Samsung TVs soon to stream Blockbuster movies

Starting this fall, you’ll be able to download movies and more from Blockbuster OnDemand to select Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and home-theater systems.

As we reported last week, Samsung hasn’t offered any movie downloads for its TVs, unlike rivals LG, Panasonic, Sony, and Vizio, which have deals with either Netflix or Amazon on Demand. Samsung Blu-ray players have had the ability to stream movies from Netflix for a while now, but the televisions have been limited to content from YouTube, the Flickr photo-sharing site, and news and weather feeds.

The Blockbuster access will be available on LCD and plasma HDTVs in the 650 series and above, as well as the so-called LED TVs in the 7000 series and up, according to a news release issued today. If you already own one of these TVs, you can download a free widget from Samsung to access Blockbuster (when it becomes available). The widget will be integrated into new sets sometime this fall. You’ll have to do a firmware upgrade for Blu-ray players and home-theater systems you already own.

Blockbuster OnDemand charges $1.99 to $3.99 per download. —Eileen McCooey