Call me a Wi-Fi Direct junkie, but I’m watching closely as new devices get certified under the point-to-point wireless spec. This past week, the first Blu-Ray player showed up on the certification list. The LG BD690 isn’t shipping yet, but the possible implications of embedding a Blu-Ray player (or an Internet TV box…) with Wi-Fi Direct are tantalizing. Who needs a dedicated media streamer if you can connect to your TV through a box you already have from any Wi-Fi device? Reminder: only one gadget has to be certified for Wi-Fi Direct in order to enable direct connections with other Wi-Fi devices. That should make it easy to ramp up the standard quickly.
Presumably the new LG Blu-Ray player will have some sort of software built in to facilitate streaming from your computer, tablet, or phone. If that’s the case, it will have a great platform to challenge the WD TV Live line. Easy in-home streaming is one thing I miss with my beloved Roku, and a feature I hope the Roku folks will add soon. ESPN3 is streaming some early Duke basketball games I can’t get anywhere else. How I’d love it if Wi-Fi Direct could help me see those games on my big screen.
P.S. I’m assuming the LG BD690 (LG BD 690?) is a successor to the LG BD 390, which Dave named one of the “boxes of the year” last December.