I currently subscribe to Netflix streaming at $7.99 per month. Amazon Prime is $79 per year which is a savings of about a buck and a half a month. Plus you get the added benefit of saving on shipping and a free kindle download each month. So I’m thinking about switching but I’d like to know about the streaming. Is the selection as good as, better, or worse than Netflix? What I get now isn’t great but if I watch a couple decent movies in a month I feel I got my money’s worth. Any advice from those who’ve tried both?
I have both. Don’t get AP just for streaming; the selection of Prime instant video is kinda crappy. Mostly it’s the same stuff that’s already on Netflix. I have Prime because I’m in school and it virtually pays for itself with textbook shipping.
My Prime subscription pays for itself every Christmas in shipping savings. The streaming movies and TV shows, and the monthly free book are just gravy. The selection isn’t great, but there’s enough for me to find stuff. Having an HDMI-out port on my Kindle Fire HD does make the streaming option better though.
Worse than Netflix. We have both. SOMETIMES things are free through Prime that aren’t available on Netflix, but not often. However, you can rent directly through Prime, which may not exactly be a savings.
I have both. I use Netflix far far more often. I consider Amazon Prime’s streaming a nice bonus to free 2-day shipping, not a big selling point for having bought prime service.
I take it back. I just remembered that every season of Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister are on Prime. They’re worth $79 alone.
I think Netflix Streaming and Prime Instant Video both kind of suck. I wouldn’t pay for either as a stand alone service. I have Amazon Prime for the shipping benefits, so Instant Video is basically a freebie. Sometimes I dig up a movie or TV series I’ll watch but I usually have plenty of content in my personal queue.
For me, Netflix by mail is worth it but I quit streaming shortly after they split the services. It’s $11 a month for one Bluray at a time. If I go through 2 a month, I’m good. I probably average between 3 and 4.
This. We got AP to get a few series that NF didn’t offer, but as heavy Amazon buyers the shipping deal really adds up. Even both, plus Hulu Plus, is a fraction of regular cable.
That’s a good point. I haven’t actually rented a movie since Blockbuster went down the tubes. Are rentals for Prime members lower than non Prime members?
AP is pretty good for movie rentals but Vudu seems to have better selection and better performance. Sometimes there is a $1 or more price differential between them, often in that Vudu upcharges for true HD while AP bundles it into a lower price tier.
All four services have their strengths, but in order I’d take Netflix for general streaming, Vudu for pay-movies, AP for fill-in (and other Amazon benefits, especially the shipping if you buy a lot from them) and Hulu Plus for yet more fill-in and the huge Criterion collection.
I’m too lazy to find a link right now, but for what it’s worth, AP intends to step up their game in the streaming department. They are investing a decent amount of cash and they plan on doing their own original programming like Netflix is currently doing.
It will be interesting to see what Prime looks like a year from now.
ETA: AP is also showing Under The Dome, which is a current series showing on CBS right now. I’m not trying to say UTD is all that, but if Prime continues in this vein, they might even give Hulu a run for their money.
Hulu is greatly overrated. If you just want to surf around and find something to watch, it’s okay (I guess), but we have yet to find a single reasonably recent series on it that was within our viewing spectrum. Sure, there’s an index entry for absolutely everything, but when you dig in, you find out it’s clips, webisodes, commentary, previews and maybe one or two episodes in rotation. The movies are mostly bottom-tier crud already available on NF or AP.
We keep meaning to get to some of the Criterion stuff but the main reason I pay for Hulu Plus is my daughter watches a bunch of the anime collection/series stuff. (I let it lapse and there was Hell To Pay…)
IMHO, Hulu’s aim is the utter uncritical viewer who would spend their time flipping around mid-tier cable looking for something to hang their eyes on and is satisfied to find “something.”
Netflix has a better overall selection, but you have to have both streaming and DVDs to get the benefit. Amazon Prime is a better deal for me.
I’m curious to see how Chromecast, the new Google streaming device works and if it shakes things up in the market. For only $35 (and with 3 months of Netflix included), it seems like a steal.
I’m not sure how Chromecast will really shake things up. It’s a neat gadget, but at the end of the day it’s really just a wireless HDMI cable.
Chromecast is basically the Chrome browser/video player in a HDMI dongle. Sort of Roku-lite, and I think it needs a smartphone to control it. I’d rather have Roku, unless Chromecast lets you view free Hulu, then it would be a must-buy.
I thought you might be pulling our legs with that dongle talk but I googled, found it on iclarified.com and sure enough.
The day that TCM starts offering an on-demand package, I’m SO dropping Netflixs. I hate it that at any given time, there might be 5 John Wayne movies available, and 2 Errol Flynn, and 4 Cary Grant. Blah.
I have both but I use AP just for the shipping. I would use their streaming service more but it seems impossible to tell what is free and what costs extra (unless I am missing something obvious).
I think you are. On almost every page of videos there’s a box on the left column to filter by Prime eligible options.