Last week, Netflix and LG unveiled the BD300 – a Blu-ray player capable of accessing Netflix’s streaming content and expected to ship in September for less than $500. At $400 or more I expect integrated WiFi connectivity, but LG’s betting the target audience has hard-wired their living room. Statistically, they may be right. But why limit the potential market to save literally a buck? Another possible misstep: While I see the logic in supplementing optical video discs with instant access to a library of digital downloads, the highest of high def formats (now $1-$2 more per month) is an odd juxtaposition to SD-only Netflix streaming media. They’d get more traction with an upscaling networked DVD player in the $150 range.
Of course, at the end of the day, content is king. And I’m generally down on the Netflix service. It’s just not very compelling. While Watch Instantly is good for catching up on NBC and Showtime television programming, forget it if you’re interested in current mainstream movies. Even if Roku has moved 100,000 units ($99/ea), I wonder how many sit unused like mine.
Which brings us back to the $400-$500 LG solution and the problem with pre-announcing… The PS3 is a better value and a more powerful networked Blu-ray player for anyone with even a passing interest in gaming. You may not get unlimited fixed-priced streaming video. But you have the option to rent more desireable digital content from Sony. And I’d have picked up a PS3 when Sony introduced the Playstation video download service last month, if I’d been unaware of their announced September lineup refresh. Why buy now, when for the same money ($399) I’ll get double the storage (80GB) and presumably a Dualshock rumble controller? Not to mention… If the $199 Xbox rumors pan out, perhaps Sony will respond with a small ($30-$50) PS3 price reduction at launch.
i was excited about the new LG player when i heard about it, but now i want ps3 too! decisions…
While I agree that the SD/HD combination isn’t ideal, I’m not convinced that combining it with a DVD player would have been a better move. I think that the kind of people who are interested in video downloads overlap significantly with people who are interested in Bluray (early adopters both). Personally, I’m not interested in the Netflix download product because of the poor video quallity. But bundling it with a Bluray player makes it *more* attractive to me. If I could get a great Bluray player that also happens to have Netflix capabilities, I might go for it. But I have enough DVD players, and I’m certainly not going to buy another just for the Netflix integration. One good thing (Bluray) and one bad thing (Netflix) is better than two bad things (DVD and Netflix). (Obviously, “good” and “bad” are relative terms here)
The potential market is much larger at $150 than at $400. (I’d be willing to buy one for the bedroom at that price, hoping content selection improves.) And figure Blu-ray player holiday pricing lands under $300 (we’re currently in the mid-3s for select Amazon inventory, forgetting profile version for a moment). Meaning, Netflix integration will probably fetch a $100 premium. For *me* I’d rather apply those funds to the multi-function PS3 (which has integrated WiFi, though no bundled remote).
I can’t see dropping $400 on a Blu Ray player at this time. I love the idea of watching Netflix through the 360 since it’s already there and hooked up to the net. The hard part I see with wireless is if you “watch it now” the wireless seems to sometimes drop out, I would venture to guess a lot of people otu there are still using B networks and haven’t fully upgraded to either G or N. I have found I have better success with the powerline ethernet kits you can find pretty cheap now and are much more stable then my wirless connection ever was. Plus, as was told to me this weekend with things like UVerse now in peoples households most homes are wired directly at the living room.
@ Dave: don’t wait until September to buy $400 80GB Core bundle. Do what I did and use Live.com’s eBay+PayPal cashback offer (right now, at 25% for “cheap 360” search term) to buy-it-now MGS4 bundle on eBay.
For less money you get MGS4, DualShock 3, and backwards compatibility which Core unit will not have (doesn’t matter to me, but matters for resale value).
P.S. You don’t get 25% cashback on S&H, so look for units with free S&H.
P.P.S. If you ARE going to buy, do it now since Microsoft will decrease % or stop the promo soon (it was as low as 10% at one point and disappeared completely last week).
I use Wifi (G) on both my Tivo and an Apple TV, and even with the router on another floor, and signal strength around 60% for the Tivo G, I can watch Apple TV HD downloads in real time, after the initial 60 second or so wait. And my house is, in theory, wired with Ethernet, just not to all the right rooms… wireless is just easier.
Still in no hurry to buy BD… until prices drop and all the profile & lossless codec issues get worked out, I’m in no hurry. Enough issues to deal with just picking the right BD player without worrying about the Netflix issue. I don’t think it would sway my decision much at all, even if there were two identical players at the same price…
If you aren’t using Roku as an excuse to mine the depths of Netflix selections then you aren’t really a movie fan.
For fans of Independent and Foreign films Roku is a God send. I have over 250 titles in my “Instant” que.
Recently “CSNY: Deja Vu” and indie winner “Never Forever” showed up as Instant watchable to same day of their DVD release.
I may not always have the most hoity toity taste in films, but there are those who would counter your argument by saying: If you’re not watching flicks in high-def you aren’t really a movie fan. ;) Different strokes…