Front panel

Last year's LG BD390 looked slick, but was a relatively bulky player, especially compared with players like the Sony BDP-S360. The BD570 has a more slimline profile, coming in at just 1.7 inches tall by 8 inches deep by 16.9 inches wide.

Flip-down panel

The front panel has a glossy black finish and it flips down to reveal the disc tray, front panel's buttons, and a USB port. It's a reasonably attractive looking player, although it doesn't quite have the same high-end feel as the BD390.

USB drive can block the flip-down panel

If you plan to keep a USB drive connected, you'll have to keep the panel flipped down, which makes the player look considerably less slick.

Front panel controls

Power and eject on the top

Both the power and disc eject buttons are located on the top of the player, which are a little tough to get to if you stack a component on top of it.

Logos

The BD570 has a full suite of logos on the top of the player, including logos for DLNA and DivX HD.

Main user interface

We loved the dead-simple user interface on last year's BD390, so we were a little dismayed to see that LG has given this year's model a complete interface overhaul. Gone are the simple squares with labels like "My Media" and "Netflix," replaced by floating ice cubes with more ambiguous titles like "Home Link" and "Netcast." We really don't get the point of new interface and how it makes the BD570 easier to use; it doesn't look especially cool to us and it feels slightly slower to navigate.

Netcast interface

Netcast is what LG calls its suite of media streaming services. Luckily, once you enter the Netcast section, you're greeted by large tiles with the names of services. We found this design more to our liking, as navigating the streaming services feels speedy and there are large buttons for each service.

Vudu

Vudu is a major addition to LG's services this year, as it adds a pay-per-view movie watching option to supplement Netflix's subscription offerings. We consider Vudu to be a worthy alternative to Amazon Video on Demand, which some competing players also offer. If you're interested in Vudu's top-of-the-line HDX streaming movies, you'll need to step-up to the BD590, as its built-in 250GB hard drive download more of the file as a buffer.

YouTube

LG's YouTube layout is also one of the best we've seen and we found it quick and easy to browse for videos.

Back panel

The BD570's AV output selection is standard. The only surprise is the lack of analog multichannel outputs, which were available on last year's BD390.

Back panel, closeup

Like virtually every other player, the BD570 also includes an Ethernet port if you prefer the stability of a wired connection. We would have liked to have seen an additional USB port on the back panel, like on the Sony BDP-S570 and Oppo BDP-80, but it's a minor quibble.

Remote

LG's included remote control is a complete redesign over last year's clicker. The main surface is glossy black, which looks sleek coming out of the box, but being a remote, it naturally accumulates fingerprints quickly. Its button layout is mostly straightforward with its playback controls having a "hill" that runs underneath them, making it easy to find by feel; there are also nubs on the rewind/fast-forward buttons. The remote's main directional pad is surrounded by six buttons, which is a little more cluttered than most Blu-ray remotes we use, but we didn't find it that troublesome in use. Along its bottom are a few buttons for controlling a TV.

Side view