Well, it would definitely compete against iTunes for those of us not living in the U.S., since we cannot purchase and download television shows or movies through iTunes.

ariana75 | December 12, 18:11 CET

I think Direct2Drive may be USA only.

Simon | December 12, 18:12 CET

Is it just me or does this seem like a ripoff?

I just bought FOUR sets from Deep Discount DVD from a recent post (like a week ago) here on Whedonesque and it cost me $64.00 for Buffy seasons 3,4,5 and 6! ...I thought that was a huge bargain!

alexreager | December 12, 18:51 CET

It's worth noting that these kinds of services are still in their infancy and as a result are going to be quite restrictive in what you are able/allowed to do with the material you purchase.

The about page is a good place to start reading.

herb | December 12, 18:55 CET

OK, this is OT, but this is just a reminder that the Firefly marathon is on SciFi right now for any who have the opportunity to watch.

palehorse | December 12, 19:01 CET

I must be missing something. I can understand how downloads would be a real plus to someone who otherwise can't get DVD copies of a show as ariana75 pointed out or if shipping costs are prohibitive. And I could see it if someone just wanted to sample an episode. But to download entire seasons? It seems a lot of work when you could just buy a set and get so much more with it.

yourlibrarian | December 12, 20:18 CET

Wow. I just read some of the stuff on the 'about' page herb referenced above, and it really does seem like a rip-off. You cannot watch any of your downloads on a DVD player; it has to be via computer or approved handheld device (which does NOT include Apple/iTunes products). For the price one is expected to pay for this, I just think it is totally unreasonable. Again, I say: Wow.

ariana75 | December 12, 20:20 CET

These services seem to me to be an attempt of companies to regain control of the distribution of their films/tv series. They see a lot of people downloading them illegally while they do not get any money, so they try and give the people downloadable files for which they do get paid. However, after making the decision to actually sell downloads they impose rules on those downloads, which makes it very unattractive for people to buy them. My problems with these rules falls into two main categories. First of all they do not allow you to do with the download as you please, like in this case watch it on your TV or on several computers. The only goal of these rules seems to be to help the seller, not the customer. Secondly the price they want to ask is the same as the list price of the DVDs, whereas in reality a lot of DVDs are bought at a discount (for example nearly all of amazons sales are at a lower price than list price).

Then again, doing this is a sign they are modernizing, so maybe they will learn and make these services more attractive so that in a few years downloading legally would actually become worthwhile.

And one extra warning for those still tempted to buy this; if I read their about page correctly you lose your download if you buy a new computer.

Celebithil | December 12, 20:49 CET

I wouldn't spend the money for something that's already available on DVD, but I download every episode of "Heroes" (from itunes), and if "Veronica Mars" were available, I'd download that, too.
It's a good service for the hopelessly impatient.

jcs | December 14, 03:10 CET