You may have heard that some of your friends and family are already members of movie download sites and they either LOVE them or HATE them. Going to the right place is the key to getting exactly what you want and when you want it. We all want to turn our computers into more than just email magnets! Here is a list of frequently asked questions about a movie download or video download merchant (click the question to view the response):
Is there such a thing as FREE MOVIE DOWNLOADS?
Do I require special hardware to download movies?
Do I require special software to download movies?
I only have a dial-up connection to the internet. Is it worth still becoming a member of the movie site?
Will I be able to download current movies playing in the cinemas?
If I join an online movie merchant, will I be charged per download?
Does the online movie merchant sell DVD's like in the stores?
What should I consider before I join a movie download site?
How to download movies from the internet?
Can I burn CD's and DVD's of the movie downloads?
Can I get a refund if I am not satisfied with the service or quality of the video download site?
Should I look for a movie site that also provides music and games and TV shows for downloading?
What are the best movie download sites on the internet right now?
Is there such a thing as FREE MOVIE DOWNLOADS?
Simply put
..NO. It is very rare that you get anything for FREE these days. Movie downloads are no exception. Ultimately you will be sold on something. You may be asked to join a newsletter first before you make a purchase, and then may eventually purchase something that interests you from the newsletter. Be sure that the company is reputable. How do you do this? Some simple signs are:
*Company has a privacy statement
*Customer service links are present
*Look for phone numbers if you have a product query or technical question on how to download movies or at the very least have access to customer service email
*Check Alexa.com (click
Alexa.com to check rankings. Alexa is run by Amazon.com) for the traffic ranking of the site. All you have to do is type in the web address and view the ranking. If the company is at least below the 2 million mark, then the site gets a fair bit of traffic. Remember, traffic is a great indicator that the merchant is serious and is providing a service that is in demand, and is of quality. Not all companies can be at the top
those who are have serious marketing budgets to get traffic and loads of staff to market the site (and a great big I.T. department) such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, Amazon, CNN, and the like.
*Any affiliations with better business bureaus, and links to other reputable sites (or more commonly know as business partners)
*The site offers payment via all major credit cards AS WELL AS Paypal. PayPal is vastly becoming one of the most preferred methods of payment via the internet as you can use your credit card or funds debited from your own bank account and deposited into your PayPal account to use freely on the net. No fear of credit card fraud here. Goo thing to watch out for!
Movie download sites and their marketing campaigns will get you to click on their ads (paid advertisements) thinking that you will get free movies. The actual movies may be FREE after you have paid the sign up fee. The initial FEE to join a movie download site is charged so you can download the software required to download movies of your choice. Charges range from $20 USD through to $100 USD depending on what you want access to. Once you have paid the fee, then you will usually have UNLIMITED MOVIE DOWNLOAD access for life, or as long as the company is in business.
If you do come across a site offering FREE movie downloads, and they are current movies, then chances are they are pirate copies. You will usually notice that the movie you downloaded is poor quality, not in digital format, and is acquired by someone taking a video camera into a movie theatre and recording the movie. Pay close attention as you may see a flicker or pause in the film that denotes someone hitting the pause button in order to hand the recorder to a friend so they can go to the bathroom. Better still, you may see someone in the theatre get up out of their seat and move across the screen! Not unusual. You may have even been to a cinema and experienced someone in there crouching discreetly so that you do not notice them filming the movie!
If you are looking for physical DVDs to purchase, then do not join one of these sites.
Do I require special hardware to download movies?
NO. You should make sure you have a PC with at least a hard drive capacity of more than 40GB, as movie downloads are normally about 700MB 1.3GB in size. If your intention is to burn them straight to a DVD or CD, then you should be fine with a smaller hard drive size. Most movie download sites cater for Windows and Mac users, as far back as Windows 95. Just remember that you will have to download movie transfer software with most sites, and their software size can range from 5MB 20MB.
If you want to view the movies from your PC or Mac, make sure you have a media player in order to view the movies. Go to Microsoft.com to get MediaPlayer (www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download). Other reputable players are QuikTime (www.brothersoft.com/downloads/quiktime-pro.html) and RealPlayer (www.real.com).
Do I require special software to download movies?
YES. If a site is saying you simply "right click" and save to your hard drive, then you have probably stumbled upon a scam or non-reputable site for movie downloads / video downloads.
Most companies offering movie downloads will have software that you MUST purchase in order to download and burn movies to DVD or CD. This is common across all movie download sites due to the file type used to create movie files (also known as *.avi files). If you are able to download a movie without this software, then you should be suspicious that you may end up with a pirate movie. Paying the software fee enables companies to continue to improve their service and pay their staff. It is a business after all. Over the term of your membership you may find that you will be entitled to other FREE stuff from some of their partner sites
.so sometimes it does pay to be a PAYING MEMBER of a movie download site. It is a jungle out there, even on the internet.
I only have a dial-up connection to the internet. Is it worth still becoming a member of the movie site?
NO. If you have loads of time on your hands and don't mind waiting days for a download, then join. But you will probably lose your connection with your internet provider before you get the full copy of the movie download.
Most people are joining Cable and Broadband (or ADSL) plans so they can do everything faster on the net. If you don't have Broadband or Cable internet, do yourself a favour and get it. You will never go back to dial-up again! The web is vastly becoming more sophisticated and most good sites are offering video and audio streaming (even via email now), and with Broadband and Cable internet, viewing and/or listening to them is a pleasure. Dial-up is frustrating. If you want to upgrade to Broadband, use Google, Yahoo, or MSN search to find a telecommunications company with a plan that suits you for the city in which you live.
Will I be able to download current movies playing in the cinemas?
