LG Blu-ray player to beam Netflix movies from Web

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES, July 30 (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc. (066570.KS) on Wednesday said this fall it will start selling a new Blu-ray DVD player that will allow Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) members to watch as many as 12,000 films and TV episodes streamed directly from the Web to their TV sets.

LG and Netflix had previously said they would provide a set-top box in the second half of 2008, but gave few details.

Company officials said the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray disc player would be priced at "well under $500" and that Netflix members could stream films and TV episodes through the device at no additional price to their monthly subscription plans.

"If you're going to buy an LG to play Blu-ray, its a great extra to get streaming," said Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings in an interview.

Netflix subscribers will be able to stream programs in standard definition -- not the high-definition level of Blu-ray.

Netflix offers Blu-ray DVDs through its by-mail service and said last week it will soon test price increases for those high-definition discs.

The DVD renter, with over 8 million subscribers, has been moving aggressively to extend its streaming service to TV amid increased challenges in the sector from Web giants like Apple Inc(AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Blockbuster Inc (BBI.N), its chief rival for DVD rentals, also is expanding its digital offerings.