Even though the aroma of fresh popped popcorn as well as a darkened theater with a towering wide screen lures us to new released films, most of us still view far more movies at home than at the theater. With the introduction of online movie rental and movie downloads nearly 10 years ago, the selections offered by the local video store are not the only options viewers have for their home entertainment.

Apart from the improved affordability, movie fans enjoy watching movies at home because of convenience. With busy lives that keeps us on the job and also on the road, time spent relaxing at home will be at a premium and any service which allows us to enjoy that time without additional complexity or effort is very prized. With this in mind, which of these movie services provides the most value for the home viewer?

Traditional video stores can be convenient for some last minute see full movie picks; or at least convenient if someone lives within a few blocks of the shop. If somebody suddenly decides at 5:30 pm. that there is time to squeeze in a showing of the most recent Harry Potter flick with the kids, then it’s certainly easy to get to and from the shop and be ready to view in a half an hour. This assumes of-course that the store will have a copy of the Blu-ray available in house at the time it’s being sought.

If Harry is not at the local video store, then browsing through the remaining films and examining the Blu-ray cases may offer a hint as to precisely what the family might enjoy. After the movie, the viewer will then have at least a couple of days to shuttle back to the store and return the movie before incurring any late fees.

Movie downloads are among the newer options. Primarily, downloading a movie can allow viewers to determine at the very last minute to view Harry Potter, or some other movie, as well. Just a quick 5 minute visit to the download site on line to select and initiate the download allows viewers to remain at home throughout the process. Most films require approximately an hour to download depending upon connection speed. The excellent news however is the fact that many movie downloads are capable of allowing viewers to start watching the film only a matter of minutes into the download process.

There is no worry about returning rented movies that will be downloaded or any late fees. Upon download, viewers have a specified time frame in which to watch the film before it expires. Movielink for example allows movies to be stored for up to 30-days. Probably the one drawback for many movie downloads is the fact that they frequently must be viewed on a PC rather than a television unless viewers have a connection between their PC and tv. The future alternatively, may provide greater flexibility as legal movie download services could be better positioned to allow burning movies to Blu-ray as some of the digital rights management issues are increasingly being addressed with movie studios.

Online movie rental services can certainly ease the process of selecting and obtaining movies. Users can go online and select from over 75,000 titles, nearly five times the range of titles offered in a local video store. Here users can create a number of movies in advance that may automatically arrive at their door. Movies requested generally arrive within 1 to 2 business days once they are requested. Users merely stick the Blu-rays within an envelope for the mailman to pick up once they are ready to return them; and only once they are ready to return them. You can find no due dates and no late fees either. The most evident drawback to this system is for those viewers who don’t decide they possess the time for you to view a film until earlier that same day. Mail delivery doesn’t allow such last minute decisions.