Amazon.com starts video download service

Seattle-based Amazon said the service will work on any Internet-connected personal computer. When customers download a show or movie, Amazon Unbox will automatically give them a second file that can be viewed on portable digital players that use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Player software.

Another service, called Unbox RemoteLoad, will allow customers to buy from one computer and download to another.

Movies can take an hour or more to download even with a solid, high-speed Internet connection. Unbox will use what's called a "progressive download," which will let people begin watching programs before they're fully downloaded — within five minutes of ordering for the typical cable broadband Internet user, the company said.

Studios started renting films online several years ago in hopes of combating illegal downloads. Video downloads have grown more popular since iTunes started selling episodes of TV shows last year.

Rumors that Apple is poised to launch a movie download service gained traction earlier this week, when the company sent invitations to the media saying "It's Showtime," for a Sept. 12 event in San Francisco.

Sources at several Hollywood studios confirmed Tuesday they were in talks to sell their films through Apple's iTunes online store. The executives asked to remain anonymous because talks were still ongoing.

One key advantage for Apple, analysts say, is how it can tightly integrate its service offerings with hardware and software — all designed under the same roof — similar to how the company drove the iTunes-iPod juggernaut.

Rivals, including Microsoft and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., are now trying to follow Apple's lead there with their own branded online music services and players.

Apple secured landmark distribution deals with major record labels in 2003, jump-starting the legal music download market. It was also the first to introduce TV show downloads last October, for $1.99 apiece.

In June, Apple officials said iTunes had sold more than 30 million videos and was selling videos at a rate of roughly 1 million a week.

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