Samsung to launch Blu-ray Disc players with Wi-Fi

CES: Netflix content will be available for streaming

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 1/7/2009

Unveiled today at the Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung models BD-P4600 and BD-P3600 will come packaged with a Wi-Fi ‘dongle’ that will wirelessly connect to the Web through one of the players’ two USB ports. The players also will be able to hook in through a traditional wired Ethernet connection.

Available Web content includes streaming Netflix programming, which was first added to Samsung’s BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 models last year. Both BD-P4600 and BD-P3600 also are out-of-the-box BD Live capable and do not require additional firmware upgrades to playback Web content.

The two are designed in a sleek slim style, distinct from the currently widely available boxy Blu-ray set-tops.

Samsung’s BD-3600 is slightly more than two inches tall and colored black with gray highlights along its outer edges.

The higher-end BD-P4600 is being touted as the world’s first wall-mountable Blu-ray player and is 1.5 inches thick with ruby red highlights. The BD-4600 also will be able to be set on a table rather than a wall. This model snagged CES 2009’s Best of Innovations award.

In other enhancements, Samsung’s 2009 Blu-ray players’ operations have been sped up to eject a disc in one second. Disc loading time also has been reduced.

Street dates and pricing are not yet available.

“Samsung is heralding a new direction for the Blu-ray industry with the BD-P4600 and the BD-3600,” said Reid Sullivan, VP of audio/visual and digital imaging marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “The BD-P4600 makes it easier than ever to bring Blu-ray into the living room with its unique, wall-mountable design, while the BD-P3600’s comprehensive specs place it on the short list of even the most discerning home theater consumers.”