DviX Movie Download - Alternative to Lugging DVD Movies Back to the Store

by Mark Yarbrough
Downloading movies online. What you need in the way of computer hardware and internet connectivity to be able to join this craze.

There are currently a lot of options out there for movie buffs to fulfill their need for a good flick. Movie fans can go to the theater, buy or rent a DVD, try one of the new mail-order systems like Netflix, or download a movie and watch it on a computer. DivX is a popular form of video file compression, most movies downloaded today are in the DivX file format. The DVD industry is currently losing some revenue because so many people are now downloading movies online. This is being offset to some extent by new high definition DVD technologies like Blu-ray. High definition movies are not currently being downloaded because the file size of these movies makes it unfeasible to download movies even over a DSL or high-speed cable connection.

Downloading movies is a great option for a lot of people, so let's take some of the mystery out of downloading movies and discuss what people need if they want to take advantage of this time and money-saving movie viewing method. One thing you need is a fairly new computer with a fast clock speed - around 1.5 giga-hertz and up. You will also need plenty of hard drive space if you want to save the movies on your computer. Most movie file sizes are in the 600 to 800 mega-byte range. You should be able to store more than 85 two-hour movies on an empty 80 giga-byte hard drive. You will also need a fast internet connection, dial-up definitely won't do. A good DSL or high speed cable service is required. The download speed of your internet service provider should be around 1mbps, (1mbps = one million bits per second). With a download speed of 1Mbps, you can download an average movie in about an hour and a half. Cut the download speed in half, and it takes twice as long, or about three hours to download a movie. If you double the download speed to 2Mpbs, you can download a movie in about 45 minutes. If your high-speed internet connection is a bit on the slow side, you can set-up a download or two before going to bed and have the finished movie(s) in the morning.

One of the great things about downloading movies is the ability to store and play them on any of the new personal media players now on the market. Some personal media player have video screens and plenty of storage space, (30 giga-bytes or more). To do this you may need video file converter software that converts the DivX video format to whatever format is used on your device. You can download a converter program for your device for free or at least for cheap. Otherwise, some sites, geared to their respective video player brand, offer downloadable media already formatted for their particular device.

If you're tired of lugging DVDs back to the video store, and downloading movies appeals to you, give it a try. If you have a fast computer and internet connection and plenty of hard drive space, you can have quite a collection of downloaded movies in no time.