There are numerous options in downloading and/or watching movies online. First of all, 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, remember, but 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 available. Each site offers their very own pricing model, selection, movie formats, and user experience.

There are 2 main pricing models that the online 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 precisely 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 new movie very many movies in a month, the flat monthly fee will be the way to go. There are also some movies that can be available 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 then 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 differs, but its really a matter of personal preference. Vongo and CinemaNow each have good interfaces.