-60A2000 1080p TV and the display on the Blu Ray DVD player said "Please wait" on the display forever. I could not use it at all!. I called LG support and talked to a support engineer and they said the latest Sony LCD WEGA SXRD TV's are not supported by the BH100. WOW - I was totally amazed.
I returned it the same day!

[Brennan @ Jan 30th 2007 5:04PM]

dang, that just killed it on not being able to update via firmware HDi n HDMI 1.3a.

same question as Discosis, LG better have more hybrid players in the future, i looked forward to trying to get this for the family or something.

*removes BH100 bookmark from Best Buy*

[Castle @ Jan 30th 2007 5:13PM]

>>dang, that just killed it on not being able to update via firmware HDi n HDMI 1.3a.

HDi is a licensing issue with Micrsoft (since HDi is a proprietary to MS and the HD-DVD consortium). Unfortunately for LG, there are going to be more and more HD-DVD disks that use HDi. Blu-ray on the other hand uses Java for interactive menus and extras, for that reason, they had no problem with support (but so far only the movie The Descent uses BD-J).

[GioNYC @ Jan 30th 2007 5:31PM]

I'll wait for HDMI 1.3a support. My next Expense on a Plasma will be HDMI 1.3a. It would make perfect sense.

[CaptMonkey @ Jan 30th 2007 5:49PM]

$1200? Couldn't you buy a PS3 and an Xbox 360 with HD-DVD drive for that? Sure, you'd have to settle for component for the HD-DVDs, but you'd get two video game systems out of the deal.

[teknomusik @ Jan 30th 2007 6:22PM]

LG DVD players suck (coming from an unhappy owner).

[Time Magician @ Jan 30th 2007 6:23PM]

I like it! I'd buy it...

[Talkstr8t @ Jan 30th 2007 7:40PM]

There are more BD-J discs than that; Speed, League of Extraordinary Gentleman, Crank, The Guardian, and others have BD-J as well.

[Frank Palazzi @ Jan 30th 2007 9:06PM]

Ehhhh! In 4 years we'll be buying these kinda things for $39.95 at CVS, and they'll play your old DVDs too!

-The Old Dude-

[James @ Jun 10th 2007 4:41PM]

I want one!

Home Business Get Rich Quick Reviews

[James @ Jun 10th 2007 4:43PM]

Nice..


www.the-ultimate-solution.net

[azzemoto @ Jan 31st 2007 8:01AM]

FIRST POST 7 YTD AND 33 LIFETIME!!!!!

[Rick Mansfield @ Jan 31st 2007 2:07PM]

The problem with the BH100 is two fold. First, it doesn't have full HD DVD interactive capability and therefore (contrary to the demo picture with this post) cannot carry the official HD DVD logo.

Secondly, it's too expensive. A blue ray player can be bought for $500 and a HD DVD for $400. It would be better to buy them separately for a lower price than pay for the BH100.

[Erik van der Neut @ Feb 11th 2007 9:55PM]

No HDi and no HDMI 1.3, and questionable regular DVD support, and that for $1,200? Are you kidding me?

The Toshiba XA2 is an incredible HD-DVD player. It's $800. That's what I'll get.

- Erik

[Brian W @ Feb 6th 2007 11:36PM]

I have this player and just wanted to add my two cents! Yes, the BH100 has some faults, but this is a breakthrough unit, so it's going to cost top dollar, and it's certainly not going to please everyone on the first try. I remember when the first VHS players came out, they cost about the same amount, and they needed improvements, so it's all relative.

The downsides are the lack of HDi, since I'd like to have complete HD-DVD support like everyone else. In relatity, however, out of the 10 HD-DVDs that I own, only two of them have special features to begin with. I'd like the option to watch the extra stuff, but I never really do anyhow, so that's not a huge deal at this time.

If you have a stereo reciever with HDMI support, then this is lacking also, but it sounds wonderful with the normal 5.1 system that I have, so I'm not going to complain about that either. I can see where this would be a big concern for others though.

A lot of people don't like the general look of the unit, and from the pics online that I saw, I'd have to agree. When I put player in my entertainment center, however, it really looked spectacular, and I love the lighting system! The lights are brigher than the other lights on my electronic components, but, wow, they look so sharp and almost radiate like halogen lights! The illuminated LG logo looks pretty cool too.

The BH100 has played back everything I have thrown at it Blue-Ray, HD-DVD and DVD wise; never any hang-ups. The picture is outstanding! There is a small wait for loading time with some dics, but this is normal for most high def players. Apparently, from what I've heard, there are some quality differences in high def units generally speaking. In my opinion this has a top-notch picture on a 73-inch television, and looks about the same, if not better, than the high definition channels we get with the dish network. Impressive stuff!

All in all, I'd say this is a HUGE step in the right direction. It allows you to play both formats in one unit, without having to buy two or more components/games systems, thus saving space. The cost is not a plus at this time, but for those who can wait, I'm sure there will be better options in the future. For now, I'm loving it!

[Robert Brosch @ Nov 7th 2007 4:37PM]

Dear Brian W., I am wondering by what you mean by the LG BH100 Blu-Ray HD Player does not have HDi support. I have the HDDVD on Forbidden Planet, as well as The Adventures Of Robin Hood and when I first got them, I could not access the special features, however, in replaying them, I pushed the title button and got all of the special featues on both HDDVD's. Is it possible that there is HDi suppoert, it seems awlfully funny that I can access these special features and no one else can. Please do not feel that I am acting funny about this matter, since I don't know much about DVD technology, I am only a user, not a filmaker. Thank you for an informative article, Robert Brosch

[Elbert @ Oct 19th 2007 12:47AM]

Just got my Transformer HD DVD and found out that it won't play in my BH100 at all. I took it back to Bestbuy where I bought the HDDVD to exchange for another HDDVD thinking it's a faulty disc. Poped the HDDVD into their demo LG super player and it played just fine. So the issue is with my unit. I have the very first generation LG super disk player and it obviously needs firmware update if can be done at all.
So the bottom line. the LB BH100 is NOT fully HDDVD compatible at this time....

[JoeClubKid @ Oct 20th 2007 6:36PM]

I too had the problem with Transformers HD-DVD not playing on my LG BH100. After searching around I finally found a firmware update and to my surprise I'm watching my Transformers DVD right now.

Go to: http://us.lgservice.com/index_b2c.jsp and click on Device Driver.

Search for "Product DVD&Video" Choose Operating System "All". Type in "BH100" under Subject

Download the two files found under "Program Update for BH100-N (USA Only)" and follow the instructions on the PDF files.

If any of this doesn't make sense let me know and I can send you a link for a zip file I have uploaded. [e-mail]

As with any firmware, you are on your own, I took a chance and it worked for me.

[CalBoy @ Oct 27th 2007 12:52PM]

Thanks to JoeClubKid - you solved all my problems with "Transformers" disc. At first I thought I had a bad disc, but then realized it was the LG BH100 problem.
So, many thanks for posting the location of the new firmware updates... greatly appreciated.
Now playing "Transformers" (smile!)
Thanks again dude!