Items you will need

• Windows XP or higher

• A newer browser

• 128 MB of RAM or more

• 500 MHz processor or more

• Broadband Internet connection, at least 500 kbps

• (requirements subject to variance)

'The answer is 'yes',' said media writer Tom Volotta to the question, 'Are movies and TV becoming more like the Internet?'. There are multiple ways to watch full length movies -- not just movie clips -- online. Some are free, while others require payment. In most cases, you usually get what you pay -- or don't -- pay for. So determining the best way to watch movies online depends on what you want to watch and how much money you want to spend.

Watch Movies For Free

Watch full length movies online for free. Visit either Hulu (hulu.com), Crackle (crackle.com) or OVGuide (ovguide.com). As of August 2012, all three sites provide free online movies, allowing you to browse or search by category or title.

Search for a movie title or browse through movie listings on each site to find a movie you might want to see.

Be aware that each site, since it offers its content for free, may offer mostly older titles and few or no new releases. In addition, each site typically interrupts movies with brief commercials lasting usually no more than 20 seconds.

Rent Or Purchase A Movie

Rent or purchase a movie to view online. Visit YouTube (youtube.com), Blockbuster (blockbuster.com), Amazon (amazon.com) or Vudu (vudu.com) and browse movie selections offered at various prices, usually no more than $5 per viewing as of 2012.

Download iTunes as another option, create an account or log in and search the iTunes Store for available movies. Be aware that iTunes, YouTube and Vudu give you the choice to either rent or purchase certain titles.

For rentals, be sure to finish watching the movie within the time specified, 24 hours for most sites. But also consider Netflix, which lets you watch unlimited movies from its selection, for about $8 per month, as of 2012.

Use Your Cable Or Internet Provider

Watch movies online through your cable television or Internet provider. Check with your provider to see if it offers Internet-streamed movies to watch on demand.

Visit your provider's website and log in to your account if you have one; otherwise, create an account and then log in.

Select a movie from the on-demand titles available, and then follow additional instructions. Most likely any charges, if imposed, will simply be added to your monthly bill.

Warnings

Downloading or streaming movies from disreputable websites may infect your computer with viruses or malware. Also, be aware that some full-length movies available online violate copyright laws.

The movie selection that NetFlix offers on DVD is not the same as the movie selection offered for streaming online. There are fewer titles streamed online.

Video of the Day

More Articles

Several of the major Hollywood studios have petitioned Google to remove sites that make copyrighted movies available for streaming from its search results. The requests come after Google announced it would start publishing DMCA requests at the bottom of a results page stemming from a search for a less-than-legitimate site.

It’s common for copyright holders to contact shady streaming and torrent sites, but the timing of the requests -- combined with the number of studios suddenly on the offensive -- is a bit of a surprise to some.

TorrentFreak reported that Lionsgate, 20^th Century Fox, BBC Films, Walt Disney, Summit Entertainment and Sony Pictures have all issued DMCA requests to Google in an attempt to filter WatchOnlineFreeTV.com, TV-Links.eu and dozens more of that ilk.

Along with criminalizing copyright infringement, the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) also aims to halt agents that circumvent the hosting of copyrighted material. Sites like the aforementioned sell advertising space while listing a number of links to click in order to watch a movie via stream. It’s more difficult for copyright enforcers to halt this type of piracy -- and thus less risky for viewers -- because they aren’t able to plant torrent files or track an Internet subscriber’s bandwidth usage while they’re downloading.

In their most recent attack on illegal streaming, the studios were targeting hosts of the movies “The Other Guys,” “Cinderella,” “50/50,” “Prometheus,” “Cabin in the Woods,” and TV shows including “Family Guy” and “How I Met Your Mother,” among others, according to TorrentFreak. The movie studios also appeared to accidentally request each films’ Wikipedia entry and promotional Facebook page be stripped from search results, although it’s unclear how that would have happened.

This story comes after the news that the launch of the Six Strike program, aimed at illegal downloading and heavily lobbied for by the MPAA and RIAA, will be delayed until early 2013. That plan will attempt to work in conjunction with the major Internet service providers to monitor a suspested pirate’s bandwidth use online.

On the eve of the 2012 Super Bowl, federal authorities shut 16 illegal streaming sites after New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admitted he watched the prior year’s game on an illegal site, according to USA Today. His confession may have given copyright enforcers, who have been slow to react to technological shifts, an insight into how widespread their problem was.