Apple provides the slickest online store experience, compatible with both PCs and Macs, but its movie releases are mostly Disney titles, and they’re offered only for sale, with prices ranging from $9.99 to $14.99. Recent deals with Paramount and Lionsgate will bolster the selection, but it still lags behind the competition in terms of new releases and variety.

The movies available during my review period were limited to iPod-friendly resolution, though with the launch of the high-def-capable Apple TV (see below), we can expect higher-resolution content soon. It’s tough to get excited about the iTunes movie offerings (the TV show selection is more appealing), but for Macs, it’s the only game in town. apple.com/itunes

BitTorrent, long the technology provider of choice for pirated file downloaders, launched a legal download service in February offering movies, music, and computer games. Drawing movies from Fox, Paramount, Lions Gate, and several independents, with rental-only pricing from $2.99 to $3.99, the service adheres to the status quo with one exception: the actual downloading experience.

Ordinarily, when you download a movie file from other services, it’s sent in one continuous stream from a single central server. BitTorrent technology, on the other hand, can grab chunks of a file simultaneously from several computers, including other users who have already downloaded the same file.

As more people acquire BitTorrent movies, the fact that your computer can grab files from several other machines at once, including those in your own neighborhood, should speed up download times significantly. You do have to download and install the BitTorrent software before downloading a movie, and you may have to fiddle with your broadband router settings to get decent transfer speeds.

 A full-length movie took about half an hour to download vs. the usual hour on other services. If you feel confident in your inner geek, this could be your choice; in not, the tech may trip you up. bittorrent.com

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