In the world of cord cutting there are three big names: Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Instant Prime. Most people know them in that order. Netflix was first. Hulu Plus bought Super Bowl ads. Amazon is for books and gifts that can be sent to your mother-in-law so you don't have to visit.
I've got to say that I love Amazon Instant Prime and it keeps getting better. There is a lot to be said about the others, and I'll leave that for another rant. I do want to be up front in that I don't have a lot of time with Netflix. I have briefly used it at other people's houses and played around a little on the mobile apps, but that is it. There is a very simple reason for this. I'm too cheap to pay for two competing television services that have roughly the same content.
I started with Amazon Instant Prime when they ran a deal with Revision3 and HD Nation. With a special HD Nation coupon code, I was able to rent Avatar for $1. To explain how cheap I really am, it took me the better part of half a day to decided to spend that dollar. I still wasn't sure after the movie started and it was too late to go back. I even watched the movie twice during the rental period just to make sure I got my money's worth.
I enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed the Amazon Instant Video experience. It was simple to use. It integrated with my Amazon.com account for all my information, including payment preferences. The video played well in full screen mode. It was great.
Even with that it did take a while for me to get back. At the time I didn't have an Amazon.com Prime account. It was a few years later when I realized the at least half of my retail purchases for the year were done through Amazon.com and all of my gift purchases were through Amazon.com. That was when I decided to get a Prime account. I made the decision wholly for the free two-day shipping. I think it was another six months before I learned that with my Prime membership, I could also get streaming videos. For me that was videos for free. Even with the recent cost increase, an Amazon Prime membership is less than Netflix or Hulu Plus, so you can get the membership for the instant videos alone.
Ever since that first experience, the folks at Amazon have continued to improve the user experience for streaming video. They need to because they have very good competition and the cable cutting world is about to explode.
Probably the coolest and most useful thing that Amazon has done is the Next Episode button. On my Home Theater PC (HTPC), I watch Amazon Instant Video through my web browser. A while back they added a button on the playback controls for when you're watching a TV Series. As one episode ends you wiggle the mouse and the controls appear. Then you see in the lower right a button for Up Next. When you click this as the credits are rolling for the last show, it immediately goes to the next episode and starts playing it. It even works across seasons. When you're on the last episode of Season 4, this button will take you to the first episode of Season 5. One click and you're continuing. You never leave fullscreen mode.
The Amazon Instant Video website also keeps track of which TV episodes you've watched. When you open a season page, the episodes you've seen have a light grey background. It is a little hard to make out from the couch. The good news is that I don't have to. As the season opens, Amazon opens to the next unwatched episode. I don't have to worry about it. I can hit the big green button and know that I'm not going to watch something I've seen before and I'm not going to miss an episode in the season.
These are great and only part of the reason I decided that at this moment I would write a new post. That came from my iPad. I'm watching an episode of Top Gear and needed to get a refill on my drink. I knew I could tap anywhere on the screen to pause the playback, so I did and that is when I saw them. First all of the playback controls are large overlay buttons on the screen. Unlike other apps and even earlier versions of the Amazon Instant Video app, the controls are not little buttons at the bottom of the screen next to the scrub bar. They are huge and right on top of the playback, which is great. It makes it hard, if not impossible to hit the wrong button, which I'm prone to do in other players.
The other thing is that Amazon has created a 10-second back button and a 10-second forward button. I'm still trying to figure out why I would go 10-seconds in the future, instead of 30-seconds. I do often miss something is a program and want to jump back 10-seconds to hear it. Sadly I haven't found this on my HTPC. It is great on the iPad.
I also noticed that Amazon has added the Next Episode button to the iPad app. I'll be using that a lot.
Amazon Instant Video is not without its faults. Most people will talk about the content. They don't have as much as Netflix or Hulu Plus. That is fair, though I've easily been able to fill up my Watch List with days worth of content, so I don't feel like I'm going without. They do have Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which is great. It is a week delayed, but there are no commercials.
Amazon still down't have an Apple TV app. I have been waiting for at least two years on this one. This is going to hurt them as cable cutting becomes more mainstream. The Apple TV is the Internet TV device to buy, and I'll explain that better in another rant. Most mainstream users won't bother with Amazon's current work around, and I'll get to it. Most people will do with what they get and they get Netflix and Hulu Plus.
To work around Amazon Instant Prime not being on the Apple TV, you have to have another Apple device. If you have a Mac or MacBook, AirPlay a multiple monitor to your Apple TV. Then open Safari and you're into the world of an HTPC. If you have an iOS device, open the Instant Video app and AirPlay that to your Apple TV. It works well and now your iOS device becomes your Instant Video remote. (It does limit your ability to have IMDB running while you're watching a program.)
[Update: When I first wrote this post I said that Netflix doesn't have a Next Episode button. I found out later that they don't need one. When you let an episode play out, after the credits roll, Netflix on Apple TV and on iPad begin playing the next episode, even if it is the next season. This type of Continuous Play is something that I've enjoyed on Hulu.com. I can see the usefulness of both. A next episode button does require some interaction. A continuous play function can let episodes continue to play after you fall asleep or walk away from the television. Hopefully there are settings that allow you to opt in or opt out so you can get the functionality that you prefer.]
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