Digital TV Movies

As with on-demand television, movies can now be downloaded to your TV set or computer and watched whenever you want, and you don't even need to visit your video store to benefit. There are two ways of paying for on-demand movies. The first involves paying a monthly subscription to your TV provider, which will provide you with access to a limited number of films which you can rent for a given period. For example, PictureBox offers a choice of 28 on-demand movies a month, while the significantly dearer Sky Movie Pack enables you to choose from a wide range of genres over 12 dedicated channels. The second is to pay for just the films that you watch, rather than a one-off subscription charge.

The type of movies you enjoy and how often you watch them will determine whether you are better off opting for a subscription or pay-per-view deal. If you like to see a film two to three times a week, and mainly enjoy watching Hollywood blockbusters and new releases, at just £5 a month PictureBox offers excellent value for money. However, if foreign indie films are more your cup of tea you'll likely end up disappointed with the limited range of movies on offer. On the other hand, if you watch movies fairly infrequently you might be better off paying for only the ones you watch, rather than a flat monthly subscription.

Sky Movies

The Sky Movies Pack costs £16 a month and is available to Sky television customers only. Customers can choose from a selection of 500 films each week from across Sky's 12 genre channels, including action and thriller, drama, comedy, family and indie movies. With such a variety of films to choose from, the Sky Movies Pack offers value for money, but can only be bought in conjunction with a Sky TV package (minimum £19 a month plus £79 set-up cost). If £16 a month seems a bit steep, £8 will get you a smaller selection of movies on either Sky Movies 1 or Sky Movies 2.

Virgin Media on Demand

Virgin Media customers have access to a catalogue of around 800 pay-per-view movies. Films cost between around £2.50 and £5 to rent.

Virgin Media and BT Vision - PictureBox

PictureBox is a premium movies service which offers films from the back catalogue of NBC Universal. It is currently available from BT Vision, Virgin Media, Tiscali TV and Top Up TV. Subscribers are able to view films from a selection of 28 films on-demand, with seven new titles being added to the line-up each Friday. Most are also available to watch in HD. Films tend to be pretty mainstream, and include a mixture of romance, comedy, action, animation and horror. Recent offerings have included The Duchess, Notting Hill, Reservation Road and Basic Instinct. On BT Vision, an individual subscription to PictureBox costs £4.89 a month. Alternatively you can select PictureBox as part of BT Vision's Bronze, Silver or Gold Value Pack. PictureBox costs £5 a month on Virgin Media and Tiscali TV, in addition to your normal television subscription, and £7 a month on Top Up TV.

BT Vision - Bolly & Beyond

In addition to their on-demand PictureBox film pack, BT Vision's Bolly & Beyond pack costs £6.85 a month and showcases the best of Indian TV and cinema.