Jump to content

Menu

Amazon Prime?


Recommended Posts

Tons of History Channel series/episodes, and PBS specials, like America: The Story of Us.  Pretty much every Ken Burns series/special (The West, The Civil War, etc).  Great add-ons for history lessons!  As for me, I love watching old episodes of Cupcake Wars  :001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everything. LOL!! No cable here.

 

I just watched - and loved - the West Wing. Brilliant. And I'm a hard core conservative. I've started on round 2 with it...

 

Downton Abbey.

 

The Closer.

 

Chopped.

 

Friday Night Lights was pretty good. Too heavy on the teen angst and high risk behavior for me, but well acted and a good cast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm another one that got it for the shipping savings (I also hate shopping and sometimes, with heavier items, not having to pay for shipping is a lifesaver)  but the videos are a great bonus.  Big Bang Theory has been fun for my husband and I.  Lots of science and history videos for the family, especially the kids, has been really helpful.  Tired of poor selection on Netflix....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Amazon Prime isn't the only source for such things, just wanted to mention. Roku gives one access to watching videos; PBS has a roku channel, and lots of shows like Nova are there to be watched. There's no fee at all to use many of the channels, aside from buying the device.

My husband showed up with Roku about two months ago and so far it has been great.  I still use Amazon Prime viewing in the room that isn't hooked up to the Roku system but Stripe is right, Roku might be a good way to go if you don't need Prime for the savings on shipping.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

 

I watch Amazon shows on our TV using a Roku.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

 

We typically watch Amazon on the Wii.  However, for watching youtube/ random internet videos, we  use an iPad cable adapter - like these.  We use it with an iPad 2 so we don't all have to crowd around the computer or iPad.  Apple makes one also, but as you might expect from Apple, it's horribly overpriced. 

 

It works well, but YMMV.  I'll try it with the Amazon app to see if it works with that as well and will report back.  I need to wait for some family members to finish their round of Lego Star Wars first... :001_rolleyes:

 

 

ETA: It does NOT work with the Amazon app - though it does for Netflix.  There is an message that comes up with the sound (but no visual) that tells you to turn off mirroring for airplay in the control panel, but I don't have this setting on my iPad 2 - maybe it's available on iPad 3 & up? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

 

Well, I don't own a TV and only use my laptop for exercise videos (and all other DVDs and streaming videos for that matter).

 

Here is how I use it:

Put laptop on table

put in exercise DVD

press play

exercise.

 

I don't own an ipad but my sister does. If you have an exercise video in itunes then you just play and prop it up on its stand while you exercise. I know that itunes and amazon are offering more and more downloadable workout videos.

 

 

I don't know why anyone would want to play exercise dvds on their television, lol. I like that I can put the computer anywhere I want to exercise. Sometimes I am in my bedroom or in the living room. Plus, if it is yoga or something that requires being on the floor I can put my laptop down on the floor with me. That is pretty handy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We stopped our Netflix instant streaming and just watch Prime. I like to watch House Hunters, when I have a spare 20 minutes here and there. I watched all the Dear Genevieve shows offered on there, too. I found these when perusing the family/kids section! I guess they're categorized with kid shows because they're rated G :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We stopped our Netflix instant streaming and just watch Prime. I like to watch House Hunters, when I have a spare 20 minutes here and there. I watched all the Dear Genevieve shows offered on there, too. I found these when perusing the family/kids section! I guess they're categorized with kid shows because they're rated G :)

 

