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Amazon has rolled out a major update to its Amazon Prime service. Customers in the US can still pay $79 per year to get free 2-day shipping on most orders. But now users can also stream over 5,000 TV shows and movies from the Amazon Instant Video service.
Not every title available for purchase or rental from Amazon’s Instant Video library is included. But there is a pretty good selection of programs, including some top notch BBC programming such as Doctor Who, Torchwood, MI-5, Top Gear, and The Office.
The latest seasons of some shows aren’t included in the deal, so you’ll still have to pony up some cash if you want to watch Doctor Who Series 5, for instance. And while there are some excellent movies in the mix, you won’t find a lot of current blockbuster titles.
That said, $79 per year breaks down to just about $6.58 per month, making Amazon Prime cheaper than either Netflix or Hulu. And as an added bonus you still get free shipping on purchases from Amazon — a feature that’s impossible for most online video providers to offer, even if Amazon doesn’t include quite as much content yet.
Amazon also offers a 1 month free trial.
While you can access the Instant Video service using any device with a supported web browser, Roku has already announced support for the new Amazon Prime service, which means Prime customers can pay as little as $59.99 for a set top bo that will let them stream Amazon Prime, Netflix, and/or Hulu Plus content to a TV.
You can find a list of Prime Eligible movies and TV shows at Amazon.
via Engadget and The Next Web
In order for this to work, you need to buy a Roku box ($199), then pay $79 per year just to watch online content? This is too much, especially when you can get the same thing from websites like TVDevo that offer a very similar thing without requiring a Roku box. All you need is an internet connection and your computer to watch with it. Good luck Amazon, but no thanks.