Why did downloading a purchased movie take 6 hours to download and an hour to load so I can watch it

Why did downloading a purchased movie take 6 hours, and then an additional hour to load just to watch. This cannot be the standard, can it? If so how is that better than going to the store and purchising the movie to watch right now. Apple usually exceeds my expectations (MacBook, iphone) but so far AppleTV is a huge disappointment. Please someone tell me I am doing this wrong and I didn't just throw $99 away.