Amazon Joins TiVo to Air Downloaded Movies on TV

With each new week, it seems there's another announcement about another way to download movies via the Internet, even though most of us are not in a huge rush to watch movies on our computers or have the ability to stream them to TVs yet. Wal-Mart became the first major retailer to offer a movie download service, joining Netflix, CinemaNow, and Movielink to offer lots of movie titles over the Internet.

But the latest announcement is the one that I think will nudge mainstream home movie watchers toward Internet downloads more quickly: Amazon is teaming its Unbox download service with TiVo, which means you can download movie rentals or purchases directly to your TiVo box, so it can viewed on TV, not a computer screen.

Giving consumers the immediate ability to download directly to their TV setup will make movie downloads viable now for many home movie watchers. Soon, the technology to wirelessly stream video and other media from our computers to our TVs will be present in many more homes, but it's not yet. With this move, Amazon and TiVo are making movie downloads as viable an option as movies via mail by Netflix or dashing out to your neighborhood video store (if it's still there.)

Movie rentals and purchased TV episodes will cost about $1.99 each, and movies will cost between $8.99 and $14.99 to buy.  You'll still need your PC to order movies and shows. You'll find more info and whether you qualify for the beta service here.

So, TiVo owners, are you tempted? Will you be trying out the "Amazon Unbox on TiVo" service?