Amazon announced this week that it will enter the video streaming market with a new service that people will be able to access from the new Amazon Video on Demand website. The companies Amazon will have to compete with include names like Apple, Netflix, Microsoft or Google.

Unlike Unbox, the company's previous attempt at entering the Internet video content market, the new service will not be based only on video downloading. Instead, people will be able to play the video they want directly from Amazon's website.

The company said only about 40,000 TV shows and movies will be made available initially, but that the number will dramatically increase in the near future. As far as the way the videos are played is concerned, they can be either watched on a computer or laptop, or can be accessed directly from the customer's TV, supposing it is manufactured by Sony and the user also purchased a Bravia Video Link device.

Amazon said that besides Sony, it plans to close similar deals with all of the most prestigious companies that offer devices capable of accessing video content from the Internet with the help of TV remote controls.

Even though the move is not one that will bring Amazon much profit, the company believes it to be of an extreme importance because of the visibility it could bring to its website. The goal of the investment is to make the content of the Amazon web store available to people who don't necessarily use the Internet but spend an increased amount of time in front of the TV set.