LG Electronics today introduced its 2010 lineup, with three new Blu-ray players, labeled
BD550,
BD570 and
BD590 (the first BD player in the US to feature an integrated 250-GB hard drive), and three BD home theater systems, with model numbers LHB335, LHB535 and LHB975. Pricing and availability are still pending.
LG also announced that all its 2010 Blu-ray players would support access to Netflix, CinemaNow, VUDU, YouTube and Pandora.
Key features are as follows:
Blu-ray players
BD590
- BonusView
- BD-Live
- Full HD 1080p Blu-ray Disc playback
- 1080p upscaling of standard DVDs
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Advanced Digital Out
- USB 2.0 Media Host to display photos, play videos and listen to MP3 files
- Wi-Fi connectivity
- 250-GB hard drive
- NetCast Entertainment Access: allows instant access to Netflix, CinemaNow, VUDU (with the option to stream or store movies directly on the hard drive), YouTube and Pandora. New content partners for 2010 include the Picasa photo service and forecasts from AccuWeather.
- DLNA functionality
- MusicID-Stream (from Gracenote): allows consumers to hear a song playing in a movie or TV show by simply pressing a button on their remote control. Gracenote then returns rich information on the song, such as artist and genre, along with album cover art. Photos or personal videos that may have been scattered throughout the home on PCs or digital cameras can now be simply imported via the USB or Ethernet port to create a single organized library of personal memories.
BD570
- Like the BD590 above, except for the hard drive
BD550
- Full HD 1080p Blu-ray Disc playback
- 1080p upscaling of standard DVDs for better picture quality
- Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Advanced Digital Out technologies for a more immersive audio experience
- USB 2.0 Media Host to display photos, play videos and listen to MP3 files.
Blu-ray home theater systems
LHB975
- 5.1 home theater system
- Three-channel wireless speaker technology (the surround speakers and the subwoofer are wireless; front and center are wired)
- Tall and slim front speakers: can be positioned as either floor-standing or mounted on the wall with included wall-mounting brackets
- Supports Netflix, VUDU, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa and AccuWeather
- Wi-Fi
- Advanced audio format decoding (Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential)
- iPod docking capabilities via a drawer docking system.
- Dual HDMI (version 1.3) inputs for external devices such as cable boxes or game systems
- DLNA-certified
LHB535
-
Like the LHB975 above, with the exception of the 3-channel wireless speaker technology and tall and slim front speaker designs.
LHB335
- Full HD 1080p Blu-ray Disc playback
- 1080p upscaling of standard DVDs provides better picture quality
- One HDMI input for high resolution audio and video devices
- Pure HD audio performance including Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio Essential
USB Media Host to display photos, play videos and listen to MP3 files