There are several 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 numerous places to download or watch movies online. The illegal choices are still available, bear in mind, but the legal movie sites are picking up steam. The following post shall focus on the legal online sites to watch and/or download movies.

There are a number of options out there. Each site offers their very own pricing model, selection, movie formats, and user experience.

You can find 2 main pricing models that the on-line 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.

The other 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 very many movies in a month, the flat monthly fee will be the way to go. Additionally there are some movies that can be accessible for our source free from each of the services and various free trials will be accessible to try them out.

The selection varies from service to service. New releases are hit or miss. Movies seem to be available on DVD and then for rental prior to being available for download. CinemaNow appears to get the movies more quickly than the others. iTunes selection will be the most limited of the main services.

The predominant file format for the download services is Windows Media Video files (.WMV). iTunes will be 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 unique, but its really a matter of personal preference. Vongo and CinemaNow each have good interfaces.