03/15/2009 | Posted by Jonas D
At the CES 2009 one of the themes was internet on the television set. While the newest TV's are designed to hook directly into the internet, there are still a lot of other sets out there, many still quite new flat panels that can't do this. For those "older" sets, the functionality will need to be enabled via some type of set top box as I doubt all those plasma screens are going to the trash anytime soon.
That's where the LG BD370 comes in. This Blu-ray player is a networked box. With it's Netcast feature you can watch YouTube videos. At least that is a good start, but these boxes need more of a vanilla browser so they can do more internet services. I think that would make them more useful so they could do things like Hulu.
The encouraging part is that this player is just arriving at Best Buy, and the price is a reasonable $299. In other words, for a reasonable premium above an entry level deck, there is a lot more functionality in this Blu-ray player.
01/09/2009 | Posted by Nino Marchetti
LG Electronics at CES this week, besides its new Blu-ray players for the home media room, was also showing off a couple of new Blu-ray computer products. The most interesting of these is the N4B1, a network attached storage device with a built-in Blu-ray drive.
The N4B1 is designed for techie consumers or small businesses. It is designed to attached to a network and sports a four-bay storage configuration for up to 4TB of storage and archiving. It automatically creates a content catalog when data is saved to the Blu-ray disc and is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems.
Other features of the N4B1 include the ability to share a single disc among many users, RAID 5 support, a memory card reader and a Gigabit Ethernet connection. No specific pricing or release information was available.
01/07/2009 | Posted by Nino Marchetti
The kick of CES 2009 brings to Blu-ray lovers a slew of new players and related devices to choose from for the coming year. LG Electronics is on board with this, unveiling some new networked disc players and home theater systems today.
LG is specifically adding two new players to supplement its BD300 model unveiled last year. The BD370, due out in the second quarter of the year, offers Internet-enabled access to Netflix streaming video as well as new video content provided by CinemaNow and YouTube. It is also BD Live capable and offers BonusView technology for picture-in-picture access to special features. Joining it on the player side is the BD390 which, due out in the third quarter, builds upon the BD370 features but also adds integrated wireless home networking, 1GB of built-in memory and discrete 7.1 channel audio outputs.
The only new Blu-ray Disc networked home theater system previewed by LG is the LHB954, due out in the second quarter. It features the Internet video content previously mentioned, BD-Live and BonusView support, a 1000W 5.1 channel spherical speaker system and iPod direct docking.
12/30/2008 | Posted by Nino Marchetti
LG Electronics plans to add new network entertainment options to its Internet-enabled Blu-ray Disc players in the first half of 2009, the company said today. These new options will supplement LG's established relationship with online movie rental provider Netflix.
CinemaNow and YouTube will be new partners to LG for providing content to select Blu-ray Disc player models. CinemaNow, an online video content service offering mainstream movies and television shows, will let LG owners browse over 14,000 well known shows and movies, as well as independent film titles and music videos, for instant streaming and viewing. One will also be able to access and watch movies purchased from other CinemaNow-powered stores.
The YouTube partnership will let viewers streaming the millions of Web videos hosted by the popular online video service. Searching is said to be easy, with thumbnail previews and multiple screen size viewing options available. LG plans to announce other new content partnerships at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show.
09/03/2008 | Posted by Jonas D
As there are more and more Blu-ray players out there, it's going to take some new features to get any particular player to stand out from the crowd. Along that line, pay attention to LG's latest effort, the BD300 Network Blu-ray Player. Rather than "just" play Blu-ray discs, it adds in the ability to display NetFlix content:
LG Electronics today announced the nationwide availability of the BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, featuring unparalleled access to disc-based and networked home video entertainment. The BD300 is the world's first Blu-ray disc player that instantly streams movies and TV episodes from Netflix (subscription required and sold separately).
Available next month, the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will be offered at national retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City, and specialty retailers nationwide at a suggested retail price of $399.95.
Now that sounds like a feature that could generate some serious interest among the Netflix faithful. Many folks would much rather watch their movies on a TV than a computer and a box like this can do double duty. If the price were a little less expensive, this could become one popular player.
Source
02/20/2008 | Posted by Stephane Dion
If you've already build a HD DVD collection, and you're in need of a new HD DVD player, LG wants to be there for you.
"LG believes that at this present moment in time, it is necessary to
provide a player which supports both formats and therefore create
simplicity and convenience for the existing HD DVD consumer."
In a statement to Pocket-lint, LG also said:
"With the recent announcement from Toshiba, Blu-Ray will now be the
format that will pave the way for high definition movies, however this
does not rule out HD DVD immediately as there are still a number of
consumers who have chosen HD DVD and begun to build a HD DVD
collection."
LG has said it will continue to back and develop and sale HD DVD players. The company didn't say for how long they will continue to sell the units, but said it will release new hybrid models in due course.
