PlayStation 3 adds Amazon Video streaming
Amazon has joined the list of streaming video services available on PlayStation 3 today with the release of the new Amazon Video app.
The battle of streaming video services rages on, and a new contender has hit a game console. Amazon Video is available now on the PlayStation Store, letting Amazon members stream their video selection through your PlayStation 3. The app is free, and opens up the library of streaming videos for rental or purchase.
The announcement on the PlayStation Blog notes that the service has more than 120,000 movies and TV shows to pick from. If you're an Amazon Prime member, 17,000 of those videos are free to stream at no additional cost. The app lets you start a 30-day trial of Prime, and it costs $79 per year for membership -- which includes a few other perks like free two-day shipping.
The blog notes that it's the first to offer the service, but doesn't mention any kind of exclusivity arrangement. We would expect other console manufacturers, particularly Microsoft with its renewed focus on streaming video apps, to follow suit.
Sony has posted a video walkthrough of the new app, so you can check it out below.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, PlayStation 3 adds Amazon Video streaming.
Amazon has joined the list of streaming video services available on PlayStation 3 today with the release of the new Amazon Video app.-
very cool. Makes me wonder why I pay for Xbox Live when I don't play that much multiplayer
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Eh? Mines not so bad. So much faster than going to another unit.
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I played around with it for a half hour. It has a Recently Watched menu item that lets you get back to movies and series you've watched recently, which makes it blast way ahead of HBOGO in the usability department.
The only downside is that it kept saying I didn't have enough bandwidth when I tried to watch Pee Wee's Big Adventure in HD, which is ridiculous.
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The UI for this thing is super duper shitty. Really low res (1024x768????) so I can't read any text on the screen from far away because it's blurry as shit. The video selection is also laid out willy nilly.
I appreciate having the app and look forward to using it, but they have a lot of work to do if they want to compete with Netflix -
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Sign up for AmazonMom or AmazonStudent. The student one gets you a year for free (not the video content though) and then it was only $35 for another year (and that did include the video).
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$2 for a single TV show episode, $4 for a movie rental. I guess the content companies don't really want people to use these services. Movie rentals that don't use bandwidth I pay for and aren't compressed as heavily are $1 to $2.50 max these days. Just a couple of TV shows a day at $2 a piece adds up to more than a cable subscription including the premium channels. I do believe 40 minutes to 1 hr 20 minutes of tv a day is very low for most households. This is their business model but filesharing causes them losses? So many dumb people in charge of major corporations these days (a scientific fact BTW, there have been studies that show management gets dumber and more morally corrupt the higher you go).-That is on average of course.
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Most of those $2 and $4 videos are free if you're a Prime member, which is worth it's weight in gold. Prime is $80 a year, but you get free 2nd day shipping on EVERYTHING. At 2nd day speed/costs, if you make more than 5-6 little orders with Amazon a year, or do all your Christmas shopping online as I do, it's already paid for itself. The video service is just the cherry on top.
I agree that the price structure is stupid, but if you're a Prime member because you wanted to save on shipping costs, it doesn't really matter, you're already getting your money's worth. For the record, I wouldn't buy a TV episode at $2 either.
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YAY. I was going to buy a Roku box since it was one of the only things to support Amazon's service, now I don't have to. Hopefully the interface gets better, but at least they're offering the service, so it's a step in the right direction.
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