Mumbai: A new survey conducted by CinemaNow, which delivers Hollywood movies and TV shows across multiple platforms, points to what industry experts have been saying for years: downloading movies is far more convenient and eco-friendly than taking a drive out to the local video store.

The survey reports that 94 percent of Americans believe that they make a bigger contribution to the environment by downloading a movie online versus renting or buying at a video store. It’s a finding bolstered by results that indicate more than 64 percent of those surveyed believe the biggest benefit to downloading online is not having to drive to get a movie or wait for it in the mail in the first place.

"With the hike in gas prices, it’s not surprising that a significant number of movie-lovers are changing old habits like driving down to the local video store," said CinemaNow marketing senior vice president Ashley Woodworth. "What surprised me the most about our latest poll results is how many people thought Christian Bale looked best in his Batman outfit, since I myself have always been a big fan of Adam West’s retro look."

The survey found that consumer adoption of digital sharing features such as streaming to IP-enabled TV or loading content onto MP3 players still lags in comparison to burning DVDs. In fact, more than half (51 percent) of Americans say they’ve tried burning the digital movies onto DVDs versus 18 percent who have tried connecting them to set-top-boxes or cable box.