Even though the aroma of fresh popped popcorn as well as a darkened theater with a towering wide screen lures us to new released films, most of us still view much more movies at home than at the theater. With the introduction of online movie rental and movie downloads nearly 10 years ago, the selections offered by the local video store are not the only options viewers have for their home entertainment.

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

Traditional video stores can be convenient for some last minute movie picks; or at least convenient if someone lives in a few blocks of the store. When 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 children, then it is certainly easy to get back and forth from the shop and be ready to view in a half an hour. This assumes of course that the shop will have a copy of the Blu-ray obtainable in house at the time it’s being sought.

If Harry isn’t at the local video store, then browsing through the remaining films and examining the Blu-ray cases may offer 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 film before incurring any late fees.

Movie downloads are one of the newer options. Most importantly, downloading a film can allow viewers to determine at the final 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 an hour to download based upon connection speed. The great news however is the fact that many movie downloads are capable of allowing viewers to begin watching the film only a matter of minutes in to the download process.

There’s no worry about returning rented movies that are downloaded or any late fees. Upon download, viewers have a specified period of time through which to watch the film before it expires. Movielink for example allows see full movies online 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 television. The future however, may provide greater flexibility as legal movie download services might be better positioned to allow burning movies to Blu-ray as some of the digital rights management issues are being addressed with movie studios.

Online movie rental services can certainly ease the process of selecting and obtaining movies. Users will go online and select from over 75,000 titles, nearly five times the number of titles offered in a local video store. Here users can create a number of movies in advance which will 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 once 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 possess the time for you to view a movie until earlier that same day. Mail delivery does not allow such last minute decisions.