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 ten years ago, the selections offered by the local video store are not the only options viewers have for their home entertainment.

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

Traditional video stores may be convenient for some last minute movie picks; or at least convenient if a person lives in a few blocks of the store. If a person suddenly decides at 5:30 pm. that there is time to squeeze in a showing of the most recent Harry Potter flick with the kids, then it is certainly easy to get back and forth from the store and expect to view in a half per hour. This assumes of-course that the store shall 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 over the remaining films and examining the Blu-ray cases may give a hint as to just what the family might enjoy. After the movie, the viewer will then have at least a few of days to shuttle back to the store and return the movie before incurring any late fees.

Movie downloads are one of the newer options. Certainly, downloading a film can allow viewers to decide at the final minute to view Harry Potter, or some other movie, also. Just a quick 5 minute visit to the download site on line to select and initiate the download allows viewers to remain at home throughout the process. Most films require approximately per hour to download based on connection speed. The excellent news however is 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 absolutely no worry about returning rented movies that can be downloaded or any late fees. Upon download, viewers have a particular time frame through which to watch the movie before it expires. Movielink for example allows movies to be stored for up to 30-days. Probably the one drawback for many movie downloads is the fact that they often has to be viewed on a PC rather than a television unless viewers have a connection between their PC and tv. The future conversely, may provide greater flexibility as legal movie download services could be better positioned to allow burning movies to Blu-ray as some of the digital rights management issues will be 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 range 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 after they are requested. Users merely stick the Blu-rays in an envelope for the mailman to pick up when they are ready to return them; and only when 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 those viewers who don’t decide they possess the time for you to view a movie until earlier that same day. Mail delivery won’t allow such last second decisions.