Welcome to Volta!
Welcome to Volta, a convenient and secure video on demand website for Irish audiences. Volta was the first cinema in Ireland opened by James Joyce in 1909. Over 100 years later, the Volta name remains synonymous with the best of independent Irish and International film. You will see lots of new films being added to Volta in the coming months as well as continuous improvements to the website and we would love to hear your feedback and suggestions. Please send any comments to feedback@volta.ie. If you have any questions on how the site works – please take a look at the information below or read through our FAQ’s. If you don’t find an answer to your question, please contact us by email on support@volta.ie and we’ll get right back to you.’s.
Volta offers a rich and diverse selection of films. You can discover what’s available by following the recommendations of our editorial team or by browsing the catalogue. If you would like to carry out a more specific search, you can view our entire catalogue by clicking here.
You can search by all sorts of criteria – actor, director, year, country and even by keywords relating to the film.
Once you've made your selection, click on “Rent” (to rent the film for 48 hours) or “Buy” (to download the film to own).
If you’re not already registered on Volta, you can create your account with just a few simple clicks.
To open an account, click here or go to the Volta homepage and click on “Create an account” at the top right of the page.
If you already have an account, all you need to do is log on using your email address and the password you chose when you first registered. You can also connect your Volta account to your Twitter or Facebook accounts. If you change your mind, you can disconnect at any time.
When you select “Rent” or “Buy”, the film is automatically added to your shopping cart. To see the films you have chosen, click on “Shopping Cart” at the top right of the page. Then, click on “Purchase my order” to see the different payment methods available.
You can pay for your order with your PayPal account, with a credit card or by using your CinePass.
The CinePass allows you to purchase blocks of 5 or 10 rentals up front at discount prices (up to 25 % off). Every time you rent a film, one credit is deducted from your CinePass. To learn more about our CinePass, click here.
Once you have completed the order process, you’ll have two ways to watch your rented film – by streaming or by download. A film can be streamed by both Mac and PC users but the download option is only available to PC users for now.
Option 1: StreamingThis option allows you to play the film immediately using the Microsoft Silverlight Player. An internet connection of greater than 2 Mb is recommended to ensure the best viewing experience.
If the Silverlight player is not yet installed on your computer, you can start the automatic installation by clicking on the Silverlight button that appears once you have completed your purchase. This is a very quick, simple and safe installation and only needs to be done once. When Silverlight is installed on your computer, your film will open up and play automatically in the player.
Option 2: DownloadIf you choose this option, you’ll have to wait for the download to be fully complete before you can watch the film on your computer. Choosing this option will avoid any interruption in the viewing of the film and is recommended when your internet connection is slower than 2Mb.
To play the video that you have downloaded, open it in Windows Media Player and enter your Serial Key number when prompted. The key is provided when you start the download of the film and is kept in the “My Orders” section. You can go back here at any time to retrieve your key. Your film will be available for 48 hours from the time of purchase and you can watch it as many times as you like during this period.
PurchaseWhen you purchase a film to own, you must fully download the film to your computer.
Note: The download to own option is only available to users of a PC equipped with Microsoft Windows XP (or higher) and is not currently available to Mac users.
You can watch your purchased film as many times as you like once it has been downloaded fully. Your license allows you to view the film on up to 3 computers with the minimum specification outlined below.
To save the film that you have purchased, click on “Download the Video”, select the option “Save the File”, then choose the location on your computer where you would like to keep your film. If you lose the file – don’t worry! You can always download it again from the “My Orders” section under “My Account” on Volta.
Microsoft Windows XP or greater or Mac OS with Intel Processor (OS 10.4.8 minimum) with: Processor: 1.6 GHz
RAM memory: 1 GB
Hard drive: 4 GB of free space
Video card: 64 MB of RAM
Monitor: Resolution of 1024*768 pixels
Internet Connection: Bandwith of at least 2MBps
Video Player: Windows Media Player 10 or higher or the Microsoft Silverlight Player
When you download a film completely to own or rent, Windows Media Player is required. To stream films, Microsoft Silverlight is used. In order to watch films from Volta on your computer, make sure you have the most up to date version of Windows Media Player (version 10 minimum) or the Microsoft Silverlight Player installed on your computer. If the Silverlight player is not installed on your computer, you will be prompted to go through a simple, free installation of this during the film ordering process.
If you use Windows Media Player, you must have the updated DRM components from the Microsoft website. You can access these here:
http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/indivsite/en/indivit.asp
Note: You will not be able to access this Microsoft DRM webpage via Firefox – please use Internet Explorer.
To watch films on Volta, make sure you have the Silverlight Player installed on your computer. If the Silverlight player is not installed on your computer, you will be prompted to go through a simple, free installation of this during the film ordering process.
For PC - Microsoft Windows XP or Vista are recommended.
For Mac, OS 10.4.8 or later is recommended.
