LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader with Digital Streaming and Internet Services (2011 Model)

I had this up and running out of the box within 8 minutes with a wired internet connection. The only reason I didn't use the wireless setup was because the instructions for doing so were on the CD that accompanies the unit, and I was too lazy to put in the disk and read it, and I had a long-enough ethernet/LAN cord to reach my router and it's no problem for me to hide the cord the way my living room is set up. I have a brand-new (only 3 months old) LG-brand television, so I was glad to get something that was made by LG, figuring it would be most likely to cooperate with my TV setup, and that's true. There was virtually no setup at all, really - just had to select the HDMI input on my TV remote, sign into Netflix and Google and I was watching my queued Netflix videos within about 10 minutes. The system did automatically run 2 separate updates on itself, and it shuts itself off after doing so, but that was no problem at all. Talk about a no brainer...I love techno stuff that is plug and play! The ONLY TWO CAVEATS I am noticing are that: (1) while the unit is turned on, I can't go on my computer and log into Netflix (I get a thing saying: "We're currently experiencing a technical issue. While we get things back to normal, some features aren't available - but you can play select titles on this page." --If I turn the unit off, I can add stuff to my queue on my computer (faster than using the remote). (2) The remote operates sort of like the mousepad on a laptop but is much slower and clunkier to use. I solved that problem by plugging a wireless mouse into the USB port on the Upgrader and I can navigate a lot faster on Google, Netflix and Youtube that way. I just got the unit this afternoon, and I haven't explored Hulu and Pandora and the other goodies available. I expect no problems, though, based on the ease of use with the others I mentioned. Overall, I'm super happy I ordered this and I think it's one of the best things to be invented since the Internet itself. :) UPDATE 03/24/2013: Been using this for a while now with ZERO problems. I cannot wait to get this for my tech-UNsavvy mother, knowing this will be a breeze for her to set up and use without me there (she lives several states away, but I know what her setup is like and if she has ANY questions I can help her in split seconds). HIGHLY RECOMMEND this item and I am SO glad I purchased it! ONE QUESTION FOR ANYONE WHO MAY KNOW: I have this unit wired in my living room. If I purchase another unit for my bedroom, will I be able to set it up wirelessly without conflict?

Pros: - Has built-in Wifi - Has a app store - Has a browser - Compact remote which also works as a mouse in browser mode - Has DLNA and can stream content from NAS Cons: - Wifi performance is poor. Tried to stream MLB.TV live games and the video is in pixelated quality which also stutter/lag a lot. - Apps in the app store are like a joke. It has Horoscope, Fitness Training, and Color Blind Test?! - Browser performance is very poor. No flash support so don't expect to go to your typical websites. To make it worse, the mouse design is so poor which makes it hard to use. You will need to swipe at least 5 times to move cursor from one side to another. - Codec support is limited. Downloaded MKVs don't work. I am going to try it a few more days but I think this puppy is going back to Amazon...

(Scroll down to see my Pros and Cons) Despite all the negative reviews I decided to purchase this the other week when the price was $75. Most of the poor reviews are people from people who do not have the latest firmware and while their scores are fair for what they had when they had it the device has greatly improved since those reviews. I've been looking for a device specifically to stream my Amazon Digital Video Library content to my tv since I was getting annoyed having to move my computer out (with it's pathetic stereo output) and attach it to my computer. I really wanted a Boxee but it doesn't support Amazon, if it did I'd have gotten it in a heartbeat. There are several options to make this work without buying a new tv or blu-ray player, as I see it: 1) Full-time media PC 2) Sony SMP-N100 3) Roku 4) TiVo 5) Google TV 6) LG Smart TV Upgrader A media pc is ok, and can do anything, if you want to spend the money for it. Great, I have no problems with that just not the money. Sony SMP looks ok but from what I've heard Amazon VOD doesn't actually work on it yet, it doesn't quite do a good job of everything else it claims to do and Slashgear was very disappointed in it. Roku, ok device but I hate the interface, it's slow, buggy, and not DLNA compatible. TiVo, great option if I want to add ANOTHER subscription service and part of my goal is to just do away with my cable TV. Google TV, I have played with Google TV and only had trouble with it, I have great hope for it in the future and I hope it will be ready by the time I am set to buy my next tv but it is just not an option right now. And that leaves me with the LG Smart TV Upgrader, which I bought. And am reviewing. It does exactly what I want it to, it streams Amazon and a few other services (such as MOG which I use.) It connects to your network and to a USB hard-drive to playback properly encoded (and has a fairly broad set of codecs it supports. not all but many to most) So here's a list of it's benefits and weaknesses. Pros: Amazon Streaming Library Netflix and HuluPlus Can connect to any HDMI TV, very simple setup. USB port for playing movies from Hard-Drive Supports DualBand Wireless-N (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands) Supports DLNA communication and has smart phone app to use as a remote Connects to networked computers easily. Small and looks good cuddling next to my TV Cons: Slightly slow interface UI Design could be better Doesn't support some of the more uncommon codecs. Would be nice but it's not why I got it: App library. It's weak. I know they just launched it in the US and their Korea library is pretty big. But right now it's sort of a joke. It's not what I got it for. But maybe someday it would be cool. Especially if they pick up apps for other streaming sites, such as CrunchyRoll. Final thoughts: I'm glad I got this at $75, I'm not certain it's worth the full $130 price tag but for the $80ish range it's fantastic. The interface is a little sluggish but no wheres near as bad as most Roku devices I've used. Not as zippy as an XBOX but then it's cheaper. The Netflix interface is decent and I love using the DLNA remote for it, in the end though I use my XBOX since it has a better interface and is faster. It's a good product, and for anyone looking for a device specifically for Amazon streaming this is the one I recommend.

