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Is Amazon prime streaming an adequate replacement for Netflix?


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Time to decide about renewing prime. So far I haven't used the streaming but once. I'm thinking that if the selection is good, I'd rather do the one time prime charge than the monthly Netflix charge, which is larger in total annually.

 

What say the hive?

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There are some things that are streaming now on Netflix but not on prime.

We've had prime for years for the shipping, so the videos are a nice bonus now. It will really depend on what you're looking for. I still see enough difference that if I could afford it and was using it for school I might try to keep both. I also don't like Netflix nearly as much :)

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We have both, the cost is low enough overall that I plan to keep both. We have Amazon Prime for the shipping. However, we have started using the streaming more and find it is nice to have alternate options to Netflix. There is some crossover.

 

If I had to cut out budget I'm not sure which I'd cut, likely netflix only because I use the shipping benefits often. We live rurally so not having to go out of the house shopping, and free shipping...makes Prime very useful.

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A year ago, I would have said no.  The quality on Prime was lower, it was harder to use, it was available on fewer devices, the content was less.  In the last six months or so, they've improved so much that I think it might be.  There are now things on Prime that aren't on Netflix, you can use it on more devices, the playback has improved...  Of course, there are still things on Netflix that aren't on Prime.  I personally don't want to give up both.  But if someone was really on a budget and could only do one, then the streaming, plus the benefit of free shipping might make Prime a winner.

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We have both and wouldn't give up either. Imo, Netflix has a bigger selection, not that it's easy to search. Amazon recently bought rights to a lot of children's programming. I can get subtitles on Netfilx, but not on Amazon. A while back, I had problems when I paused an Amazon video -- somehow sound and picture were un-synced when I restarted; not sure if this is still happening. Netflix has a neat feature for forwarding or going back -- you see a mini picture of all the scenes in a row across the screen; I don't recall Amazon having this.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/business/media/viacom-strikes-deal-with-amazon-to-stream-childrens-shows.html?_r=0

 

 

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I would say it is an adequate substitute, but I like Netflix for Kids better than Amazon.  We have both and Amazon is much more confusing for dd6 to navigate on her own.  

 

If dd used Amazon more, I know she would get used to it, but for now, we keep both.

 

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We have both but mostly use Netflix. Have recently found a few things on prime that aren't on Netflix (popular mechanics for kids).

 

My biggest complaint about prime - I can't figure out how to make a queue like Netflix. I end up having to search every time (which isn't particularly easy as we stream through our Blu ray player onto TV, and the search function with the remote is terrible. Am I missing something?

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There IS a queue now!  It's called your "Watchlist."  It's easy to use from the Amazon Streaming App on my iPad, but you can also add things from the Wii and the computer and I'm sure whatever else you're using to watch Prime.  I forget exactly how to do it on the Wii, but on the computer if you hover your cursor over the thing you want to watch later, the final option is "add season/episode/movie to my watchlist" or if you click on the show, then under the big yellow "Watch Now" button there's a smaller white "add season/episode/whatever to my watchlist" button.

 

One weirdish thing you can do though is add things that are NOT on Amazon Prime to your watch list.  You can add things that are purchase/rentable through streaming as well, which makes sense.  And the nice thing about that is that you don't have to buy them at the time of adding them to the watchlist.  But even weirder is that you can add movies they don't have at all.  Presumably if they become available, they'll still be on your watchlist and it will let you know?  I'm still kind of new to using Prime a lot so I'm figuring this stuff out.

 

I am enjoying having all the Prime videos I've bought (which is not a ton, but when dh and I gave up cable, we resolved to just buy the things we were dying to see, so I own Doctor Who and a few other things) also there in the "my video library" thing and being able to stream those alongside the prime videos.

 

:iagree:

 

Now if only Prime could give us some kind of queue.

 

 

We have both but mostly use Netflix. Have recently found a few things on prime that aren't on Netflix (popular mechanics for kids).

My biggest complaint about prime - I can't figure out how to make a queue like Netflix. I end up having to search every time (which isn't particularly easy as we stream through our Blu ray player onto TV, and the search function with the remote is terrible. Am I missing something?

 

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I don't like what's available on Netflix streaming and feel its limited. We even renewed Netflix for the month of June to see what we were missing. Eh. 

 

We generally watch Amazon Prime or Hulu (plain). We don't have cable or television otherwise. 

 

Its pretty easy to surf Prime videos even without Prime (of course the videos themselves would cost money but you could see what was available). See if it looks interesting to you. Checking out Netflix without sign up is rather difficult. 

 

Also, Prime doesn't have a Queue, but it does have a Watchlist. You can't order it like the Queue, and everything doesn't fit on one page (it lists in block style with covers rather than a written list of titles so its easy to run out of room and have to switch between pages).

