What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Thoroughly admirable in isolation, but this money can buy even better kit
Pros
- +
Full-fat spec
- +
good Smart TV ergonomics
- +
great high-definition images
Cons
- -
Sounds a little tentative
- -
not a brilliant DVD upscaler
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Affordable players aren’t usually the stage for designers to strut their stuff, and sure enough LG’s BD670 isn’t flashy.
It’s nicely screwed together, though, and its spec-sheet is alluring.
3D playback and integrated wi-fi (with LG’s Smart TV online functionality and DLNA personal media streaming on the menu) were unheard-of at this money just a year ago, but now they’re considered essential.
Easy to use and good to watch
Thanks to a decent remote and menus, the BD670 is simple to set up and use.
The promise of a free iOS/Android remote app makes a good thing even better, as searching YouTube (for instance) using on-screen keyboards can get tedious.
Streamed picture quality is perfectly fine – and the LG remains stable even if your broadband isn’t lightning fast.
As an upscaler of DVDs, the BD670 isn’t without merit: its colour palette is convincingly natural, it does good work with strong contrasts, and black detail levels are high.
Flumoxed by complex patterns
It’s comprehensively flummoxed by complex patterns, though, and there’s evidence of picture noise and edge-shimmer at pretty much all times.
Switching to a Blu-ray such as Scott Pilgrim vs The World brings predictable improvements.
Picture noise vanishes like it had never existed, and the LG draws edges and complicated patterns with a confident hand.
Vibrant, punchy images with smoothly rendered motion and lavish detail levels make for a thoroughly enjoyable watch.
Gratifyingly stable with 3D
The 3D pictures, too, are gratifyingly bright and stable, and the BD670 deals with motion (especially in the tricky foreground) well.
The 3D effect is pronounced, though it can sometimes look a bit like a series of layered 2D cut-outs.
Some rivals offer a touch more roundness, but as long as your display’s up to it the LG’s an absorbing 3D device.
Sound is nicely balanced and well detailed throughout, but it’s sorely lacking in dynamic headroom – the gap between ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’ isn’t as great as it might be.
As an overall package, though, the BD670 is not to be sniffed at.
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