There are many options in downloading and/or watching movies online. From the beginning, like music downloading, downloading movies online usually meant doing something illegal. Right now, there are plenty of places to download or watch movies online. The illegal choices are still available, simply, however the legal movie sites are picking up steam. This information will focus on the legal online websites to watch and/or download movies.
There are a number of options out there. Each site offers their own pricing model, selection, movie formats, and user experience.
You’ll find 2 main pricing models that the internet movie download sites use – monthly subscriptions and per download pricing.
Sites which offer monthly subscriptions give unlimited downloads, for a flat monthly cost. CinemaNow, Netflix, and Vongo operate under this model.
Another major pricing model, per download pricing, is precisely what it sounds like. There will be a fee for each movie download. Amazon Unbox and iTunes operate this way.
Unless you are not planning on watching full movies online very many movies in a month, the flat monthly fee is the way to go. There’s also some movies that will be accessible for free from each of the services and various free trials are available to try them out.
The selection varies from service to service. New releases are hit or miss. Movies appear to be available on DVD as well as for rental ahead of being available for download. CinemaNow seems to get the movies more quickly than the others. iTunes selection is the most limited of the key services.
The predominant file format for the download services is Windows Media Video files (.WMV). iTunes is the obvious exception, which offers files as MPEG-4s.
Each service requires you to download their software so that you can download and watch movies. Each interface is different, but its really a matter of personal preference. Vongo and CinemaNow each have good interfaces.