There is a new BitTorrent app which allows users to watch movies for free from its vast, pirated movie collection on any device. The service is known as Popcorn Time and is currently regarded as a big competitor of Netflix, another service that lets you stream movies.

How to Use the App

To use the app requires downloading a torrent file. To make the torrent file download successful, you need to link with other users (called seeds and leechers) and check their upload ratio.

How Does Popcorn Time Work?

It utilizes the same technology that earned Kick Ass and The Pirate Bay torrent websites a wide internet following. Popcorn Time streams movies by drawing files from different sites like The Pirate Bay or Kick Ass. After selecting a specific movie, you can press the "Watch It Now" to begin the stream. Since Popcorn Time is still in beta, problems are expected to occur. The most commonly reported problems so far include the following: 

  • 10- to 15-minute delay in video streaming
  • jittery video playback
  • lack of support for advanced audio codecs

The above problems are mainly caused by the server and bandwidth issues, not to mention that quality is compromised because it is a reproduction. Sites like this are not focused on quality but rather quantity, mostly trying to make it possible for people to have free access to movies.

Popcorn Time competes with paid services like Netflix by offering to help people view movies in the easiest possible way, just by clicking a button; no sign up or anything else. Popcorn Time is available on Mac, Windows, Linux and soon OS X 10.7. There are no limits on the number of times you can watch a movie, you simply need to have an internet connection. Since it is an open source program, it can also be installed in other platforms like Apple TV.