It’s about time a CE manufacture thought: “Hey, wouldn’t it be nice if our NAS had Wi-Fi and a DVD burner built-in?” Congrats, LG, I wholeheartedly agree. LG’s new N2R1 NAS in 1TB ($299) and 2TB ($399) configurations is an attention grabber. The N2R1 can be configured in RAID 0/1, transfer files over 802.11g (sorry no 802.11n) or Ethernet, stream media to DLNA / UPnP / iTunes compatible devices, and backup and burn data to disc with its built-in DVD / RW drive. The N2R1 also includes a top position memory card read and USB port for instant backups. Oh, and it plays nice with Windows, Mac, Linux. The N2R1 should hit retailer shelves later this Fall. MORE »

Off the heels of its recent availability announcement on network-enabled LG and Mitsubishi HDTVs, VUDU today says that owners of LG’s BD390 Network Blu-ray Player [Amazon] will be able to tap into their on-demand HD (1080p, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound) movie service via the device’s menu UI by month’s end. The VUDU service has no subscription fees and will enable folks to purchase or rent movies directly from the player without any additional hardware. MORE »

We reported earlier this week that LG’s LH50 (LCD) and PS80 (Plasma) HDTV models were now capable of streaming Netflix movies without the need of a PC or set-top box. Today LG in Korea previewed their new 3D HDTV experience on the LH50. Unfortunately, it’s unclear by the Babel Fish translation of the Korean press release if the 3D technology is just a display “technique” or if it’s made possible in conjunction with added screen filters. If the former is the case, LH50 owners may soon be getting a firmware upgrade that makes these types of network upgradeable HDTVs well worth the price. Either way, though, you’ll need to grab a pair of polarized 3D eye-glasses to enjoy the experience. [via]

There’s been lots of talk of Netflix streaming being delivered through game consoles, dedicated set-top boxes, and networked Blu-ray movie players of late, but now we finally have the first HDTVs available to consumers today from LG that are capable of doing this as well. According to the LG’s press release, the 42/47-inch LCD LH50 and the 50/60-inch plasma PS80 can now provide users access to their Netflix movie queue for instant streaming. The downside: Both HDTVs are unable to manage or add movies to your Netflix Queue — that needs to be done separately via a web browser (at least for the time being). MORE »

If you’ve been holding out on buying a Blu-ray disc player or just waiting for one that included both network connectivity and built-in Wi-Fi, then wait no longer. LG’s new BD390 is now the hands-down hottest device of its type on the market (MSRP $450). What makes it so great? Well, for starters, it’s the first network Blu-ray player to offer built-in 802.11n connectivity and provide DivX HD 1080p content playback (from a DVD or USB flash drive) and PC streaming support. MORE »

Sure we’ve started seeing a crop of “Connected HDTVs” making the news this month, but the real winner here is the Yahoo! Widget Engine and Intel’s system-on-a-chip (Media Processor CE 3100) which provides the TV’s processing power to handle all the various interactive media application services. In other words, all future HDTVs supporting TV Widgets powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine will have the ability to tap into the same services – through a broadband wired or wireless connection – currently provided by eBay, MySpace, CBS, The New York Times, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, CinemaNow, Showtime, USA TODAY, Pandora, Rhapsody, Twitter, Flickr, and Yahoo! News / Weather / Video / Finance. In addition, Intel and Yahoo! have announced that they are now providing a Widget Development Kit (WDK) to interested developers, CE manufactures, advertisers, and content publishers. Comcast has also developed proof-of-concept TV Widgets for tru2way capable HDTVs in order to create a richer Comcastic set-top-less environment. Something tells me this is going to be big. MORE »

LG is announcing the company is getting set to launch a new LCD and plasma “Broadband HDTV” line that will be capable of streaming Netflix video from a subscriber’s Watch Instantly queue via their broadband connection over Ethernet – similar to the company’s BD300 Network Blu-ray Player. According to the press release, users will also be able to to browse Netflix’s available library and make further selections right on the TV using the accompanying remote. In addition, people will also be able to read synopses, rate movies, and, of course, play / pause / rewind / fast-forward movie selections as they’re streaming. No word on pricing or availability other than: sometime in 2009. MORE »

Looks like the guys at LG aren’t threatened by the likes of Samsung’s BD-P2500. LG is announcing that in the next few weeks owners of their BD300 Network Blu-ray Player will gain access to CinemaNow – including its HD library – and YouTube content directly from their player. These new enhancements are in addition to LG’s recently added Netflix HD streaming support. Now, if someone can pass the word along that us, connected home enthusiasts, would like to see UPnP functionality added so we can stream our stored media from network PCs and NAS servers, that would be very much appreciated. MORE »

Building on a groundbreaking technology partnership announced earlier this year, LG Electronics and Netflix, Inc. today announced plans for the first Blu-ray disc player that will have the added benefit of being able to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV. MORE »