last movies play fine. 1080p, 780, AVI, MKV, DIVX, XDIVX. Don`t play WMV videos. The youtube app its suck... it`s dificult to use... The web browser is SLOW... the browser is difficult to use because it does not play flash video player, that's because LG wants to buy a very expensive remote control ... Applications are becoming increasingly the most difficult to use because they want to buy remote control magic. [..] Is the NUMBER ONE in the High Definition 1080p Version 1.2 (1920x1080) Brand Model Product Type Date Certified LG ST600-N Digital Media Receiver 03-15-2011 by DIVX

I like the product don't get me wrong. I have internet connection of 17 down and 2 up. Netflix is great on it. Setup was easy. I think the only real usuable apps are the weather and Netflix. All the other services are other movie channels that are pay per view and radio services. I bought this box thinking that we would watch Hulu Plus and Netflix, but once out of the box, we realized the Hulu Plus was not an option. After talking to support, they informed me that the Hulu Plus app will not be available until July (beginning or end?). I thought I would use the web browser function to use Hulu Plus but the browser does not support that version of Flash. The remote is not the easiest thing to use, but it is workable. I haven't gotten to try playing media from my desktop yet. I am especially anxious to find out if I can play tv shows I bought with the Itunes store. We will see. I also do not know if you can plug your ipod in and play music or videos off of that. I will find out tonight. 5/2/2011 Plugged in my Ipod Classic into the Upgrader USB Port. I could not play music, photos, or video off of it. However as a pleasant surprise, I did find out my Samsung TV will play photos, music, and video from my Ipod. I think it was called wise link on the Samsung. I did use the media server to access the same music that was on my ipod just fine with the wireless connection. The photos also work just fine wirelessly. Video will work but wireless is not really the way to go. I haven't run test's to see if it was a high quality video versus a lower quality. I had problems with the sound following the video. I have a feeling once I plug the cable into the port it will work fine. The transfer rate is too slow for wireless video. Hulu Plus was said to be available in July from one support memeber then June with no date from another support member. I have decided to send it back and get a Roku box. I do like the menus and graphics more on the LG than the Roku, but the Roku just offers more channels and it works.

First things first. LG released this product unfinished. They will never admit that but they did. This product has been abandoned by LG and will never recieve any more updates. LG will never admit this either but it is true so consider this if you decide to buy one. Why does this matter? For one, the online services will stop working if the services they are connecting to ever make any changes to their service. A good example of this is the YouTube channel which no longer works on the st600 and since it has abandoned by LG it never will. I have not tried any of the other services like netflix, hulu+, etc. There is a Youtube plugin for PMS but that does not seem to work either on the st600. This device works as frontend (client) to the Plex Media Server (PMS) running on your PC however it was never actually completed by LG. LG calls this MediaLink but it's just Plex with another name. The most current official firmware from LG did not resolve the non-working MediaLink issue. If you want to use this device to connect to your PMS or any other dlna server you have to use the plain dlna interface of the st600 which gives you a simple folder structure view. There was however a beta version of the firmware released labeled as 901 that did enable most of the PMS stuff to work, but certainly not all. Some files will still not work and many higher bitrate files (7000 or higher) will not work. My library consists of mostly xvid avi's and h264 mp4's mostly around 2000-3000 bitrate and with the 901 beta I can use the PMS MediaLink interface relatively trouble free. The MediaLink interface is great with movie posters, descriptions, cast, year, etc. Also srt subtitles work and can be switched on or off while watching the movie. If you need just a player for your own media on your PC running PMS then this device isn't bad with the 901 beta firmware. I wouldn't rely on this device for internet streaming since it's outdated with no more firmware updates. I would get a Roku for that.

I am really happy that I bought the devices. Works perfect, and very useful. You can easily Pair Youtube, Share movie, music, and photo (via Nero MEDIA Home) from your server. This device worth every penny. The only FLAW is, the response time is slow and not too many APP for the Device in LG APP world.

I only wanted this for Hulu, Amazon, Netflix, and You Tube, so I can't speak to other apps/services. I've had it for years, love it, never had a problem with it, however, experienced the lack of HuluPlus without following up (I purchased a cable plan for a year). I'm about to cancel my cable and return to relying solely on this box, so hoping for an automatic update when I hook it back up to access Hulu Plus (or it won't be worth the money spent at that point). Will heed another reviewer's advice regarding USB stick for manual update. Overall I was happy with the purchase, but it's been a while, so, wondering how it will stand up to present day. The only difficulty I experienced was initially I would drop signal often esp during evening hours when accessing Netflix, and had to resync the accounts many times. After an update, that seemed to lessen quite a bit. Not technically minded enough to know if this was due to nature of the device or the nature of my wireless capabilities.

Yes it works, but not very well. After getting everything hooked up, the interface turned out to be really awkward and dated. It is ULTRA sensitive to remote input, so moving the cursor to your menu selection is frustrating because you usually overshoot your intended menu item, and have to bumble around trying to get it right. So what's the point of Smart TV if you don't want to take advantage of it? The Netflix interface looks like it's 10 years old - obviously the software on this unit is not current with other hardware running Netflix. Bad experience - I will be disconnecting it and discarding it soon.

rate this 3 star because you can upgrade your tv into internet tv, you can play some streaming channels in this box. but comparing this to different brand it is totally behind because lack of support.

Slow and difficult to enter information using remote. I don't even use it, a waste of time and money