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LG launches 'upgraded' SP820 Smart TV Upgrader box in June for about $170 US
Should you have the impulse to turn your dumb display into a full-fledged Smart TV, LG has revealed the second iteration of its Smart TV Upgrader box is ready to hit the marketplace. The original ST600 box was released last year, and this new SP820 was announced earlier this year at CES. It adds LG's Smart TV experience complete with Magic gesture and voice controlled remote to any HDTV with an HDMI input. There's access to both 2D and 3D streaming content from the internet, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct and any new apps LG rolls out for its platform. Similar to Apple's TV box and the Roku family, it's a palm sized device intended for easy installations. An even smaller, stripped down SP520 version that supports fewer apps is already on shelves with a $120 MSRP, although sale prices range from $80 to $99. The SP is shipping in June for 199,000 won ($169 US), while there's no word yet on a US release, we'll probably wait to see if LG can add enough apps to compete as a third party before jumping in.
LG's CES 2011 HD lineup: SmartTV platform, network Blu-ray players and HDTVs
Thanks to a couple of carefully planned slips over in South Korea, hardly anything about LG's CES 2011 is apt to take you fully by surprise. But if you just so happened to disconnect over the holidays, we'll break it all down below to ensure you remain firmly in the loop. For starters, the outfit seems pretty darn proud of its new SmartTV platform. Hinted at last month, this system enables HDTVs, Blu-ray players and other sources to access all sorts of streaming media, apps and even provides users with a way to surf the web. Four main sections are given -- TV Live, Premium Content, TV Apps and a Launch Bar -- and for TV models, owners will control things with a wave of the hand (read: Magic Remote). SmartTV picks up where NetCast left off, offering access to Vudu, Netflix, YouTube, CinemaNow, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video on Demand, NHL Gamecenter, NBA Game Live and MLB.tv. This here functionality is baked into quite a few of the outfit's 2011 HDTVs, but should own an older model... Then there's the all-new SmartTV upgrader! The ST600 is a minuscule set-top box that aims to transform any TV into a SmartTV. So long as your set has an HDMI input, you'll be able to access the content mentioned above. But, of course, it's on you to source your own Magic Remote. If it's an all-new TV you're after, the company is also revealing its 2011 LED and LCD HDTV line. Nary a one is different than those we heard about last week, but at least you can now rest easy knowing that the LW9500 and LW7700 Nano Full HD 3D models will indeed see a stateside release this month. The best news here is the use of polarizing glasses -- none of that headache-inducing active shutter mess. There are 13 new LED LCD models in all, with nine of 'em shipping with the SmartTV platform embedded. Unfortunately, LG's not dishing out pricing information on these bad boys just yet. Not so keen on picking up an LCD? Plasma still lives, you know! LG's rolling out its 1080p Infinia PZ950 and PZ750 lines here at CES, with both available in 50-inch and 60-inch class sizes. Both lines come equipped with the SmartTV platform, a gesture-based Magic Motion remote andl as a free Android / iPhone app if you'd rather use your phone as a remote. The 50- / 60-inch PZ550 is saddling with NetCast 1.0, but it -- along with the PW350, PZ950 and PZ750 lines -- can handle 3D imagery. Sadly, LG's also straying from providing pricing details on these. Wrapping things up, the company is debuting its 2011 line of networked Blu-ray players and home theater systems. The BD690 supports 3D BD playback and ships with an inbuilt 250GB HDD and the SmartTV platform. The majority of LG's line also includes WiFi, DLNA streaming support and a MusicID feature by Gracenote that enables consumers to play a song from a movie of TV show by mashing a single button on the remote. The BD670, BD650, BD640, BD630 and BD650 are also seeing the light of day, with the latter being LG's first portable BD deck. Finally, LG snuck in an image (seen above) of a 3D mobile TV prototype. We've no details whatsoever to go on, but you can rest assured we'll be scouring the show floor in search of just that. For more information on all of the goods here, head on past the break for the full releases. Don't expect to find any pricing information, though. %Gallery-112603%
LG ST600 Smart TV Upgrader brings DLNA, apps, and a web browser to formerly dumb displays
If you buy any of LG's latest HDTVs, you're pretty much assured it'll have a big sticker saying "Smart TV" somewhere along its fascia assuring you of its internet connectivity and compatibility. But, if you're still rocking some old school piece of visual tech that isn't yet past its "watch by" date, you'll be needing a set-top box of some kind to get on the web without leaving your couch. Naturally, LG would like to be the one to Smarten up your viewing habits there too, and so it's just unveiled its new ST600 sidekick for older television sets. It adds DLNA connectivity for some wireless media transfer fun, grants access to a "vast range" of premium content as well as local programming, throws in a web browser, and finishes things off with LG's TV Apps selection. Of course, this is the week of the pre-CES announcement, hence we've no pricing to share yet, but the way the company's talking about it, the ST600 sounds like it might make an aggressive MSRP its standout feature. Sadly, that's a bit of a distant hope for now as this Upgrader isn't expected in shops until Q2 2011. Who knows if we'll even be watching TV by that time?
