Coming Soon to The Tiny Screen

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.]