How to Watch Movies on Your Mobile Phone
Posted On April 18, 2013
Mobile Video
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Two contradictory trends are happening in video. On the one hand, we spend a lot of money and effort to make our living rooms seem more like movie theaters — all anchored by a large high-definition television, of course.
On the flip side is mobile video, in which we watch movies on screens smaller than old analog portable TVs. It’s a matter of convenience. Whether you’re commuting, stuck in an airport, or trapped at a function with your in-laws, sometimes you need to escape with a movie, and your phone is the only device available. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for mobile movie watching.
MOBILE PHONE MOVIES: STREAMING SERVICES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
With streaming movie services, you pay a monthly subscription and can watch the available titles as often as you wish. Hulu is best known for letting viewers catch up on their favorite TV shows. For about $8 a month, Hulu Plus gives you access to an extensive movie library. You won’t necessarily find the latest blockbusters, but its catalog of classic films is impressive, anchored by its inclusion of the Criterion Collection, which includes art-house favorites from across the globe. You’ll find films by Jim Jarmusch, Francois Truffaut, and Yasujiro Ozu, among others, within the section. Download the free Hulu Plus Android app for access to its entire streaming library on your mobile phone. There is also a Hulu app for streaming shows with commercials available for Android and Apple iOS devices, as well as Kindle Fire and Nook.
The roster of movies on Netflix’s $8-a-month streaming plan still isn’t as compelling as it should be. Blame it on studios such as Sony and Universal keeping their titles off of Netflix. Of course, there’s still the frustration you experience when the rights to some titles expire and you can’t watch them on Netflix anymore. But it’s getting better all the time. Netflix’s Android and iOS apps are free when you purchase a streaming subscription to the service can be used to watch any movie available for streaming on your mobile device.
Like Hulu, the selection of newer movies is spotty. You’ll currently find American Wedding, Cosmopolis, and Paycheck among the newer arrivals. The selection of older titles is a bit better, where you’ll find classics such as Midnight Cowboy and Gosford Park. Netflix’s foreign film roster is good, even for celebrated newer titles such as Leos Carax’s Holy Motors and 5 Broken Cameras, which was nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for best documentary feature. Netflix’s strength is in its roster of television shows, which includes Mad Men, the Netflix original series House of Cards, the reboot of Arrested Development, and Fuller House.
Before you start streaming any movies on your mobile device we recommend checking out your data plan. Streaming movies over your phone’s data network can eat through a data plan pretty quickly. Unless you have an unlimited data plan, you might be better off streaming movies over your phone via a free WiFi connection.
DOWNLOAD PAY-PER-VIEW MOBILE MOVIES
For the best selection of new releases, pay-per-view mobile movie downloads are your best bet. With pay-per-view services, you can stream movies directly from your smartphone app when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi or data network. You can also download the files, which allows you to watch a movie on your mobile phone when a network connection is unavailable (for example, when you’re on a plane, or when visiting in-laws who live in a wireless dead zone). The downside to downloading a movie is that video takes up precious space on your phone or memory card. The good news is microSD cards are becoming more and more affordable (you can get a 16GB card for under $15 that can store up to 64 hours of non-HD video). Also keep in mind that when you rent a movie, you generally have 30 days to start watching it, and then a 24-hour window to finish watching the movie once you begin.
If you have an Android smartphone, it’s a snap to watch purchased movies with Google Play. If you have a recent Android smartphone, the Google Play Movies and TV app comes preinstalled on your device. To download Google Play titles to your phone, find the video you wish to save in the Google Play app, click the “push pin” icon on the thumbnail image, and press “OK.”
You’ll find the latest titles for rent or purchase on Google Play, such as Point Break, Concussion, and Creed. The newest titles are generally $4 or $5 to rent and $15 to purchase. Older movies are usually cheaper to rent, although purchase prices tend to remain constant. Also, not every title — especially older ones — are available for purchase.
TRANSFER MOVIES TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE
It’s easy to watch movies on your mobile phone directly from the content providers. But what if you already have a library of paid-for movies stored on your PC that you’d like to watch on your phone? You can use RealPlayer on a PC to transfer videos to your smartphone.
Connect the phone to the computer, open the RealPlayer library, and click on the phone icon. Hover your mouse over the video you want to move, select “Copy To,” and choose your mobile phone. You can also upload your favorite movies to your RealCloud account on your computer. Then simply launch the RealTimes app on your mobile device and choose RealCloud in the Photos & Videos dropdown menu to view your available movies. Press play and RealTimes does the rest. You’ll be able to watch mobile movies with the free RealTimes for Android app or RealTimes for iOS app
How often do you watch movies on your mobile device? Let us know in the comments section.
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I had no idea that I could play movies on my Android through Google Play. I thought it was just the App store. Very cool. I have this avi movie that I can access on my phone, but I can’t get it to play. It’s supposed to be a avi mobile movie that I just play, but I can’t get it to work. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Did you buy the movie from Google Play or is it another movie that you already have that you can’t play on your phone? If it’s the former, you should contact the support team for Google Play.
I love comedy, thrillers, horror an some romance…………….(;
Love horror and comedy
Love horror
I love watching film on my phone
i like wahtching kid movies
I like documentary movies
Thank you so much
In fact the action movies is the best for me and also the korean drama interest me a lot..
Wha not download the video my phone
I understand that you need some help; however, the exact nature of the problem you are having is not clear to me.
Before I can help you, I will need some more information. Could you please be more specific about the problem you are having? Please describe exactly what it is that you are trying to do and include any error messages that you may receive. It can also be helpful to include what your computer’s operating system is and what web browser you’re using. The more specific you are, the better I will be able to assist you.
I can not see my downloads movie
I understand that you need some help; however, the exact nature of the problem you are having is not clear to me.
Before I can help you, I will need some more information. Could you please be more specific about the problem you are having? Please describe exactly what it is that you are trying to do and include any error messages that you may receive. It can also be helpful to include what your computer’s operating system is and what web browser you’re using. The more specific you are, the better I will be able to assist you.
If you have any additional questions, please send an email to help@real.com
I cant download movies or videos which has more than 20 mb of data
please help!!!!!!
Sorry for the trouble.
In order to troubleshoot this issue effectively, I will need you to provide the following information:
> What is your Operating System (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1)?
> Do you have any security software installed (Norton, McAfee, AVG, etc.)?
> Were you able to download from other websites (like http://www.dailymotion.com , http://www.vimeo.com , http://www.youtube.com)?
> The name of the website from which you’re unable to download?
> The download and upload speed of the Internet. To verify, go to http://www.speedtest.net
> Have you tried to download using other browsers (like Firefox, Internet Explorer, RealPlayer browser)?
> What version of RealPlayer is installed?
To find the version:
a. Open the RealPlayer software.
b. From the RealPlayer menu in the upper left, choose “Help” option.
c. Choose “About RealPlayer” inside the “Help” menu. A window opens.
d. Provide the information listed beside “Version” near the top of the “About RealPlayer” window. These numbers indicate the version of RealPlayer currently installed on the computer (i.e. “RealPlayer 16.0.3.51” or “RealPlayer 17.0.10.8”).
The more specific you are, the better I will be able to assist you.
If you have any additional questions, please send an email to help@real.com
I want real player. For my window phone Nokia Lumia 625
Currently, RealPlayer Cloud App is not available for Windows phones.
We are in the process of expanding the compatibility to all available devices, so I hope you will check again later. In the meantime, you can access the RealPlayer Cloud website, http://cloud.real.com. You can download, play and share the cloud videos.
If you have any additional questions, please send an email to help@real.com