Why the Hoopla for the LG Smart TV Upgrader?

For the past few days, every tech site and blog seems to be overly excited about the announcement by LG about the LG Smart TV Upgrader they will be showing at CES 2011 (but likely not to be available until LATE 2011.  According to the specs, this is a DLNA device and some folks are getting excited by this.

Specifications:
Main CPU: BCM7615
DDR 384MB, 1GB Flash
LG Add-on Architecture + Web Browser
AC 100-240V, 50/60 Hz
Wi-Fi, Ethernet, DLNA (DMP)
USB: 1EA (USB mouse, external storage)
Input Devices
– Finger Touch RCU
Premium Content
LG Apps
Size: 11cm x 11cm

I just can’t get excited by this device. It’s just another closed system that features its own LG apps. And the press release mentions Premium Content, without stating if it is extra cost. And the price of this device has not been disclosed.  No info on supported codecs, either.

The DLNA functionality is minimal (it is NOT a digital media renderer/DMR) which means Windows 7 Play To will not work. (But hopefully Windows Media Player streaming will).

Hopefully another vendor will show something at CES that will be fully featured DLNA 1.5 with DMR support.

For any of you attending CES 2011, let me know what DLNA 1.5 DMR add-on devices you discover at the show in The Green Button DLNA forum.