LG BX580 Blu-Ray Player

The basics

Play back 3D Blu-ray movies with the LG BX580. It features 1080p high definition upscaling for DVD, and includes built-in Wi-Fi with BD-Live letting you download bonus movie content including deleted scenes, games and even more updates straight to it.

The good

The BX580’s standout feature is its 3D compatibility: slide in a 3D Blu-ray and you’re rewarded with images invested with a beautiful sense of depth – although there’s nothing in the 3D performance to make this player preferable to other 3D Blu-ray decks. 2D image quality is superb, however, with vivid colours and razor-sharp detail from both Blu-ray movies and upscaled standard def DVDs. Likewise, audio quality is impressive – crisply defined and bright – without having that certain something to elevate it above that of rival models. The bonus features like Wi-Fi, DLNA network streaming and LG’s NetCast service (which includes YouTube, Picasa and AcuWeather access), however, do add to the appeal.

The bad

With no secondary HDMI output and no analogue surround sound outputs, watchers of 3D Blu-rays will be stuck with standard def surround sound (unless they’re lucky enough to own one of the very newest AV receivers). The BX580 also takes a few seconds longer than most of its rivals when it comes to starting up a freshly-inserted Blu-ray disc, with 3D Blu-rays taking even longer.

The bottom line

The LG BX580 isn’t an exceptional Blu-ray player, but it does its job ably and offers a tempting range of extras.