100 reviewed places to watch free movies online
*Note: This list is designed as a resource and contains links to many different kinds of sites, some of which may contain illegal material (piracy etc). I provide this list as reference, and do not encourage or condone specific behaviors regarding illegal material. There are a ton of links to user generated content, independent films, shorts, contests, portals and places to purchase movies. I’m sure you’ll find something you were looking for, use whichever resources you want and be sure to recommend more in the comments. I personally don’t pirate movies, because I LOVE movies and I WANT to support filmmakers (I have Netflix and go out the movies when I can), but I’m happy when films and videos are released legally online for free, when information is shared and I 100% support the open content movement and the motivation / ideals behind the creative commons organization. Enjoy this list. Thanks - Solomon
Mainstream Video Sharing Sites
These sites’ primary purpose is video sharing. They typically have streaming and download features and contain a mix of indie content, amateur content and stuff taken (or put on with permission) from traditional broadcasting.
YouTube | http://www.youtube.com
YouTube has the largest amount of raw content on the web, from low resolution movies and clips to music videos. It offers the most sorting options, by group, channel, category, most viewed, best rated, worst rated, and much more. It houses the largest selection of videos, profile pages and subscription options, as well as allowing people to see public stat reports and viewing histories.
Google Video | http://video.google.com
Low resolution video sharing and downloading with public stat reporting, the ability for users to download videos in multiple formats, including putting them on their IPOD or PSP. Custom video player and upload tool integrated with standard Google account. Lots of traffic and excellent search capabilities.
Yahoo Video | http://video.yahoo.com
Similar to Google video, but integrated with standard Yahoo account and messenger service. Profile pages, subscribe able user channels. The search feature brings up results from videos hosted on yahoo video and videos on other video distribution sites. Adult and regular content.
Aol Uncut | http://uncutvideo.aol.com
Mainly short video clips and trailers. Lots of traffic, User profile integration with AIM, giving you lots of profile options. Because of their music connections it’s a great place to watch music videos, with commentary, for free. This includes top ten lists, billboard hits and more.
Ifilm | http://www.ifilm.com
Adult and regular content. Lots of contests to enter and other promotions (site is owned by MTV). Lots of advertisements and pop-ups.
Daily Motion | http://www.dailymotion.com
Has more channels than other providers and allows for regular and adult content. Public stats and no length limit on clips. Options to send videos directly from webcam, mobile phone or e-mail. Video size limit is 150 MB which is higher then most of its competitors. Daily motion is based in France, so it has large audience outside of the US and less overlap of videos from other sites like YouTube. Advanced user subscription options including RSS, podcast and video roll RSS. Active community features with groups and favorites; additionally, they feature adult content.
Vidilife | http://www.vidilife.com/
No video length limits or size limits. Share photos and videos from the same site. Download videos and see public stats, lots of community features like messaging, friends, and blogs. Site contains lots of other features like bulletins, video mail, shout-outs, quizzes, gifts, contest and casino video games that users can play with site currency called vidi$. You can earn vidi$ by commenting on videos and doing other community and site building tasks. Sub-domain custom urls for your videos. Example: yourname.vidilife.com.
Veoh | http://www.veoh.com
Upload any size video easily via a veoh upload tool. ONLY mainstream site that allows users to download video in original format, so it supports high resolution videos. Users can pick their own thumbnails for their video clips. Profile pages, friends, favorites, messages, and vlog. User subscribe-able videos. Large collections of indie films and shorts available for download in full screen resolution for DVD burning.
Revver | http://www.revver.com
Upload any length video via the revver client software. Allows users to choose their own thumbnail. Content producers get paid for their clips’ performance. Revver puts ads at the end of each clip. Every time someone clicks on them after the video is over the content producer get paid for it. Fast approval time for videos. Users can download videos and share them on P2P networks and the ad and money system still works. Contains the highest ratio of actual user created content compared to “old†regular broadcasting.
Metacafe | http://www.metacafe.com
Lots of unique content, because it pays indie producers. Similar format to Youtube and other video sharing sites. Once content producers reach over twenty thousand views, they’re paid per one-thousand views afterwards. The site claims to have content producers who’ve earned over thirty thousand dollars on the site to date.
Bright Cove | http://brightcove.com/
Cryptic website that requires lots of navigation and registration to watch videos. In the studio section, you can launch a console where you view TV more like you would traditionally. Content producers can publish vids for free and earn half the ad revenue. There is also an options to sell your video downloads and they sell the ads for you.
Vsocial | http://www.vsocial.com/
Caters to a younger audience; features mostly shorter clips and both legal and illegal content. Offers a variety of tools for incorporating videos into other social networks and has a build-your-own video site; the only catch is you split the revenue.
Broadcaster | http://www.broadcaster.com
Has a mix of news and regular video clips. User videos as well as videos from MSM. Includes broadcasts that overview the “best” clips and entertainment news. They also produce their own content; it is reminiscent of an internet show, video site and magazine combined. All clips are short and it features everything from user made content to news, music videos, movie clips and trailers and traditional broadcasting.
