Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Finding free movies
• Part 2 of 3: Working with torrents
• Part 3 of 3: Watching downloaded movies
• Warnings

Are you addicted to entertainment, but too poor to satisfy your hunger for interesting movies in the usual way? Your problem is probably less than you think. You can try downloading movies for free. Here's what to do.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Finding free movies

1. Use a torrent search engine. Torrent search engines scour the internet for the search term you entered. Then the search engine will show you all found related matches.
   • Type the title of the movie you are looking for in the search bar of the search engine. If you don't know the exact title, you can also enter a keyword instead. Click on the “Search” button, and scroll down to find the correct movie. Just like you do with a regular search engine.
   • When you think you have found a good hit, click on the link to access the file.
   • Popular search engines for torrents are:
     • Pirate Bay: http://thepiratebay.se
     • isoHunt: http://isohunt.com/
     • CAT: http://kickass.to
2. Look for collections of free, legal movies. For a safer approach in the search for free to download movies, try a reputable free movie database. Besides the fact that this is safer and legal, these databases also often offer you a number of different options to download or watch the movies. Often the use of torrents is not even necessary.
   • Many of these collections allow you to download the files as a torrent, or as another file type. For example, you can choose to download the file as a Flash or an Ogg Video file.
   • All films you find here have a so-called “Creative Commons license”. This means that the films are in the public domain and can therefore be legally downloaded and viewed by anyone.
   • Some online databases worth visiting:
     • The Internet Archive: is packed with old and / or foreign films and documentaries. Find it here: http://archive.org/index.php
     • Emol: A site crammed with comedy movies and cartoons. Emol can be found here: http://emol.org/
     • PublicDomainTorrents: consists mainly of B movies, but you will also find a number of cult classics. You can find it here: http://www.publicdomaintorrents.info/
     • AtomFilms: A database of user-created movies. Look here: http://www.comedycentral.com/cc-studios
     • Once a Week Online Film Festival: an online film festival with new films every week. Found here: http://www.onceaweekfilmfest.com/index.html
     • Culture Unplugged Studios: Contains a ton of full length documentaries. The site is: http://www.cultureunplugged.com/
3. Consider streaming movies for free, rather than downloading them. Streaming is of course very different from downloading. Still, if you are connected to the internet, you can watch movies for free on several sites. In addition, downloading a movie can sometimes take quite a while, and streaming the same movie is often the faster option.
   • You do need a fast internet connection if you want to stream movies. If your connection is too slow or drops frequently, you probably won't be able to watch a full movie. In any case, not without having to refresh the page a few times or wait for the movie to be buffered.
   • Examples of a few popular sites where you can stream movies for free are listed below:
     • Hulu Movies: Many movies on this site require a paid subscription to Hulu Plus, but they also include free movies. You can also take out a free trial subscription to Hulu Plus. Watch Hulu here: http://www.hulu.com/movies
     • YouTube Movies: Some movies require payment, but many movies on this channel are free to stream. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/movies
     • Crackle: All movies on this site are free, and have not been cut. The range is also quite extensive. You may not find the newest films on this site, but popular films from a few years ago will. http://www.crackle.com/
     • Indie Movies: Here you will only find independent films. Still, you can run into something familiar if you search hard enough. The site can be found here: http://www.indiemoviesonline.com/
     • Snag Films: all the films on this site are free, and you will find everything there. From documentaries to films from the Sundance Film Festivals. Have a look at: http://www.snagfilms.com/
     • Popcorn Flix: Offers a variety of free movies, most of which can also be viewed on mobile devices. Follow this link: http://popcornflix.com

Part 2 of 3: Working with torrents

1. Understand how torrents work. The BitTorrent protocol allows users to share large files by breaking them into small pieces. These pieces are then put back together by a special torrent program.
   • An advantage of torrents is that it doesn't matter if the connection is lost. Once you are reconnected, the download process will continue where it left off before.
   • Torrent tracking services also keep an eye on whether you are actually sharing files, or whether you are just lays from other users. The more you share, the more bandwidth you will be allocated. The less you share, the less bandwidth you get.
2. Download a torrent program. A torrent program is a necessary part of the process. Such a program ensures that you download all the pieces of a movie file, and then transform it into one complete video file.
   • Torrent files that you download from the Internet only show the locations of the files to be downloaded. You need the torrent program to find the actual video file and download the movie.
   • Some popular torrent programs include:
     • BitTorrent: http://www.bittorrent.com
     • uTorrent: http://www.utorrent.com/
     • Vuze: http://www.vuze.com/
     • ABC (Another Bittorent Client): http://pingpong-abc.sourceforge.net/
3. Save the torrent file on your computer. When you have found a torrent (by following the steps in the previous section), click on the “save” or “download” link to save the torrent on your computer. This file will finish downloading very quickly, but it is not the full movie.
   • If you're using a torrent search engine with a forum, check out the comments and rating a file gets. This way you limit the chance of a bad torrent.
   • Another way to pick out the right torrents is to look at the number of downloads. The higher this number, the greater the chance of a good torrent.
   • When you download a torrent, you are essentially saving a text file. This file points to the locations where the movie can be downloaded, and can only be opened with a torrent program. This program will immediately start downloading the corresponding file.
4. Open the torrent with your torrent program. Navigate to the torrent and open the file with your torrent program open. Downloading of the movie will now start.
   • When you open the torrent, your program will provide some instructions and show the location of the file to be downloaded.
   • Exactly how you open a torrent depends on which program you are using. Usually, however, you can choose the “Open” function from the “File” menu, then choose your torrent.
   • Note that you must also specify the download location. So that's where you want to download the file. If you don't do this, the file will end up in your default download folder.
5. Have the movie downloaded. The exact speed of the download is difficult to estimate, and has to do with the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection. You have to wait for the download to complete before you can start watching the movie.
   • Even with a good internet connection and enough bandwidth, it can take a few hours for your movie to finish downloading. If you don't have either, downloading a full movie can take a few days.

Part 3 of 3: Watching downloaded movies

1. Watch the movie on your computer. This is the easiest way. To watch a downloaded movie on your computer, you only need a program that can open the correct file type.
   • Convert the file if necessary. If you have a program that can open and play the movie, you don't have to. However, if you cannot play the file, you will have to convert the movie to a different file type.
   • To convert a video to another file type, you need a separate program capable of doing this. Such programs are often available for free, or otherwise offer a free trial period. Read reviews on other websites to make sure you're downloading a good program.
   • Make sure that the program allows you to convert the file to a type that you can play on your computer.
2. Connect your computer to your television. If you prefer to watch the movie on a television, purchase a cable that will connect your computer to your TV. This way you can use your television as a computer screen.
   • You usually need an S-Video cable for this. Check if both your TV and your computer have a port for an S-Video cable.
   • Watch the movie on a cell phone or other mobile device. If you have the right software and have converted the movie to the correct file type, you can choose to watch the movie on your smartphone, your iPod or your PSP, for example.
   • Burn the movie to a DVD. If you have a DVD burner and DVD burning software, you can burn the movie to a DVD. Put the disc in your DVD player and you can watch the movie on the TV.

Warnings

• If you downloaded a torrent from an unknown owner, check the comments. If there are no or bad comments, the torrent may contain a virus or malware.
• Illegal downloading of movies without permission can have serious consequences. This way you can get a heavy fine or even be arrested. You are better off downloading movies that are legally available.