LG HR600 3D Blu-ray Player with Freeview HD

 

 

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I purchased this machine yesterday from Richer Sounds, because it seemed to offer most of what I wanted - to be able to watch and record HD Freeview, watch DVDs and also to watch iPlayer via home wifi. It does not permit recording from HDD to DVD, for archiving for example, but as this is something I would only do infrequently and can do in other ways, I decided this was a feature I could live without. The sales person was careful to point this out to me, as the box says "Blue Ray Disk Recorder", which might lead an unsuspecting purchaser to think that it will record onto Blue Ray disks. It does NOT do this. I had intended to buy a Panasonic machine, but decided to go for this machine at the recommendation of the sales person, who seemed very knowledgeable, and it seemed good value. I found several problems - mostly to do with the recording function.
First the good bit:
1. iPlayer works well. This is a nice feature. Possibly the machine's only redeeming feature.
Now the problems:
1. The device would not stop recording when set-up to record via EPG. I set it to record a couple of programmes, which it did, but when I came back after the programme was finished, it was still recording. I found that the only way to stop the recording was to power down the machine.
2. The device would not allow "time shift" pausing of live TV under any circumstance, whether recording another programme or not. (I note from other reviews that LG machines will not allow pausing of live TV while recording something else).
These were clearly problems with this particular machine, and it is going back to where I bought it from for a full refund. However, there were several other niggles which I would think are general to this design.
1. The picture quality is much poorer than I get when viewing my Panasonic TV directly. Colours are dull and the picture slightly more grainy. Changing the picture settings on the machine doesn't seem to help this.
2. The navigation around the EPG and programme store is quite non-intuitive, and the response slow.
3. If you are watching a recording, then stop it, and want to resume watching at a later date, it goes back to the beginning. there is no option to resume watching where you left off. Looking at other LG reviews, this seems to be a general feature and I would imagine that it would become very annoying. It is possible to go into a menu while watching a recording and start at any time point, but this is quite long-winded and non-intuitive - and you have to know where you left off watching e.g. the movie. Also the menu to do this disapppears very quickly from the picture, so if you lose concentration for a moment while inputting the key strokes for the time, you have to start again. Frustrating!
4. Editing the recorded programme listing (deleting unwanted programmes, for example) is slow and long winded. Also, you cannot do it while anything is recording. It does not explain this in the instruction manual.
5. The instruction manual, like most manuals for consumer electronics it has to be said, is poorly written.
In view of other problems we have had with the reliability of other LG equipment (especially 'phones) we will not be buying any more from this manufacturer. The old adage "you only get what you pay for" definitely applies.
I guess that if the machine had clearly been "working to spec", from the point of view of recording, and not defective, I would have lived with the niggles, but I would have regretted the purchase. I did not get a chance to try-out the DVD player, as by the time I had worked out that the machine was defective, I was pretty disenchanted with it.

I bought the HR 600 about 8 weeks ago. I was worried about some negative reviews (for the HR650 sister model) mainly around reliability, but took the risk.

Having used the machine a lot since I got it, the risk seems to have paid off. Apart from a couple of user experience niggles, this is an awesome machine that works very well. You can record two programmes at the same time, you can pause/rewind live TV, and the picture and sound quality is excellent in SD and HD, BlueRay, DVD and iPlayer.

I've used it regularly to stream music from PCs in my wireless network. Very stable, very pleased with it. It plays audio CDs quickly and well (and downloads disc info from the web so you have the disc info/track names on screen - neat).

For the price, this is an excellent piece of kit.

Bad points are only software related:
* You can't use live TV pause/rewind when the unit is recording (any channel)
* The menu's are not very intuitive, so some actions, like deleting recorded programmes, are long winded
* The Live TV pause/rewind stopped working after a while. Removing the series link programmes that were set to record in the future seemed to fix this. Live TV pause/rewind works fine now, even with future series-link recordings set. Odd.

All of the above bad points I can live with, and maybe LG might get round to fixing them in software updates in the future. (NB You need to update the software via a wireless/wired internet connection, as several bugs have been fixed in the past. You can do this simply from the on screen menu's).

If looks are important to you, then the LG looks great, with a red glow when it's recording and a blue glow when it's not recording. Dinky!

Researched a few BR players like this one before purchase and decide on this one because of the features and cost. It is an excellent machine with good looks, slim profile, lots of features which give an excellent viewing experience. Records TV to HDD and has twin freeview + HD tuners so as you can watch one channel while recording another. Especially like the home network feature which allows me to stream movies from my PC. Playback quality is great. Has a few internet features too like Youtube and BBC iPlayer which are accessed directly through the network connection. No downside encountered yet although it would be good to have all TV channel players available and not just BBC iPlayer. Great machine and great price.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!!!!
Short and sweet. I think this is brilliant. Had a really cheap one before so anything would have been better, but this is really good quality. xx

Published 18 days ago by Wintye

4.0 out of 5 stars LG HR600
The Player arrived as advised in good order, my partner found it easy to set up, however do have a few issues with the remote control, but over all picture quality is good, it... Read more

Published 20 days ago by elfica

5.0 out of 5 stars LG HR600
Before purchasing this item, I had read mixed reviews concerning the LG HR600. However, having searched an array of products, and not swayed by some of its reviewers more negative... Read more

Published 25 days ago by Mark Carver

5.0 out of 5 stars LG 600HR 3D Blu-ray player
It has everything you need to record tv, Play Blu-ray discs including 3D and other formats,Stream content from your pc and content from iplayer a good investment

Published 27 days ago by plellow

2.0 out of 5 stars failed product
from first receiving the freeview hd tuner it had two faults it shut down on tuner mode after 10 mins and the hd tuner picture strobes on background scenes with detail in it . Read more

Published 1 month ago by mr gly

3.0 out of 5 stars Good and bad
Great Blu-Ray player with easy to use menu. But with no connection to an external input like Sky, the HDD can only be used from the internal tuners, which if you live in a house... Read more

Published 1 month ago by John10uk

5.0 out of 5 stars Bluray player
Fast efficient service and delivery.
Excellent DVD recorder with all mod cons. Well worth the money and not difficult to install although i did expect to be connected to more... Read more

Published 1 month ago by sussd

5.0 out of 5 stars LG HR600 3D Blu-ray Player with Freeview HD
I have had the LG HR600 for a few months now and have found it perfect for what we required. We had bought a 37" LG TV with no HD tuner while we still had an older DVD hard disc... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Alexander Icarus

5.0 out of 5 stars LG HR600 Blu Ray Player
Received this product and within 15 minutes it was up and working. TV Tuning was automatic and simple. The HD pictures are fantastic and so are the Blu ray films. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Mr. A. D. Chaplin

4.0 out of 5 stars OAP guide
I bought this for my 79 year old father in law so he could record programmes easier, watch another channel whilst recording another. Also play dvds/blurays. Read more

Published 3 months ago by stevieboy

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