Vmix | http://www.vmix.com
They offer a nice channel devoted to indie film but doesn’t have any download options. It offers tons of user-generated content and other broadcasting elements.
OurMedia | http://ourmedia.org
Huge storage capacity, lots of artistic and grass roots media videos, artists etc. All original content, video, images, text, audio. In-depth profile pages with community features, clunky uploading procedure, but download abilities in native file formats (like mpeg2 or wmv). Lots of creative commons and free-licensed content.
Niche Video Sharing Sites
These sites primary purpose is also to share videos, but they have less traffic and, so many turn to unique methods of content delivery, “flair” or and potentially added features likes remixing or contests in attempts to attract a user base.
Youare.tv | http://youare.tv
Worst streaming video options but everything is one hundred percent user generated Low traffic levels and lots of original internet shows and vids.
Fire Ant | http://fireant.tv/
Allows you to subscribe, download and watch internet TV and a built-in BitTorrent. Everything is sorted into easy categories and you can find anything from vlogs and video podcasts. Ultra accessible for portable media players and phones; plays all media formats. Mostly devoted to internet TV, videologs and podcasts; you can also submit and list your own channel.
Flukiest | http://www.flukiest.com/
Video sharing, photo sharing and personal inbox. Forum for interacting with other community members. Social hub section of site where you can post articles, music reviews and whatever else you want.
Clipshack | http://www.clipshack.com/
A another me too video sharing site with very little in the way of originality; the one interesting feature is an interactive webcam area where users can interact, create videos and more, sharing them on webcam. Categories are organized by topic.
Zippy Videos | http://www.zippyvideos.com/
Easy interface, free, make your videos private or public, enjoy up to 20mb video uploads with an unlimited video count.
Addicting Clips | http://www.addictingclips.com
Part of Atom films; content producers get paid if their clips get chosen. It is a ‘tryout’ to get on Atom films and has some short films you can’t find elsewhere. Otherwise you can upload, play and share games, video clips and more.
LiveVideo | http://www.livevideo.com
Another video sharing site that also features some live content; very community oriented.
Magnify.net | http://www.magnify.net
Peer reviewed video channels (subdomain) no download options. Featured channels look very custom, like myspace pages full of videos from around the web.
Jumpcut | http://jumpcut.com/Edit, create and REMIX videos. Has lots of personal mixes (like homade music videos)
Videoegg.com | http://www.videoegg.comMonetized content, custom flash based video player, No great way to search / sort through vids, have to login to search.
Putfile | http://www.putfile.comVideo uploading, sharing, voting, personalized user pages. Most of the content can be found other places and is taken from traditional broadcasting.
Sevenload | http://www.sevenload.comUser videos, photos, lots of adult content (even on front page) some exclusive sevenload produced shows, low of non-English videos and comments. Clips are low resolution, no download options.
Wideo | http://www.wideo.fr/French video sharing site (not in English) lots of user generated videos I didn’t see on any of the other sites.
Hungry Flix | http://www.hungryflix.com/Still in Beta, offers full length movies and options for download onto ipod, zoom and other portable video / media players. Section devoted to full length movies. Limited selection, charges for viewing / downloading
Whoomp | http://www.whoomp.com/Collection of humor videos.
CRUXY | http://www.cruxy.com/Commercial site for filmmakers to sell their videos.
Lulu.tv | http://lulu.tvRevenue share for content creators (from cash pool paid from 80% of the ad revenue). Lots of original, independent content. They promote creative commons content (like the original lulu.com) and independent productions. Limited to 200 Meg clips. Vlog and profiles.
Undergroundfilm.org | http://undergroundfilm.orgLots of orginal “basement” or shoestring budget films (fiction). Great showcase of independent filmmakers with channels, bios, discussion areas. Lots of original fiction content.
TV Guide Video | http://video.tvguide.comAggregates videos from many of the major video sharing sites above as well as traditional broadcasting and entertainment sites.
Boltfolio | http://www.boltfolio.com/Unavailable at testing time, but is a video sharing site with decent traffic.
Big Contact | http://www.bigcontact.com/Video, Audio, news feed, and other publishing and channel all from one site. Subscription options very prevalent. Limited selection, mpeg4 videos, but lots of episodic original pod and video casts.
Divicast | http://www.divicast.com/Online tool for adding chapters images and text to your podcasts and sharing them online. No popularity or mass sharing features, just a service.
Castpost | http://www.castpost.com/Very simple interface, search and browse and upload personal videos.
Vimeo | http://www.vimeo.comContent producers can upload up to 250 mb of video per week and they have a personal voice as “Video we like”. Very simple site; lots of personal videos (vblogs and episodes) not available other places.
Meefedia | http://www.mefeedia.comChannels of videos and podcasts found on other sites, wide variety of personal video “mixes.”
