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LG has announced it is partnering with Telstra to provide BigPond movies and TV shows on-demand through over 20 models in its new range.
The downloads will be available through the company’s new entertainment portal dubbed “Netcast” which will also provide access to services such as weather and YouTube videos.
(Credit: BigPond)
Once selected, a rented movie may be played anytime within seven days and then after the first screening, it can be replayed many times as the customer likes within a 24 or 48 hour time frame (depending on the title).
The system is rental-only and LG representatives said that “download to own” wouldn’t be available for the moment, as the TVs lack the onboard storage needed to store content.
LG says the BigPond TV service will evolve over time to provide a range of IPTV to LG TVs including “linear” or traditional channels and video-on-demand services including news, sport and movies, with music and games available soon.
At present, only BigPond internet customers will gain unmetered access to BigPond content and BigPond says improvements to its network in the coming weeks will enable these customers to receive optimised delivery speeds.
“The Australian market is a huge focus for LG Electronics so we wanted to ensure we partnered with a premier provider of content,” said William Cho, Managing Director, LG Electronics Australia in a press release.
CNET Australia attended a live demo of the technology during a recent visit to Korea. The system is controllable via remote control and features a series of tiles detailing cover art and screenshots.
This is the first time LG has offered video-on-demand on one of its products in Australia, but it has made Netflix downloads available to US customers for several years.
Pricing and availability of this LG service is yet to be announced, but prices for PC downloads on the BigPond website average at AU$5.95 for new releases such as Up! and District 9.
LG is due to announce its Australian television lineup in the coming weeks.
Ty Pendlebury flew to Korea as a guest of LG.
