Even though the aroma of fresh popped popcorn and 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 a decade ago, the selections offered by the local video store are not the only options viewers have for their home entertainment.

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

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

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

Movie downloads are one of the newer options. In particular, downloading a movie can allow viewers to decide 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 through the process. Most films require approximately per hour to download depending on connection speed. The great news however is the fact that many movie downloads are capable of allowing viewers to start watching the movie only a matter of minutes in to the download process.

There isn’t any worry about returning rented movies that can be downloaded or any late fees. Upon download, viewers have a specified time frame in which to watch the movie before it expires. Movielink for example allows movies to be stored for up to 30 days. Perhaps the one drawback for many movie downloads is that they often has to be viewed on a PC rather than a television unless viewers have a connection between their PC and tv. The future conversely, may provide greater flexibility as legal movie download services could possibly be better positioned to allow burning free movies online 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 can 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 when they are ready to return them; and only once they are ready to return them. You will discover no due dates and no late fees either. The most evident drawback to this system is for anyone viewers who do not decide they have the period to view a film until earlier that same day. Mail delivery will not allow such last minute decisions.