Take your rented movies on the road
Donald Bell,
Senior Editor
May 7, 2009
What better way to kill 1 hour and 20 minutes on a long flight or road trip than by taking in a movie on the go? The trouble is, downloading movies at $10-$15 a pop can get expensive, buying DVDs and ripping them to a portable device takes time, and ripping rented DVDs is just plain illegal. Fortunately, there are a few services and devices that allow you to take low-cost rental downloads on the go.
The most well-known download rental service is Apple's iTunes store, which rents movies at around $2.99-$4.99 that can be played on most recent generations of iPods (Classic, Touch, and generation 3 and 4 iPod Nanos), as well as your computer or Apple TV. You get up to 30 days to begin watching your rented movie, and 24 hours to finish it once it's begun.
For celluloid connoisseurs who find the 3.5-inch screen of Apple's iPod Touch a little cramped for mobile movie marathons, the Archos line of Wi-Fi-connected portable video players offer more accommodating screens. With Archos' partnership with Cinema Now, devices like the Archos 5, 605 WiFi, and the gargantuan 705 WiFi, can connect directly to Cinema Now's online store, and download movie rentals priced between $2.99-$3.99. Viewing restrictions on rented movies from Cinema Now are similar to Apple's, giving you 24 hours to finish a movie once you've begun watching it.
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| Price | $219.95 to $279.99 | $314.39 | $199.99 to $338.37 | $139.99 to $149.00 | $230.00 to $1,468.00 |
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| Review date | September 11, 2008 | September 10, 2007 | September 25, 2008 | August 30, 2007 | February 22, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The second-generation iPod Touch includes features that are light-years ahead of the competition, its design has improved, and its price has finally come down to earth. | The iPod Classic is a refinement of the formula that put the iPod on the map. Few can match its combination of storage capacity, battery life, and advanced user interface. | The Archos 5 boasts an improved screen size, image resolution, and sound quality over its predecessor, but its Web browser and Flash media playback are disappointing for a product marketed on the strength of its Internet media capabilities. | The Archos 605 WiFi portable video player is one of the best mobile distractions money can buy. | Archos 705 WiFi is the biggest, baddest PVP on the market. What you get in screen size, however, you pay for in portability and picture quality. |
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| Features | |||||
| Weight | 4.1 oz | 4.9 oz | 8.8 oz | 6.7 oz | 1.4 lbs |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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