When Apple first revolutionized the music industry with the release of the Ipod, little did anybody know just how far reaching the impact of that little device will be. With the 1 billionth Ipod being sold recently, it's no surprise that Apple are investing even more resources into developing their Ipod. With the new versions of the Ipod supporting video playback, the attention once again shifted and added a new market. What was once a problem for the music industry is now a problem for the movie industry with illegal downloads. Regardless, movie downloads for Ipod are set to soar and maybe even overtake audio downloads.

The biggest frustration for Ipod users is where to find movies to download? There are currently hundreds of online music shops where you can legally buy music, but there are very few movie sites and it seems like the technology caught the supply off guard. Only recently a couple of sites sprang up that provide downloadable Ipod movies of virtually anything you can think of.

Then there is also the whole debate of legal downloads. The landmark lawsuit against Napster in the 90's marked a turning point in peer-to-peer (P2P) downloads and today these sites are illegal - despite the rumors that the 'law' can't touch you when it comes to P2P. Several agencies are actively persecuting illegal downloaders and recently a 19 year old kid from New York was fined $500,000 for illegal downloads. No matter which way you look at it, this is theft and the music industry really is feeling the punch. In the long run it really isn't worth it to download illegally.

To step in and solve the problem and bridge the gap between free peer-to-peer downloads and expensive music shops, several membership sites came to the rescue. For a monthly membership fee, you can download as much music and video as you please - and it's all legal. Since most of the mainstream music stores charge you per song, the membership sites will only charge you a monthly fee - regardless of how much or how little you download. Since peer-to-peer downloads come with many obvious risks of viruses and the frustration of incomplete and misleading downloads, these membership sites are indeed a welcome addition to the web and one that most Ipods just love.

The two biggest membership sites are Ipod Blender and Feed Your Ipod, and both offer a massive selection of movies and videos, all neatly indexed and with stable and efficient download speeds. Movie downloads for Ipods really need to be optimized and you don't want to fill your entire 80GB Ipod with only 2 movies. The appropriate format, size and quality is important in getting the most out of your Ipod and these membership sites does all the grind work for you. All you have to do is download and enjoy.

If you are only downloading one or two albums or movies a month then a membership probably won't be worth it, but if you are a more serious downloader, then it really is well worth it. Movies is the next big thing for the Ipod and with the next generation of Ipods you can expect an even bigger and better screen for even bigger and better movies on your Ipod.