New Year, New LG BP550: The 2023 Review

LG BP550 Review

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

LG BP550 has so many impressive things to offer to all users with all good results. Professionals rate it as a top end machine that is best fitted for low budget applications. The most interesting part to talk about is its Wi-Fi, LNA streaming, smart content and 3D view. You can easily buy this high quality CD spinner with a price tag below £100 and it can fulfil all your desires with ease. It provides everything at single place with advanced Blu-deck creation but you will miss that 4K upscaling ability. Further, this blu-ray player is highly compatible with LG’s Music Flow multiroom platform so that users can enjoy easy music streaming facility from USB as well as CDs directly to the LG systems.

Pros:

• It offers pin sharp details for pictures.
• Impressive on screen design along with slick app.
• Users love its multiroom support.

Cons:

• Competitors are offering wide range of features as compared to BP550 and even on the lower price range.
• It does not support optical audio output.
• You will observe DVD upscaling artefacts.

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Features

BP550 device allows its users to enjoy with a wide range of premium content where all highlights are managed with Sky’s Now TV and Spotify. You will not be able to find these players on competing devices. Note that, you need to subscribe to stay connected on these channels. However, your subscription will also lead to convenient access for video and music content via living room system.

Here is one more thing to know about advanced features of this device. The Spotify and the Now TV as now joined by Berliner Philharmoniker, Dailymotion, CineTrailer, iConcerts, Deezer, YouTube, BBC sport, BBC News, blink box, Amazon Instant Video, Netfix and BBC Player. The Smart world section is missing in this device but it is carrying lifestyle apps, puzzles and wealth of games.

You can use BP550 to access photos, music, videos etc directly from server of the same connected network. The offered file support greatly depends upon server software that you are using but if we talk just about LG’s BP550 abilities then it can process OGG, FLAC, WAV, WMA, plus MP3 along with few classy ones like Mov, 3GP, WMV, AVI, XviD and MKV etc. BP550 is also capable enough to transmit music directly from USM sticks or CDs to music flow audio mechanism where connections are made through Wi-Fi. Those who love to spend time to listen CDs in room even without a disc player will find this connectivity option more useful. On the other side, Private

Sound Mode is one more interesting feature of BP550 as it assists users to share their favourite audio content with smartphones via Wi-Fi so that it can be enjoyed using headphones without disturbing surroundings.

For a while, let us move out of the fancy stuff and talk about basic features then also you will find a great list of features like DVD upscaling up to 1080p, 3D Playback, DTS HD based Master Audio decoding, Dolly TrueHD.

Design and Connections

Addition of advanced 3D support into a device increases its overall weight by 2 grams but still if you compare it with other devices then this weight will be considered as lighter. Users love the textured black plastic casing of this device that is equipped with front left tray loading system. This device is designed with minimalistic controls so the last important things that you are going to find on its body are power and eject buttons only. USB port is available on one side that provides easy connectivity for external storage devices. You will not be able to find any display panel on this device but the green LED provides indication whenever device is switched on.

If we compare this design with BP350 then the remote control feature can be found with improved appearance. It offers well designed tiny buttons with impressive layout that assists beginners with easy controls. Other than this, you can access all controls via LG 4G Remote App that is compatible with iOS and Android platform. A nice addition of HDMI output as compared to its predecessor is available so that users can directly avail digital audio out and the LAN port assists in easy HD streaming.

Operation

Once you start using LG’s BP550 device you will love its abilities and convenience that it offers to every user with ease. Deck always responds smoothly whenever users switch between different folders on music servers or whenever they try to punch passwords. However, the menu system is almost same as that of its predecessor. The home menu is impressively easy to navigate with a row of five well managed tiles that appear good against a gray background. All the app highlights as well as corresponding app statuses are displayed in a purple section below. If you want to adjust settings then follow the menu and it makes everything simple even with better control on all critical adjustments.

When it is time to delve into DLNA server then users can navigate inside for easy access of content from so many folders. Once you start playing a track, it will immediately appear on the whole screen and a beautiful cover art will appear along with elapsed time and playlist information. The online content menu is showcased via grid of tiles that reflect a cartoony backdrop but looks beautiful. You can jump between different apps as it provides better control on cursor that is highly smooth. When you need direct access to Option and Disc Menus then simply hit the info button at the time of playback and the banner appears on bottom side of screen. All useful apps like Spotify and BBC iPlayer works smoothly on this platform while allowing easy access to streaming. The info button will provide you perfect details about disc related to subtitles, audio formats etc. further, you can have easy controls over Movie, Vivid and standard settings. Users can make fine adjustments over sharpness, colour, brightness and contrast.

You will get one remote unit with this system that makes controlling much easier with an intuitive button type layout. The useful playback keys are well placed over ‘hump’ and they have light controlled appearance with dark and bright settings. The large direction panel assists users with ease navigation controls. Alternatively, users can connect their smartphones with this device via Wi-Fi connectivity and it is compatible with iOS and Android platform. This remote access can be used to access various apps, playback controls, DLNA servers and for track streaming.

Performance

Now, with this improved LG product we have something to talk about 3D performance that was earlier missing in its predecessors. No matter what kind of procedures and technologies were used to transmit digital information, you will always find results for 3D images impressive. If you must leave picture options alone then BP550 can assist you with perfect colour blending along with well adjusted gamma curve. It is also possible to make few picture altering adjustments that are available in Options Menu below Info/Menu button of remote.

If you work with standard picture mode then it will offer perfect transmission of signals between different platforms. Both Video ad Cinema modes produce colour information but it should not be messed up with illumination. User mode is highly important as it displays things as per standard with impressive basic controls over brightness, color, contrast etc.

Verdict

Although, BP550 lacks somewhere in high end feature delivery but still its intuitive controls make it stand out against all competitors. It can be used like an impressive home theatre tool with improved performance and basic functionality. There is no doubt to say that LG offers impressive combination of design with features, that is why it is serving like most popular entry level home theatre product.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

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