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If you're buying a Blu-ray player this year and you care about streaming media, the chart above is your new best friend. We've tallied up all the streaming-media services offered on each manufacturer's Blu-ray content portal, making it easy to directly compare the competing platforms. While every manufacturer includes Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora, that's where the similarities endYou can read the in-depth reviews of each streaming content portal by clicking on the links in the chart, which includes screenshots and a detailed look at each service's user interface.
We'll continue to update the chart as the year goes on, but here's the quick-and-easy takeaway as of nowThe clear standouts here are LG's Smart TV and Panasonic's Viera Cast. LG's Smart TV is our overall favorite, with a very straightforward user interface and a few more high-quality services (MLB.TV, Napster, MOG, vTuner). But Panasonic's Viera Cast is not far behind, with its unique Skype capabilities and excellent user interfaceIf you're not particularly picky about user interfaces (or you're willing to put up with them for more streaming services),
Sony's Bravia Internet Video platform is the pick. It has more streaming services than any of its competitors, including both Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant--a duo that no other competitor has. The compromise here is that Sony's user interface is lacking, with even services like Netflix and Amazon Instant featuring custom interface with small cover art that can be hard to read