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Amazon strikes a deal with the Netflix pal, leaving Apple out of the mix again.

More options on the way for watching Netflix (NFLX) streaming movies in your living room: Beginning this spring, Korean electronics giant LG will build Netflix streaming directly into some of its plasma and LCD HDTVs, the companies will announce today.

This means that Netflix subscribers will be able to stream more than 12,000 movies and TV shows on their TVs without a separate set-top box or a PC. Today, Netflix and its partners offer several set-top box options for streaming Netflix movies, including LG and Samsung Blu-ray disc players, TiVo (TIVO) DVRs, Roku set-top boxes, and Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 game consoles.

The move puts Netflix -- for convenience, at least -- ahead of its Internet streaming rivals like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL), which require set-top boxes or computers for their movie streaming/rental services. (It's especially helpful if you don't have any more hi-def inputs available on your TV.)

And more deals like this could eventually put some pressure on cable companies like Comcast (CMCSA) to increase their on-demand libraries -- especially the stuff that's available for free.

What we don't know yet: How much LG will charge for the TVs. If they're standard fare, we could see this boosting Netflix's subscriber count. If they're overpriced, it probably won't help.

Likewise, while Netflix's streaming service is solid and keeps getting better, it would be most useful if the TVs were capable of streaming other Internet video, such as video from Hulu, Google's (GOOG) YouTube, etc.

See Also:
Vudu Slashes Price On Movie Streaming Box, Toast Anyway?
Netflix: Blowing Away Our Low Expectations
Boxee Adds Netflix Movie Streaming, Keeps Getting Better

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