Not surprisingly, the videos that people most want to download are those that Hollywood is most shy about making available online.

Studios do not want to undercut box office receipts and DVD sales for hit movies, and TV networks do not want to put popular shows online, which might allow more viewers to skip the commercials. Nor do they want to rush into new technology that itself could be perverted.

"Broadcast, satellite and cable are all good models that provide us the ability to generate revenue for us and are relatively safe from piracy," said Robert C. Wright, the chief executive of NBC Universal, expressing the widely held view of studio executives. "The Internet may be more convenient, but it is Dodge City."

Josh Goldman, the chief executive of Akimbo, a company that sells a digital video service delivered through a special device that connects television sets to the Internet, said that while the industry was starting to experiment, "everyone is holding back the best of their programming until they figure out the right model."

For example, Robert A. Iger, the president and next chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, said at a recent investor conference that he was interested in concepts like what he called "Desperate Housewives Plus," in which consumers could buy the right to watch an episode starting the day after it was broadcast along with additional scenes and "a few more bells and whistles."

Even without Hollywood's offerings, consumers are already seeing more video online as faster downloads and better software improves the experience. In the past, users had to download player programs in order to watch small blobs of color do herky-jerky dances in a small corner of their screens.

These days, more people watch free music videos online than on MTV's cable channel. Short videos, like political spoofs by JibJab Media, and clips of Paris Hilton's latest escapade, can be seen by millions of people.