Hasta La Gadget!

Thanks to a couple of carefully planned slips over in South Korea, hardly anything about LG’s CES 2011 is apt to take you fully by surprise. But if you just so happened to disconnect over the holidays, we’ll break it all down below to ensure you remain firmly in the loop.

• For starters, the outfit seems pretty darn proud of its new SmartTV platform. Hinted at last month, this system enables HDTVs, Blu-ray players and other sources to access all sorts of streaming media, apps and even provides users with a way to surf the web. Four main sections are given — TV Live, Premium Content, TV Apps and a Launch Bar — and for TV models, owners will control things with a wave of the hand (read: Magic Remote). SmartTV picks up where NetCast left off, offering access to Vudu, Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video on Demand, NHL Gamecenter, NBA Game Live and MLB.tv. This here functionality is baked into quite a few of the outfit’s 2011 HDTVs, but should own an older model…
• Then there’s the all-new SmartTV upgrader! The ST600 is a minuscule set-top box that aims to transform any TV into a SmartTV. So long as your set has an HDMI input, you’ll be able to access the content mentioned above. But, of course, it’s on you to source your own Magic Remote.
• If it’s an all-new TV you’re after, the company is also revealing its 2011 LED and LCD HDTV line. Nary a one is different than those we heard about last week, but at least you can now rest easy knowing that the LW9500 and LW7700 Nano Full HD 3D models will indeed see a stateside release this month. The best news here is the use of polarizing glasses — none of that headache-inducing active shutter mess. There are 13 new LED LCD models in all, with nine of ’em shipping with the SmartTV platform embedded. Unfortunately, LG’s not dishing out pricing information on these bad boys just yet.
• Not so keen on picking up an LCD? Plasma still lives, you know! LG’s rolling out its 1080p Infinia PZ950 and PZ750 lines here at CES, with both available in 50-inch and 60-inch class sizes. Both lines come equipped with the SmartTV platform, a gesture-based Magic Motion remote andl as a free Android / iPhone app if you’d rather use your phone as a remote. The 50- / 60-inch PZ550 is saddling with NetCast 1.0, but it — along with the PW350, PZ950 and PZ750 lines — can handle 3D imagery. Sadly, LG’s also straying from providing pricing details on these.
• Wrapping things up, the company is debuting its 2011 line of networked Blu-ray players and home theater systems. The BD690 supports 3D BD playback and ships with an inbuilt 250GB HDD and the SmartTV platform. The majority of LG’s line also includes WiFi, DLNA streaming support and a MusicID feature by Gracenote that enables consumers to play a song from a movie of TV show by mashing a single button on the remote. The BD670, BD650, BD640, BD630 and BD650 are also seeing the light of day, with the latter being LG’s first portable BD deck.
• Finally, LG snuck in an image (seen above) of a 3D mobile TV prototype. We’ve no details whatsoever to go on, but you can rest assured we’ll be scouring the show floor in search of just that.

For more information on all of the goods here, head on past the break for the full releases. Don’t expect to find any pricing information, though.

Continue reading LG’s CES 2011 HD lineup: SmartTV platform, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs

LG’s CES 2011 HD lineup: SmartTV platform, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We got a hint of this when Boxee announced one, but it’s clear now that Netflix’s plans are much larger as many of its hardware partners including Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Dynex, Haier, Memorex, Iomega and Roku will also offer one-touch Netflix buttons on remotes for TVs, Blu-ray players and media streamers. It’s pretty obvious, Netflix Watch Instantly is a killer app for any connected TV platform at this point and one of the most used features, making access quicker and easier is a no-brainer.

Continue reading Netflix ‘one click’ remotes coming to nearly every device it streams to

Netflix ‘one click’ remotes coming to nearly every device it streams to originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a post that’s just gone live on Boxee’s blog, users of the Boxee Box won’t see VUDU or Netflix content on their TVs until January. We know, the wait will be painful. According to the Boxee team, VUDU offerings should hit the platform as soon as next week, but Netflix won’t be made available until the end of the month. The company claims that both services are up and running in its offices, but more time was needed to “test each application to make sure they are ready for launch.” It’s nice to know where we stand, though it would have been even nicer to get more frequent updates on the status of these apps, instead of a last-minute blog post on New Year’s Eve.

Still, the post has equal touches of hopefulness for the bright future Boxee sees for home entertainment, and acknowledgment of the massive challenges the startup faces in the coming year. In their words: “As we get ready for the New Year tomorrow and CES next week, it’s clear that in 2011 we will be competing with companies that spend more feeding their employees that we have to pay ours. We’re confident though that our small team will continue to push the envelop of what people expect from their TVs.” Here at Engadget, we’re eager to see how it all plays out, but we’re definitely rooting for underdogs like Boxee who have pioneered so much of what the world is just waking up to. 2011 is going to be a crazy year!

Netflix and VUDU not hitting Boxee Box till January… as if you couldn’t have guessed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Three months after Netflix invaded Canada with a bizarre combination of paid actors and $8 instant streaming plans, CEO Reed Hastings the company has declared the move a success and says it will expand its service to other countries in 2011. “Based on the early success of Netflix.ca we’re going to continue our international expansion next year and we’re going to allocate significant dollars to it,” spokesman Steve Swasey told The Canadian Press, without specifying which territories or how many might be blanketed with Albanian soldiers next. However, Canadians and others hoping to get an experience completely on par with the original US service shouldn’t hold their breath, as Swasey says there are no plans to establish a movie queue for the streaming-only service, calling it a “strategic decision.”

Update: The above quotes were attributed to Netflix’s Steve Swasey, not CEO Reed Hastings. Our bad.

Netflix: ‘we’re going to continue our international expansion next year’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After debuting quietly at CEDIA Pioneer’s 2010 line of Blu-ray players is finally available for purchase, including the low end BDP-430 and its two Elite cousins, the BDP-41FD and BDP-43FD. Other than the obvious addition of Blu-ray 3D compatibility, key upgrades from 2009 include WiFi readiness with optional dongle, streaming from YouTube (after a firmware update), Netflix and Pandora, an expanded continue mode to make sure you start The Twilight Saga: Eclipse right where you left it and the return of Pioneer’s iControlAV remote app for iOS devices. Starting price? $299 for the BDP-430, $399 for the BDP-41FD and its home automation-friendly RS-232 port, while $499 is required to bring home the “armored chassis” of the BDP-43FD

Continue reading Pioneer’s 3D Blu-ray compatible, Netflix streaming player triumvirate now shipping

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Pioneer’s 3D Blu-ray compatible, Netflix streaming player triumvirate now shipping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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