iControl (Time-Warner Cable)

Movies delivered to TV via digital cable box.

Movie: Pieces of April

Cost: $3.95 (Requires digital service, $47.44 per month and up)

Time to order: 2 minutes

Time for movie to start: 3 seconds

Sound/picture quality: Clear

Extras: Ability to pause, rewind and fast-forward.

Glitch: After a brief re-wind, sound and picture were out of sync. A second re-wind fixed the problem.

Online: www.twcinci.com

CinemaNow

Movies delivered to computer via cable modem.

Movie: Duplex

Cost: $3.99 for 24 hours. Unlimited selections available for $9.95-29.95 per month or $49.95-$99.95 a year, depending on movie package. Also offers "download to own" permanent copies of some films, predominantly music performances, most for $14.99.

Time to order: 3 minutes

Time to movie start: 5 minutes

Time to download: 30 minutes.

Extras: Start watching before download is complete. Pause, rewind, fast-forward. Video feed can be directed to TV.

Quality: Picture dimmer, less sharp than TV.

Glitch: Picture froze briefly.

Online: www.cinemanow.com

MovieLink

Movies delivered to computer via cable modem.

Movie: The Fifth Element

Cost: Pay-per-view, $2.99 (range $1.99-$4.99)

Time to order: 5 minutes

Time to movie start: 4 minutes.

Time to download: 24 minutes

Extras: Pause, rewind, fast-forward. Store rented movies for a month; watch within 24 hours after movie begins playing. Buy extra viewing days for 99 cents.Video feed can be directed to TV.

Quality: Picture dimmer, less sharp than TV.

Glitch: Ordering sequence froze; required online instruction from help desk.

Online: www.movielink.com

Margaret A. McGurk