There are various options in downloading and/or watching full movies online movies online. From the beginning, like music downloading, downloading movies online usually meant doing something illegal. Currently, there are numerous places to download or watch movies online. The illegal choices are still available, of course, although the legal movie sites are picking up steam. The following article shall focus on the legal 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.

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 aren’t planning on watching very many movies in a month, the flat monthly fee will be the way to go. There are also some movies which are accessible for 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 appear 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 is the most limited of the major 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 as a way to download and watch movies. Each interface differs, but its really a matter of personal preference. Vongo and CinemaNow each have good interfaces.