The next step in Internet-enabled video-on-demand.

“Internet-enabled” could very well be the CE industry’s 2009 catchphrase. Some manufacturers are adding simple Web widgets to their products, like the ability to access news, weather, or online photo albums.

Others, meanwhile, have embraced what many of us deem to be the Holy Grail of Internet-enabled functionality: video-on-demand access.

LG was one of the first to build Internet-enabled VOD into a product when it partnered with Netflix to add the “Watch Instantly” function to last year’s BD300 Blu-ray player. The Netflix feature (or something similar) is now starting to appear in a number of products; so, to further distinguish its newest player, LG is taking the concept one step further by adding YouTube playback and future support for the CinemaNow VOD service.

In terms of Blu-ray features and performance, the new BD370 ($299) is almost identical to its predecessor. This is a Profile 2.0 player that supports the playback of BD-Live Web content and BonusView (picture-in-picture) features. It can output Blu-ray discs at 1080p/60 and 1080p/24, and it will pass Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks in bitstream form over HDMI, to be decoded by an A/V receiver with the necessary high-resolution audio decoders.

The player can also decode these formats internally (the BD300 lacked internal DTS-HD Master Audio decoding); however, it lacks multichannel analog audio outputs, so you can only pass the decoded high-resolution audio over HDMI.

The BD370 sports the needed Ethernet port to connect to your broadband network, necessary to access BD-Live Web features and to enjoy Netflix and YouTube content.

The player lacks internal memory to store BD-Live content, so you have to add your own memory via the front-panel USB 2.0 port. (The step-up BD390 includes 1GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi/802.11n support, and 7.1-channel analog audio outputs.) The BD370’s USB port and disc drive support playback of JPEG, MP3, and WMA files.

As I mentioned, the BD370’s performance is on par with that of the BD300. The video quality with Blu-ray films is very good: Detail is excellent; and, when outputting Blu-ray films at 1080p/60, the player’s video processor cleanly rendered challenging scenes from Mission Impossible III and Ghost Rider, creating no digital artifacts. However, it failed the 1080i processing tests on the HD HQV Benchmark disc. This isn’t a huge issue, since few BDs are natively 1080i; however, you may encounter the occasional concert film in 1080i and, in those cases, could see artifacts and a loss of detail.

The player’s upconversion of standard-definition DVDs is inconsistent. It produces a solid level of detail, but it doesn’t always handling the deinterlacing process well. It failed my torture tests from Gladiator (the stadium flyover in chapter 12) and The Bourne Identity (the window blinds in chapter four) but did a slightly better job than many players with video-based signals. I’d say the BD370 is passable as a DVD player, but I wouldn’t toss your existing upconverting player, if you’re happy with it.

The BD370 has the same excellent, easy-to-navigate menu system as the BD300 and operates almost as quickly, in terms of startup, disc loading, and command execution. Both models are faster than any standalone player I’ve tested.

The BD370 does differ from its predecessor in its physical appearance and remote. LG has altered the front-panel design, and I’m a fan of the new look: The minimalist design places a simple silver dial in a square at the center of the front panel, which disguises the power, play/pause, and eject buttons, and hides the disc drive, USB port, and remaining transport controls behind flip-down doors to the left and right.

The remote control is smaller than that of the BD300, with a cleaner layout that hides many buttons -- such as PIP, resolution, and TV control -- under a slide-down panel. Sadly, it lacks backlighting.

I’m not going to delve too deeply into the BD370’s Netflix streaming, as Geoff has already thoroughly covered the topic in his review of the BD300 and his dedicated feature on Netflix streaming. Let’s just say that I’m one of the friends he mentions in the latter piece who has a 1.5-Mbps broadband speed and is less than impressed with the video quality I get. That’s the minimum speed LG recommends for streaming, and it’s nowhere near fast enough to support playback of HD titles. Netflix suggests at least 5 Mbps or higher for HD-quality streaming.

One criticism Geoff and I both had of the Watch Instantly feature was that Netflix made it difficult to locate HD titles on the Website. The company has since remedied that issue, adding an HD option to the Genre menu in the Watch Instantly section. Netflix’s collection of HD titles has grown since we first looked at the BD300, but it still does not include a lot of new, big-ticket releases.

The major new addition to the BD370, at launch, is YouTube playback. Obviously, picture quality is hardly the draw for YouTube. It’s all about quantity and the navigation experience. The BD370’s YouTube interface is clean, colorful, and easy to maneuver; a panel along the top allows you to browse featured, recent, most viewed, and top rated clips or to search using an onscreen keyboard that offers a handy auto-fill feature as you proceed.

Once you select a video, you have option to view it full screen, which may or may not be a plus depending on how the source material looks, or in a large window at the left, with the info banner on the right.  

I’m not a frequent YouTube surfer because I don’t particularly enjoy watching video on my small laptop, so I certainly see the benefits of adding YouTube access to a device that connects to my TV. I’ve already spent more time surfing YouTube than I ever would on my computer. (Is that really a good thing? You be the judge.)

Via a future firmware update (at a currently undisclosed date), LG plans to add access to CinemaNow’s movie and TV content library. According to our LG rep, the CinemaNow function will have two options: You can rent VOD titles and stream them through the BD370, similar to the Netflix feature, or you can purchase titles. Since the BD370 has no internal memory to store purchased items, the content is stored in a digital locker, from which it can be streamed, burned to DVD, or downloaded to a flash drive and played back through the BD370.

[* Update 5/15/09: LG has just released the CinemaNow firmware update, and we need to make one correction to the information stated above. You cannot transfer purchased content to a USB flash drive, but you can burn it to DVD. Once you perform the needed firmware update on the BD370, you must activate the player by entering a code that you obtain from CinemaNow’s website (you must create an account if you do not have one). After setup is complete, you can order titles directly from the BD370’s CinemaNow interface, and the content is stored in the player’s “My Videos” digital locker. At this time, the CinemaNow feature only includes movies; the TV Shows option is listed as "coming soon."]

This purchase option is clearly the distinguishing feature and will give the LG player an edge over other streaming-only products, as it allows people (like me) with slower connection speeds to enjoy a higher-quality viewing experience while still receiving the benefits of on-demand ordering. (Okay, you do have wait for the title to burn to an external DVD, but at least you don’t have to leave your house or wait for a disc to arrive in the mail.)

Movie purchases will cost between $9.99 and $19.99, and TV episodes will cost $1.99. Rentals range from $2.99 to $3.99.

All in all, the BD370 offers an excellent assortment of features and good Blu-ray performance for the price. If all you care about is video quality, there are other players on the market that use a better processing chip for Blu-ray and DVD playback. However, if “Internet-enabled” is the phrase you crave, the BD370 delivers a lot of content options in a very user-friendly package.

PRICE: $299
CONTACT: lgusa.com/bluray