Eventually, someone will build the sophisticated business plan and technology that will make getting hi-def movies online even easier. The possibilities are myriad. Users, for example, could log onto Amazon, shop for movies, and instead of having them shipped, simply download the title - to own or to rent for a few days - directly to their hard drive. A high-quality piece of streaming-video hardware, developed by some consumer electronics company with foresight (and either built into a television or sitting on top) would then pull the file to the TV. It’s not crazy to envision future TiVos or cable DVRs with access to every movie ever made - complete with a community of viewers generating ratings and recommendations - allowing consumers to rent a flick from the couch with a remote.

Source: Discs Are So Dead - WIRED

Some old predictions are very wrong, but this article was like looking 15 years into the future.