Netflix to launch movie download service

Netflix is set to launch its long-awaited movie download service over the next six months. The new service, which will be sold separately and also as part of the regular Netflix subscription plans, bills movies on time, not on amount. For instance, plans will have various tiers of movie times, and each streaming movie counts against that time. Think of it as an allowance.

Netflix is also launching a new service called Program which lets users watch portions of movies as opposed to the whole thing, in essence, turning Netflix into a YouTube for movie clips.

There will be about 1,000 titles to start, with about five times as much by the end of the year. There's some pretty strict digital rights management on the titles, as you can't move a file onto a portable device or save it locally. The only positive side to that is that each streaming movie starts up almost instantly, and there's no local storage to worry about.

I can't wait to give this a try, as competitors such as Movielink and CinemaNow seem a little clunky, and if Netflix can re-create the feeling you get finding those red envelopes in the mail, it'll have a winner on their hands with this service.