More movies from Internet-connected TVs
[ Photo courtesy of: Netflix.com ]
Internet-connected TVs were somewhat of a novelty last year, when the few sets available offered mostly basic news feeds, but they’ve rapidly become big news. Several major TV brands now have sets offering access to countless thousands of movies and videos on Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and YouTube, plus weather, stock updates, financial news, photo-sharing sites, and other content accessible through Yahoo widgets.
Sony, which already had a deal making Amazon’s 40,000-plus videos instantly available through its Internet-enabled Bravia sets, just announced that viewers will be able to access Netflix content (some 12,000 titles strong) starting this fall. A few weeks ago, Vizio announced that its first Internet-enabled sets, due out this fall, will offer content from Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, and more. Panasonic added Amazon to its list of partners a few months back. Meanwhile, LG has deals with Netflix and YouTube, among others. Samsung has a number of partners, including YouTube, but as yet hasn’t announced a deal with a major movie provider for its Internet-connected TVs. (Samsung Blu-ray players, like those from LG, can stream Netflix movies.)
We’re getting more and more of these TVs in our labs and will be testing their connectivity and other features down the road. In the meantime, if you’ve been using any of these sets and services, let us know what you think about them. —Eileen McCooey
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Posted by: everett whitney | Jul 20, 2009 6:13:54 AM
TO: cesa - " Integrate P.C. w/ HDTV, etc..?"
Careful what one wishes for . . . recall the horrible messes / reliability issues brought about w/the built-in DVD Players ??
When (1) went 'wonky' - both shut down!
MUCH more reliable to just simply have your own computer & connect it to a separate HDTV w/ the customary cabling, IMO.
IF one wants limited Internet capabilities, these w/ selected, limited internal "www" features should suffice.
everett
Posted by: ceza | Jul 13, 2009 1:55:27 PM
What would be great would be an integrated device that combined the PC with the TV. While the TVs described above appear to come close, they totally fail to meet the needs of a consumer. This is because each of them appear to employ a proprietary, closed system. They then act as gate-keepers determining what video sources one can watch.
Posted by: everett whitney | Jul 12, 2009 10:43:49 PM
TO: dizi isle - how do I find out about HDTVs w/ Internet?
One straightforward means will be simply to continue reading all the "Electronics Blogs - television" herein!
It was available on a few from last Season - Sony offered it via an external rear-mounted Module @ added cost, whereas Others already included it within.
Anymore, for this Fall Season, essentially all Top Tier HDTVs do w/o an added external device.
everett
Posted by: dizi izle | Jul 11, 2009 5:56:00 AM
how can i learn tv's which have internet connection?
Posted by: Mike Wyman | Jul 10, 2009 10:39:19 AM
What's wrong with this picture?
I've got a laptop connected to an HDTV via HDMI. I can watch any video source available on the Internet via my TV. This includes Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, MLB.TV, etc. To control the laptop, I use the Mobile Air Mouse application on my iPhone. It works quite well and gives me a very good picture.
The only downside is having to hook up the laptop and configuring the TV and laptop properly. The complexity of this process is a turnoff for a techno-novice like my wife.
What would be great would be an integrated device that combined the PC with the TV. While the TVs described above appear to come close, they totally fail to meet the needs of a consumer. This is because each of them appear to employ a proprietary, closed system. They then act as gate-keepers determining what video sources one can watch.
Why can't we have a totally open system where I can watch any video source that's available?