There are several options in downloading and/or watching movies online. To start with, like music downloading, downloading movies online usually meant doing something illegal. Right now, there are several places to download or watch movies online. The illegal options are still available, bear in mind, but the legal movie sites are picking up steam. The following post shall focus on the legal websites to watch and/or download movies.

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

There are actually 2 main pricing models that the on-line movie download sites use – monthly subscriptions and per download pricing.

Sites that offer monthly subscriptions give unlimited downloads, for a flat monthly cost. CinemaNow, Netflix, and Vongo operate under this model.

The additional major pricing model, per download pricing, is exactly 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 movie very many movies in a month, the flat monthly fee will be the way to go. Additionally there are some movies which are available 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 seem to be available on DVD and for rental ahead of being available for download. CinemaNow seems to get the films more quickly than the others. iTunes selection will be the most limited of the key 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.