Amazon Prime.

greypanther · Post by **greypanther** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 16:28

I am sure it has been asked before, but I will ask again to get an up to date answer.

Is the exclusive video worth the money? The delivery is decent and we do order stuff from Amazon, quite a lot in fact, but we have allways been willing to wait for the free delivery so far. So I guess my question is, is the video enough to make things worth while, or is it basically crap, unless you are a Jeremy Clarkson fan...

I am not sure the next day delivery alone is enough to justify the expense, so I need to know how good the other content is please.

Mightysword · Post by **Mightysword** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 17:20

It's valuable to me because I don't have cable TV or any other streaming service. It's good for binge watching once a while so there is no over-lapse for me.

But as always, I think it's best to evaluate Prime base on the shipping alone, everything else should be considered just a bonus.

Chips · Post by **Chips** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 18:38

Hmm, depends on what you want.

With Amazon Prime you get the free delivery (lovely), you get Amazon Prime Video (I do watch several series), you get Amazon Prime music (this is not unlimited music, but there are Foo Fighters, some AC/DC, there's a large selection of music you can download for free... but it isn't *all* the music by any stretch, nor that diverse).

I use the above for when driving - so I've downloaded 60+ songs - some Neil Young, AC/DC, Rolling Stones, Led Zep, Mamas and Papas, 21 Pilots, Cranberries, Elton John, Foo Fighters, Pink Floyd, Otis Redding etc so quite diverse - to my phone, and play them via the Amazon Music app on my mobile while driving around.

I watch several series - Vikings, Taken, Lucifer, American Gods, Badlands, Versailles and a few others (quite a few anime series are on prime) - including first 5 seasons of the Arrow. You can definitely look up what are Prime Originals and there are a ton of them.

Then there are the movies - and I tend to watch the more unusual ones. But recently they've had a fair number of quality movies, and the line up changes (so most that I did watch are gone).

In any single one of these, there's nothing *better* than any other service (though I don't use any other service), there's always going to be one better for sure. However, I don't have prime simply for the TV/Movies, I had it back when I was buying a lot of stuff and for another £20 I could get prime for the year and free deliveries on what i was going to spend anyway. I've just never cancelled, and nor would I. I've got a gallon of motoroil (£18 saving over buying in a shop) and a pair of trainers coming tomorrow. That's after buying oven door liner last week and a load of other stuff.

The more into Amazon stuff you go, the better it is to be prime (i.e. get a Fire Stick? Be on prime, get their TV shows).

If you don't care about delivery date for goods, I think you can opt for the "any time" instead of next day as a prime member, and get £1 voucher. This means you can probably do "free" movie rentals (via vouchers) or possibly even buy HD and stream, simply by opting for more tardy delivery dates on what you do order that gets delivered to your door. Again, never used it as I move around a lot so want deliveries on a known date.

Got one coming tomorrow and one on Sunday apparently

So for me, not cancelled it in 4 years I think i've had it? Worth it? Probably. If I were to watch more of those series and movies and listen to more music? Definitely! I just play games too much to really watch more than a few of each per week.

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 19:50

I got it for the Grand Tour and haven't used it for much else--I've watched a few movies. Tried the Amazon Prime series of American Gods and only got to I think the fourth episode before giving up, because that was *weird*. Annoyed that The Expanse is Amazon Prime in the States but Netflix in the UK, because that's one series I really would like to watch!

Overall, I think you have to look at what movies and TV series are Prime specific and decide for yourself if you think that makes it worth it--we can't make that decision for you.

Chips · Post by **Chips** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 20:21

^^ Exactly. If you watch plenty of TV and don't like what you've got currently offered on terrestrial channels, then you may be fine. If you like to listen to lots of music they've currently got on Amazon Prime music, rather than the radio, then you'll be fine. You can find out what's on prime at least

But in reality, if i were to watch TV, i'd probably watch more 5US - NCIS episodes galore. But then again, with Prime, it's not "live" TV, so no TV license necessary. That'd save £150 a year...

Oh if I had no TV in the house I'd definitely be Prime Only

burger1 · Post by **burger1** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 20:29

I think there's a trial. Just be sure to cancel before the end of the trial or they will bill you.

I think only some devices will let you get the amazon prime app. So if you have a tv it might not be able to use prime. You might be able to fiddle with it with a dns service/vpn but that may not work or it might take a few steps and it probably won't be free.

Maybe consider how much data it uses per hour. I don't think you can adjust the data rate/quality?

I think you can also view their content on your tv with their app without signing in. I think I can do that on my tv but I use the american amazon app because Canada doesn't have one. I don't have amazon I just put it on my tv just cause.

Justwatch might give you an idea whats on

https://www.justwatch.com/

UK selected , prime video selected

https://www.justwatch.com/uk/provider/a ... rime-video

mrbadger · Post by **mrbadger** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 21:13

I've got Prime video as part of the delivery service. I use it a little, but not much.

