iTunes Store downloads

I could find out for myself, but it might cost me money...

If I've got a lot of download going on (eg several movies), do I have to leave iTunes running until they're finished, or does the downloader run independently of the main app?

I'm pretty sure you have to let iTunes run to complete any download. App Store items seem to be OK to re-download if your first attempt fails for any reason, but I don't know if this applies to other purchases.

Thought that might be the case, thanks.

The machine is a bit busy atm and I wouldn't mind getting some memory back, but not to the extent of risking the cost of a movie- I'll be patient

Fear not. It will try again if you log out, if you are concerned that you may have missed something, choose Store: Check for available downloads.

Thanks Carl, it's nice to know that all is not lost if the connection goes belly up