Samsung partners with Lovefilm for streaming service

Posted on 18 May 2010 at 15:25

Samsung has announced a partnership with Lovefilm that will see the former's Internet@TV range of home entertainment systems given access to the latter's film library.

Activated this week, the new service will allow all Lovefilm users with a paid-up unlimited subscription and a compatible Samsung Internet@TV HDTV to access films for instant streaming via an on-screen display, in addition to the existing PC-based streaming service offered by Lovefilm.

When accessed, the films are categorised according to popularity - with both a 'Most Watched' and a 'Highest Rated' section - although manual searching for specific titles is also supported. Once selected, titles will start playback immediately, streamed from Lovefilm's servers via any broadband connection.

Simon Calver, Lovefilm's chief executive, has stated that the deal with Samsung allows his company to "offer more value, choice and convenience to our members, and [to be able to] stream movies directly to the TV is another massive development for Lovefilm."

Samsung UK's vice president of consumer electronics Andy Griffiths echoed Calver's enthusiasm and added that "to be able to offer such a well known, innovative and popular service on our TVs is a great asset for our customers and will certainly enhance the viewing experience for them."

While only the Internet@TV range of HDTVs is currently supported by the service, Samsung has stated that future models of its Blu-ray players and home cinema systems will also get Lovefilm support, although it hasn't yet offered a firm release date for any such models.

Author: Gareth Halfacree

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