With this Watch Free Movies Online Guide, I hope to help you find and watch free movies online in legal and safe fashion. I’ll also help you obtain unlimited DVD rental.

We’ll keep things clean and legal… I suspect many people don’t know about all the quality, legal sites out there to help you watch free movies online and watch free television online. I’m here to save you time and money by identifying and reviewing great resources for you to enjoy.

You will also find a remarkable number of devices on which you can just start to watch free movies online now. Whether you want to watch from your laptop, your netbook or even your smartphones, you will find apps or services enabling you to watch free movies on the internet with ease.

I will also cover both the major services such as Hulu and Netflix and lesser known services such as Cinema Now and StarzPlay.

Watch Movies On the Internet

The trick is to keep abreast on the latest and greatest sites because sites fall in and out of favor over time. This is, obviously, pretty difficult and time-consuming, so I encourage you to regularly return to watchfree-moviesonline.com to keep abreast of the latest. Sometimes a site can’t keep up with the volume of traffic their servers must survive because quality video requires so much bandwidth (which stresses the servers themselves and can cost lots of money to maintain). And sometimes sites fall out of favor because they push the line a little too much and draw negative attention from film publishers.

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video & DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

Currently I’m loving Netflix. With their lengthy & generous free trial, you can stream all the classic and current movies & television shows you can possibly consume for nothing. You can even stream the video through your Xbox 360 at no additional cost. And this is a free addition to their already classic DVD rental service (with fast, free shipping and no late fees):

I have over a dozen quality sites I will introduce to you over the coming weeks. They’re all legal and they all provide a high quality viewing experience. And yes we’ll be looking far beyond sites like YouTube. There’s some great stuff out there and I look forward to collecting my reviews and lessons so you can easily watch movies on the internet.

I’ll discuss and provide three primary methods:

1. Watch free movies online through streaming video in your web browser.
2. Download free online movies by saving them to your computer and watching them with video player software.
3. Membership sites that combine these types of services & require a very small fee.

Watch Streaming Video With Reliability

You may be wondering how I could put paid membership sites in this list considering the name of my website.
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This is because the quality and security of some of these services is well worth the very small amount they cost. Many of these services are smaller businesses striving to make a name for themselves, so they provide remarkably generous offerings for far less than better-known big company services like Netflix. Many people don’t know about these companies (at least not yet), so it would be unfair for me to not point them out.

In addition, these paid services often tend to be more reliable than free sites and they likely will also feature much greater longevity. As you follow my progress with this website, you’ll see that only a few sites remain consistently worth your time.

Many of them — even some that are very good for several months at a time — will disappear just as soon as I find them. I wish it wasn’t the case, but this doesn’t happen with fully paid, legit services which operate with the blessing of the major networks and film studios. But don’t fret if you’re anti-corporate! Many of the best watch free movies online services are actually smaller, independent organizations with big web ambitions.

Update:

Return visitors to www.watchfree-moviesonline.com may notice I’ve removed a service to which I linked here. After spending some time with this service, I couldn’t in good conscience link to it from my site. It just isn’t worth the money. I will soon publish a review teaching how you can do and obtain everything it offered for free in an entirely legal fashion. Basically, I feel the service exploits people who aren’t terribly net savvy by trying to profit from services and open-source applications that are freely available to anyone who knows about them.

So that’s enough negativity…

My first reviews are now ready. Visit the Download Movies Legally section to find detailed and comprehensive reviews of the Amazon Unbox service as well as the competing CinemaNow and Vongo services.

Let’s get ready to enjoy all the Internet has to offer with Watch Free Movies Online

My Watch Free Movies Online blog is long over due for an update. It is more exciting than ever to watch free movies online now.

I am planning whole new sections for the site. I will have a section targeting smartphones like the iPhone or the various Google-based Android phones. The number of apps and services available for watching movies online on the go is remarkable compared to just over two years ago when I started this blog. In the time since, we’ve not only moved online and into the cloud with our entertainment, but we’ve become more mobile than ever.

