Each of these companies will introduce Blu-ray players or digital TVs that will stream Netflix movies and television shows for instant watching, much like existing devices already do:

"Ever since Netflix began instantly streaming movies and TV episodes to personal computers in January 2007 we’ve said we want to be ubiquitous on whatever device gets the Internet to the TV," said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. "We’ve made incredible progress toward this goal over the last year and we’ve rapidly established Netflix as a must-have service for Internet connected consumer electronics devices. The important companies and brands we’ve announced today join a roster of world-class CE companies that have partnered with Netflix.

"We look forward to adding even more partners this year, and we expect instant streaming of movies from Netflix to be available on more than one hundred different partner products in 2010," said Mr. Hastings.

On a separate Netflix-related note, it was announced yesterday that Netflix will now have to wait 28 days after a DVD release to offer that DVD for rental to its customers, when it comes from Warner Bros. This is likely just the beginning of things to come in the industry, which will probably include similar moves from various studios and rental companies.

Watch for more WebProNews coverage of CES, with exclusive video interviews coming soon.
 

Related Articles:

> Warner Bros. And Netflix Reach New Deal

> Best Buy To Launch Online Movie Service

> Coming Attraction: Netflix on your PS3

I’m not exactly sure what the point is, except maybe to use all the now-useless TV rooftop antennas to create a new way of connecting homes to internet service providers, without laying tons of new cable. It’s all confusing, but the main thing is that a certain gadget blog embaressed themselves by prematurely assuming this was all about a Zune phone.

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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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I’ve written before about the iLiad, an e-book device that looks to be the most compelling yet in terms of features and ease of use.

The developer, iRex Technologies in The Netherlands, a spin-off from Philips Electronics, will soon be offering the iLiad to business customers, starting in Europe this month, with a consumer version in the works for sale in September.

Nice comparison between the iLiad and other e-book readers (eg, the Sony Reader):

What I find most compelling about the iLiad is how iRex have positioned it as an open source-type product, able to support as many different content formats as possible. As content producers develop content, a device like this should therefore prove quite appealing.

iRex will have to pay attention to getting the price right, though, if their goal is uptake on any large scale – currently priced at more than $800, according to Engadget.

If you want to get the news when the iLiad is available, you can sign up here.

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Neville Hobson is the author of the popular NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.

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The media center, called the Philips Showline Media Center MCP9350i, will allow users to store and share photos, music and video in one system, and will include a 250GB hard-drive as well as a DVD/CD recorder.

Also included in the media center will be a card that allows the user to watch two television channels simultaneously. Nothing new there, but a nice feature nonetheless. According to Red Herring,

The device will feature a Pentium 4 processor with hyperthreading technology and the Intel 945 Express chip set. It will include Intel high-definition audio, which supports surround sound and allows multiple audio streams to be sent to multiple rooms and devices in the home simultaneously.

Personal video recorder features will allow users to pause, record, rewind, or fast-forward shows. The device will also support high-definition TV output.
I haven’t seen any information about when the media center is expected to be launched in the U.S., but an October or November release is planned for Europe.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

With a potentially double-digit sales boost in their sights, LG Philips’ reported $5 billion contract with HP isn’t an exclusive one, but will accelerate the production of sixth and seventh generation flat screen lines.

HP looks to secure an industry leading source (LG Philips’ main rival is Samsung) to lower the price of liquid crystal display monitors by ramping up mass production.

The two tech giants concreted the deal in Seoul, Korea, where LG Philips bases its operations.

Almost immediately shares or HP and LG Philips seem to rise on Wall Street, HP rising 15 cents to $22.75, and LG Philips US upped there shares by 94 cents to $26.36.

In a statement, LG Philips said the deal would help it gain momentum in the notebook LCD market, after claiming the top position in the large monitor and LCD TV market.

Industry analysts say the deal won’t affect HP employment one way or the other as outsourcing these types of products is common. The most important aspect of the deal was to get a consistent supply at lower prices.

Of the three biggest LCD makers, Samsung commands about 25% of the market, LG Philips hold about 20% and AU Optronics claims 15%.

A deal between Royal Philips Electronics and the German passport printer Bundesdruckerei GmbH will see Philips technology at the heart of the new passport program, according to a press statement.

Germany will be one of the first countries in the European Union to introduce smart passports. The need for this technology has been driven by the United States’ visa waiver program. Visitors to America who will be spending less than 90 days in the country must have a machine-readable passport.

The contactless chips will be based on sophisticated encryption technology and contain the passport holder’s personal information. The initiative focuses on reducing incidents of fraud and forgery with passports, and to enhance the security of travelers and the countries they visit.

Philips has significant experience in smart card technology, having produced over 400 million contactless smart card modules. The chip to be used has been recognized by Germany’s Federal Office of Information Security with that organization’s highest possible security certification.

“As governments around the world look to implement smart passports, the decision by the Bundesdruckerei GmbH is a strong endorsement of Philips’ expertise in this arena,”said Reinhard Kalla, vice president and general manager, Business Line Identification, Philips Semiconductors.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

The goal is to ease the transfer of digital entertainment from PC’s to other electronic devices.

The deal offers Philips’ support of Windows Media Audio & Video and Windows Media Digital Rights Management 10 in its Nexperia semiconductors.

The marriage covers a wide range of products, including digital receivers, video recorders, portable audio, video phones, digital TVs, and car stereos.

Frans van Houten, president of Philips Semiconductors said, “as the flow of content between PCs and digital media players increases, adding this technology to the Nexperia platforms offers a simple solution to ensure that, regardless of the device on which a video is being viewed or a song being played, it looks and sounds great every time.”

Philips will include support for Windows Media Player 10 and Windows Media DRM 10 in its Nexperia semiconductors. Devices like digital media receivers and portable music players use the company’s chipset.

Support for in-car audio and digital TV use of the software will follow this year.

Digital rights management allows a content creator to protect its creations from use outside of its intended purpose. Songs can be licensed for streaming playback only, or portable use with a valid subscription to a digital music service.

Microsoft updated its DRM package last year to version 10. The update included components for managing rights on portable platforms and on networked devices.

And the company has licensed the technology to a variety of companies, including Sony and Creative.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.