There are many different sites and ways to get movies from the internet. Some are quite expensive, some are illegal, and some just don’t work and can contain viruses. The world of internet downloads can get be very treacherous and confusing, but this guide will help to clear up a lot of that confusion and help you avoid the dangers. This may not protect you from the dangers of the internet, but unless you stay offline, nothing can guarantee your safety on the web. This article will, however, limit the risks and show you how to get quality movie downloads safely, legally, and free.
There is a file sharing system that is taking the world by storm. This system uses torrent files to share large documents such as software, databases, information, music, and video. This file sharing system is being used all over the world by major companies and individuals alike. The system utilizes a file type called torrents. These torrent files are really simple and easy to use and can cut download times significantly if you have a good internet connection. Torrent files are also being used to download files for personal use as well. The main use for torrent files in the private sector is for movies. There are many different sites that use torrent files to share movies all over the internet. Some of these charge, while others are free. In either case, the use of torrent files is legal. Usually, the sites that charge for these files do not charge for the files, it is the storage and download speeds that they charge you for. There are, however, several that do not charge at all, and rely on advertisers to pay for this expense so that you do not have to.
To use torrent files, you need to understand how they work. A torrent file is basically a map of information. It will break the data into several different sections and map out how it gets put back together. Torrent files are very small and take seconds to download. Once you have the torrent file, you will need a torrent reader program to piece the whole file back together. This reader will comb the internet for others that have that same file. It will then download the file piece by piece, or several at a time, until the file is completely assembled on your computer. Once the file is reconstructed, you now have the full version of the file. There are no gaps or seams to the information at all.
The first thing that you will want to do is get the torrent reader. There are several of these available online for free. One very popular and trusted reader is Bit Torrent. Bit Torrent is one of the most trusted of these because there is no spy ware and it is a small and efficient program. There are several other programs available but Bit Torrent is the most recommended. Bit Torrent is also used in several other reader programs. LimeWire and NetFlix have incorporated Bit Torrent into their software suites as well. There are several different ones out there and a quick Yahoo search for torrent readers will show you several of these. Some, like LimeWire, are complete suites with extensive options and a very in depth interface, while others are just a small simple program that leaves a very small footprint on your hard drive. No matter which one you decide on, you can always delete it and try others if you are not satisfied.
Once you have decided on which reader to use, you can start to find movies. When you download the movies, you need to keep a couple factors in mind. The legality of this is fairly simple. Movie torrent files are similar to ROMs for video games. They exist to keep movies alive. With all movies on DVD now, it is very easy for these to get destroyed. IF all the copies of the movie are damaged, scratched or broken, the movie ceases to exist. To keep them alive, you can shelve your hardcopy and watch the torrent file. To legally download the movie, one of two factors must exist. The first is that you own the DVD or VHS version. The other factor is the movies age. If the movie is over 15 years old, the copywrite is expired and you can download it as much as you want. This allows the movie to continue. There are several movies like Charlie Chaplin’s first “talkie”, The Dictator, that have no hard copies in circulation. This means that the only way to get this movie is through torrent files or other forms of download. This movie would not exist anymore if not for the torrent file. There are many of these movies out there. It is not just the classics that are in torrent files. You can usually find a torrent file within one to two days of a movies release. The popular the movie, the more available the torrent file will be.
Finding torrent files is really easy. A quick yahoo search for torrent files will give you many different locations to get these files. Once you find the site you want to use (pirate bay.org is a good one), you can start getting the movie. This is the confusing part. Just having the torrent file does not give you the movie. You will want to download the torrent file and then open it with the reader that you selected. Once you open the torrent with the reader, the reader will start to “reconstruct” the file. The reconstruction can take from an hour or two to a week depending on file size, download speeds, and the number of seeds allowing download. The reader will reconstruct the file in whichever location you specified on setup (usually the downloads folder in My Documents). The file will be in the original format (MP-4, AVI, ISO, etc) that the torrent creator stored it in. If it turns out to be a file type that your computer has no player for, another internet search will produce several free media players that will work.
When choosing a torrent file to start with there are a few things that you will want to keep in mind. There are usually several different versions of the same movie out there. To choose which one you want to use you will want to look at a couple factors. One is the file size. Some of the torrents are complete DVDs with all the extra features, languages, and subtitles. These are not always necessary and may slow the download. If you only want the movie, you can choose the smallest file that only contains the movie file and not the extras. Once you find two or three of the right size you will want to look at the number of seeds. This is usually posted on the site with the torrent files. The more seeds and less “leeches” the faster it will download. If you still have to choose from a couple files, you will want to look at the sites rating for the poster and any comments that may be attached. The comments can prove to be very valuable when choosing torrents. If there are problems with the file or the download there will usually be a comment warning about it.
No matter what it is you do online you will always want to be careful what you do or download. There are several viruses out there and you will want to stick to trusted sites. If you are wanting to download anything from the internet I would recommend an anti-virus suite. There is also malware and several other bad things. You will want to download from a verified safe site. Many of the torrent files are safe and trustworthy, but there can be exceptions.
One other thing that you need to do is seed. You will want to allow upload when you are not downloading the movie file. This will help to keep the movies alive and allows everyone to enjoy the film. The people that do not allow uploading really hurt the system for all of us. There are often settings on the torrent reader that will allow different upload speeds while downloading and when it is complete. Free movies are great, sharing free movies keeps them alive.
