Netflix -- those wonderful people who provide a website for you to choose movies from, and then will mail you a DVD that you can view at your leisure and return back to them via the US Mail -- was working on a plan with TiVo to download / stream the movie content to your set over the internet.
According to internet sources, the Netflix deal with TiVo is dead. Well, officially it is "indefinately postponed". To me, that means dead. And what a shame!
Why is it that Copyright holders think they are protected by the plastic disks that they mail out? Is there something magical that prevents a disk from being copied? Nope. Is there something magical that prevents copying to another media? Nope.
Anything that is available out there can be copied. So why be illogical, and make a bonehead decision to limit the delivery of the content?
There are perks out there to renting the specific DVD. Perhaps you want to listen to the commentary audio tracks, or turn on subtitles in a different language, or change the audio presentation.
But if you are going on an impulse to watch a particular kind of movie, then you don't want to wait for it to come in the mail. Especially in today's age where it costs so much in fuel to move physical items. Remember the concept of the paperless office?
iTunes has created downloadable music. The concept is there and available. We just have to encourage Hollywood by providing a demand to view content with a quick delivery specification. And Hollywood needs to see beyond the $$ of the movie industry.