LG to Offer Additional Streaming Content

There are always a lot of new products that come to view at CES. Sometimes, these products are kept under tight wraps, and other times, companies give us a sneak peek. Today, LG is giving us a look at one of the things they’ll be formally unveiling at CES next week, namely, new entertainment options for its Network Blu-ray Disc players. The new offerings come as a result of alliances with CinemaNow and YouTube.

Coming sometime in the first half of 2009, you’ll be able to get your hands on a new LG Blu-ray Disc Player that has the ability to play full-length, high-quality movies, TV shows, and short video clips that are streamed over the Internet. If you’ll recall, LG began offering the ability to stream Netflix movies in 2008. This is an expansion of the company’s current on-demand offerings.

Thanks to this collaboration with CinemaNow, LG’s players will provide access to more than 14.000 titles from major movie studios, broadcast, and cable television shows, along with access to more than 250 independent film titles and music videos from all major labels. Users will also enjoy access to YouTube videos directly from the Internet—no computer required.

Current LG Network Blu-ray player owners will also receive a nice little bonus:  LG also is making a free on-line upgrade available to owners of LG's first Network Blu-ray Disc Player, the BD300, to enable the streaming of Netflix titles in high definition.

We’re all for upping the ante, and LG is doing just that with these new streaming capabilities. Given the widespread availability of on-demand content and the increasing number of ways we can access such content, the Blockbusters of the world are going to be facing some increasingly stiff competition.