 

There's a lot of younger children's programming on Amazon. What they have available changes too, so its worth looking at the beginning of the month to see if they have new movies. They'll change bring out different classics, a few new movies (like The Avengers), some from every decade. 

 

 

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I used to have both, but when Netflix changed their pricing we realized after a few months that we weren't streaming things often enough to be worth it (maybe once or twice a month, which IMO isn't worth 8 bucks or whatever it is).

 

To me, Prime is worth it for the other features, so now when we just use Amazon and think of streaming as a nice bonus to what we're already paying for. I think the selection and the technical aspects are worse, but they're really improving lately. And yeah, because of who owns rights, etc, a lot of times only only one or the other will have what you want to watch. For us that's not a huge deal because we don't usually have a specific thing we want to watch, it's more that we're bored and feel like a classic romantic comedy or whatever. It really all depends on your viewing habits!

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I have both, I use both as some things are on one but not the other.

I think Netflix has more documentaries and educational programs that I like for school.

I like Netlix more, I think it has better quality and I like the rewind and fast forward functions. Prime's drive me nuts.

I get more buffering on Prime than I do on Netflix.

 

I like being able to rent off Prime, but when I want to watch something I always start at Netflix.

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They are very comparable now. Prime even has episodes that Netflix does not. For example, we were watching Myth Busters on Netflix and then were checking out Prime. Prime has ALL of the episodes for the season but Netflix has selected episodes for some reason.

 

We do like the new Netflix exclusive TV shows though so I doubt we'll ditch it anytime soon.

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For us—no. I've been using Amazon Prime streaming more in the past year and like that I can rent or buy movies and TV shows (like the current season of Doctor Who as it airs) that aren't available on Netflix streaming, but Netflix stlll has more free shows that we watch. As others have mentioned, the interface is better on Netflix as well.

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I got prime for shipping.  I've only recently started using it to stream.  ds has Netflix.  they have different things.  I can also get youtube and a bunch of others through the internet on my Blu-ray.  I wish I could get vemeo on my Blu-ray . . . .

 

eta: I can add things to my watchlist via my computer.  that's nice as it's easier to search.  I do that with prime, and ds does that with Netflix.

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I'm wondering what everyone's watching on Netflix because if was really empty for us. 

 

 

Also, Prime has parental controls. You can block movies based on rating (although unrated movies are then blocked as well). You can choose which devices use parental controls (it doesn't have to automatically cover all your devices). 

 

The only disappointment on this is that you have to go on the computer to completely remove parental controls if you want to watch an R rated movie on the Roku. They don't have a way to input the password on a Roku box. 

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Also, Prime has parental controls. You can block movies based on rating (although unrated movies are then blocked as well). You can choose which devices use parental controls (it doesn't have to automatically cover all your devices). 

 

You can set them on Netflix too.  And I'm pretty sure one of the drawbacks of the purchased video library is that it will show up on every device, even if you have the parental controls on and they can't watch it.  So the kids will know you bought Breaking Bad and want to know what that's all about.  Great.

 

The Prime app seems to be more different across devices than Netflix, I'm noticing.  Like, it's definitely easier to use on the iPad than on the computer.  And the playback is worse on the Wii.  And it's a pain to use on the Tivo and you can't use your watchlist there.  But based on how much they've improved it all recently, I think they're working on all these issues.

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We have both.  There are different shows on each one.  That said, if I had to choose one, I would probably choose Prime *because* the service-to-screen is more reliable.  At some point during almost every show we watch on NetFlix, the screen goes black and then re-loads.  It doesn't bother me that much but it really irks my dh and I'd pay NetFlix more per month just to not have to listen to the griping about their service.  It is annoying, too, that when it reloads, sometimes it switches from HD to non-HD which does NOT show up well on a large HD screen.  I

 

But there are some shows that would go missing. 

 

I'm guessing that would be a an issue with your internet service. We rarely have issues with netflix streaming. We have never had Prime so I can't comment on that but Netflix is used daily here.

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I have both as well as Hulu plus, and I just dropped Netflix because I realized we were only watching a few throwaway items a month. I prefer Amazon. I figure that 7.99 a month can go towards purchasing videos we want that aren't available on the subscriptions. I might sign up again for Netflix when the next House of Cards season comes out, though. Awesome show! Also, if you have young kids, all the Disney, etc, on Netflix is awesome if you have littles, but mine are beyond most of that, plus we own lots of DVDs.

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I have both and only watch on Prime if it's a program not available on Netflix (rarely). The streaming quality of Netflix is more consistent. 

 

FYI: Individual queues are coming to Netflix soon... I can hardly wait. :)

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I have both and only watch on Prime if it's a program not available on Netflix (rarely). The streaming quality of Netflix is more consistent. 

 

FYI: Individual queues are coming to Netflix soon... I can hardly wait. :)

 

Oh finally! I can't stand that stuff I might want to watch is mixed with my kids' stuff. That will be a great addition to their service.

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