Philips HMP2000 review

If you’ve been hankering to get Netflix on your TV, Philips has a cheap way to do so with its HMP2000 media player. This tiny wedge is the height of simplicity, with just a single HDMI port on the rear. There’s no Ethernet socket at all and connection to the internet is entirely through the built-in 802.11n wireless networking.

The rear of the box is simplicity itself.

Power the box on and the simplicity continues, with just five icons taking up the home page: Netflix, YouTube, USB, Internet Services and Setup. It’s really Netflix that this box is designed for, so there’s a dedicated button to launch the streaming service on the remote control.

There’s no getting confused with the MP2000’s incredibly simple interface

The Netflix interface is simple and attractive. Thumbnails arranged into rows let you quickly select programmes and films to watch by category, such as TV Programmes, Recent Releases and Action & Adventure. Each time you select something to view, a right-hand panel shows you an overview of the content and user-rating for it.

The Netflix interface is simple and clear and gives you a quick overview of the latest content sorted by category