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Features The Ultimate Guide to Movie Download Services

Posted 04/16/08 at 04:57:50 PM | by Michael Brown & Will Smith

Widespread broadband Internet adoption, not to mention pervasive digital rights management technology, has convinced Hollywood studios that it’s safe to make their best products available as digital downloads. And thanks to Windows Media Center and devices such as Apple TV and Media Center Extenders, including the Xbox 360, watching downloaded movies in your home theater no longer requires planting a PC in your entertainment center (although there’s nothing to stop you from doing that anyway). In fact, you might not need a PC at all.

No fewer than eight movie-download companies have jumped into the opening that Hollywood has provided, all of which promise to deliver the latest films fresh from their runs in brick-and-mortar theaters—TV shows, too—over the Internet. Netflix eliminated late fees and runs to the video store, but these on-demand services eliminate the need to wait for a disc to arrive in your mailbox.

But we wanted to know how these newfangled services compare to existing technologies, including DVDs and Blu-ray discs and the on-demand offerings from cable and satellite TV providers. So we brought each of them into our home theaters, watched movies on our big (and small) screens, tested the hardware (when it was required), and streamed videos from our PCs to our TVs (when it was possible) to see who best competes with the silver screen.

Buyer's Guide

If you’re going to download high-resolution movies, make sure your display can handle it. We used ViewSonic’s 42-inch N4285p LCD TV, which supports a maximum resolution of 1080p.

What to Know Before Logging On

Downloading movies and TV shows is a very different experience than renting or buying a disc

Connection

Maximum PC readers don’t need to be told that downloading movies and TV shows just ain’t gonna happen with a dial-up connection—this is a job for broadband: You’ll want DSL service with a download speed of at least 800Kb/s for standard-definition content; the faster your connection, the less time you’ll wait before you can start watching. Given the choice between DSL and cable, we’d take cable; fiber is even better—just make sure your ISP won’t throttle your connection if you start downloading a lot of content.

If you crave high-definition movies, you’ll want a much faster connection. Most of the service providers covered in this story recommend connection speeds of 2Mb/s or faster. Upload speeds are not nearly as important, since you’ll send very little data to these service providers.

Is HD an Option?

Make sure your computer monitor or television can handle HD content before you pay extra to download it. HD content is typically delivered in 720p, 1080i, or 1080p resolution, with the “p” standing for “progressive scan” (all the horizontal lines are drawn in sequence: 1, 2, 3….) and the “i” meaning “interlaced” (the odd-numbered horizontal lines—1, 3, 5…—are drawn first, and then the even-numbered lines—2, 4, 6…—are drawn in the next frame). Many people can detect a flicker in an interlaced display, although a good HDTV will deinterlace content before displaying it.

Most large computer monitors (24 inches and up) can handle 1080p, although that’s often not their native resolution. Only enhanced-definition and high-definition TVs can handle anything beyond 480i. You should also keep aspect ratio in mind: Nearly all HDTV content is presented with a native aspect ratio of 16:9, so you’ll get the best experience from a display that has a native resolution of 1080p and a native aspect ratio of 16:9. Still, you probably won’t notice any difference from a monitor that has a native resolution of 1920x1200 and an aspect ratio of 16:10.

Watching on your TV

The service providers reviewed here have adopted one of three business models: Download content to your PC and view it on your computer monitor; download content to your PC and either view it on your computer monitor or stream it to your TV using your wired or wireless (you’ll need 802.11n) network and third-party hardware you’ve purchased; or download content to a set-top box that you’ve purchased and plugged into your TV or computer monitor.

Paying the Piper

While there’s plenty of free amateur video to be found on the Internet, Hollywood expects to be paid. The services reviewed here operate on one or some combination of three revenue models: subscription, an all-you-can-eat plan that allows you to download and watch as much content as you’d like for a monthly fee; rental, a pay-per-download model that typically gives you 30 days to begin watching and a 24-hour viewing window once you’ve initiated playback; and purchase, the model that gives you the most flexibility (but far less flexibility than if you’d purchased a disc).

Service providers take very different approaches to how they implement these models, so be sure you understand the terms of the service being offered. CinemaNow and Vongo, for instance, both offer a subscription service, but CinemaNow’s subscription offerings exclude most mainstream Hollywood releases.

Terms of Service

We can’t overstate the importance of knowing exactly what you’re going to get when you do business with any of these service providers. Here’s an overview of the questions you should ask, but we’ll cover the answers in detail in each review and in our comparison chart: Is the content in high definition or standard definition? Do you need to buy extra hardware? Can you stream the content from your PC to your TV? Can you transfer the content to a portable player? If so, which devices are supported? You won’t be able to burn rented content to a disc, but what about the TV shows and movies you buy? If your hard drive craps out or your download becomes corrupted, can you re-download content you’ve purchased?

Depth of Catalog

Don’t assume all these services have the same movies and TV shows on tap. Each company negotiates independent deals with the Hollywood studios that control the bulk of the top-shelf content. We’ll grade each provider’s catalog in our individual reviews, based on the availability of new releases, depth of their catalog, and their collection of cult classics (we’ve posted our complete findings at http://tinyurl.com/yp7w8u). We’ll award extra points for high-def content.