| If you've flipped through your cable television | | | | tedious process of dropping the films in the |
| channels in the past few years, you've surely | | | | mailbox once you've watched them, and of |
| come across one of the latest technological | | | | course there is the time spent waiting for your |
| phenomena: the On-Demand craze. Merely the | | | | films to arrive. |
| phrase is enough to conjure up visions of | | | | The On-Demand feature of satellite TV packages |
| happiness in viewer's heads, for what we demand | | | | eliminates most of these hassles. By browsing |
| is the point of watching TV in the first place. | | | | through the extensive choices of new releases |
| Satellite TV is no stranger to this development, as | | | | and more recent or classic films, you save |
| each satellite company has capitalized on the | | | | yourself the trouble of searching through a movie |
| trend. It seems the only ones who lose in the | | | | store or even logging onto the internet to see the |
| process are the old movie stores. | | | | selection. You simply flip to a channel, pick a |
| That idea is nothing new. With the arrival of | | | | movie and wait a few seconds for the film to |
| companies like Netflix, movie stores have been | | | | appear in high definition. It certainly doesn't bode |
| scrambling to counter the attacks that the | | | | well for anyone hoping for a movie store |
| internet and cable TV have leveled on their | | | | comeback. |
| industry. Ever experience the frustration of taking | | | | If the cost is a concern to you, that angle has |
| a trip to the movie store, only to find your film is | | | | been covered as well. Usually, prices for |
| already "taken out," or worse yet, was never in | | | | On-Demand movies on satellite TV will not |
| stock? You're not alone, and that is why the | | | | exceed those of typical movie store rentals. |
| practice of browsing for films without leaving your | | | | Just-released blockbusters may carry a slightly |
| home has become so popular. | | | | higher premium, but anything besides very new |
| With Netflix you look through their film library and | | | | releases are extremely affordable. In fact, there |
| settle on the films you would like to see in the | | | | are a variety of free films available through |
| coming weeks. You then establish your "queue," | | | | On-Demand at any given moment. Even if you |
| which is the list of films they will mail to you when | | | | want to spend nothing, you will be able to get |
| you have mailed the ones already seen back to | | | | your HD film in a matter of moments. It's not |
| them. The advantages are obvious: you don't | | | | just limited to movies. If you have missed the |
| have to be discouraged by a store's lack of | | | | latest episodes of an HBO or Showtime series, |
| options or worry about the late fees we always | | | | they can be seen using this feature, as can other |
| seem to be incurring. In the negative column, | | | | shows of interest or even the popular "How-To" |
| there is a limit to the number of films you can | | | | On-Demand. As the name says, whatever you're |
| have in your possession at one time, there is the | | | | looking for, you can make it happen. |