Films to Be Rented on the Internet The effort, called Movielink, allows people to download films over a high-speed Internet connection. It is the industry's alternative to the distribution of pirated films over peer-to-peer computer networks... Movielink offers individual titles for $1.99 to $4.99. The compressed files average about 500 megabytes in size and take about an hour to download with a high-speed DSL or cable modem connection. ...The full-screen quality is roughly equivalent to that of a VHS tape, but suffers as the image is enlarged. Viewers can pause, fast forward and rewind the films.
The movies can be viewed an unlimited number of times during a 24-hour period. The movies delete themselves after the one-day license expires, and will sit on the computer hard drive for 30 days if not watched.
Movielink is offering the movies in file formats developed by RealNetworks and Microsoft, which have their own copy protection and compression schemes. The files are encrypted and will not play the movie if it is sent to another computer.