Streaming movies

woodhead 2

Just ordered a Roku for streaming movies. Wondering who is best, Netflix or Amazon. Kind of looks like Amazon has more to chose from. Any one out there try them?

AsSiMiLaTeD

Apples and Oranges.

While Amazon does have the movie streaming service with the Prime membership, last I checked it was nowhere near the selection that Netflix has, not even close.

Amazon also has rental and movies you can buy though, and in that selection I would expect you to find a greater selection that what's on Netflix. However, you're paying for each of those.

So you can pay Netflix 8 bucks a month for unlimited streaming or you can buy or rent the movies at Amazon for 5 - 15 bucks each, not really a fair comparison. The Prime membership streaming thing is nice on Amazon, but the selected is not as good as Netflix.

Here's what I do:

If there's a movie I really want I'll go buy it on Blu Ray. If there's a movie that I just want to see at some point, I'll add it to my Netflix queue and watch them in the order they arrive. If there's a movie I don't really want to own but want to watch now I'll first check Netflix instant viewing and if it's not there I'll grab it from Redbox. Instant viewing is also nice for when you just want to browse around and find something to watch.

byfthalone

just curious....have you checked out Cinema Now?

woodhead 2

byfthalone wrote: »

just curious....have you checked out Cinema Now?

Never heard of it

woodhead 2

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

Apples and Oranges.

While Amazon does have the movie streaming service with the Prime membership, last I checked it was nowhere near the selection that Netflix has, not even close.

Amazon also has rental and movies you can buy though, and in that selection I would expect you to find a greater selection that what's on Netflix. However, you're paying for each of those.

So you can pay Netflix 8 bucks a month for unlimited streaming or you can buy or rent the movies at Amazon for 5 - 15 bucks each, not really a fair comparison. The Prime membership streaming thing is nice on Amazon, but the selected is not as good as Netflix.

Here's what I do:

If there's a movie I really want I'll go buy it on Blu Ray. If there's a movie that I just want to see at some point, I'll add it to my Netflix queue and watch them in the order they arrive. If there's a movie I don't really want to own but want to watch now I'll first check Netflix instant viewing and if it's not there I'll grab it from Redbox. Instant viewing is also nice for when you just want to browse around and find something to watch.

I guess I could try their free trials, and go from there. Thanks for replying.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Cinema Now is similar to the Amazon model, where you rent or buy movies individually.

Those are good services, but again it's not fair to compare Netflix to those because it's a completely different animal. Personally, if I'm going to pay 13 bucks for a movie I'd just buy the physical copy but that's just me.

woodhead 2

I guess I agree with you there. How about the picture quality?

AsSiMiLaTeD

Again, apples and oranges...

if you're streaming from Netflix, your picture is going to depend on your internet connection as Netflix adjusts the bitrate to allow for uninterrupted streaming. If you have a fast connection you'll get a decent picture out of Netflix.

With the services like Amazon and Cinema Now, you're typically downloading the actual file. So quality there will remain a constant, the only thing that will differ based on your speed is how long it takes you to download the file.

I would expect the picture quality on a file you're downloading to be better than one you're streaming, but then again you're paying alot more for it.

woodhead 2

I have cable internet, so the speed should be okay. I guess when the Roku gets here, I will try the free trial and go from there. Thanks for the output.