Another section I am planning for watchfree-moviesonline.com will focus on set tops. This includes the Roku player as well as various blu-ray based players that integrate streaming video services into their firmware. I personally have an excellent Samsung blu-ray player I use at home for watching high-definition movies and television shows through Netflix and occasionally Hulu.

I’m not yet sure how I will handle the streaming video through gaming systems. The Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are all now Netflix-capable as well as presenting some additional features and capabilities unique to each platform. Should I place them in their own category or combine them with the set top players? I’m leaning towards putting them in their own categories, as services like the Xbox Live Marketplace are pretty unique entities.

I also need to update all my reviews of the various streaming movies services. Vongo closed and is now replaced with StarzPlay, while CinemaNow and Vudu soldier on in relative obscurity. Hulu has also gone live with their paid services and pretty much fell flat on their face while YouTube now offers a whole chunk of movies for free. Didn’t know about those free YouTube movies? Just go to YouTube.com/movies to find them.

I hope this helps enliven my site and bring more useful information on how to watch free movies online for my readers.

Want to effortlessly watch any television series or any movie online right now without spending a single penny?!

In less than 10 minutes you can watch anything from the latest blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man 3 or Ratatouille to classics like Singing in the Rain or Ben-Hur.

Maybe you prefer a television series?

In just minutes from right now you could enjoy streaming anything from the latest hits like The Office or the Emmy-winning 30 Rock to all-time favorites like Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Perhaps you’re a child of the 80s and a little Miami Vice escapism appeals to you. Or perhaps you want to indulge in some classic nostalgia with Dragnet or Leave It to Beaver. Guess what? You can!

It’s all there:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

There is no better home video instant gratification on the Internet than the Netflix Free Trial. Some of you may think in terms of those DVDs you get in the mail.

Wrong.

Netflix now provides the most robust and comprehensive Watch Instantly online streaming service on the planet.
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Within moments of signing up, and without spending a dime, you’ll have instant access to thousands of movies, from current blockbusters to old classics to obscure indie films.

Additionally, you’ll be able to watch a remarkable collection of television series, whether you want to catch up on the latest hit comedies or indulge in a little nostalgia.

And by nostalgia, it doesn’t matter if your childhood was in the nineties or the fifties, you’ll find a favorite ready to stream right away:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

How quick n’ easy is it?

You can literally start watching your favorite movie or television within 10 minutes from the time you read this sentence.

I’m not exaggerating.

This literally costs you nothing and you can find out it if you’ll feel it is worth your time literally within minutes, so go check it out:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

And again, you don’t have to spend a dime. Plus it’s all perfectly legitimate & legal, so you don’t have to play any questionable games with questionable websites.

It takes just moments to create your account and start browsing their huge selection of streaming movies and television shows — so why hesitate? Enjoy all your favorites now:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

Most of you are probably familiar with Netflix already… but did you know that most Netflix subscriptions include unlimited, instant streaming of thousands of movies and television shows through an easy-to-use web interface?

This is a free addition to their standard DVDs-in-the-mail rental program for which Netflix has become so popular. Oddly, I’ve known people who were devout Netflix subscribers who didn’t even realize they had this option available to them (here’s looking at you, mom).

Netflix also offers the best instant gratification of any of the video services I’m reviewing. With their generous free trial and the fact that their streaming videos literally begin instantly, you could start watching one of your favorite movies or television shows only a couple minutes from the moment you finish reading this sentence:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video & DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

In this Watch Free Movies Online review, I will try to review just the quality, reliability and value of the streaming service as that is all its competing services provide. However, you have to remember that Netflix has an undeniable, innate edge over its competition because their streaming service — as robust and evolved as it is — only represents a bonus to their established DVD rental program.

