Cablevision and Popcorn Home Entertainment have announced a new service that lets you watch movies immediately through Cablevision's set-top box whenever you buy the DVD through their menu system. The DVD is mailed to you, but in the meantime you have the on-demand version for "instant gratification," reports Reuters.

Prices will range from $9.95 to $19.95 plus shipping, which puts it in line with retail DVD prices but certainly not any cheaper, especially with shipping fees currently undisclosed. Still, the on-demand aspect brings ordering online that much closer to the retail experience—we wonder why Amazon hasn't considered a similar offering by combining its Unbox content with shrink-wrapped DVDs, especially since Unbox now streams directly to Tivo.

"Cablevision, Popcorn offer instant-gratification DVDs" [Reuters]
(Illustration: Getty)