I am barely hanging onto Netflix streaming, but I really wish I could get rid of it for good.  The main thing I use it for now is the documentaries.  As a family, we watch a lot of documentaries.  We will watch 30 minutes most mornings while we have breakfast.  Unfortunately, Amazon does not seem to have as many great documentaries.  One thing I have noticed in the past two years is that Netflix is eating away at the "instant" view-able shows - including the documentaries.  At a time when more and more competitors are ramping up their availability of instant-view shows, Netflix is making more of them DVD only.  Frustrating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son has learned a lot from the army boot camp shows, dirt jobs shows, and bear grills survived shows. I like the price of prime. It's much cheaper than Netflix and includes shipping and a book rental. We don't have tv so we just do prime through the Wii. I love the no commercials tv shows. It is so much quicker to watch a show. I'm enjoying the Tudors series right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am barely hanging onto Netflix streaming, but I really wish I could get rid of it for good. The main thing I use it for now is the documentaries. As a family, we watch a lot of documentaries. We will watch 30 minutes most mornings while we have breakfast. Unfortunately, Amazon does not seem to have as many great documentaries. One thing I have noticed in the past two years is that Netflix is eating away at the "instant" view-able shows - including the documentaries. At a time when more and more competitors are ramping up their availability of instant-view shows, Netflix is making more of them DVD only. Frustrating.

That seems like a bad business move. I thought they were moving into more streaming, though? We live in a rural area and can't really stream because it causes us to exceed our bandwidth limitations on satellite Internet. I've been bummed because there are things that I want from Netflix that are only streaming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It isn't Netflix's decision about what is streaming and what is not. It is the owner/distributor of the film. Netflix would like nothing more than to get rid of all DVDs and go 100% streaming, believe me. Remember when they tried to split off the DVD side of the business? Nextflix would love to stop dealing with DVDs. The distributor wants to hold off on streaming of big name movies hoping to get more people to buy the DVDs.

 

More distributors are not liking the idea of streaming. Some, such as HBO and Showtime, have refused it entirely. Both of those companies see Netflix as their main competitor and they say they will never allow streaming of their shows. That is why The Sopranos and Homeland and Game of Thrones aren't streaming. If a film stops streaming it is because the rights expired. Sometimes it is renegotiated and sometimes the distributor refuses to allow streaming and sometimes the film is in a grey area with no one really owning the rights so no one can give permission.

 

Often the rights are given in bundles. The distributor makes Netflix or Amazon buy the streaming rights to a bunch of little known movies in exchange for the rights to some desirable movies. That is why so many streaming movies are things you have never heard of. If a smaller movie or a documentary goes off streaming it is often because it was part of a bundle and the whole bundle went out of rights. Or sometimes Netflix or Amazon has to pay for the bundle for a certain amount of time and then they can have the rights to only the big name movie and they drop the bundle.

 

Amazon has more cash and has beaten Netflix on some things. For example, Amazon got the rights to stream Downton Abby. They paid more. Netflix has the DVDs. Recently Netflix got the rights to stream a bunch of Disney films. It goes back and forth between them. We have both Netflix and Streaming to take advantage of both.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

AppleTV, but you can also use the iPad. Way back when I had a YogaGlo subscription and I just put my iPad out in front of my yoga mat.

 

The Amazon app never used to airplay, but they changed that recently and you can airplay without mirroring which enables you to use your iPad for other things. Roku is nice, but IMO, if you already own an iPad, the AppleTV is a wiser purchase. They also have a PBS app on the AppleTV, but as is true for the Roku, not every show is available there.

 

I have Prime for the shipping and consider the videos as a nice perk. Amazon's videos are mostly a duplicate of what I can get on Netflix, but there are a few shows that are only on Amazon (Downton Abbey which I don't watch and season 7a of Doctor Who).

 

ETA: We have an iPad 2, iPad 4, and an iPad Air for the kids. The iPad 2 is mine and still running iOS 6 while the other two are running iOS 7. All three iPads are able to airplay to the AppleTV no problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Amazon app never used to airplay, but they changed that recently and you can airplay without mirroring which enables you to use your iPad for other things. Roku is nice, but IMO, if you already own an iPad, the AppleTV is a wiser purchase.

 

Just curious and want to clarify, are you saying that you are able to airplay Amazon streaming videos from your iPad's Amazon app to your TV wirelessly via AppleTV?  If I am understanding that correctly, do you ever experience any sync or skipping problems doing it that way, specifically with the Amazon videos? 

