LG BD370

The basics

A Blu-ray player with net connected BD Profile 2.0 features like BD-Live, the LG BD370 blasts out up to 1080p images (including upscaled DVDs). You can also stream YouTube videos via the ethernet port and play back movies and pictures from a USB key: all in a slim box that comes in barely over £200.

The good

Visually, this little piano black box is a serious looker: it's slim, light and polished. Blu-rays boot up fast, with lovely crisp video slung to your screen you'd expect from a box much bigger in size and price. Upscaled DVDs, meanwhile, won't make you feel like you need to upgrade your whole library. YouTube works a treat too: it's well presented, and matched by the excellent user interface. Just try not to spend too long looking at all those pretty menus: Blu-rays are what we're about here after all.

The bad

Internet access is a nifty feature on a Blu-ray player this cheap, but ethernet connections are a pain if you don't have a spare one near your TV. Where's the Wi-Fi? That and the YouTube videos won't stream in HD even if there is such an option on YouTube's regular website.

The bottom line

Unless you fancy playing games on a PS3, you won't find a better Blu-ray player right now for such a small sum. The picture, the menus, the innovative net features: they ought to cost more. We don't really care how LG's conjured this bit of price wizardry, just be sure to scope out your ethernet connections before you buy.