Netflix subscribers will have another avenue to stream movies - LG’s BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player.
Available in September, the BD300 will play high definition Blu-ray discs, upconvert standard DVDs to 1080p and allow Netflix customers to instantly stream 12,000 movie and TV show titles. But there is a catch: The Netflix movies will play in standard definition.
As of right now, there’s no definitive price. According to the Wall Street Journal, a company executive says the BD300 will be priced “well under $500.”
In addition to the BD Live and BonusView features, the BD300 includes LG’s SimpLink™ technology, which allows users to control similarly equipped LG TV and A/V products via on-screen menus or directly from the product itself.
“LG Electronics is establishing itself as the innovation leader in consumer electronics, combining the best of broadband and Blu-ray connectivity,” said Netflix Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings. “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.”
LG and Netflix announced plans to provide consumers with a set-top box back in January. Since then, Netflix launched its Roku box in May and revealed plans to stream movies via the Xbox.
you say the Roku box is also limited by standard definition ? according to the the website its HD ready: When Netflix releases HD content for Instant Watching, the Netflix Player by Roku will be ready.
To be fair, the standard definition ‘catch’ is a (current) limitation of Netflix’s streaming. The same caveat applies to the Roku box and the upcoming XBox 360 streaming.
I think a lot depends on what they mean by “well under $500”. It would be great to see this player come in under $400.
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No, I never said that. I said the standard definition limitation is a limitation of Netflix’s *current* streaming and so the same limitation applies to the Roku or any device that connects to Netflix’s service.
Please refrain from putting words in my mouth.