Wal-Mart offers video streaming on website (AP)

NEW YORK – Now playing: Movies at Walmart.com.

The largest retailer in the world on Tuesday began pouring a large number of films on the same day they come out on DVD, in another bid for a share of the popular movie rental business and streaming site Netflix Inc. and just two weeks after Netflix announced new price increases.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. purchased video-streaming services Vudu.com 18 months ago and now offers 20,000 titles that can be seen on almost any device with Internet access, computers to TVs to Sony PlayStation3 and Blu- Ray.

The film is available at Walmart.com for rent for $ 1 to $ 5.99, or buy for $ 4.99 and up. Wal-Mart does not offer subscriptions, making its service more like iTunes of Apple Inc., which charges $ 3.99 to rent newly released movies and $ 14.99 to buy a movie.

In addition to Netflix, another participant of streaming movies and TV shows via a subscription is Hulu.com, which is now a premium service for $ 7.99 per month, offers a late-season shows, movies and more. No subscription, viewers Hulu shows and movies for free in exchange for viewing advertising.

The films are part of the strategy of Wal-Mart Web site offering a "seamless service continuing purchases," said Steve Nave, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart.com.

The announcement of Wal-Mart comes on the heels of Netflix said it will increase the costs separately for streaming and DVD rental. The second price increase in eight months, was the expected increase is 60 percent of Netflix for existing customers, starting September 1. New subscribers must pay the new prices immediately.

Netflix plans to $ 16 per month for services that cost to $ 10 a month if they are together, for example, pooled and used for free. It still change $ 8 per month for streaming, which was launched late last year. But instead of charging $ 2 more on a flat, one DVD at a time via e-mail contains the company $ 8 and is responsible to the DVD plans.

Customers will have on social media, Facebook and Twitter taken to ventilate their anger on Netflix is ​​increasing, but executives said they expected the reaction. The company is willing to risk alienating subscribers signals it needs more revenue to cover rising costs.

Netflix in June had 24.6 million subscribers in the U.S.

Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Arkansas-based have been tested, before the water film rentals. It previously offered a free DVD-by-mail service, $ 12.97 per month for two titles and $ 17.36 per month for three titles.But he has given this program in May 2005 in Netflix, allowing customers to continue their subscriptions with Los Gatos, California, Netflix, without a rate increase. Apple is based in Cupertino, California