The lowdown on downloads
1
THE
BASICS
Here are some things you need to know before you take the leap. And be sure to check the movie service fine print, because technical requirements vary.
THE COMPUTER
Your PC must be running the Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system and needs generous amounts of storage: about 1 gigabyte of RAM and at least 5 gigabytes of free hard-disk space. Individual movie services may demand specific software -- the Windows Media Player, the Adobe Flash Player or a current version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, for instance. As for AppleTV, it works with PCs or Macs running OS X version 10.3.9 or later and with iTunes version 7.6 or later.
THE INTERNET
CONNECTION
A high-speed cable or DSL connection is a must. Some movie services say they can work with connection speeds as low as 300 kilobits per second (that’s 300,000 bits of information a second), but if you’re interested in downloading a high-definition film, you’ll need speeds of at least 1 megabit (or a million bits) per second. The more bits, the faster the download and the better the experience.
THE HOME
NETWORK
With a wireless network, you can access the Internet and download movies to a device connected to the TV. Look for a router that uses at least the 802.11g network standard (but note that the newer 802.11n offers up to 12 times the performance and three times the range). If you’ve got a large house, consider a new setup developed by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance that delivers high-speed network access over residential power lines.
THE DEVICES
To move a movie from a PC to a TV you may want one of these: AppleTV, VUDU, Xbox 360 game console, Series 2 or 3 TiVo or the Linksys Media Center Extender.
THE SERVICES
You can order on demand many of the movies lined up on the back wall of a video store, but offerings vary by service.
THE TELEVISION
If you don’t want to buy a device to watch downloaded movies, no sweat: Connect your PC to your TV. In most cases, this can be accomplished in part through S-video connection ports. You’ll also need to connect the audio-out port on your computer to external speakers or to a home stereo system. Some PCs come with standard component video connectors for video and audio, allowing you to connect your computer to the TV in the same way you would connect a VCR or video camera.
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These half-dozen online services let you rent or buy movies with the click of a mouse (or a remote control).
2
THE SERVICES
Amazon
Unbox
www.amazon.com /unbox
COST
$3.99 for a rental; $14.99 for a purchase
Movies available
10,600
What you need to retrieve a movie
A Windows PC using the Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista operating system; a 2.4-gigahertz processor or faster; at least 1 gigabyte of hard-disk space and 256 megabytes of RAM; a DirectX 9.0- compliant video card; and an Internet speed of 1.5 megabits per second
What you need to watch it on TV
A Series2 or Series3 TiVo box
Where else you can watch
On Windows Media portable video devices such as the Archos 705 media player, the SanDisk Sansa and the Creative Zen
Et cetera
If your hard drive is getting too full, you delete a purchased movie from your PC or TiVo. A copy is automatically stored in Your Media Library by Amazon, so you can download it again at no cost.
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Apple
iTunes Store
www.apple.com /itunes/download
COST
$2.99 to $3.99 for a rental (add $1 for high-definition); $9.99 to $14.99 for a purchase
Movies available
1,000 (about 100 in high-def)
What you need to retrieve a movie
A Mac running OS X versions 10.3.9, 10.4.9 or later or a PC running the Windows XP Home or Professional or Windows Vista operating system
What you need to watch it on TV
AppleTV
Where else you can watch
An iPod, an iPod Nano or an iPhone
Et cetera
If you rent a movie from Apple TV, you get a DVD or high-definition-quality movie for viewing on TV. These movies can’t be transferred from Apple TV to another device.
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CinemaNow
www.cinemanow.com
COST
$2.99 to $3.99 for a rental; $9.99 to $19.95 for a purchase
Movies available
3,400
What you need to retrieve a movie
A PC running Microsoft Windows XP or Vista; an Internet Explorer 6.0 or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 browser; Windows Media Player 10 or above; an Internet connection of 300 kilobits per second or faster; and at least 1.5 gigabytes of free hard-disk space
What you need to watch it on TV
A Windows-based media-center device like the Xbox 360 game console, Hewlett-Packard’s MediaSmart TV or EchoStar’s Dish Network HDTV DVR satellite receiver ViP 622
Where else you can watch
Archos 404, 504, 604 or 605 Wireless or Samsung P2 media players
Et cetera
The service allows customers to burn movies to a DVD that can be played on the PC or any DVD player. Downloads typically take an hour to an hour and a half.
