The Down-Low on Movie and TV Downloads

The last few months have been a watershed for the movie download trend. First, Apple upped the quality of its video with iTunes 7 in October, then Microsoft started offering HD and SD downloads of movies and shows right to the Xbox 360 in November. In January, Netflix introduced its online movie download service (reviewed by Chris in this post). Vongo launched a nifty new Windows Vista-integrated version of its all-you-can-eat movie subscription service. Wal-Mart debuted a beta version of its download-to-PC service with 3,000 movies and TV shows. And Tivo announced a deal with Amazon Unbox to offer movie downloads directly to the DVR set-top box. (Dory wrote about the announcement here.) 

But not all of these new download services are created equal in terms of how they deliver movies and TV, much less the titles they offer. Here's a quick rundown of the more recent announcements (plus Movielink):

Wal-Mart Video Downloads: With more than 3,000 titles to download and watch on your PC or portable media player, Wal-Mart's online store is a powerful new entry. Every major studio is on board, which means M:I:III, Talladega Nights, and Little Miss Sunshine.But so far the TV content providers, with the exception of Fox, the CW, and Comedy Central, pale in comparison to those on iTunes, Unbox, and even Xbox 360.

Pros: More movies than anyone else on the day of the DVD release for $12.88-$19.88 (or $7.50 for older movies).

Cons: Besides lame TV offerings, why would I pay $19.88 for a movie with no extras? Doesn't work with Firefox (yet).

Amazon Unbox for Tivo: When this comes out later this year on a wider scale (it's available to a select few customers right now), you'll be able to go to the Amazon Unbox site and buy thousands of movies or TV shows for $1.99 and $9.99-$14.99, respectively, or rent movies for $1.99 a pop. Orders are then downloaded to your Tivo.

Pros: Watching downloads on your TV is as easy as hooking your Tivo up to your TV; you can order movies from any Web-connected PC and have movies and TV shows waiting for you when you get home.

Cons: You have to order over the PC-no direct browsing and downloading from the Tivo.

Vongo for Vista: This is Napster-Rhapsody-Yahoo-Music-Unlimited for movies. In other words, you just pay a monthly subscription fee and get unlimited access to a surprisingly robust selection of about movies  (the reason Vongo can get Woody Allen's movies, for example, is because it's owned by premium movie channel Starz). You can also rent new movies for $3.99 for 24 hours. The new version of Vongo is specifically for the Windows-Media-Center part of Vista, so you can watch the movies on your TV as well as your PC or portable media device.

Pros: All-you-can-eat movies for one low monthly price.

Cons: You have to download two separate files for watching on either the PC or a portable media center, respectively.

Netflix Movie Downloads: The online-DVD-rental pioneer offers about 1,000 movies for download at no extra charge to existing subscribers. Most major studios are on board, as well as TV providers such as the BBC, A&E, Anime Network, and others.

Pros: Movies start playing after about 15 seconds, downloading quietly in the background while you watch.

Cons: You have to be online to watch movies. It won't be available to everyone until June. TV offerings are lame compared to Amazon Unbox.

Xbox 360 Video Marketplace: Download movies from Xbox Live right onto your Xbox 360. Most offerings-everything from South Park and UFC to THX 1138-are in SD, but you can get a handful of HD movies and CBS-TV shows.

Pros: Watching downloads on your HDTV is as easy as hooking up via the Xbox 360's component video cable.

Cons: HD movies take at least four or five hours to download.

Apple iTunes: Last fall's upgrade in video quality means everything from The Office and Lost to The Real Housewives of Orange County and The Daily Show look better than most TV channels and standard-def TiVo, especially if you've got the right TV hooked up to your Mac. Movie selection is paltry (about 250 titles), but you can get most TV shows of note for $2 a pop (and movies for $9 a pop).

Pros: You can watch anything you buy on iTunes on your iPod, and soon you'll be able to wirelessly stream video to any TV in the house with Apple TV.

Cons: You can only watch iTunes videos on your iPod, and movie selection could be better.

Movielink: No new announcements, yet, but I'm just including this since this was one of the first services to offer movie downloads. Here's the catch: Rentals are only for 24 hours once you click on the Play button, a policy more strict than your local Blockbuster.

Pros: Lots of new movies for around $3 a pop.

Cons: Besides the 24-hour viewing window, you have to watch movies with the proprietary Movielink player; can't play movies on portable devices.

Akimbo:This service lets you download movies and TV shows from dozens of providers directly to a set-top box, which is connected via Ethernet or Wi-Fi. It's also available on Media Center PCs.

Pros: Decent video quality if connected with a component video cable; good selection of movie classics, cult movies, and porn.

Cons: Lots of random content (1970s British TV miniseries starring Jane Seymour, anyone?); downloading is slow.

So, are you ready to ditch your DVD player and cable service and go for these downloading options?

Related links:

Amazon Joins Tivo to Air Downloaded Movies on TV