So you’re fed up with the cost and hassle of renting movies from the video store.  You’ve heard about online movie rental programs and want to stream videos right to your home PC – or even hook up your PC to your TV and watch movies there.  There’s just one problem: you want to know which movie download site is right for you.

Well, that’s a difficult question.  There are many sites out there that offer free movie downloads or streaming online videos.  Most of the free ones are actually putting out pirated, illegal content that could get you in trouble or infect your PC with a virus.  Many of them are just web interfaces for filesharing clients like Bittorrent.  Bottom line: if a site offers you free movies, they’re either not free (i.e. you have to pay a subscription fee), or they’re giving you pirated content.

The best option if you want to download movies and watch right on your PC is to find a video hosting service/streaming site.  These sites offer legal movie downloads for a one-time fee (usually around $30-40) and let you watch all the same movies – and sometimes TV shows, depending on the provider – that you could get from your local movie store.

If you’re trying to decide which movie download site is for you, think about exactly what your viewing needs are.  Do you watch movies or TV shows more often?  Do you want access to premium TV channels as well?  Do you have other family members or kids who will want to use this service, and if so, does the site have parental controls to restrict viewing?

A final factor to consider is streaming rate and file quality.  Sites that offer higher streaming rates will typical provide better picture and sound quality; sites that offer low speeds or don’t mention it at all will probably give you the quality of a Youtube video.  Consider how good you want your viewing experience to be before making a decision on what movie download site you want.