The LG BP175 is an affordable Blu-ray player which offers 1080p quality playback and upscaling. We could almost stop the review could stop there, as it's that simple a device, but we'll run through the full specs and capabilities of this hardy little gadget anyway.
It might not offer the highest resolutions or fanciest features, but the The LG BP175 is still good enough to make it onto our best Blu-ray players guide, standing alongside the 4K and HDR capable bigger decks on the market right now. How? This manages to offer what it does, although limited in quality, very well and in a build you can appreciate for the price.
LG BP175 review: Picture quality
The LG BP175 does a good job of creating 1080p images on the screen. This means you can enjoy standard Blu-ray discs to the best of their ability, but you can also fire up older DVDs and have them at Full HD quality on your big screen.
The upscaling is very good, with older content given a new lease of life with higher definition and better dynamic range. Just don't expect this to turn a DVD into a Blu-ray – it'll do a good job of getting close but even the best upscalers are still limited by the disc.
There's lots of support for all kinds of video playback including MPEG-4, MOV, MKV, 3GP, AVCHS, FLV, M4V MP4 and plenty more. That makes this a great option for watching content from a flash drive or USB stick.
LG BP175 review: Audio quality
This stereo Blu-ray player is capable of supporting DTS 2.0 and DTS-HD meaning Dolby Digital is taken care of well. So while voices are clear and music is well defined, the won't blow you away with a massive sound system. But then that's not likely what you want this for.
That's largely thanks to the lack of ports when it comes to audio, but more on that in the next section.
You can playback audio files from a drive including AAC, MP3, FLAC, WMA and more. You can also play CDs including CD-R and CD-RW.
LG BP175 review: Design, build and features
The LG BP175 has a decent looking finish for the price. There isn't a screen on the front but the attractive cross-hatch pattern gives it a unique look without the shiny plastic some at this price come with.
On the front are easy to use power and eject buttons but also a handy USB port. This makes access super simple which is ideal if you're using this to play movies, music and photos from a flash drive.
Round the back it's a little less impressive as you simply have a single HDMI port, that's it. So no optical audio out, no throughput. This is a plug into the mains and into your TV simple job.
The remote is decent with plenty of easy to use and responsive buttons. Just don't expect dedicated app buttons. That said, this does come with WiFi and apps for streaming including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube. Just keep in mind they'll all be limited to 1080 quality.
LG BP175: Price
The LG BP175 is certainly affordable with a price that's under the $100 mark. This was launched at $80 but has now dropped in price. It's worth shopping around for as we've seen this as low as $60.
Should you buy the LG BP175?
The LG BP175 is an affordable Blu-ray player that offers 1080p video from discs, USB and streaming apps. It looks decent, produces good images and sound, and it can upscale your old DVDs too. It's ideal for those looking to play from a flash drive onto the big screen. With the lack of throughput with that single HDMI this is limiting but at the quality this is likely for a specific task anyway making that price very attractive.
