Still, it really is far too early to predict the winner. TiVo and Amazon have a great model, but are faced with some very stiff competition. After all, Sony, Microsoft and everyone else will fight back with better offerings of their own, with an Xbox 360 with a bigger hard drive easily able to do anything a TiVo can do. The same story goes for the PS3 and any computer.

It just sounds like the TiVo could well be the easiest way so far for people to access downloadable TV shows and movies and watch them on their TVs - at a price that's much less than an Xbox 360, a PS3 or a computer.

The other big players concerned about the video download business are those that are offering the Internet connection, be it through cable, satellite, DSL or wireless. Video takes up a lot of bandwidth, as the files are very large, and even larger still when you’re talking about HD content. Some of the companies offering broadband Internet connectivity are also offering either pay TV or IPTV services of their own.

This is where the whole net neutrality debate kicks in with no solution in sight yet.

What we have is a situation where the battle for entertainment dominance in the digital home has finally gone from a world of broadcast to a world of on-demand and limitless video and other entertainment choices, from a wide variety of players through a range of delivery mechanisms, all to play on your shiny big screen TV. 

It’s a battle that has actually barely begun. Now that it has, you’ll need to unholster your remote control and get ready – companies are coming to offer you more entertainment content than ever before. Let’s just hope it’s not 5 trillions channels, and nothing worth watching.
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