Web video has obviously been a favorite of PC users browsing the Internet for some time now. But the medium is now starting to be delivered through other devices, with televisions themselves the latest carriers.
Most of us have a PC hooked up to the Internet. And it’s on that that we watch homemade video clips on YouTube, television episodes on Hulu, or BBC iPlayer, and movies through torrents.
Set-Top Boxes
The last couple of years has seen various companies try to bring Web video to other parts of the living room via set-top boxes such as Apple TV, VUDU, and Roku. But none have really caught in a big way despite showing promise.
There just seems to be a lack of public interest in buying yet another device in order to watch television content. Which leaves one solution: integrate the Web video delivery system into the TV itself.
Broadband HDTV
This is exactly what LG is planning to do with its new range of Broadband HDTVs. The LCD and plasma televisions will be Internet-ready straight out of the box, and while surfing the Web won’t be possible, accessing video sites will be.
The Broadband HDTV range won’t come cheap, costing approximately $300 than comparable models sold without Internet access. So I’m not sure the middle of a recession is the best time to be launching this product.
Netflix
The first partnership being announced is with Netflix, which should really come as no surprise seeing as how the company is seemingly doing deals with everyone and his mother in the hopes that one of them will lead to something good.
We’ve already seen Netflix being integrated into the Roku set-top box, an LG Blu-ray player, and the Xbox 360. And now Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ library of 12,000 movies will be available on LG televisions too.
The Start Of The Future?
Despite the recession, this is a big step on the road to a future when a proportion of television will be delivered over the Internet. While consumers may not have been willing to pay out for an extra set-top box, they may be willing to spend a little extra to have the added content if they;re already in the market for a new TV.
Games consoles have really shown the way forward for devices other than computers being permanently connected to the Internet. Televisions seem to be the next logical step in that trend so it’ll be extremely interesting to see if the general public takes to the idea or not.
[Via The New York Times]
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