Direct digital movie streaming is big business, and it's about to take off in Australia.

The world market leader, Netflix, had more than 25 million subscribers at the end of June with a share price that peaked at $US287.73 mid-July.

The Quickflix services running on a Sony TV.

On Wednesday, Australian online movie rental company Quickflix launched its digital movie streaming service in a bid to stake a claim in the local market. Unlimited access costs $14.99 a month.

It will launch on Sony TVs, Blu-ray players and home theatre systems from October 27 and on all PCs and Macs from November 10, followed by Sony's PlayStation 3 and other devices.