How to download and watch movies and TV offline By Kelli Uhrich, Komando.com

The holiday season is a prime time for catching up on the shows and movies you've missed this year. Whether you have a few hours to kill while waiting for your flight at the airport, or just need some time to unwind after visiting family or the in-laws, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services are making it easier than ever to watch on the go. Anytime, anywhere.

Streaming services have already transformed the way we watch TV shows and movies, but one of the biggest downfalls was that streaming required a strong internet connection. If you were offline, you were just out of luck. But now, some of the top streaming services have introduced features that let you download videos to your tablet or smartphone.

Here's how you can download everything you'd like to stream offline from Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and Netflix.

Amazon Prime Video

1. Open the Amazon Video app on your smartphone or tablet.

From here, you can either browse through Amazon's video selection or tap the Library icon to see videos you've previously purchased.

2. Tap on the video you'd like to download.

Not all titles are available to download and some devices are not compatible. If the video is available to be downloaded and is compatible with your device, you'll see a button that says "Download" within the video details.

3. Tap Download.

Your video will begin to download once you've tapped the Download button.

If you'd like to download additional videos, tapping Download will add them to your queue, and they'll be downloaded in the order you requested.

Vudu

1. Open the Vudu app and go to your My Movie section.

2. Tap the Download icon beneath the video details.

You'll see the option to download the SD version of the video to your device. There is no HD option in Vudu.

It's important to note that Vudu only allows you to download videos that you've already purchased. This means you can't download anything from Vudu's free streaming library.

After you've selected Download SD your video will begin to download.

Netflix

This feature was just barely added to the latest version of the Netflix app, so make sure you've installed the updates for your iOS or Android device.

Once you're updated, you will be greeted by a short  "Download & Go" tutorial.

Click on the three-striped Menu button in the upper-left corner and you'll see a new "Available for Download" section.

If a TV Show or a movie is available for download, a download icon will be displayed on the movie page or alongside it if it's a TV series episode.

You can check your content's Download progress by going to the My Downloads section.

There are two video quality settings you can choose from: "Standard," which uses a slightly lower resolution, and less storage space so it downloads faster, and the "Higher" setting, which has better quality but takes more space and longer to download.

Other download options you can tweak under App Settings are "Wi-Fi Only" downloads.

Your download speed may vary, of course, but we tested a Standard quality download of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and it took about 10 minutes to complete the 407.7 MB download (the movie is about an hour and 48 minutes long). For that file size, the quality of Standard is actually good.

And the best thing is, once you've downloaded these videos, you can watch them over and over without eating through your data plan!

Posted in: Digital Media