On Tuesday, Mr. Hastings will begin to answer that question. Netflix is introducing a service to deliver (initially) about 350 movies and 650 television shows directly to users’ PCs, not as downloads but as streaming video, which is not retained in computer memory. The service, which is free to Netflix subscribers, is meant to give the company a toehold in the embryonic world of Internet movie distribution.

Mr. Hastings said he chose the instant delivery afforded by streaming technology over downloads, which can take a while, because it would encourage subscribers to use the system to browse the catalog and discover new movies. If they do not like a movie, they can stop it and will be charged only for the minutes they actually watched.

I like this justification for streaming. Now, if only the service were extended to include the more obscure titles in the inventory, this would be an interesting augmentation for browsing the catalog.