How to Download a Movie -

19 de junio de 2013

How to Download a Movie -

Downloading movies from the Internet has become a good option due to the growth of file sharing technologies and the availability of high-speed network connections. If you have a good Internet connection and some free space on your hard drive, you can easily learn how to download a movie even if you are a novice computer user.

Edit Steps

Method One: Free Sources

Be aware of the legality. In most jurisdictions, downloading a movie that you are not purchasing legitimately, and don't already own on another format (such as a DVD), is in violation of copyright laws.
- Films which are in the public domain will not be subject to this rule; they are free to use and not governed by any intellectual property laws. Be careful to address the legality of downloading a particular film before you begin.

Download and install a BitTorrent client. While many other file sharing protocols exist, BitTorrent is the most effective and popular method for downloading feature-length films. To use this method, you will need to install a piece of client software on your computer. Many of these applications are available for free; some of the most popular clients are Tixati, Vuze, Transmission, and uTorrent.

Search for the movie on a BitTorrent search engine. After installing your torrent client software, you can download the torrent file for the movie you wish to watch.
- The best way to do this is to search for the film on a torrent search engine. These sites are often available for a limited time, however, as they are subject to shut down by law enforcement officials.
- You can also find torrent files using a regular search engine. A torrent file has a ".torrent" extension, and is actually just a text file telling your torrent client where to download the pieces of the movie.

Load the torrent file into your BitTorrent software to begin the download. Double-click on the torrent file to load it into your torrent client. The download should begin automatically. Once the file has downloaded completely, leave the torrent software open for several hours to allow other users to download the file from you. This will improve your "torrent ratio," and will allow you to download additional files more quickly.

Open the movie file in a media player application. Once the torrent has finished downloading, your client software will save the actual video file on your hard drive (check the settings in your torrent software to determine where the file is saved). Double-click the file to open it in your default media player. You can safely delete the torrent file itself once the video clip has finished downloading.

Method Two: Paid Sources

Visit an online movie site. The easiest and most worry-free way of downloading movies is to buy them from a reputable source. Companies such as Netflix and Apple have led the way, offering movies for both rent and purchase, many other companies have sprung up offering inexpensive alternatives to purchasing a DVD.
- If you're an avid movie watcher, having an online account with Netflix costs about eight dollars a month, and delivers more movies than you can watch in a lifetime!
- For very new movies, Apple frequently offers movies that are still showing in the theaters. Until the film leaves the theaters, though, you'll usually have to purchase the movie at about the price of a normal DVD.

Set up an account. Before you get started downloading movies and throwing a popcorn-and-B-night extravaganza, you'll need to sign up for an account. Usually this involves nothing more than an email address and username.
- Some companies, such as Netflix or Hulu, use a subscription method. You pay a low, flat fee every month for unlimited downloads. This is great if you like to watch a lot of movies, and don't want to hassle with payments every time the movie mood strikes you.
- Companies like Apple or CinemaNow (BestBuy) offer pay-as-you-go rental or purchase, and can be significantly more expensive than subscription services—especially if you love movies—but they also tend to offer more current content, and content from premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime.
- Movie download sites such as Yaboon and its affiliates offer "10,000" movies, and require that you fill your account with at least $20 before you can purchase a movie, though the prices per movie are very reasonable.

Browse the directory of movies. No matter which option you choose, with thousands of movies available on each of these sites, the first thing you'll want to find is a way to narrow your options. Many sites have a genre column, so that you can quickly focus only on topics that interest you.
- Feeling like you want to revisit the dark side of 50s and 60s cinema? Click on "Film Noir." If that's too dark, try "Comedy" or "Drama" instead.
- If you're wanting to locate particular movies or actors, there should be a search field at the top of the page.

Download the movie. When you've found a movie to your liking, click the appropriate button. On services such as Yaboon, it's a simple click of the Download button. For sites that offer options, such as Apple, you'll see both a Buy and a Rent button. Whichever button fits your needs, click it. Your movie will download, and depending on the speed of your connection, you could be watching in just a few minutes!

Edit Tips

Torrents files with a large number of "seeders" (users who are sharing the whole file) will download the fastest.

Before entering credit card information, do a little research and make sure that you're working with a reputable company.

If downloading a movie over Bit torrent keep your antivirus up to date as viruses lurk in those files.

Pay-for sites often make the films available for smart phones and tablets as well as computers.

Before signing up for a download website, create an email address on Yahoo or Gmail just for that site. Often times, email lists are sold to third parties—which can quickly result in a flood of spam.

The website Archive.org maintains a large database of public domain films. If the film in which you're interested is public domain, consider checking for it on this site (or a similar site) first.

Don't like watching movies on a computer? Get an Apple-TV, Roku, or Boxee set-top box, and stream iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, and much more directly onto your television—in high-definition.