Bad pun. Okay, worse than my usual puns.

Simply put, LG has introduced the first serious Blu Ray player with a hard disk, unless of course you consider the PS3 a ‘serious Blu Ray player’. If you’re serious about the Blu Ray with HDD part, have a serious look at this one. Why so serious? 😉

On a more serious note (Okay, no more…), though, the LG BD590, debuting at CES 2010, has some important implications for the home Blu Ray experience.

Now you can rip your CDs to the 250 GB hard disk on the BD590. Though for some movie buffs like me, that storage capacity may look like peanuts, I’m sure the average family doesn’t need a lot more than that. From what I understand about average families. Right, John?

You can also store your MP3s, photos, and home video – which can be transferred in either through USB or Ethernet, although not the inbuilt WiFi. LG’s own NetCast Entertainment Access platform allows you to download movies from vudu. The pictures and home videos can be viewed on your HDTV with the help of LG’s inbuilt Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) functionality It also helps to access home videos and pictures on DLNA-enabled systems. Your music collection can be archived onto the BD590 using the Gracenote-powered MusicID feature.

A major grouse I have is the absence of DVD and Blu Ray ripping..it IS 2010 after all. I guess LG have played safe with the MPAA – besides, 250 GB would hardly hold more than 4 good Blu Ray RAW rips. Another issue I’ve had, given the fascination that Sony, Panasonic, AMD, NVidia and even the BDA have had with Blu Ray 3D, is that the BD590, coming later this year, promises no 3D at all.

But any comparisons to the PS3 may be laid to rest, since the A/V quality will be miles ahead. Hopefully, the price won’t be, since they haven’t said anything about that.