We tried something a little slower paced in the form of the comedy Knocked Up, and the machine still did well, giving a pleasingly realistic stage for the action to unfold. Although there are some scenes in this movie, like the birth sequence, when a really clear picture isn't as welcome as you might assume.

A really decent DVD player then, but the unit also has the ability to play DivX HD content downloaded from the internet. DviX movies can then be played back from a DVD, or external hard drive connected to the player’s USB port.

Placing a horizontal DVD is easy - but it's harder when the player's vertical

All these functions can be accessed quickly and easily from the slick and snappy on-screen GUI. The unit it itself has basic touch-sensitive playback controls on the front of the unit, and these work well enough. However, access to the whole set of features is only available from the remote, which although small, is well laid out, with each button sensibly labeled.

Other useful attributes include and auto power off if the machine is idle for a short time and a parental lock feature. Connectivity is pretty well catered for - video out options include HDMI, component- and composite-video, and there are also audio out L/R options.

Verdict

In the end, this machine isn't just a good DVD player, but quite a nice little media hub too. As such, £130 isn't unreasonable, even in an era of Tesco-sold £20 DVD players. Everything the LG does, it does well, and you can find the function you want with minimum fuss from the front of the machine or the remote, making it a doddle to use. It generates a great looking picture, and it's not bad looking itself.

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