Almost every neighborhood has a shop whose continued survival mystifies everyone: the selection is terrible, the employees surly, and the policies unfriendly to customers.
In its first five years of existence, Internet movie viewing (the legal kind) has been a lot like that shop. Prices for renting or purchasing digital movies haven't always been much of a bargain compared to renting or buying a DVD, and even the best sites only offer a fairly limited library of titles. Many of the sites aren't usable if you're on a Macintosh, and it can be hard to get help from a human if a download goes awry.
Of course, the sites do offer a few advantages over traditional movie rental outlets and movies-by-mail services, and the good news is that they're continually getting better. Rather than waiting for a just-released movie to be available from Netflix or the local video store, every title is always in stock on the virtual shelves. And with DVDs, it's technically illegal to transfer them from a computer to a portable device like an iPod — a task that's easy to do with movies bought from Apple's iTunes Store.
"The challenge for sites that want customers to pay for movies is that they have to offer an option that's better than piracy," says Jim Flynn, chief executive of the niche download site EZTakes. Flynn's site offers movies that are free of digital rights management (DRM) protection, which makes them easier to move from one computer to another, and many of the site's titles can be burned onto a DVD.
Here's a look at seven of the better shops that sell legal movie downloads (which can live on your hard drive forever) and, in most cases, rentals (which can not), with a few comments about the strengths and weaknesses of each one.
iTunes Store
iTunes makes purchasing movies a trouble-free experience, especially if you own an iPod or iPhone for on-the-go viewing, or an AppleTV device, which allows you to send movies over a wireless network to your television. But movies purchased from iTunes can't be played on non-Apple hardware, and the selection at iTunes tilts toward mainstream movies from Disney and Paramount Pictures. Its "Independent" section currently offers fewer than 40 titles, including Errol Morris's The Thin Blue Line, Transamerica, starring Felicity Huffman, and the crossword documentary Wordplay. Movies are available for purchase from $9.99 to $14.99, and a rental option, with titles hovering around $3.99, was recently introduced. Accessible to Macs or PCs.
Jaman
Jaman has quickly established itself as the top destination for independent movies from around the world, and the experience of using the software (available for Macs or PCs) is every bit as simple as Apple's iTunes Store. Selection includes documentaries like Yank Tanks, about old American cars still prowling the streets of Cuba, and features like Afterlife, a Japanese drama in which newly deceased people must sort through their memories and choose one that they'll hold on to for eternity. A significant number of the movies on Jaman have played at film festivals around the world and picked up awards, but aren't available on DVD. One especially cool feature: you can leave comments for other viewers while a movie is playing, which creates a kind of communal discussion group. Movies are $1.99 to rent, $4.99 to own, and Jaman offers new users a handful of free rental credits.
Unbox
Unbox is run by Amazon.com, and its most notable feature is that movies can be sent directly from the site to an Internet-connected TiVo recorder. Purchase a movie before you leave work, and it'll likely be ready for viewing on your living room TV by the time you've finished getting dinner ready. Site offers a broad selection of studio movies (everyone is represented, except Disney), and the "Art House" category is well stocked. (It includes Focus Features releases like Lust, Caution, Brokeback Mountain and Brick.) CustomFlix, another division of Amazon, sells its niche titles through Unbox, many of them instructional videos like Gothic Bellydance or Brewing a Better Beer. PC only. Rental titles range from .99 (for, recently, The Terminator) to $3.99 (Margo at the Wedding), and purchase prices can range from $9.99 to $14.99.
Vongo
Vongo, owned by Starz Entertainment, is the best option on this list for anyone who wants the ability to download an unlimited number of movies for a monthly fee. The site charges $9.99 a month, but movies can't be purchased — only rented. Vongo offers more than a thousand films, including film festival winners like The Heart of the Game and politically-oriented fare like Robert Greenwald's Iraq for Sale. The title selection shifts continually. Non-feature offerings include anime, Warren Miller ski movies, and concert films. PC only.
Movielink
Movielink, which was recently acquired by Blockbuster, offers a selection of indie titles, with special categories for Sundance, Oscar, and Independent Spirit award-winners. New releases like Focus's Reservation Road are $19.99 to own, while the recent Beowolf is $3.99 to rent. PC only.
EZTakes
EZTakes offers cult, camp, indie, and gore movies galore, with very few restrictions on what you can do once you've bought a movie. The site serves up The Toxic Avenger alongside The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, along with a number of titles not available from Netflix's vast library, like The Velvet Vampire, a product of Roger Corman's New World Pictures. Classic movies, like Lon Chaney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, can be purchased for $1.99. Site has plans to allow users to transfer movies to iPods and iPhones. PC or Mac.
CinemaNow
CinemaNow has a limited selection of independent movies. A few movies available on the site, including Secretary and Reservoir Dogs, can be burned to a DVD. New releases like There Will be Blood are $14.95 to own, while rental titles like Gone, Baby, Gone are $3.99. PC only.
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