For the last few years, DVD delivery services like Netflix have made it easy to avoid the video store and the inevitable late fees. Now, even those trips to the mailbox may become unnecessary with video-on-demand (VOD) Web services.

It’s a promising concept. Using broadband as a quick and convenient distribution medium, VOD allows you to download a movie onto a hard drive or stream it to a PC, so the movie begins within seconds of clicking on it.

There are a few downsides, however. Movies typically don’t become available for streaming until more than 6 weeks after their DVD release, if not longer, and the selection of pales in comparison to what your local video store has to offer. You’ll need a high-speed modem to partake of the fun, and downloaded movies can eat up your hard drive space, averaging about 500MB per film. Also keep in mind that downloaded films lack DVD extras, like behind-the-scenes commentary and outtakes.

We test-drove three of the biggest VOD services on the Web—Movielink, CinemaNow, and Starz! Ticket on Real Movies—to see whether the technology is ready for the mainstream, and which site offers the best selection, speed, video quality, and price.

CinemaNow >>