Very interesting article that touches on all aspects of video Home Entertainment. I am posting it here since this forum seems to be open to the idea that there are indeed multiple ways to enjoy home video and embraces them all. I don't think that this article addresses multiple distribution formats will offend anyone who actually comes to this sub-forun as a fan of video distribution via the internet.

Here is the relevant information on streaming/downloading:

And yet something cheaper, greener and even more convenient may eventually tempt rental die-hards. The Digital Entertainment Group reports that digital distribution, from video-on-demand to the downloading or streaming of movies over the Internet, generated an estimated $487 million in the first quarter of this year, up 19% from the same time last year.

Netflix already offers video streaming to complement its DVDs-by-mail service. Traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers, from Blockbuster to Best Buy, also have toyed with digital distribution.

Bob Davidson, 54, a photographer in Peoria, Ariz., says he can't even remember the last time he rented a DVD. "We have gone strictly pay-per-view, recording movies on DVR," he says. "Last night, it was Milk— and no worries about having to get it back before the dreaded deadline."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2009-05-04-rentals-recession_N.htm