So, after less than a year, Wal-Mart is abandoning its digital download service.

Its basic features were:

• Just as (if not more) expensive as a DVD.
• A draconian DRM regime which forced you to watch it on your computer and only that computer.
• It only ran on Windows Machines.
• No High Def.
• Which doesn’t mean much to me, but for the technophile early adoptors, it does.
• The DRM scheme allowed the studios to revoke your rights to the movies that you downloaded with no recourse.

To quote ars technica:

The message here is very clear: draconian DRM and unrealistic pricing are turning consumers away from legitimate retail channels and giving them a big incentive to adopt underground file sharing.