LG's first 3D Blu-ray Player, the BDX580 has a very reasonable listed price of $399.99. Reasonable considering the BDX580 is Full HD 3D Blu-ray capable, comes with NetCast Entertainment Access for online streaming content, high-speed 802.11n built-in Wi-Fi, DLNA compliant to stream data from your computer, BD-Live capable and of course it can play regular Blu-ray and DVD discs.

Being just 8 inches in depth and 1.7 inches in height, the BDX580 is a very slim design and does not require a large amount of space. Going for a minimalist design the front panel flips down to reveal the controls, the LCD Display, the disc loading tray and a USB port. Many people consider the flip down panel to be a design flaw. The BDX580 does not have any internal memory. Therefore a USB drive is need for downloadable BD-Live content. Once a USB drive is inserted you can not flip the panel back up. Some may find this to be inconvenient and spoil the clutter free look of the player.

Video Quality: Beside 3D Blu-ray discs, the BDX580 still can playback Blu-ray and DVD discs. Video connections are located on the back. They include a HDMI 1.4 Output, Composite Outputs, and Component Outputs. HDMI connection will give you the best possible playback quality. It does have the latest HDMI 1.4 version Output, however, a 1.3 HDMI cable is sufficient for 3D playback. There is no need to go out an purchase a new HDMI 1.4 cable.

Audio Quality: Audio connection can be done via the HDMI 1.4 Output, Digital Audio Outputs(Coaxial, Optical) and 2.0-channel Analog Outputs. The BDX580 has internal audio decoding for Linear PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and DTS. Unfortunately, there are no multi-channel 7.1 analog outputs. An audio/Video receiver with a HDMI input is require to decode the high-resolution surround sound that are found on Blu-ray movies.

The LG BDX580 comes pack full of features. As stated it is the first LG Blu-ray player with Full HD 3D capability. It also has an Ethernet Port and a high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi built-in for connecting to the internet. The BDX580 includes LG's NetCast Entertainment Access which has Online Streaming Media Services such as Netflix, Vudu HD, YouTube, Picasa, AccuWeather and many more.

Another great feature is that the BDX580 is DLNA compliant. You can connect the Blu-ray Player to your Home Network and stream video, music and photos from a connected computer or USB device and display them onto your Television. The following are the files and supported media formats:

Music: MP3, WMA, WAV

Photo: JPEG, PNG

Videos: Standard-definition (MPEG-1/2/4, DivX) and high-definition (MKV, H.264, DivX HD)

Bundled into the BDX580 is Nero MediaHome 4 Essential software. This will allow the player to act as a media server. For example, instead of displaying the plain CD track numbers, the BDX580 will be able to show album cover art, the artist names and the song titles will automatically be downloaded from the internet. Done so by Gracenote Technology, the whole process takes less than a few seconds to complete once the CD is inserted. You will also be able to rip CDs directly to an external USB memory device such as a thumb drive or MP3 Player. Tracks can be encoded in MP3 format using 128kbps, 192kbps, 320kps data compression or in lossless with ID3 metadata.

THE PROS: The LG BX580 has Full HD 1080p playback on Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray disc. It is the first 3D Blu-ray Player from LG. Has internal audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. It is DLNA compliant and has Wi-Fi built-in. Has access to Online Streaming Media Services.

THE CONS: It has no multi-channel analog audio outputs. So it would not be the best option for someone with an older, non-HDMI Audio/Video receiver. No internal memory. A USB storage device will be needed to access BD-Live content.

THE FINAL WORD: The BX580 is the first 3D capable Blu-ray Player from LG. It is packed full of features including built-in Wi-Fi, online streaming, can rip CD to an external Hard Drive and is DLNA compliant. It seems to have almost every possible feature and function you will need in a great Blu-ray Player. -- Price you should look for when purchasing -- $399.99