Multiply | http://multiply.comSocial networking site with an emphasis on sharing videos, blogs, reviews, photos and more. Can post to site using email or mobile phone.
Mainstream Social Networking Sites with Video (including movies, trailers, and indie content)
Myspace | http://www.myspace.comLargest social network has video sharing. Limited to video length, quantity of videos and the quality is low, but is full of personal videos not found elsewhere.
Bolt | http://www.bolt.comMedium sized social network with limited video sharing
Grouper | http://www.grouper.comSocial network with activity communities for sharing groups of topical videos, interesting flash interface, lots of personal videos and stuff ripped from traditional broadcasting / movies.
Gofish | http://www.gofish.comLots of orginal shows by gofish studios, chanells, and community / social features available. Lots of video blog content (including mature). Flash video content, no download options.
Places to watch trailers & buy indie films
- Custom flix http://www.customflix.com
Site that have mainstream and indie movies available for purchase / rental streaming (usually they have some free content / movies as well)
- Movielink | http://www.movielink.comCommercial movie rental and purchase site, but has free section which contains some full length films.
- Cinemanow | http://www.cinemanow.com/Commercial movie and rental website, but has a free section with full length streaming movies and a 7 day trial for access to members area movies.
Video Contests with original video content
OntheLot | http://onthelot.com
For those of you who don’t know about“On The Lot†yet it’s a reality television show where filmmakers compete in an “American Idol†type competition where 16 filmmakers compete to produce short films each week.
TV Networks with free content online
Entertainment Networks and sites with editor approved or exclusive video content
- Atom Films | http://atomfilms.com
Consists of a lot of short movies that are available for streaming and download and is one of the best sites for watching short movies. Lot of short films that are distributed exclusivley online through atom films, lots of festival wining shorts, full of ads.
Directories, Organizations, and search tools for finding video creators and free content
Other resources related to watching free movies online
Directories of free movies and open content films
Moving Image Archive | Internet Archive | http://www.archive.org
Giant collection of movies, films, and videos from all over the world and throughout history. This collection contains everything from classic full-length movies (public domain), to daily alternative news broadcasts, to user-uploaded videos of every genre. Automatic format encoding enables a HUGE variety of playback options including Streaming and multiple download options. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Creative Commons | http://creativecommons.org/
Archive of content licensed under CC including full length movies (licenses that are more open then traditional copyright and entail remix and reuse rights)
Notable short movies available online for free
- Elephants Dream (Fantasy animated short created entirely with open source software)
Notable full length movies available online (not pirated, but released online for free)
- BBS: The Documentary
- Boy Who Never Slept Sexy Dramatic Comedy involving an insomniac writer and his relationship with a teenage girl he met online.
- http://www.no-copy.org/ (”NO COPY der Film”)
- http://www.ch7.ch “CH7″
- Cactuses A full length movie about a troubled California youth
- http://www.vebfilm.net (Route 66 German Film about a road trip)
- Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning Very extensive and long Star WArs Fan Film
- http://www.iromance.de “iromance Die Romantik der Zukunft”
Other lists and comparisons of free places to watch movies and tv.
OVGUIDE Online Video Guide | http://www.ovguide.com/
Extremely Large and through guide to online video. Sites listed include video distribution sites, portals, independent film sites, television, public access and more. Organized a little awkward with very minimal descriptions and many different categories. Overall an excellent resource for discovering new online video sites highly recommended.
- List of 62 Video Servies (only a few word descriptions)
- Wikipedia Comparison of Video services
- Excellent Resource list of Video Sharing Sites and Social Media Tools by Dave’s Imaginary Sound Space
Free Films that are to be released in the future for free
Notable resources
Squidoo Downloadable Movie Resources
http://www.squidoo.com/indiefilm
Torrent directories that contain movies (note bittorrent sites may contain illegal or pirated material as well as public domain and free content films. Use at your discretion)
http://www.bittorrent.com/movies | Commercial torrents for sale and large collection of searchable legal public domain torrents
publicdomaintorrents.com | As the domain says public domain torrents. Large collections of classic movies and B movies available for download via bittorrent sorted by genere.
Short films and Moviemaking techniques from sonnyboo.com
http://www.sonnyboo.com/othershort.htm
Movie and TV portals
Organized sites with direct links to streaming channels, downloads and content from various sources online. They don’t contain the content themselves, but resources for finding various places online.
TV-Links | http://tv-links.co.uk/
Links to streaming shows, cartoons, anime, movies, music videos, sports. Low resolution and full of pirated content.
Glory Media Portal | http://tv.glozy.com/
Port with extremely large collection of live TV (steaming) from all around the world in many different languages. Site is full of adsense and hard to navigate, but contains a large collection of content that is hard to find elsewhere.
ShowStash | http://www.showstash.com
Streaming television shows, cartoons, movies, and anime online. Low resolution.
Other sites by file format and type
http://www.divx.com/ | Very compressed file format with excellent picture quality - site has lots of videos and shows in divx format.
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