Netflix Review: Costs

For the sake of comparison with the other services I’m reviewing, Netflix costs $8.99 a month for unlimited streaming movies or television shows. This makes it — by a good margin — the least expensive of the services I’ve reviewed so far. You never have to buy or pay an additional fee to watch anything they offer in their Watch Instantly category. With just $8.99, your viewing time and viewing options are unlimited.
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Netflix offers a cheaper subscription option ($4.99 a month), but note that this option does not include unlimited streaming video. Netflix also offers more expensive options, but those allow you to receive and hold more physical DVDs at a time, so they don’t really factor into the internet movies competition (but if you want to receive and keep up to 8 DVDs or Blu-Ray discs at a time with no late fees, the option is there).

(It’s worth noting that you really can keep those DVDs a long time. I have a not-so-responsible friend who once kept a Netflix DVD for 10 months. Netflix really doesn’t care as that DVD just takes up a slot in your queue until you return it.)

For the $8.99 a month you can receive one-at-a-time unlimited DVD rentals with no late fees AND watch unlimited streaming video through Netflix’s well-designed website.

One option Netflix lacks which some of the other services provide is the ability to permanently purchase digital films or television shows. This doesn’t seem like much of an issue, however, as you’re free to watch any movies or television shows on Netflix whenever you wish and however often you wish. You can even watch them wherever you wish, as long as you can connect to the internet and log into their website. In addition, you can in fact purchase real physical DVDs if you desire. Physical DVDs cost $5.99 to $9.99, with frequent sales that rotate blockbusters and television series into the $5.99 range.

I think providing the ability to make digital purchases will become necessary in the future, but for the time being, the ability to watch anything they offer whenever you want makes a nice substitute. It’s worth noting that digital purchases on other services aren’t very flexible, rarely allowing you to burn and carry a disk from your digital purchase.

How Netflix Works

To figure it out faster than I can explain it, go here. I will explain just the streaming service, as their standard no-late-fee DVD rental service is well-known and beyond the scope of my site’s watching movies online purpose.

When you log into your Netflix account, you will be presented with 3 main tabs and 3 smaller tabs. The three main tabs are Browse DVDs, Watch Instantly & Your Queue. To watch streaming movies or watch streaming tv shows, you can head straight to the Watch Instantly tab, then either search for a particular film or show or browse by category until you find what you want. Then just hit the blue PLAY button and voila! You’re watching your show! It’s really that quick & easy. See what I mean for yourself here.

You can also click on the Browse DVDs tab where you can search or browse all movies or shows available in all formats. As you view various lists of films or shows, beside them you’ll see their available formats. The formats include DVD, Blu-Ray and Watch Instantly. From here you can click on a film with Watch Instantly available, click on the blue PLAY button and presto! You’re watching your show.

On most systems and most broadband connections, there will be no delay (and no ads!) before the feature starts. If you have a really, really old computer and an old dial-up connection, you may experience a bit of delay… but believe it or not, it will still play eventually, although at lower quality.

If you’ve added movies to your Queue, you can click on the Your Queue tab to choose a movie to play. From there, you’ll see additional sub-tabs for each format (Blu-Ray, DVD & Instant). Your main queue will include ALL selections in your queue at once with available formats for each entry indicated with clear little icons, but if you want to see just what you can watch instantly, click on the Instant sub-tab.

To stream Netflix video to your living room, you have three choices: You can use a Windows Media Extender, you can stream Netflix at no additional cost through an Xbox 360 (a recent addition to the service), or you can purchase their Roku set top box, which allows you to connect to your internet connection via wired or wireless network and provides an easy-to-use remote for navigating Netflix’s web interface on your TV.

None of these are necessary, but they offer luxurious options to the service as it already operates.

Netflix‘s Library

Because everything imaginable is available from Netflix’s main DVD delivery service, it’s hard to fault them for limitations, but the available current blockbusters isn’t quite as great as their physical DVD selection. You will find no better selection of television series or classic films than what Netflix’s Watch Instantly service provides, but their selection of recent-release films isn’t quite up to par with the best of the bunch: the Amazon Unbox. In Netflix’s defense, however, their Watch Instantly collection grows every single time I log on to browse it.

