[aom3]

ZML Review
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Recently, there have been many questions and comments from people looking for a site that provides relatively inexpensive movie downloads. Finally, I have the answer! New on the scene is a site that allows you to download entire movies – similar to music download sites.
ZML is a new site that has taken the technological world by storm. ZML is a site that allows you to download entire movies at reasonable prices, making trips to the video store a thing of the past. Prices range from $1.99 to $4.99, depending on the format that you choose, making downloading movies both easy and affordable. You can download movies in a variety of formats: DivX, DVD quality, or formatted for your iPhone, iPod, or PDA.
ZML's movie download service is simple to use. You sign up for an account with ZML, and then deposit money into your account via credit card. This money can then be used to purchase movie downloads. The minimum deposit is $20, which can buy up to 10 movies in PDA format, or 4 movies in DVD format. The movies have no DRM, and can be downloaded multiple times if necessary.

The Movies
When choosing any movie service, my first concern is the size and quality of the catalog. ZML's website claims that they have “thousands of movies”, but that does me no good if there are no movies I'm interested in owning. Upon browsing the catalog, however, I found many newer movies that I was interested in owning, and began making a list – a good sign!
Movies in the catalog or sorted by genre, or you can search for the movie you'd like using the conveniently located search box. The majority of movies I was interested in were available, including The Bourne Ultimatum and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As is often the case with my local video store, it is easier to find popular new releases than to find older, classic movies.

Movie Formats and Pricing
Four formats of movies are available, allowing the user to choose the format that is most convenient. Each is a different download size and has a different level of quality. Pricing varies depending on the file type you choose, as well.


iPod
These movies have a file size of around 300MB, and are formatted to be compatible with your iPod or iPhone. Resolution is 320x176 at 25fps. These downloads are $1.99 each.

PDA
These downloads range from 250 -450 MB in size, and are designed to be played on a PDA, such as a Palm Pilot or a device running Windows Mobile. These downloads are also $1.99 each.

DivX
This is the most popular format, providing a good balance between file size and quality. File size ranges from 700MB to 1.3 GB. This is a good option if you're interested in watching the movie on your home computer or burning it to DVD for infrequent use. DivX downloads are $2.99 each

DVD
These files range from 1.5- over 2GB, and are the highest quality. If you plan on playing the movie repeatedly on your home television, like you would a purchased DVD, this is the best option for you. DVD file downloads are $4.99 each.

ZML downloads require no special software. Most users already have a codec for DivX movies installed on their computers, and if you don't have it, ZML provides the link for installing it. ZML also gives you a link to a great free Media player – the VLC movie player, which provides an alternative to the Windows Media player.

Getting Started with ZML
To begin downloading movies from ZML, first you'll need to sign up with an account. The account itself is free, and you can sign up here. ZML requires you to provide an email address, the country that you live in, and your full name to get an account.
The next step is to add money to your account using your credit card. Follow the link at the top of the page labeled “Add Money to Account” to add money and begin downloading your movies.
ZML allows you to pay with VISA or Mastercard, and gives preset denominations for payments. Calculate carefully when choosing your payment amount, to be sure you get the highest number of downloads for your money, with the least amount of money left over. You can choose a denomination of $19.95, $29.95, or $49.95. After you choose the amount you wish to pay, you will be redirected to Chronopay, and online payment processor. Fill out their credit card processing form to complete your payment and return to ZML.

Congratulations! You're ready to begin downloading movies. Search the catalog for the movie that you want, and then choose the format you'd like to download. Click on the blue link provided to start your download.

Some tips:
If your download is interrupted for some reason, the download link is available for a limited time through your account. Click on “History of Purchases” to download any movie a second or third time.
Use FlashGet to manage your downloads if possible. This program is able to resume a download if your connection is broken, saving you from the hassle of having to begin a download anew.
Internet Explorer alone is not capable of resuming the download if interrupted. For this reason, the company recommends that you use another browser to download your movie files.

Wrap Up
ZML is fairly simple to use, and a great resource for someone who is interested in downloading movies to their home computer. The program does have several drawbacks – features that if they were improved would make the site more user friendly.
• The payment denominations could be changed, adding a pay per download option instead. As the current system stands, I had to do careful math to avoid wasting money that would only pay for part of a download.
• Catalog search could be improved. I would like to see more than one way to search for movies – by director, actor, or year, perhaps. Currently, browsing is only allowed by title or genre.
• Having all movies available in all formats would be extremely helpful. I found that some movies I was interested in purchasing were not available in the format I could use them in.

[leony]

Thanks

[solaris]

Originally Posted by leony

Thanks

Hi leony and welcome to the forum


I have now removed your signature - twice!

Even if it was not linking to porn, pharmaceuticals or similar, we don't accept such "spam linking" in our forum.

I hope you understand.

[skyforger]

hey solaris, this was bot, generated by spamming software

[solaris]

Originally Posted by skyforger

hey solaris, this was bot, generated by spamming software

Hi skyforger.


Thanks, I thought so too, so I have now permanently banned him... sorry, it, from the forum

[arcking]

I definitely give ZML a thumbs up! Not only am I impressed with the selection and pricing, but I have also been very impressed with their customer service. One movie I purchased (iPod format) had the A/V out of sync towards the end - I emailed them alerting them to the issue, and within 24 hours they had refunded the price I had paid (plus a few cents), and had removed the iPod format copy of the movie from their site.

[archon.thelawgiver]

When I read the review of zml.com I thought I'd give it a go and then be able to give rave reviews to the aom3 forum. So I threw in twenty dollars and started downloading.

The good news is that the downloads are at a reasonable speed…250 - 280 kbps.

Also, as this is from the original allofmp3 people the interface is pretty straight forward.

Now for the bad news:

The price structure isn't straight forward and needs to be improved. OK, so that on it's own is not a big problem, but it gets worse.

The collection is severely limited, there are multiple entries of the same movie that also pads the collection. But here's the rub, if you have pay television this service is pretty much a rip-off. Many of the movies you get on cable you'll get at zml.com but the quality on cable is FAR superior to zml's collection.

So you don't have cable? Cool then zml.com might be your choice except for the "near" false advertising.

I say "near" because zml uses this term to describe their dvd quality options. Pixelation is not acceptable in dvd quality or "near" dvd quality. In many cases the final product does not cut the mustard and 4.99 for this option is a rip-off.

So here's your choice and here are the questions you need to ask yourself:

Why do I used Russian music sites and the number one answer is the price. Zml's prices for their products are too steep. You'd save money going to the video store.

Quality? That's pretty patchy.

Collection? Extremely small and too many multiple entries for the same movies.

I'd really like to keep copies of movies is zml an option? Not at the price. You'd do better by using torrent sites which is illegal, so make up your own mind on that score.

So I download from torrent sites anyway; are there any other options?

Well if you're prepared to use torrent sites anyway maybe you should use Anydvd etc. or Mactheripper/Fairmount etc. and rent something from a video store.

I'm not saying that anyone should contravene your local national laws. I'm just saying that you shouldn't waste your money using zml because the quality of the product isn't there, the collection isn't there and the prices are too high.

If zml improves their service by lowering their prices, improving the movie quality and massively increasing their collection then I'd be the first to give them the thumbs up. At this point I'm giving them the thumbs down!

[tuono]

I subscribed to service , deposited $30, downloaded 2 films and now I can no longer login being told my account doesn't exist
Despite 6 emails to customer 'service' I have had no reply




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ZML have finally replied (week) and I can now finally access my account
I suppose 'patience is a virtue'
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