LG Reveals Wi-Fi Direct Blu-ray Player

This upcoming Blu-ray player could put a hurt on Bluetooth and media streaming devices.

Recent reports indicate that LG has supplied the very first Blu-ray player on the Wi-Fi Direct certification list, the LG-BD960.

For Bluetooth, this is bad news. Wi-Fi Direct certification means that the Blu-ray player will be able to connect to other Wi-Fi devices without the need for a router or an existing network. In fact, it also means that media streaming equipment will no longer be needed. Even more, only one device (such as the LG BD960) is required to support the standard in order to make the direct P2P-like connection happen, making it backwards-compatible to current Wi-Fi products.

So what does that mean for the consumer? Possibly streaming Blu-ray movies to a smartphone, laptop, desktop or other Wi-Fi compatible products. It could also mean streaming DLNA network content, Netflix, Vudu and DivX HD 1080p content-- features already offered on the previous LG-BD390 model (sans Wi-Fi Direct). It's presumed that LG's upcoming Blu-ray player will have software built-in to push the content onto other devices.

Currently the player's release date and price haven't been released, however the LG-BD390 costs $399.99 and features BD-Live support, 1 GB of internal memory, 7.1-channel audio output and more. As the successor, the LG-BD960 should be a very hot ticket when it finally hits the market.