Let’s face the facts here – TVs that we see sold in stores these days are awy too advanced compared to the original black and white model that came out all those decades ago, and most people in the past would never have thought of such technology being made available to the masses today. After all, TVs are no longer limited to just receiving information over the air via its antenna, but they have become an essential part of the living room, with some people using it as their de facto computer monitor, while others have one primarily just to play high definition video games on it. LG goes one step up by harnessing the power of the Internet, introducing a couple of full HD 1080p HDTVs that will feature Netflix instant streaming software that have been pre-loaded into the TV itself, doing away with the need for additional external devices.

Originally announced back in January at CES earlier this year, the first model among the two would be a 47″ LCD HDTV going by the model number 47LH50 with the 50″ version (50PS80) following right behind, where both of them will feature NetCast Entertainment Access. Later this summer, those with a more generous budget will be able to bring home the 42″ LCD (model 42LH50) and 60″ plasma (model 60PS80) sets. Both the LG LH50 and PS80 series will offer instant access to the Netflix library of over 12,000 movies and TV episodes that can be viewed on-the-fly, and in HD format to boot. Just make sure you’re living in an area where there is a decent Internet connection and you might not even want to bother with regular programming after that. Netflix will need to fork out $8.99 monthly for unlimited instant streaming to the LCD or plasma set, and this also includes unlimited DVD and Blu-ray rental from a catalogue of more than 100,000 titles.

These HDTVs will rely on a Queue-based user interface, where Netflix members can add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues through the Netflix Web site. These choices will then appear on the TV screen automatically, and when selected, it takes anywhere from 30 seconds upwards for you to start enjoying your movies right smack in the middle of your living room. There is no word on pricing, but expect your summer to change with the release of these models.

Press Release