The MacBook Wheel. And More On Those Netflix Broadband HDTVs

Yesterday I mentioned that LG Electronics is to announce a new range of Netflix-ready broadband HDTVs that will have a small Linux-powered, Internet-friendly computer embedded that will be able to get video right off the Internet.

Today we learn from Robert X. Cringely how pricey they’ll be:

The Netflix-capable LG TV’s, we’re told, will cost about $300 more than LG sets that can’t do such streaming.  The difference between the two TV families is that the streamers have a System-On-Chip to run a minimal operating system and handle H.264 decoding, an Ethernet adapter chip to connect to your home network, and some buffer memory.  That’s three extra chips costing at most $20 extra plus a little software, giving LG a gross profit margin of around 1500 percent for this particular improvement!

If consumers will actually pay $300 more for a TV with Netflix streaming built-in then I predict that EVERY HDTV manufacturer will install Netflix on every set by the end of this year.  They won’t even care if people actually watch Netflix content as long as they just buy the more expensive sets.

The jury is still out, I’d say, on whether people will actually pay this price difference when, for $99, they can simply plug in a cheap media streaming box like the one from Roku and achieve the same result.  Still it’s worth a shot, the folks at LG must be thinking.

Cringely also says that MacWorld will be more than expected with a substantial product announcement or two. (I’m hoping one is the much rumored Mac Mini.) And that given the press and stock market reaction to details of Jobs’ health problems, “he’ll make a cameo appearance at Macworld a few hours from now even if he has to send his good twin to do so.”

In the meantime, enjoy the funny spoof video from The Onion about a new Apple sensation: The Macbook Wheel.