Netflix deserves a special mention for their television selection. It’s really pretty amazing. Whether you want to watch recent series like NBC’s The Office or indulge in a little nostalgia with something from the 50s or 60s, it’s probably there. Do you like anime (japanese animation) or obscure British comedies? They probably have the whole series.

Where’s My HD Video?

Like most of the other services I’ve reviewed, Netflix doesn’t stream high definition content yet. However, they do plan to roll that out soon and the Roku set top box is even already able to handle it. In addition, Netflix does offer high definition Blu-Ray discs for a ton of their unparalleled catalog.

So What’s The Netflix Conclusion?

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty thrilled with what Netflix provides as a whole. The fact that it is the cheapest of all the streaming video services yet provides the most overall content makes Netflix the undisputed title holder. The fact that in addition to their unlimited streaming service you also get their established and wildly popular DVD-by-mail, no-late-fee rental service just makes it more difficult for the competition to compare.

You might knock them down a couple notches for their less competitive current release selection or their lack of streaming HD video, but since none of their competition can provide a knock-out punch in either of these areas, it’s hard to see it as too much of a negative for Netflix.

But why trust a review when they make it so easy to check it out for yourself for free?

Try Netflix Free – Enjoy Streaming Video Right Now

So in addition to bringing several thousand additional movies to Netflix’s Watch Instantly service, and in addition to the newly upgraded, more robust streaming technology they just unveiled two days ago, Netflix is now unveiling HD streaming video via the Xbox 360.

These are exciting times if you like to watch movies on the internet.

This will soon be rolled out to PCs and Macs as well, but for now if you’re an Xbox 360 owner, you’re in for a treat. Here’s Chris Albrecht from the New York Times on this matter:

The Netflix hits just keep on comin’. We’ve known for a while that the movie rental company was going to make its streaming service available to Xbox 360 users. But what we didn’t know is that it was going to offer movies in HD. Hot diggety, the battle for your TV just got wayyyy more exciting.

This could be a game-changer in a couple of ways. It helps accelerate Netflix into a leadership position among those offering digital movie and TV delivery as the combination of HD plus an all-you-can eat movie subscription is an offer that’s hard to refuse. And having a streaming video solution could finally give Microsoft something it’s been salivating over forever — getting a stronger foothold in your living room beyond just gamers.

I still think Netflix already provides the most satisfying instant gratification for people looking to quickly just watch something free right now.

They make it incredibly easy to set up a free trial and instantly access thousands of movies and television shows within minutes. I suggest you read more about how I think more people should understand just how cool the Netflix free trial is here:

Netflix Free Trial

Netflix today announces a major improvement of their Watch Instantly service, bringing improved fast-forward, rewind and other navigation features to the over 15,000 films and television shows available through their online video watching service (which is a free bonus to any standard Netflix subscription). Netflix also asserts that Silverlight brings a stronger video streaming technology to improve visual fidelity and streaming stability.

I’d like to note that it’s really easy to set up a free trial and instantly access thousands of movies and television shows within minutes of reading this sentence. You can read more about why I think more people should appreciate just how cool this service is here:

Netflix Free Trial

Or read a full detailed review on Watch Free Movies Online here:

Netflix Review

Here’s the full press release straight from the horse’s mouth:

Los Gatos, CA, Oct. 27, 2008 – Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world’s largest online movie rental service, today announced it has begun the deployment of Silverlight to enhance the instant watching component of the Netflix service and to allow subscribers for the first time to watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers (Netflix On Macs).
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Silverlight is designed for delivery of cross-platform, cross-browser media experiences inside a Web browser. It is expected that Netflix members who watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their computers will enjoy a faster, easier connection and a more robust viewing experience with Silverlight, due to the quality built directly into the player.