Mostly I find it dissapointing. Yes they have the almighty Clarkson. But I'm not a fan. Too many of the films and shows I have wanted to watch have turned out to be things I'd have to pay for before I could watch them. That's insane. Some of the movies have been 40 years old.

That would have made me cancel any other service, but I like the delivery aspect.

I'm waiting for Streaming services to mature and still buying things on DvD/Blu-Ray and ripping them to stream from my home QNAP media server.

It costs more probably, but the quality is better, and I don't lose access to my content when a subscription gets cancelled.

The only real downside is having to wait and avoiding spoilers till they get released on DvD/Blu-Ray to start with.

apogee · Post by **apogee** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 21:52

i've got both amazon prime and netflix, and personally i think netflx is better, there are more series on netflix i'm interested in like the expanse, altered carbon etc

There are other attributes to prime, though you have to use them to make it pay e.g. free deliveries, the lmited music service etc.

but on balance netflix does beat it if its just for watching.

i also dip into nowtv entertainment pack (currently opted out) for got, and westworld, interestingly nowtv also show some syfy channel stuff too, wondering if they show the expanse on that?

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Fri, 30. Mar 18, 22:59

burger1 wrote: I think only some devices will let you get the amazon prime app. So if you have a tv it might not be able to use prime.

For £30 (or your local equivalent) you can get an Amazon Fire TV Stick that plugs into a HDMI port on your TV and gives you access to all Amazon's stuff (plus a lot of other apps you can download). I'm sure there are other devices which do the same thing, but I don't know how well they support Amazon Prime.

Redvers Ganderpoke · Post by **Redvers Ganderpoke** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 08:00

pjknibbs wrote:
burger1 wrote: I think only some devices will let you get the amazon prime app. So if you have a tv it might not be able to use prime.
I'm sure there are other devices which do the same thing, but I don't know how well they support Amazon Prime.

Roku boxes do but no music app. The free video stuff is OK, its a bit like going to a video rental store in the 80'S and 90'S in that 95%of it it utter rubbish. We tend to buy video on Amazon as we find it more convenient than DVD or bluray.

greypanther · Post by **greypanther** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 10:15

Thanks guys, all interesting and useful information, as usual.

I particularly like the idea of being able to downgrade the delivery and get a voucher in return, that is a good idea if certain.

I would avoid the firestick as I have heard there are issues with it and its reliability, never mind certain dodgy issues surrounding it and its abuse.

I do notice they have Battlestar Galactica on it, which I have not got around to seeing yet...

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 10:47

greypanther wrote: I would avoid the firestick as I have heard there are issues with it and its reliability, never mind certain dodgy issues surrounding it and its abuse.

[citation needed]? Not had a single problem with mine, and I'm not sure how you can "abuse" the thing.

exogenesis · Post by **exogenesis** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 12:29

I resisted for a long time (years), thinking in terms of 'video clubs' & 'gimmicky marketing',
but eventually realised that I buy enough stuff on Amazon (it doesn't take much really)
that the 'free' part of Amazon's film/tv-series/music streaming service really is effectively free, due to the free postage.

Bought a FireTV stick for an older TV, which improves streaming & on-scren interaction a lot.

I think the 'free' film/series/tv line up from Amazon is pretty good, it provides quite a choice,
It allows you to re-visit a lot of your favourite films, that you may not have bought on disc.

So far I've watched a few of the Amazon originals,
favourites were Startup (really good) & American Gods (very weird, as pjk said).

Some good whole-series I've watched 'free':
Westworld, 12 Monkeys, Battlestar Galactica, The Night Manager, Extant, Dark Matter.
I even watched the X-Files from start to finish, over the course of a month or more.

Some relatively recent films marked as 'Amazon exclusive' are good e.g. Arrival.

I've even bought (& rented) several films, even though usually I massively prefer to 'own the disc' :
e.g. Alien Covenant, Divergent/Insurgent/Allegiant

However I find that having Prime influences what I buy (where / who from) on Amazon,
since if an item is not marked as Prime & there's a postage cost,
then I'll look around for an equivalent that is Prime (which there isn't always),
which is an annoying extra step to have to do.

Sometimes it's difficult to see why one item is Prime & another isn't.
The 'Amazon Market Place' i.e. a massively wider seller base than it was originally,
has increased the number (proportion) of non-Prime items significantly
(e.g. ebay & from-china-direct & such items).

A personal gripe is that sometimes I wish Amazon would specific about where the item is being sold from.

burger1 · Post by **burger1** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 16:30

greypanther wrote: I would avoid the firestick as I have heard there are issues with it and its reliability, never mind certain dodgy issues surrounding it and its abuse.

