The Samsung UN46B7000--one of the newly entertained Samsung HDTVs.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Samsung announced on Wednesday that on-demand video services from Blockbuster and Amazon are coming to some of its home entertainment products.
Blockbuster OnDemand, which allows people to rent or purchase video content on a one-off basis, is now available on some of Samsung's high-definition TVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems.
According to Samsung, the service will be offered on its Series 650 and above LCD and plasma HDTVs, as well as its Series 7000 and above LED HDTVs. Blockbuster OnDemand will be available to owners of the Samsung BD-P1600, BD-P3600, and BD-P4600 Blu-ray players, as well as the company's HT-BD1250, HT-BD3252, HT-BD7200, and HT-BD8200 Blu-ray home theater systems. The company said that the service is available now through a firmware upgrade.
As part of the rollout, Blockbuster OnDemand content can be streamed across multiple Blockbuster-enabled devices in the home. According to the company, users who order a particular movie can start watching it on one Samsung product in their home and continue watching it on another supported Samsung device.
For its part, Blockbuster has had a busy week. On Tuesday, the company announced that its OnDemand service was finally made available on TiVo DVRs. Like the service on TiVo, Samsung equipment owners can expect to pay between $2.99 and $3.99 for movie rentals. Blockbuster charges between $7.99 and $19.99 for film purchases.
As part of the deal, Blockbuster will start selling Samsung Blu-ray players that feature the company's OnDemand service in "thousands of corporate-owned stores and participating franchise stores." Blockbuster also said on Tuesday that it will also start selling TiVo DVRs in its stores.
But Samsung didn't stop there. The company also announced on Wednesday that Amazon Video On Demand will be offered to owners of Samsung LCD and plasma HDTVs that are series 650 and above, and LED HDTVs that are series 7000 and above. To get the service, users will need to download the Amazon Video On Demand widget using their television's Internet@TV content service.
Samsung said that once the user downloads the Amazon Video On Demand widget, they will be able to access Amazon's more than 50,000 movies and television shows. Amazon's widget joins already-available widgets from Twitter, Yahoo, YouTube, and others, the company said.
A growing trend?
The fact that Samsung has added Blockbuster's and Amazon's video services to its HDTVs shouldn't come as a surprise; it's competing in a marketplace where integrated entertainment is becoming the norm.
Earlier this year, LG announced the launch of two broadband-equipped HDTVs--the 47-inch 47LH50 and the 50-inch 50PS80--that feature the company's NetCast Entertainment Access. That service gives users the ability to access Netflix's streaming library of movies and TV shows. Toshiba is also getting in on the trend.
LG launched two broadband-equipped HDTVs this week--the 47-inch 47LH50 and the 50-inch 50PS80. Both televisions boast NetCast Entertainment Access, which provides consumers with the entire Netflix streaming library of more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes.
This LG HDTV streams Netflix content. Are you ready for more?
(Credit: LG)The LG HDTVs released this week require a broadband connection to work with the NetCast Entertainment Access service. To choose a film, users need only to surf through the items and make selections on the right of the screen. They can read movie synopses and rate films.
LG isn't the only company bringing connected HDTVs to store shelves. Toshiba is well on its way to bringing its Regza line of HDTVs into the streaming realm. When the connected HDTVs launch later this year, Toshiba plans to give consumers access to a variety of content, including local weather, top news stores, sports scores, videos, and more. The HDTVs will also be able to access multimedia content stored on a connected PC's hard drive.
Surprised by the sudden uptick in connected HDTVs coming to store shelves? Don't be--it's the future.
... Read moreOn Sale Now: $1,095.00 - $1,499.95
View the latest prices for LG 47LH50
On Sale Now: $1,099.00 - $1,699.95
View the latest prices for LG 50PS80
This column has been updated with a correction. See details below.
Everywhere I turn, someone is talking about the death of plasma technology in HDTVs. They contend that since Pioneer dropped out of the plasma production market, it's only a matter of time before the few companies left in the plasma business admit defeat and stick to liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
Long live the plasma HDTV.
(Credit: Panasonic)South Korea's LG disagrees. Speaking in an interview with HDguru.com published this week, LG Electronics USA's director of product development, Tim Alessi, told the publication that assertions that the plasma TV market is almost dead are, well, dead wrong.
"Plasma will continue to be a viable technology for flat-panel displays in the near- to midterm future," Alessi told HD Guru. "Plasma continues to be the technology of choice for home theater enthusiasts, sports fans, and consumers desiring a larger screen size. In 2009, we estimate that plasma will account for more than 40 percent of the 50-inch and larger-screen-size sales. That unit volume will probably continue for at least the next three to four years."
I share Alessi's optimism. Although I'm fully aware that LCDs are chipping away at plasma sales, I wouldn't jump to LCDs, if given the choice.
... Read moreAccording to BusinessWeek, Dell plans on taking aim at Apple and will unveil a solution that could see companies from a bunch of industries working together to create the first solution to give consumers real choice.
The idea will be unveiled in September and will attempt to give you more choice in how you buy and consume media, BusinessWeek reports. More importantly, Dell will give its partners the software they need to establish the solution and will try to turn a profit on the sale of hardware.
"Customers want access to content from a broad variety of sources--how, when, and where they choose," Michael Dell told the publication.
"Apple wants to lock you in," Robert Enderle said to BusinessWeek. "Dell wants to lock you in to choice."
But will all those choices translate into a profit and a new standard that will take iTunes and every other proprietary service down? Will buying a song on Amazon.com and sending "it to the mobile phone of a friend or the car stereo of someone who has satellite radio" really work?
Sure, it might appeal to us and I certainly think that's a neat idea, but based on the information we have, it sounds like there are too many moving parts and too many people involved in the decision-making to make this a viable service.
... Read more
LG Washing Machine
(Credit: LG)LG -- a leader in almost every industry that involves electricity -- has unveiled a new washing machine that promises to rival that hunk-a-junk you have whirling away in your basement.
The washing machine houses a 32-bit DSP chip and ball-balance technology that significantly reduces barrel vibration. How well do those technologies work you ask? According to the company, the outside of the washing machine moves only 0.1mm when it's turned on.
Unfortunately there isn't too much information available for this machine. But what we do know is the cleaner should achieve 20 percent less power consumption and your clothes will be cleaner in a fraction of the time if the Samsung washing machine (they are both the same machine) announced at CES is any indication of its performance.
With all of that said, the real question here is: do people really care about a washing machine that will reduce vibrations? I don't know about you, but I think my washing machine is just fine for right now.
Via [i4u]
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