Apple TV is good because you have days to watch, when you do watch you have a 48hour period to watch again as many times as you like. AppleTV needs a fast internet connection though as it streams.
XBOX offers a similar service. Not sure if it streams or is buffered onto the HD. I would assume buffered onto the HD.
There is a compression algorithm in both, so quality of video can suffer, but to be honest I don't notice.
What I don't like about the service is that they seam to pre-release movies for sale only and then a week or two later they become available for rent. This policy, which I am sure is driven by the content owners, just gets in the way of the end consumer using the product in their preferred method.
However, other then nostalgia, and the thrill of being lucky to get the "last copy" or the disappointment of a wall of rented movies, I do not miss the blockbuster experience.
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