LG's BD390 Blu-ray player: Now with Vudu, Rotten Tomatoes

LG’s BD390 Blu-ray player, now equipped with Vudu’s streaming movie service and Rotten Tomatoes ratings.(Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Courtesy of Vudu]

Vudu, the movie-streaming service whose high-def HDX video format we recently evaluated on an LG plasma TV, is now available on the company’s BD390 Blu-ray player, one of the top-rated players in our latest Blu-ray player Ratings (available to subscribers).

But don’t be alarmed if you boot up the player and see shiny red vegetables, er, fruit, all over the screen—Vudu is now incorporating ratings from the Rotten Tomatoes website in its list of movies available for sale or rent.You can sort selections in your Vudu movie lists by the ratings score (which includes the site's beloved Tomatometer and fresh/rotten tomato icons), and see summary reviews from some of the top movie critics from around the country. And Vudu has redesigned its movie page to deliver the extra content more interactively.

If you own, or are about to buy, a BD390 Blu-ray player, it should receive a free Vudu-enabling firmware update automatically the next time it connects to LG’s NetCast online service. The player can connect to the Internet either using a wired Ethernet connection, or wirelessly via the player’s built-in Wi-Fi connection). Vudu is also available on 42- and 47-inch LH50 LCD TVs and 50- and 60-inch PS80 plasma models. —James K. Willcox