 

I had been looking at buying an AppleTV device but was putting it off because, as I understand it, Amazon videos currently are not available directly on the AppleTV device, like Netflix streaming is, for instance.  Then I had also thought about using an Apple Lightning Digital AV adapter to connect the iPad to the TV, which wouldn't be wireless so more inconvenient, but perhaps avoiding any sync/skipping issues.

 

Sorry if this is too far off topic.  Thanks for any input or suggestions you may have.  :coolgleamA:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just curious and want to clarify, are you saying that you are able to airplay Amazon streaming videos from your iPad's Amazon app to your TV wirelessly via AppleTV? If I am understanding that correctly, do you ever experience any sync or skipping problems doing it that way, specifically with the Amazon videos?

 

I had been looking at buying an AppleTV device but was putting it off because, as I understand it, Amazon videos currently are not available directly on the AppleTV device, like Netflix streaming is, for instance. Then I had also thought about using an Apple Lightning Digital AV adapter to connect the iPad to the TV, which wouldn't be wireless so more inconvenient, but perhaps avoiding any sync/skipping issues.

 

Sorry if this is too far off topic. Thanks for any input or suggestions you may have. :coolgleamA:

 

The only time I have problems with skipping while using airplay is with the CBS app. I used to have a similar issue (to a lesser degree) with the NBC app, but they turned off airplay with the last update. I have never had any streaming quality issues with Amazon's app nor with ABC's or PBS' app. My dh only recently discovered the PBS app on our AppleTV so up until a few days ago I was still airplaying PBS from my iPad.

 

I also use our AppleTV to play videos from YouTube for school all the time. Back when we had the free trial for Discovery Streaming from HSBC, I was also able to airplay those videos just fine. In fact, at this pount, if I can't load a website on my iPad, I skip it (which pretty much eliminates a number of the links from the UILE). It's far easier for everyone to sit in the living room and look at the TV than it is for the kids to crowd around the computer.

 

I've never tried to use a cable. From my understanding, the skipping was supposed to be lessened of you had your AppleTV connected via ethernet cable to your router. My router is in the basement because that's where the cable modem is so our AppleTV connects to the router wirelessly. This isprobably even further OT so I'll leave it here. You can always PM meif you have more questions. :0)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last year my husband bought a cheap computer tower for about $100 and hooked it up to a TV. We don't have cable so we run TV shows via Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix and Discovery Streaming.

 

We do the same thing. Watching everything on our big 52" television is awesome, lol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am barely hanging onto Netflix streaming, but I really wish I could get rid of it for good. The main thing I use it for now is the documentaries. As a family, we watch a lot of documentaries. We will watch 30 minutes most mornings while we have breakfast. Unfortunately, Amazon does not seem to have as many great documentaries. One thing I have noticed in the past two years is that Netflix is eating away at the "instant" view-able shows - including the documentaries. At a time when more and more competitors are ramping up their availability of instant-view shows, Netflix is making more of them DVD only. Frustrating.

Check out fulldocumentary.net

 

ETA: amazon Prime is worth the price for me, just for shipping. That is the reason I have it. I hate shopping. I don't even know how to work the streaming tv part - but my kids and hubby do. I've never used it. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgive my ignorance, but how in the world do you do an exercise video from a computer/iPad? I guess I operate mostly on an iPad,and this is what's holding me back from taking the plunge with Prime. Enlighten me please!

 

Also, I would be interested in knowing if anyone has made a list of educational offerings....

If you have a blue ray player with an internet connection you can get Amazon prime through that. I think you could probably use a game system like wii also, but not for sure. 

 

I got a kindle fire in December.  I am finding lots of benefits with my prime membership, that I had no idea were out there.  Like others I only used prime for the shipping in the past. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prime is the best deal I have ever had.  Bar none.

 

We live rural, and use Amazon more and more for products because we just can't find them here, or if so not the right size, item, etc.  I find that with Prime and the free shipping, I look at Amazon for small inexpensive items I might not have considered before.  I order at least a couple times a week.  Even printer paper is nice to have delivered right to my front porch!

 

Oh, we use the movies, but that's not why we have Prime...though lately we seem to use it more than Netflix and might give up Netflix because of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...