LG LHB977 1000-Watt Blu-ray Disc Home Theater In a Box

The only gripe I have with this unit is the speed or lack of. You have to wait when you initially turn it on and the ipod interface is very slow at times. Also it does not play your ipod videos via the dock, you need to use a seperate cable. But I do love everything else about it.

I had been looking at several systems but decided on this one as I have an LG 1080p tv and both have the SimpleLink feature of LG.
This unit greatly exceeded my expectations. Be aware that if you do not have a 1080p tv you will not get the full benefit of Blu-ray also be ready to spend a little time with the manual. To enjoy surround sound while watching satellite tv you will need an optical cable for optimal quality sound although a coaxial connection is there if your tv doesn't have optical.
I am very happy with this system.

The LG 977 Home Theater in a Box is a fantastic combination of Blu-Ray player, 5.1 Surround Sound System, Netflix Streaming Media Player, Pandora, YouTube, AM-FM radio, as well other nice options like Roxio CinemaNow. First, the Blu-Ray player is fast loading and works perfectly. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the streaming Netflix player is fantastic. This is a great improvement, as I have struggled for the past year with a less than stellar Samsung player. Previously I had a Samsung BD-P2550, which had several issues with both dvd playback and Netflix streaming. The Samsung was prone to freeze and skip, and would often begin playing DVD audio while displaying the main system menu. I kept thinking Samsung would update the firmware and resolve these issue, but none fix ever came.

Happily there are no issues with this LG system. Setup is a breeze, the sound quality is stunning and the software is solid. In short this is a fantastic system and well worth the money. You will not be disappointed.

So I'll get right to it. Amazon has always done right be me in the past, and this review isn't so much about Amazon.com as it is about LG. Nevertheless, I'm still a little thrown off by the experience I'm presently having. The setup was easy. It didn't take me any more than 30 minutes to set everything up and get things going, seeming I've had a LG system in the past. The inputs in the back are exactly what I need, so nothing wrong there. The only problem I'm currently having with the system is the subwoofer has little to no power to it. I'm very experienced with Audio systems, so I disconnected and reconnected the subwoofer's wires and rechecked the system's volume and the volume of each speaker connection. At 6db for my surround sound speakers, you can hear everything in that register. On my previous LG system, the subwoofer at 6db was able to vibrate all the wall fixtures...and the volume was set no greater than 12. However, with this system, I could barely hear anything coming from the subwoofer during the speaker setup test. To make sure I wasn't crazy, I played 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' at some of the loudest points of each film. Any audiophile will tell you those films boast some of the most dynamic sound designs and demands. I had to turn the volume up to level 15-20 just to feel something. Keep in mind, on my previous LG system, that volume level would have gotten me evicted. I played around with it for a quite some time, trying to make sure I didn't forget anything. Unfortunately, I had to return it today--just 48 hours after opening the box.
I'll save all of you some heartache, right now. If you EVER speak to LG, please keep in mind that their customer service ABSOLUTELY sucks! Their products are great, but the representatives are mindless idiots, reading scripts from a computer screen half a world away from here! There's no empathy or connection with the representatives because it's just a job for them. How is this different from most companies right now? IT ISN'T! But, when a customer is speaking about the technical aspects of a system and you don't understand what the hell that customer is saying, just say so without treating the customer like he/she is frakkin idiot!
But, I thank GOD for Amazon's return policy. I UPS-ed the system back to Amazon and I'm waiting on my replacement. I'm praying that the next system is fully operational without any defects. When it gets here, I WILL have a better review for the system. Stay tuned...

11/4/09; It's a few days after I returned the malfunctioning LG system to Amazon.com, and they've issued a replacement for it. Looking at the inconvenience this little problem has caused, a good guy at Amazon to whom I give great BIG UPS named Jeramy W. helped me out by overnighting the package. I can say even more about a Jennifer working for Amazon who said she'll be handling all followups after the system is delivered to make sure everything is continuously in working order. The system will be here tomorrow. Again, I have to compliment Amazon on their customer service. These guys have made sure that my situation is resolved in a very timely manner--a compliment I'm unable to extend to LG's customer service department.
When everything is connected tomorrow, I'll post an updated score. Cool?...

11/6/09; So everything turned out exactly as I thought it would. The system, for lack of a better word, is perfect. The subwoofer is wonderful, and I never thought I would ever hear a more perfectly balanced HTiB system than my last one, but I stand corrected.

To TecmoSuperBowl, get the system...trust me!

All the customer reviews I read of this product were right on target. It was very easy to install with all speakers color coded. Having HDMI inputs is fantastic because we run our cable box through the player. The only downside is I wish it had more audio inputs. It does have optical audio in as well as in AV input (which we hooked the Wii through) so not bad but if you ever wanted to run something else through the speakers there aren't any other inputs. But I am very happy with the all in one product. The Netflix streaming is fantastic (Netflix is not partnered with all companies - so if this is an important feature to you make sure you check if they participate - I think Samsung and Insiginia also have Netflix streaming). For an all-in-box system this is definitely a great price for a solid product.