Do you ever find yourself wanting to watch a movie, but not wanting to go to the rental store to choose a DVD? Watching movies online is becoming more convenient and easy. Also, the technology is now good enough to match standard DVD quality. So forget about getting into the car (or going to the mailbox) to get your favorite movies. You now can hop online and watch your favorite moving instantly.

DVD's may soon go the way of CD's as streaming movies are becoming more available. For example, Netflix offers its existing customers the ability to watch movies online with a current membership. So in addition to getting movies in the mail, you can also go online and choose from several movies and television shows and watch a streaming movie instantly. You do not have wait to download the entire movie, but you simply buffer (or stream) about a minute of the movie - and "presto" - instant entertainment. In order to take advantage of this service you do need DSL, Cable, or a high-speed internet connection. It is important to choose the best DSL package or internet service provider to reduce the interuptions of streaming online movie content.

You also have to have a decent place to watch the movie, because if you are like me, you don't really want to watch it on your computer. There are several options to get around this.

1) Hook your computer up to your television. This requires a video card or a television with a computer monitor input (most new HDTV's and LCD have this option). This however does require your computer to be close to your television. Another option is to use a notebook computer as you can simply place this by the television.

2) Use your PS3 or Xbox. Both these gaming systems can download movies instantly from Netflix service and allow you to watch them on your television.

3) Buy a Blu-ray DVD Player that is compatible with the Netflix service. Not only do you get a great high-definition DVD player, but you are get the ability to stream movies online.

4) TiVo also is compatible with this Netflix streaming movie service.

As you can see there are several options to allow for instant movies and I am sure more will be added in the future. It is also easy to watch TV online for free as more networks are offering TV shows on their websites. I must admit, it is nice to be able to go online and stream a movie instantly for a fun night of entertainment. About the only one who looses out is the local video rental store.