LG to build Netflix-enabled HDTVs, Adobe bringing Flash to HD equipment

LG should announce today that it is to manufacture high definition LCD and plasma TVs with the Netflix Internet streaming service built in for the US market.

The two companies launched a partnership to manufacture set top boxes just before CES last year. This news means that consumers will be able to buy an integrated TV rather than a dedicated STB and additional cabling.

It’s not clear whether the TVs can be used to stream other content from the Internet, such as from video sharing sites like YouTube, or what happens if LG and Netflix decide to dissolve the partnership at some point in the future. Hopefully, over-the-Net firmware upgrades would allow the TVs to become much more useful Internet media hubs rather than simply offering Netflix titles, extensive though the service is.

In related news, Intel and Adobe have announced that they are working on bringing Flash and Flash Lite to the Intel Media Processor CE3100 chipset which could then be built in to a range of TVs, STBs, Blu-ray players and AV devices to provide new content, interactivity, and advanced user interfaces.

Flash will need to be optimised in order to be usable on Intel’s platform, but the companies are confident that Flash Lite-enabled hardware could be available by the middle of the year.

(Via Alley Insider)

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