LG Adds Netflix to HD TVs

Netflix and LG Electronics announced that LG will soon introduce TV sets that can stream Netflix movies directly from the Web without an external box. “It’s hugely symbolic,” said Netflix’s chief executive, Reed Hastings. “The holy grail has always been to give the TV an Internet jack in addition to the cable jack. It’s an early glimpse of the long-term future.”

Netflix has been hard at work practically equiping every consumer electronic in the home with the capability of instant movie viewing.  From Tivo and DVD players to Xbox 360, Netflix has been fast to lock up as many devices as it can. This partnership with LG is really significant because it is a big step forward in making the TV become a connected device in the home.

LG’s line of LCD and plasma televisions will be called Broadband HDTVs and are expected to cost around $300 more than comparable models without Internet access, said Tim Alessi, director of product development at LG Electronics. Owners of the televisions will not be able to browse the Web freely–the TVs’ processors and memory chips are not up to that task. But the Broadband HDTVs will have access to a variety of specific video sites

Netflix subscribers who buy one of these devices can hook it up to their TVs to watch movies that can be downloaded from the Internet instantly, as part of their monthly rental plan. The televisions will be able to stream any of the 12,000 films and television shows in Netflix’s Watch Instantly library, many of which are provided by Starz, the premium cable television service.