Frequently Asked Questions About Movies

Are DVD and Movie Clubs the best deal for buying DVD’s online?

While the initial offering may be appealing, you really need to look at the entire deal they are offering. These types of clubs will often promise you something like 10 DVDs for free if you agree to join the club. One of the catches is that often times the shipping fee they charge for the ‘free’ DVDs is equal to, or greater than, the amount that you can purchase the same DVDs for in a regular store. These clubs will also get you to agree to let them send you their monthly special; if you don’t want it you can send it back, but do you really want to pay for return shipping and the time it takes to send it back every month? What usually happens is that consumers don’t send them back in time, and wind up being billed for the new DVDs. This is how they make their money. You should also take a look at their regular prices, since you have agreed to purchase additional items at the regular price. Do they disclose their prices AND their shipping and handling fees? Do they give you a customer support phone number, and an email address? These clubs are often not as good a deal as they would like you to believe, and they use hidden prices and methods to fool consumers, so look out.

Are the DVDs and movies that you buy online as good a quality as the ones from a store?

In some cases, especially with discount online retailers, the DVD or Video quality may not be as good as what you would get in a regular store. This depends entirely on the online dealer and their source of the DVDs. If they are a discount provider, the quality may be lacking. Make sure that the DVDs have a guarantee, and pay by credit card to protect yourself. If you pay by credit card and you get a bad DVD that they will not give you a refund on, you can have your credit card issuer reverse the charges. Make sure that you have the phone number of the seller in case you have any problems.


What is the best way to get bargains on Movies and DVD’s online?

Most legitimate resellers will have special bargains and promotions, including coupons, that they offer to consumers in order to get new business. This is very common practice and is available from many online resellers. Just try searching the google.com for DVD Coupon or Movie Coupon to find them. Check out the provider, and if they seem legitimate then make your purchase using a credit card for security. The website DVD Talk has a coupons page at this address:
www.dvdtalk.com/coupons.html


What web sites are the safest to purchase movies and DVD’s from?

If you live in the USA, you are best off to purchase your movie from an online retailer that is located in the United States. You can tell if a web site is located in another country by looking for extra letters by the ‘.com’ part of the web address. Foreign sites will have an extra two letters that represent the country that the site is located, like www.dvdplaza.com.au, where the “au” means the site is located in Australia. You should also look up the stores physical location on their site to see where it is located. If you can’t find the address, try to find a retailer that is not afraid to post their address and purchase from that site. You should be able to call them on the phone too, so make sure to get their phone number.


How do I know that a DVD movie format is compatible with my DVD Player, since different countries use different DVD Formats?

Most of the DVDs produced today are made to support multiple formats, so that they will work in the DVD players used in different countries. Some DVD players will support more than one of the available modes, so you can always check on your DVD players Configuration Settings to make sure it is set correctly, or to change the setting. Some players have a physical switch on the rear that controls the format. The two principle DVD Movie formats used today are “PAL” and “NTSC”. NTSC is the standard format for USA, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Japan, and the Carribean. PAL is the standard format for UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and Asia (excluding Japan).


Can I purchase movies online and download them onto my computer for viewing?

The technology that allows a movie to be purchased online and downloaded onto your computer is just beginning to take hold in the Internet marketplace. Some of these new service providers will distribute the movie in a streaming format, while others will allow you to download the movie. Company’s that currently sell movies for download generally provide you with some custom software that must be downloaded and installed on your computer, and may also require that you have Real Player installed on your machine. To use these services you will also need a high-speed Internet connection of 128 KBPS or higher; this means that modem users will not be able to use these services. Another consideration is that with a streaming movie, you cannot stop or pause it like you can with a download or DVD. Downloading movies will also require a lot of hard drive space, so it may not be practical for use on older computers. One company that sells downloadable movies online is http://www.movielink.com

What are some of the best websites to purchase or rent movies from?

Today there are many different websites that sell and/or rent movies online. Of course one of the most famous and reputable is www.Amazon.com. In the movie rental business, a relative newcomer named www.netflix.com  has become very popular. They rent you movies on a monthly basis for a low price, they pay for shipping, and there are no late fees. You just send them back when you are done, and then you order the next batch.


What should I do if I ordered a movie online but I never receive the order?

If you order a movie online but you do not receive it in a timely manner, you should contact the customer support department of the website where you made the purchase. If they are not willing or able to resolve your problem, you should contact your credit card company and have the charge reversed.


What if I purchased a movie online but the DVD or Video is of poor quality?

When you have purchased a movie, DVD, or Video online and when you receive it, the quality is poor or it has other problems, you should contact the website where you made the purchase and ask for a replacement or refund. If they do not make you happy, you can tell them that you will have your credit card company reverse the charge if they do not comply with your reasonable request.


How can I find the best deal on buying movies online?

One of the best ways to find the lowest price on a movie you can purchase online, is to try Google.com’s new product and price search website www.froogle.com. This will show you all of the website pages that have the product you are searching for as well as their prices. This lets you quickly find the lowest price.
 

Watching Movies Online - FAQ by MovieFlix.com

Recommended Movie Websites

Hollywood.com - entertainment source for movies, showtimes, film reviews, trailers, tickets, and celebrity news.
 
FilmZone - includes links to movie and actor sites, news feeds, and shopping.
 
Cinema Sites

Reviewed Movie Sites on the Internet

Movies.com - http://movies.go.com/
Offers news, trailers, reviews, showtimes and tickets, and synopsis summaries for films currently in theaters and new to DVD and video.

Movie Resources

DVD Rental Companies