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Android phones and tablets are increasingly being used as a hub for watching and listening to media content. The recent update to the newly named Google Play has seen updates to the main media hubs, with both the movie and music stores getting rebranded as well. The updates don't stop there, we've also seen an increase in the amount of streaming services that are available from the Google Play shop.

Android movie apps such as LOVEFiLM and Netflix are being used at the forefront of being able to watch the latest movies on your device, offering rental and streaming services alongside the cluster of movies available for rental and download in the Play Movies shop.

There are plenty of things we can discuss when it comes to different ways of getting Hollywood movies on your Android phone or tablets, but here are ten brilliant bits of information that you need to know all about.

Google Play Movies

Google Play Movies may well be your first port of call when it comes to looking for Hollywood movies to play on your android phone or tablet. The app itself has a vast collection of movies, but doesn't have as many of the latest titles when compared to similar apps. Through the Google Play Movies app you can choose to either directly download a movie, or rent it if you just want to watch it once.

Downloading movies on your android phone or tablet

Although it may seem like a great idea to save yourself some money and download all the movies you want so you won't have to pay to keep renting the same movie, it can actually be a bad idea. Movies can soon take up a lot of the internal storage on your device, which can be a problem if you've no way to expand it.

Why should you choose to stream a movie?

Streaming a movie through an app will give you the chance to watch a movie without the need to waste your phone's internal storage. Using this method is also generally cheaper than paying to download a movie. Only certain apps offer a streaming service, however. The only downside to doing this, is that if you don't have a decent Wi-Fi or 3G connection, you may find your Android phone will lag and the movie will eventually become unwatchable.

Paying for a subscription service

There are some brilliant choices available to Android users when it comes to choosing to pay for a subscription service for your movies. Apps like Netflix and LOVEFiLM are both well-known and offer plenty of variety in terms of movies and TV shows. Best of all, you'll find the subscriptions on offer to be competitively priced.

Watching movies offline

One of the features that Google Play Movies offers, as well as a handful of other apps, is being able to watch your movies offline. This means that you won't need to be connected to the internet to be able to watch a movie you've previously downloaded. The perfect solution if you want to be able to watch some movies while you're on holiday!

The problems with rooted devices

Although having a rooted device may open your phone to a lot of new possibilities, in some cases it can hinder it. Google has blocked all rooted devices accessing any films or renting a movie over worries on copyright issues. So think twice before rooting your device in the future!

Connect your phone through HDMI

If you've downloaded or rented the latest Hollywood blockbuster on to your device, why not stream it on to the big screen. There are a plethora of HDTV adapters available, with some manufacturers offering official adapters for their devices. Many people have the preconceived idea that an adapter will simply stream the movie directly to your TV, but in fact you'll find the overall audio and video quality of the movie vastly improved.

Integrating with YouTube

One of the best things about Android, is being able to link your apps together. In the case of streaming a Hollywood movie, you can integrate your Google Play account with your YouTube account. This allows you to then watch all your movies through your YouTube account wherever you are!

Movies in the cloud

Cloud-based servers are increasingly becoming more prevalent on the Google Play store. Apps like Dropbox, SugarSync and Pogoplug can hold a good amount of movies in them, and mean that you'll be able to watch them on any other piece of hardware that has access to your cloud server.

Essential streaming accessories for your Android device