LG Blu-ray box to get streaming video from Netflix

The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player not only plays DVDs, it also receives streaming video from Netflix.

(Credit: Netflix)

Update at 7:30 a.m. PDT: The day of the announcement has been corrected.

Netflix fans will soon have another new option for watching movies.

On Thursday, the company made famous by sending DVDs to consumers via snail mail announced, in conjunction with LG Electronics, the imminent availability of a Blu-ray disc player that will also allow Netflix subscribers to view streaming video of movies and TV shows.

The LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player one-ups the Netflix Player by Roku, a set-top box that hit the market a couple months back. While the Roku device garnered much attention for its streaming-video capabilities, that's about all it does--there is no DVD function.

With the LG box, due to come out this fall, Netflix subscribers will be able to make use of Blu-ray discs and standard DVDs and also to tap into an online repository of about 12,000 movies and TV episodes (a fraction of the overall inventory at Netflix). The service will be available to subscribers at no additional charge.

A feature called BD Live will give people access to additional content and previews.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it would allow users of the Xbox 360 game console to view streaming video from Netflix.

With Thursday's announcement, LG and Netflix finally make good on a set-top box promise they made at the start of the year, just ahead of the big Consumer Electronics Show.

The two companies plan to show off the BD300 on Thursday night at LG's 2008 Summer Line Show in New York.

Perhaps at that time, they'll divulge the price of the BD300, which was not included in Thursday morning's press release. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, LG is pegging the price at "well under $500." That compares with just $100 for the more limited Roku box.

[vannman01]

another step closer to bridging the TV to an all-in-one multimedia device. Sounds like a PS3 though.

[popeye4444]

Until you can get HDTV quality from Netflix this box is not really worth it.
I get 16mbit to my house. The quality of Netflix's streaming video is horrid on my 24in monitor. I can't see me enjoying that on a 50in screen. "I get exceptional speed from Netflix too"

Netflix and other streaming services say there isn't enough demand for HD. If that is so why are direct TV and Comcrap in direct competition to see how many HD channels they can claim to be broadcasting?
Adding a new low definition source to my house is not what I need. I already have it on my pc and my PS3 via other sources.

I certainly would not pay more than I currently do to get crap quality.

[nissan_man]

Responding to the prior comment: DVD video that 90% of the folks out there watch movies with is what one would expect and receives through Netflix online streaming service.

Netflix quality on a 42" plasma is as clean as DVD imaging is....without the disc damage potential.
Your movie watching time and enjoyment will definitely increase having Netflix service online and DVD via mail without the worries of damaging a $20 dvd that cost a nickel to produce.

[GlennAllen]

When I can download a video file to a hard drive and then play the file locally (on my TV)--instead of streaming, then I'll be interested. I may have FiOS, but that only means I have a really fast connection to my CO; Internet & server congestion will still screw up streaming, buffers or not; and let's not forget--Pause, please.

[nissan_man]

Netflix online service provides pause, rewind, fast-forward of video.

[ender21]

The box in question is already HD ready. Once Netflix offers HD, the LG box will be able to play it. Just like the Roku - Just like MCE with the Netflix plug-in, etc. This isn't a "crapy SD only" box. It's a "whatever Netflix offers now and in the future, it will play" box.

[abcho]

Sounds like the PS3 but without game controllers and costs more. It has to sell for less than $200 to compete with Playstation 3.

[beelissa]

I guess if you don't already have a Blu-Ray player and you want to buy one, and if you have Netflix too, this would be a good thing to buy.

We have a PS3, so unless this costs the same price as the Roku box, I'll still be more interested in the Roku box.

[rcme]

Given the current state of the Netflix Watch Now (Instantly), this is going to be a fail. To watch Blu-ray movies, this box will likely be connected to a 1080p display. Watching the "SD at best" Netflix download movies upscaled on a 1080p display will just result in lots of disappointed users.

The idea of the Netflix Watch Now (Instantly) sounds really great at first, but after watching a few movies, one quickly realizes that this has got a loooong way to go before it can become mainstream. There are several problems like no HD, poor SD PQ, 4:3 movies, no 5.1 audio, small movie selection, etc.

The quality of the Netflix Watch Now (Instantly) movies are no better than watching SD TV from basic cable, even when viewed at the maximum bitrate. WHICH IS NOWHERE CLOSE TO DVD QUALITY. Many Netflix Watch Now movies (viewed at maximum bitrate) are actually worse than SD TV, with poor picture quality (noticable pixelation), and all the movies are stereo only (no Dolby 5.1).

Netflix needs to get the Watch Now movies to _at least_ DVD quality (picture/audio). In order to successfully mate Netflix movie downloads with a Blu-ray player like this, there has to be HD quality movie downloads encoded at a high enough bitrate (10 Mbps minimum). Until Netflix fixes these problems (no HD, no DVD quaility, poor SD PQ, 4:3 movies, no 5.1 audio, small selection, etc.), I don't see devices like this going anywhere.