LG Blu-ray player will stream Netflix movies
BD300 to ship in the fall
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 7/31/2008
JULY 31 | LG Electronics is launching the first Blu-ray Disc player that instantly links up with Netflix’s 12,000-title streaming service.
Dubbed the LG BD300 and set for a fall introduction, the player uses a wired broadband connection to deliver the Netflix content.
To enjoy Netflix programming via the LG BD300, subscribers use the online rentailer’s Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their queues. Those choices will immediately be displayed on subscribers' TVs via their networked LG BD300 Blu-ray player. Selected content from BD300s should start streaming to connected TVs in less than a minute.
Additionally, people can use their BD300 remote to read Netflix content synopses, rate movies as well as fast-forward and/or rewind video streams.
The BD300 represents LG’s first straight Blu-ray player, as the manufacturer previously supported dual Blu-ray and HD DVD set-tops.
Pricing has not yet been specified for the BD300.
LG’s latest model includes BD Live, representing the most advanced Blu-ray profile, enabling Web and picture-in-picture interactivity on Blu-ray titles.
“As Blu-ray player sales are expected to triple in three years, consumers are craving content and seeking a premium in home entertainment experience,” LG Electronics USA president Teddy Hwang said. “The BD300 is another LG industry first and provides consumers with an advanced high-def disc player with unparalleled flexibility and networked access for services such as Netflix.”
Netflix, the largest U.S. movie-rental service via mail, has been trying to boost subscribers by adding streaming services. In January, the company said it would partner with LG on a streaming product, and in May, Netflix introduced a set-top box allowing customers to stream from an inventory of about 10% of its 100,000 titles. Later that month, Netflix co-founder, chairman and CEO Reed Hastings said products such as Netflix Player by Roku, which had to be back-ordered within three weeks of its introduction, would double the company’s subscriber base within a decade.
Earlier this month, Netflix grew its partnership with Microsoft that allows customers to stream Netflix’s movies and TV shows through Microsoft’s Xbox 360 videogame console.
“LG Electronics is establishing itself as the innovation leader in consumer electronics, combining the best of broadband and Blu-ray connectivity,” Hastings said. “LG Electronics was the first of our technology partners to publicly embrace our strategy for getting the Internet to the TV and is the first to introduce a Blu-ray player that will instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the TV.”
Last week, LG reported that its TV-making operations turned a second-quarter profit on an 86% surge in liquid-crystal display TV sales. The company sold 11% of the world’s LCDs in the first quarter, trailing only Samsung and Sony, according to NPD Group unit DisplaySearch last month.
Danny King contributed
