LG Electronics' BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player Available This Fall at National Retailers

DENVER, Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Electronics today announced the nationwide availability of the BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, featuring unparalleled access to disc-based and networked home video entertainment. The BD300 is the world's first Blu-ray disc player that instantly streams movies and TV episodes from Netflix (subscription required and sold separately).

Available next month, the LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player will be offered at national retailers such as Best Buy and Circuit City, and specialty retailers nationwide at a suggested retail price of $399.95.

"At LG we considered what, when and how consumers want to watch movies and television episodes. The result is the ultimate convergence of home theater entertainment and functionality," said Allan Jason, vice president of sales and marketing for Digital Media/New Products Division at LG Electronics USA. "With intelligent features and access to an ever-growing library of movie and television titles, the BD300 is the next step in a truly personalized entertainment experience."

REVOLUTIONIZING HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Consumers are constantly seeking new, faster ways to find and customize content for their home entertainment experience. According to JupiterResearch, an estimated 46 percent of U.S. households will own at least one Blu-ray-capable device in the next five years. Additionally, a report from Centris indicates almost 40 million households purchase paid content; 80 million have access to pay-per-view and 27 million use DVRs.

To meet this growing interest in content on-demand, LG's BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player revolutionizes the home entertainment experience by providing exceptional audio-video performance, access to a fast-growing library of high-quality Blu-ray discs, up-scaling of standard DVDs to 1080p, and unprecedented instant access to content from Netflix.

The BD300 enables movie enthusiasts to take advantage of advanced technologies such as BD Live which offers a wide variety of content, such as movie scene extras, new previews and the ability to read synopses and rate movies. Also included is BonusView which provides picture-in-picture access to Blu-ray disc special features allowing consumers to toggle between their favorite movie scenes and bonus features on the disc.

Consumers will also enjoy the BD300's ease of operation for instantly watching movies and television episodes from Netflix. The BD300 instantly streams movies and TV episodes Netflix members place in an "instant Queue" from more than 12,000 choices available at the Netflix Web site. Netflix members access this feature directly from the on-screen menu and simply select the movie or TV episode from their instant Queue to watch in as little as 30 seconds with no personal computer needed. The BD300 enables fast-forwarding and rewinding of the video stream from Netflix, or simply stopping it to resume watching at a later time.

STYLE AND FUNCTIONALITY

Uncompromising in style and performance, the BD300's glossy black paneling and elegant, easy-to-use backlit touch sensor buttons are modern additions to any home theater system. Even standard DVDs get the royal treatment with the BD300's ability to take standard definition formats and upscale them to 1080p. The BD300 also includes advanced audio format decoding such as Dolby TrueHD / Digital Plus and DTS-HD Advanced Digital Out for a crisper, clearer auditory experience.

Consumers will appreciate the USB Media Plus function which allows for the playback of their favorite photos, music and video files from a USB drive directly to their TV screen. To further personalize and simplify the home theater experience, the BD300 includes LG

SimpLink(TM) technology, which gives consumers the ability to control similarly equipped LG products via convenient on-screen menus or directly from the product itself.

About LG Electronics USA

LG Electronics USA, Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics, Inc., a global force and technology leader in home appliances, consumer electronics and mobile communications. In the United States, LG Electronics sells a wide range of stylish, innovative digital appliances, consumer electronics (digital display and digital media) products and mobile phones under LG's "Life's Good" marketing theme. For more information, please visit http://www.lgusa.com/.

Source: LG Electronics USA, Inc.