Netflix Support Added To Insignia Blu-ray Players

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 10/20/2009

Minneapolis - Best Buy said Tuesday that it is now supporting Netflix video streaming on a pair of recently introduced Blu-ray Disc players under its private-label Insignia brand.

The Insignia Advanced Blu-ray player (NS-WBRDVD) and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray player (NS-BRDVD3) are available now in Best Buy stores and from BestBuy.com for special "on sale" prices of $249 and $179, respectively.

Best Buy said both players are Internet-ready, will support BD-Live functionality and will now support Netflix video streaming for Netflix unlimited members.

In some cases players may require a firmware update to access the new streaming service.

The Insignia Advanced model uses a built-in Wi-Fi receiver to connect to the Internet while the Insignia Connected player uses an Ethernet connection for a wired connection or a wireless connection using an optional Wi-Fi adapter.

Both players are Energy Star-certified and support advanced surround-sound codecs including Dolby TrueHD (both players) and DTS-HD Master Audio (NS-WBRDVD only). Both players will also play back DVDs and can up-convert those standard-definition images to HD formats including 1080p.

Netflix members on an unlimited plan will be able to access thousands of titles streamed from Netflix.

Members can manage their Netflix instant queue on the Insignia Blu-ray Disc player, including browsing titles by genre from personalized lists, adding movies to their instant queue, or pushing "play" to start instantly watching a movie or TV episode, Best Buy said.

"Best Buy customers appreciate dependable performance at reasonable prices," stated Nigel Waites, Best Buy exclusive brands chief technical officer. "The ability to instantly watch movies streaming from Netflix via the Insignia line of Blu-ray Disc players will appeal to Best Buy shoppers who seek unsurpassed convenience, selection and value in a Blu-ray Disc player."