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By Julia Kukiewicz
Editor
21 May 2010
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DVD rental giant Lovefilm is now available DVD-free through Samsung connected entertainment TVs.
The streaming service, which was announced in January has officially launched on the Samsung Internet@TV platform.
Only users with Unlimited Lovefilm accounts - from £9.99 a month - will be able to stream content using the service.
Those with capped Lovefilm dvd rental deals - from £3.99 a month - will be able to use it to add titles to their rental queues.
The service will face stiff competition from pay per view services already offered by TV providers such as Virgin Media and BT as well as independent companies such as SeeSaw, which launched a new online service this week.
The launch also sees Lovefilm get the jump on Netflix. The American DVD rental service hinted that it would be bringing its own streaming service to the UK in February.
TV Library
Lovefilm is currently offering 3,300 free films and TV shows to stream through TVs - a mix of the classics and newer blockbusters.
The newest blockbusters will be extra, though: £3.50 for a 48 hour rental.
What still remains to be seen is how user-friendly the service will turn out to be: it's currently streaming at 700kbps, the same rate as Lovefilm's online streaming, and transmitting in online quality too, lower even than on a DVD.
1.6Mb streaming won't be launched until next month and high-definition quality later this year.
Samsung UK vice president of consumer electronics Andy Griffiths said: "Samsung is delighted to launch the LoveFilm application as a great addition to our ever expanding Internet@TV service.
"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.
"We aim to offer the best hardware in the consumer electronics market and with applications such as this, Samsung is truly one of the leaders in this market.".
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