Movies were accessible online via peer-to–peer file sharing sites a few years ago. However, movie downloads were not an option for the majority of consumers due to concerns about piracy or the risk of being exposed to viruses. Movie link and Cinema Now were a few years later, but there was not much to choose from, the technology was slow and most people did not have the right equipment, making it difficult for them to watch the movies. Movie downloads remained largely the preserve of early adopters and not the general public. Amazon Instant Video is a better option for you when it comes to using on your devices. It is not compatible with Android devices.
Because of their larger movie selection, online movie rental companies like Netflix and Blockbuster are more popular in the home entertainment market. This was due to the time delay between selecting the movie and receiving it in mail a few days later. The distinction between movie rentals with immediate gratification and convenience and online movie rentals with their large library of TV and movie titles became blurred. This was a benefit to movie-watchers.
Movie downloads are becoming more mainstream due to improvements in the delivery of online movie rental services. Netflix, an online movie rental service pioneered by Netflix, announced that they would offer customers the option to stream movies to their computer. However, the availability of titles will be gradually reduced. Netflix reported that this feature had been used to download 5 million movies within six months. The number of movies that customers could download continued to rise and six weeks later, the number of movies had increased to 10 million. The popularity of downloading movies was evident in the average household.
Blockbuster, another major online video rental company, announced in August that Movie link had been acquired by them. Movie link was a joint venture of five major Hollywood movie studios. It offered movies for rent or purchase Netflix subtitles downloader, and provided early adopters with movies that could be downloaded to their computers and mobile devices. Movie downloads will soon be available with Blockbuster, according to the acquisition of Movie link.
The events of 2007 seem to point towards a future where movie downloads will be the preferred way to obtain movies. Local video stores could continue to lose market share if Netflix’s rapid growth in movie downloads continues. It would appear that postal delivery of rentals will also decline as downloads become more mainstream.
Elena Saharova