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Movielink
www.movielink.com
COST
$1.99 to $3.99 for a rental; $9.99 to $19.99 for a purchase
Movies available
6,000
What you need to retrieve a movie
A PC running Microsoft Windows 2000 or a later operating system; Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher or Mozilla Firefox with the IE Tab extension; Windows Media Player 9 or higher; a 1.5-gigahertz Intel Pentium 4 processor or faster; and 128 megabytes of RAM
What you need to watch it on TV
A Media Center Extender or digital media adapter or an Xbox 360 game console
Where else you can watch
Devices that use Microsoft’s Portable Media Center software, such as iRiver PMC-120 or Toshiba’s Gigabeat S Series
Et cetera
Movielink titles are available on demand through AT&T;’s Homezone HD Ultimate service through Dish Network digital satellite TV.
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Netflix
www.netflix.com
COST
$4.99 to $47.99 for a monthly subscription
Movies available
7,000 movies and TV shows
What you need to retrieve a movie
A PC running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, or Windows Vista; a browser running Internet Explorer version 6 or higher; Windows Media Player version 11 or higher; a system with at least a 1-gigahertz processor; 512 megabytes of RAM and 3 gigabytes of free hard-disk space
What you need to watch it on TV
In January, Netflix and LG Electronics announced a partnership to develop a set-top box to stream movies and other programming. Coming this year.
Where else you can watch
DVDs work in any portable player.
Et cetera
Streamed movies start in about 30 seconds.
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Vongo
www.vongo.com
COST
$9.99 for a monthly subscription or $1.99 to $3.99 for a rental
Movies available
1,000
(plus about 200
pay-per-view titles)
What you need to retrieve a movie
A PC running Microsoft Windows XP or Vista; Windows Media Player 11 or higher; Macromedia Flash Player version 9 or higher; and an Internet connection of 100 kilobits per second for pay-per-view; a minimum 1-gigahertz processor, 2 gigabytes of available hard-disk space and 512 megabytes of RAM
What you need to watch it on TV
A Media Center Extender or an Xbox 360 game console
Where else you can watch
Portable Windows-based media players like the Archos 605, the Creative Zen Vision W and the Samsung P2
Et cetera
Watch the live East Coast stream of the flagship Starz channel.
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3 | THE DEVICES
A new generation of hardware is designed to bring Internet video to the main screen in the home -- the TV.
Price: $229 for 40 gigabytes (for about 50 hours of video) or $329 for 160 gigabytes (up to 200 hours)
What it does: Connects to your TV and home network so you can access the Internet to buy or rent movies or to check out YouTube videos and video podcasts.
Linksys Media
Center Extender with DVD Player
Price: $349
What it does: Works like a remote control for your Windows Vista Ultimate or Premium PC and lets you sit on the couch and program the PC to record shows or fetch prerecorded programs.
Microsoft Xbox 360
Price: $350 for a 20-gigabyte hard drive or $450 for the Xbox 360 Elite, with 120 gigabytes
What it does: Links to your home network to download content from the Xbox Live Marketplace, including about 4,200 hours’ worth of TV shows and movies. Purchases are made in Microsoft points. Movie rentals range from 240 points ($3) for classic films to 480 points ($6) for high-definition versions of a new release.
Series2 DT
or Series3 TiVo
Price: $100 for a Series2 TiVo (80 hours of recording), $300 for TiVo HD DVR (20 hours of high-def recording, up to 180 hours standard) or $600 for a Series3 HD DVR (32 hours of high-def recording, up to 300 hours standard)
What it does: Uses a broadband connection to let subscribers rent or buy movies and TV shows through Amazon.com’s Unbox. (Later this year subscribers will be able to view YouTube videos.)
Vudu
Price: $295
What it does: Hooks up to the TV and the home network so you can rent or buy about 5,000 movies, about 100 of which are available in high definition. Rental prices range from 99 cents to $5.99 for high definition; purchases cost $4.99 to $19.99.