YES and NO.
YES the film will more than likely be a pirate copy, of extremely poor quality. If you have joined a company that resides in the USA, you may see a good copy on their site as it is legally allowed to sell the movie after a certain amount of time in cinemas. But the flipside is that the copy should not be distributed in your country of the movie is not even at the cinema yet. You are breaching copyright laws, and could face prosecution and incarceration.
NO if your movie download merchant is operating within the confines of the law, then you should not be able to download the movie.
If I join an online movie merchant, will I be charged per download?
NO.
Dr. Duckie only recommends movie download merchants that charge a one time fee, or an upgrade fee. You will find most sites allow you to download unlimited movies for the term of your membership. Prices usually are very reasonable. After all, this type of service really does save you time and money in the long run, and you can share your downloads with friends and family. Your membership fee will be specified clearly on the site and you will have an option to pay only for the type of service you need.
If you do find a merchant that charges you a per download fee for movies, Duckie recommends you not join unless you know of someone who raves about the service. If you find a movie merchant like this and want to let Duckie know about it, send an email to
Dr. Duckie so we can review the site for recommendation. Dr. Duckie loves feedback to provide the Duckie community with the latest of events and updates.
Does the online movie merchant sell DVD's like in the stores?
NO, not usually. You may come across one or two by accident, but you must remember that the site must be a licensed reseller of DVDs and have accounts with the major film companies or film distributors in order to sell DVDs.
There are also some companies that RENT DVDs online, rather than you having to venture out of the house. They deliver straight to your door. This is a great service for those that only have a dial-up internet connection, and do not want to invest time in downloading movies. These type of companies normally charge a monthly fee. You will find that the rates are very very reasonable and worth the investment. Sure it may take a little longer to have them delivered, but you get to keep them a little longer than, say, a BLOCKBUSTER that lets you keep a new release DVD for one night. The shipping charges are usually covered BOTH WAYS.
One such example is
Intelliflix.com. They charge a low monthly rental fee.
If you are looking for DVD packs (e.g. TV series, Movie compilations, etc..), then check out
DVDMegaPacks.com.
What should I consider before I join a movie download site?
Company Reputation how much traffic does the site get? Usually more traffic means higher membership and implies a reliable, trustworthy movie download site.
Privacy Statement that your information will not be shared with any third party, and your private information remains confidential
Speed of Site Loading if the site takes too long to load (say longer than 30 seconds), then you will become frustrated and want to discontinue your membership.
Web Host of the Company should have significant bandwidth to handle thousands of users downloading movies at any given time of day
Price membership fees should be reasonable and within your budget
Customer Service & Technical Support should be available 24 / 7. If not, you should at least get a reply within 24 72 hours to resolve any issues you have.
Burn DVD / CD should have the capability of easily burning movies to DVD.
Selection of Movie Titles should have a broad range of titles from which to choose, crossing all movie genres (such as comedy, thriller, horror / scary, action, romantic, historical, tv shows etc..)
Money Back Guarantee should offer at least a 30-day money back guarantee if you are dissatisfied with the service. Most offer 30 or 60 day money back guarantees
How to download movies from the internet?
Before downloading movies from the internet, you must first find a reputable company providing this service. Dr. Duckie has a list of
recommended sites. The criteria used by Dr. Duckie is a combination of the response found to the question:
"What should I consider before I join a movie download site?"
Once you decide on a movie download provider, you will follow the site's instructions on how to download movies. You will normally be asked to download software that easily transfers the movies from their web host to your computer. A HELP facility will also guide you in downloading movies using the software provided by the movie merchant. If you ever have difficulty, do not hesitate to contact their customer service or technical support team.
Can I burn CD's and DVD's of the movie downloads?
YES. Your movie download provider usually allows you to do it directly from their site, or it is packaged with the downloading software that you install on your computer. If you find a provider that does not have this ability, but you like the selection of movies, and do not want to give up your membership, then there are plenty of free DVD Burner software packages on the net today. One such example is www.burnworld.com. There are a few to choose from but all will suffice to burn your favourite movie to DVD.
You may also have bought a PC with a software package bundle that already includes a DVD / CD burning software package. This should work fine for your needs. If you have any issues or other questions,
contact Duckie.
Can I get a refund if I am not satisfied with the service or quality of the video download site?
YES, usually. This should be one of the criteria you use to select a movie download site. Most video download sites offer a minimum of 30-days to obtain a refund. Most sites offer between 30 and 60 days in order to obtain a refund. Put a reminder in your calendar 58 - 60 days from the purchase date so you can remember to ask for a refund if you are not satisfied.
If you have difficulty with the company in obtaining a refund, refer to your original email from the payment processor and follow their instructions on how to get a refund. The payment processor will normally assist you in obtaining a refund if you do not get the desired result from the movie download merchant. Payment processors such as ClickBank, PayPal, 2COM, and others want to keep their reputation clean, so they will help you anyway they can.
Should I look for a movie site that also provides music and games and TV shows for downloading?
YES. This way you will get more "bang for your buck"! But if you are specifically looking for movie downloads, choose a service that concentrates its efforts on the movie experience. Music downloads, games downloads, TV show downloads should be secondary only and be thought of as an added bonus. Not all movie buffs will download music and games. The most important thing in any movie download site is the selection of movie downloads provided, the software must be easy to use, and the burning of a DVD must be smooth. Dr. Duckie also reviews Music download sites too.
Visit recommendations.
What are the best movie download sites on the internet right now?
Visit the TOP 2 recommendations from Dr. Duckie at
Recommendations. If you choose to become a member of any of the recommended sites, Duckie would love to hear from you. Just fire off an email to
Dr. Duckie