If you mean by dodgy abuse they steal your data I think all the devices do that.

mrbadger · Post by **mrbadger** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 18:12

burger1 wrote:
greypanther wrote: I would avoid the firestick as I have heard there are issues with it and its reliability, never mind certain dodgy issues surrounding it and its abuse.
If you mean by dodgy abuse they steal your data I think all the devices do that.

You use the web, therefore you share data. Whether or not you realise the extent to which you do I don't know, but not buying one device won't change much.

Apple take data, so do Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook et al. Everyone does. Use a storecard? You produce data that gets sold, and has been for years now.

I avoided them till I found that the Necter Card could actually be a useful way to knock a few hundred off my christmas shopping bill. So yes they track my shopping, but I get a benefit from it that I enjoy.

This is the information age, because information is valuable. Not because we have computers, but because we trade in information. What you did over the last week or year is worth a lot because it predicts what you might buy.

The Stone age was called that because stone working made stone a valuable commodity, same for the Bronze age, and the Iron age.

So the only way to avoid this is to pack away your smart devices and start selling rocks or bronze knives. Literaly. I'm being serious.

To be part of the modern world you have to share information and accept that that information will end up being sold at some point, whether you are aware of it or not.

greypanther · Post by **greypanther** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 20:03

pjknibbs wrote:[citation needed]?

Sorry I cannot provide you a citation, just the word of my father and mother in law, who both claimed it was a complete pain in the arse. As I have a smart tv, ( which I do not use as smart, ) with an old PC connected to it, there is no need to bother with a firestick anyway.

As for dodgy, well I cannot speak for any other areas, but it is very easy to get them in ours, allegedly, pre loaded with the ability to pirate stuff, which I am dead against. I was also told in this area that they are actively looking for the tell tale signatures of such usage. All in all, best avoided imo. I cannot provide a citation about that either, I just trust the " story " teller.

Privacy is not an issue. Even though I do not Facebook or Twatter, I am very aware that privacy is nothing more than an illusion, especially in the UK. Data is king, though that doesn't mean I have to like it, just that my opinion is irrelevant. I just try to limit their profiting from my data.

I cannot argue with any of your post mrbadger, it is obvious, though I am not sure about having to go back to selling Bronze knives! I used to consider that Roman times would have been better, except for the awful life expectancy of course.

Certainly Roman times would have been interesting... ( Skara Brae better still! )
I often wish I had gone on to study archaeology.

I have got to agree with all your post too exogenesis.

Observe · Post by **Observe** » Sat, 31. Mar 18, 20:22

We had both Amazon Prime and Netflix, but we ended up dropping Amazon, because we prefer Netflix for video streaming. Amazon can be good for free shipping, but our online purchases tend to be mostly other companies besides Amazon.

I admit, one of my reasons for dropping Amazon, is because I don't like Bezos very much. Your mileage may differ.

Redvers Ganderpoke · Post by **Redvers Ganderpoke** » Sun, 1. Apr 18, 06:54

pjknibbs wrote:
greypanther wrote: I would avoid the firestick as I have heard there are issues with it and its reliability, never mind certain dodgy issues surrounding it and its abuse.
[citation needed]? Not had a single problem with mine, and I'm not sure how you can "abuse" the thing.

I agree with Paul - very reliable and regularly updated. ( and much smaller than a PC). We mainly use a Roku 3 because it has slightly better apps and can be wired in. The firestick's wireless range isn't that fantastic.

Chips · Post by **Chips** » Sun, 1. Apr 18, 14:11

Observe wrote:We had both Amazon Prime and Netflix, but we ended up dropping Amazon, because we prefer Netflix for video streaming.

If anyone ever got Amazon Prime for the video streaming, then they were onto a loser from the start

Whilst it is improving, it isn't going go remotely compete with Netflix. Amazon and Netflix are two entirely different services. Netflix is entertainment only, Amazon is basically shopping with extra streaming services tied in to encourage you to subscribe.

For instance, with the exception of quite a number of "excellent" TV series, if Amazon Prime was your only source to watch anything TV/Film then I think you'd get mighty bored mighty quick. However, I think it will evolve (TV series wise) but not necessarily movie wise.

It is an extra string to a bow, hence the smallish selection of music that's free, and I think a few other things. The reason is to try and push you for more (their £7.99 a month all you can listen to free music service, for example), or their audible subscriptions, unlimited book reading subscriptions etc.

I just want Amazon Prime to pick up LetterKenny from CraveTV in Canada

Golden_Gonads · Post by **Golden_Gonads** » Mon, 2. Apr 18, 12:36

I have Amazon Prime thanks to accidentally subscribing to the free sample whilst intoxicated - And I didn't even order anything at that time! That said I have used it since as there was no option to cancel and it has provided me with access to shows and movies I would otherwise have skipped. In the UK at least, the Prime service seems far less than worthwhile, unless you order a lot, but the bonuses are fairly tasty. It's nice, but other internet TV providers offer far more for their buck.

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime.