Movielink and CinemaNow launched today to provide movie downloads.

The downloads cost $20-30. For example, the latest Harry Potter movie is $28 to buy on Movielink. You can play the movie on a total of 3 computers. You can't burn it to DVD and play it on a DVD player. Downloads are available the same time as the DVD.

In comparison the DVD costs $21 on Amazon. You can burn it and play it on unlimited PCs and DVD players. Plus the DVD includes Subtitles, Audio Tracks, Additional scenes, Cast interviews, and many other features.

Borrowing a page of unreality from the recording industry, Paramount Digital Entertainment President Thomas Lesinski said "Hollywood has finally made a real commitment to sell films online and embrace the digital consumer."

Embrace or Vulcan death grip? Hollywood values this commitment so much it is forcing you to pay more to get less. It is little wonder why consumers turn to P2P.

ADDED APRIL 6

The studios are intentionally revisiting the same mistakes the music biz went through when they first went online - extreme conservatism, not competitive, destined to fail. It's not a serious commitment to digital distribution. The objective is political, not economic. The industry can wrap itself in a protective cloak and claim it is trying, while freely blaming P2P and everyone else for not only the failure of the channel, but the industry's overall problems.