Netflix vs. Amazon Prime

[mummifiedstalin]

I currently have both, but I'm thinking of dropping Netflix. The recent killing of all MST on Netflix is just the last straw of how much they've taken down recently in terms of streaming. There's a lot still there for my kids but not much for me.

Anyone else have a better opinion on this than I do? Or does anyone have some good information or pointers on what I can expect from each service?

[Afgncaap5]

I've got no experience with Amazon Prime, and my only experience with Netflix comes from the two free trials they gave me.

If you cancel Netflix, will they give you an exit poll? If they do, then I'd almost suggest leaving Netflix just so that you can leave a note saying that getting rid of MST3K was kind of the tipping point for you.

[CBG]

I would be interested as well for any input on this...I have both, as well, and I don't have enough time to watch either, but the family does, and now they're talking about getting hulu prime as well. I don't think so...let's cut it to one, 'kay? So, yeah, insights would be great.

[The Mad Plumber]

Like Affy, I cannot comment on Amazon Prime and know nothing about. As far as Netflix, I can only comment on the service I experienced as it was my sister who was subscribed to the service.

I had downloaded Netflix for my Nintendo and had linked to my sister's service. The program was pretty good off the start. Titles were sorted by genre, which is far better than Family Video's technique of sorting videos into "new", "almost new", "popular", "classic", and "crap". It's a means of watching videos and avoiding purchasing an entire DVD to only discover that the film is an utter nightmare. Streaming seemed to work pretty well, though 2001: A Space Odyssey would pause during the intermission and I would have to stop and start the video again.

However, Netflix seemed to cause glitching in my Nintendo. For example, when trying to boot up the Nintendo, I might frequently get a message about a "corrupted file system" and would have to try to reboot the machine again. Furthermore, there was an "update" to the Netflix application that I allowed which, in many ways, made the program worse. The principal function of the program still worked the same, but the GUI was in shambles and the search no longer listed gray titles. Eventually, it got to the point that someone would watch one film or part of one film on Netflix and the program would need to be restarted since one could no longer browse titles after that. Because of these problems and my exhaustion of the "corrupted file system" errors, I deleted Netflix from the Nintendo.

I should note that I noticed there was a YouTube application for the Nintendo which I downloaded. My sister had me test one video in the application. The video froze halfway through and eventually so did the application. So, that application was deleted as well. Now, I don't know if that communicates into problems with my Ethernet, the Nintendo not being capable of dealing with streaming content, or that the applications were shoddily programmed.

[CBG]

Let me rephrase...I'm not totally ignorant of either system. I have been satisfied with Netflix for years now, especially with the stream. Only exception, it seems to slow at night. The search feature totally blows, and you can only watch on two devices at a time. I'm more interested in what the prospects are for Prime; will they catch up on their catalogs? You know price hikes are just down the road, so, to put it out there, what are the deciding factors? Speed? Catalog? Price?
Thanks for any help, I just don't have the time to do the research. The other plus factor with Prime is all the goodies you get Amazon shipping and price discount -wise. I love the reduced pricing and FREE shipping from anything Amazon kicks butt too. Right now Prime is less per year than Netflix. I believe I paid $70 for a year of Prime, and Netflix by the month @ $7.99 per month, meaning ...wow $95.88...never looked at it that way...may have just made my decision.

[Mr. Atari]

I have both, and I use Netflix 90% of the time. Mainly because it has easy to use icons on all of my devices. The kids watch on the Wii and the iPad. I watch on my laptop and Apple TV.

However, the shipping and discounts that come with Amazon Prime totally rock, and as CBG noted, the search function for Netflix does indeed blow. Lately, I've been finding more stuff unavailable on Netflix, but very available on Amazon. Not just MST, but other shows I'm interested in, like Fringe and The West Wing.

We tried Hulu Plus, but it didn't have much more than Netflix, and it annoyingly still has commercials. The whole business model of "you have to pay for special access but we're still going to load the content with commercials" just bugged me.

For now, we're keeping Netflix because of the kids and the general ease of use. But I'm gradually shifting to Amazon Prime for my series watching needs.

[Mighty Jack]

^Yeah the commercials for Hulu are baffling. The service is an outstanding source for the Criterion releases (if your into those kinds of films) which come commercial free and often with the extras.

Since everyone seems to offer different selections, I bounce around. The problem with Amazon is that there is no monthly payment plan. You have to pay for the year (at least that's the way it was last time I was on it)

[michaeljgleason96]

I have Netflix, and I would get rid of it, but Amazon doesn't have DVD rentals, and also I don't know, but is Amazon's Library better or the same as Netflix's?

[Mr. Atari]

Nov 29, 2012 17:53:28 GMT -5 michaeljgleason96 said:

I have Netflix, and I would get rid of it, but Amazon doesn't have DVD rentals, and also I don't know, but is Amazon's Library better or the same as Netflix's?

I'm not sure it's better, but it is different. Amazon has more TV series, which I like. They don't have the mail DVD rental option, but they do have a ton of streaming rental options for things not included in the Prime catalog. For example, if you're looking for a movie that isn't available for streaming with either service, Netflix might have it as a DVD mailer, but Amazon will almost definitely have it as an instant streaming rental for $2.99. I vastly prefer that option to a mailed DVD, and have found that library to be superior.

[Mitchell]

I prefer Amazon's service because it's not just limited to the free Prime titles. Netflix's licensing agreements come and go too often for my taste and other than the occasional offbeat gem, most of it is direct-to-DVD trash I don't have an interest in. The last time I looked through Netflix's New Release list (for streaming) it was a joke.

Amazon's service, though, is device-limited. For jnstance, you can't stream to a smartphone.