Among the viewing enhancements with the new player is a breakthrough in timeline navigation that vastly improves the use of fast-forwarding and rewinding.

Silverlight with Play Ready offers faster start-up, and higher quality video, adapted in real time to users’ connection speeds,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt. “Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes from the growing library of choices that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next generation improvement of access and quality, on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox (Netflix On Firefox).”

While there is a fierce battle to capitalize on the new trend of moving major video rental online, I have to admit I’m really impressed with Netflix’s aggressive and ambitious growth in this area compared to any of their competitors.

What do I like most about it? They continued to upgrade and improve their service and very significant and substantial ways without ever charging their customers a single extra penny.

Check ‘em out here: Netflix Free Trial

So I’ve finally published my Netflix Review for Watch Free Movies Online.

I’ll be the first to admit it reads a little too favorable. But I can’t help but wonder how folks like Vongo & CinemaNow can compete with Netflix when Netflix provides all the same amenities as those services and provides their classic DVD rental service — at no extra cost!

To put it bluntly, you can find no easier and more satisfying “Watch Right Now!” fix on the internet than Netflix’s free trial. Some of you might begin thinking in terms of those DVDs you get in the mail.

Wrong.

Netflix now includes — at no additional cost — an awesome unlimited streaming video service as part of your subscription. It’s incredibly easy to use and because they’re an established company they have tens of thousands of movies and television series you can choose from:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

How quick is it? Just how easy is it?

You can start watching your favorite movie within a couple minutes from the time you read this blog.

I’m not kidding.

And you don’t even have to spend a dime. It’s all perfectly legit & legal, so you don’t have to play any questionable games:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

You don’t have to pay a thing if you don’t find the service worth it and it takes just moments to create your account and start browsing their huge selection of streaming videos.

Last night I randomly enjoyed some childhood nostalgia by streaming the very first episode of the original Knight Rider. You need something more recent? My wife’s been catching up with The Office and 30 Rock so this fall she can join her girlfriends for Thursday night TV night.

While I randomly mentioned a few television shows here, you’ll find plenty of classic and recent movies as well.

Another cool thing about Netflix is that if you have an Xbox 360, you can use it to stream anything available on Netflix to your living room television… all with no additional fees.

So while I assemble tutorials for my site, why not give this instantly gratifying free trial a go:

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video Plus DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

Hi folks! Two bits of news to discuss today here on Watch Free Movies Online.

First of all I’ve added another review to the site, which you can access through my Download Movies Legally section or go directly to it here: Vongo Review.

And while also working on tutorials for these various services (some of them aren’t very grandpa friendly), I’m having a hard time keeping up with the changes.

When I first started using Netflix’s Watch Instantly service, you could search and watch movies and televsion shows through the web. Then they added Roku, a set top player that allows you to watch moves and television through Netflix’s streaming video service in the comfort of your living room.

Now they’ve taken it a step further and integrated their streaming service with the Xbox 360. It costs nothing more for Netflix subscribers, so if you’re already receiving those distinct red envelopes stuffed with DVDs in the mail and you’re an Xbox 360 owner, then you instantly have access to a large library of movies and television shows available to stream and watch through your Xbox 360.

Netflix Unlimited Streaming Video & DVD Rentals – Try For FREE

Mind you, I haven’t yet completed my full review of Netflix’s streaming service (they keep changing & improving!), but I have to admit I’m impressed with their overall offerings. And at the very least, I thought it appropriate I announce this new integration with the Xbox 360.

It’s an interesting move for Microsoft as well. Instead of developing a blu-ray player like the one the Playstation 3 uses, they’re emphasizing streaming and downloadable content. It’s an interesting tactic but we’ll have to see how this all pans out.

Thank you for visiting Watch Free Movies Online and I hope you find something to help you maximize your enjoyment of streaming technology on my site.