Best Buy and Netflix Announce Insignia Partnership

In the increasingly competitive HDTV market, functionality seems to be key in nabbing sales. To that end, Best Buy will be integrating Netflix functionality into their Insignia Blu-ray players.

The ever popular Netflix streaming program seems to be a feather in the cap of any piece of electronics that allows consumers access, and manufacturers are taking note. The Insignia Advanced Series and Insignia Connected Blu-ray players from Best Buy will both feature Netflix functionality.

The soon to be released WiFi ready Advanced (model NS-WBRDVD) has an MSRP of $249, but is selling at $199 on Best Buy’s site at press time. Currently available, the Insignia Connected player (model: NS-BRDVD3) runs $179 and streams via an Ethernet connection. While the Insignia Advanced BD player will run Netflix out of the box, the Insignia Connected player will require a firmware update.

Interestingly, as Best Buy has a stake not only in the sale of their Blu-ray players, but in the sale of Blu-ray discs, this may be an indicator of a change in the marketplace. More likely though, Best Buy simply wants to make sure that Insignia Blu-ray players leave the shelves quickly this holiday season.

Source: Press Release