South Park: Available
for download

On Tuesday Wal-Mart unveiled its movie and TV-show download service with participation by all major studios, according to USA Today. The retailer, which accounts for 40 percent of all U.S. DVD sales, will offer about 3,000 movies and TV shows to buy and download.

New releases will be available at www.walmart.com/videodownloads on the same day they come out on DVD and will cost up to $19.88. Older films will go for up to $9.88. TV episodes will be $1.96 the day after they air. In the end, though, consumers will determine pricing, Wal-Mart says. With a high-speed connection, downloads will typically take 45 minutes and feature what Wal-Mart calls "near-DVD" quality, but none of the special features typically found on DVDs.

The downloads work only on Internet Explorer browsers and Microsoft-supported platforms and digital devices - not on Mac or Linux-based computers or iPods. Furthermore, though downloads can be backed up, they won't play on a conventional DVD player.

Though studios have been wary of Wal-Mart's interest in downloads, they've hesitated to approach other potential partners for fear that Wal-Mart would retaliate by carrying fewer of their older or non-hit DVDs.