Coming Soon to The Tiny Screen

By Jeremy Caplan

Ever since the world's geeks started downloading episodes of Star Trek to their PCs, Hollywood and Silicon Valley execs have been preparing for the day when the world's nontechies will also get their movie fixes (legally) online. That day took a step closer to reality last week, when Apple announced it would sell movie downloads through its iTunes store. The move raised the prospect that downloading flicks will take off among folks who don't know or care what a d-RAM chip is (that's pretty much everyone). Apple, after all, has sold more than 1.5 billion songs online, along with 45 million TV episodes. And if you believe CEO Steve Jobs, movies are a logical extension--especially since Apple aims to sell you a $300 box that will effortlessly beam those films from your Mac or PC to your TV, without a snaky cable in sight.

Unlike its cakewalk in the online music business, however, Apple will probably face a fierce battle over films. Amazon just launched a rival service, and it's only a matter of time before Netflix and Wal-Mart jump in. So far, Disney is the only major Hollywood studio on board with Jobs' Web plan. But that could soon change. "We'll absolutely do a deal with them at some point," says a studio executive. In the meantime, here's a guide to the coming attractions in the download wars. [This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] The Movie Players APPLE AMAZON NETFLIX WHAT'S ONLINE Besides offering movie downloads for $10 to $15, at near DVD quality, Apple is developing a gadget to wirelessly stream films from your Mac or PC to your TV. The Web's most popular store lets visitors rent or buy TV shows and movies. Amazon's "Unbox" offers thousands of films and TV episodes from multiple studios. Come January, the company plans to start a download service that will include titles from its vast mail-order library of 65,000 movies. No word yet on pricing. WHAT'S COOL It's easy to use. Apple has already sold 45 million TV programs through its iTunes store--and short shows and long films play seamlessly on a computer or iPod. You can buy a movie at work and have it automatically downloaded at home, and if you plan to watch a movie just once, you can pay as little as $1.99 to rent it. Netflix users make long movie wish lists, and if downloading those films is as easy as getting them by mail, America's couch potatoes should be thrilled. WHAT'S NOT You can't rent movies or burn them to DVDs. So far, just 75 movies are available, all from Disney studios, and downloads lack DVDs' bonus features. Amazon's films require special software, and you can't watch them on an iPod or Mac. DVD-quality digital films can take more than an hour to download. The company won't discuss its download technology, the audiovisual quality of its movies or how easy the service will be to use. There may be early glitches. WHAT'S NEXT Apple's challenge is to grow its movie library. In less than a year, iTunes went from having five TV shows to 220, and several studio execs told TIME they will eventually open up to iTunes, once they can work out the right pricing. Downloads run on any Windows Media-- compatible device, and they're expected to work on Microsoft's upcoming Zune player. With such partners as MGM, Sony and Universal, Amazon is rapidly expanding its catalog. Netflix could be in trouble if rival download services cut into its mail-order business. Expect lots of titles to be available for download--along with potentially aggressive pricing-- as Netflix tries to retain its customers and win new ones.

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Companies from Wal-Mart to Comcast are developing new ways to offer movies digitally, and Hollywood is game to hook up with all of them. Bob Chapek, Disney's president of home entertainment, says Disney will ultimately work with multiple partners. "We are format-agnostic," he told TIME. Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures, says Sony will probably sell movies through Apple at some point. "We want to see many, many retailers in the business," he says. A few more digitally intrepid movie buffs might help too.

With reporting by Laura Locke/San Francisco, Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles