A few days ago, I received an e-mail from my ISP (Zen) saying they had
received an illegal download complaint from 20th Century Fox, which,
predictably, was traced (by me) to our 14 year old son. Spoken to Zen
who say further action extremely unlikely if content deleted and no
further downloads (which will be monitored) take place.

Moving forward, we now have a Netflix 30 day trial running, subsequently
5.99 per month, for son to watch films or whatever. However, having
done a little more delving, there seems to be an Amazon service, also
available via TV as well as PC. However, our TV is fairly modern
flatscreen with USB and HDMI sockets but not a smart TV, so Fire TV is
required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00

Am I missing anything? Is this the way to go, to get Netflix or Amazon
via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is there a better/cheaper
option? Any thoughts?
--
Graeme

News wrote:

Fire TV is required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00 Is this the way to go,
to get Netflix or Amazon via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is
there a better/cheaper option? Any thoughts?

Chromecast is a similar dongle, does netflix, blinkbox, iplayer, youtube
etc plus screencasting from your own devices.

http://pixmania.co.uk/chromecast-h2g2-42/22320325-a.html

You should be able to pick one up in Currys/PCWorld/Argos

On 7/23/2015 10:57 AM, News wrote:

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from my ISP (Zen) saying they had
received an illegal download complaint from 20th Century Fox, which,
predictably, was traced (by me) to our 14 year old son. Spoken to Zen
who say further action extremely unlikely if content deleted and no
further downloads (which will be monitored) take place.

Moving forward, we now have a Netflix 30 day trial running, subsequently
5.99 per month, for son to watch films or whatever. However, having
done a little more delving, there seems to be an Amazon service, also
available via TV as well as PC. However, our TV is fairly modern
flatscreen with USB and HDMI sockets but not a smart TV, so Fire TV is
required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00

or raspberry pi, and no doubt many other platforms that support netflix.

Am I missing anything? Is this the way to go, to get Netflix or Amazon
via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is there a better/cheaper
option? Any thoughts?

Yup, basically a smart tv is one with a computer built in, nothing to
stop you replicating the effect with separate boxes. Note also that some
Blueray players include smart TV style capabilities.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 23/07/15 11:15, Andy Burns wrote:
News wrote:

Fire TV is required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00 Is this the way to go,
to get Netflix or Amazon via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is
there a better/cheaper option? Any thoughts?

Chromecast is a similar dongle, does netflix, blinkbox, iplayer, youtube
etc plus screencasting from your own devices.

http://pixmania.co.uk/chromecast-h2g2-42/22320325-a.html

You should be able to pick one up in Currys/PCWorld/Argos


I would recommend a Roku 3 for serious use.

The Chromecast is OK ish - but it tends to "drop off" - not losing the
network connection (it finishes playing the film just fine) but after
about 15-30 minutes it becomes impossible to cast a new stream to it -
it just disappears from the phone as a casting option.

I've seen other complaints about this with no real fix offered.

My Roku 3 however both can accept cast streams from Android and (better)
it has its own remote so it behaves more properly like a media box that
can be used by itself.

It also has an ethernet port as well as WIFI.

Tim Watts wrote:

The Chromecast is OK ish - but it tends to "drop off" - not losing the
network connection (it finishes playing the film just fine) but after
about 15-30 minutes it becomes impossible to cast a new stream to it -
it just disappears from the phone as a casting option.

I've seen other complaints about this with no real fix offered.

Can't say I've noticed that, indeed I can use the tablet to wake up
chromecast which in turn switches the TV on ready to cast, but I see
they have recently introduced a special USB charger that provides
ethernet connectivity to the chromecast, that would suit me because the
chromecast doesn't use 5GHz WiFi, but it's only available in USA flavour
at the moment ...

https://store.google.com/product/_ethernet_adapter_for_chromecast

Tim Watts wrote:

I would recommend a Roku 3 for serious use.

The Chromecast is OK ish - but it tends to "drop off" - not losing the
network connection (it finishes playing the film just fine) but after
about 15-30 minutes it becomes impossible to cast a new stream to it -
it just disappears from the phone as a casting option.

I've seen other complaints about this with no real fix offered.

My Roku 3 however both can accept cast streams from Android and (better)
it has its own remote so it behaves more properly like a media box that
can be used by itself.

It also has an ethernet port as well as WIFI.

Roku 3 works well for me, though mainly for iPlayer, which it
does well over WiFi, which is just as well as it doesn't like the
ethernet connection.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

On 23/07/15 11:31, John Rumm wrote:
On 7/23/2015 10:57 AM, News wrote:

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from my ISP (Zen) saying they had
received an illegal download complaint from 20th Century Fox, which,
predictably, was traced (by me) to our 14 year old son. Spoken to Zen
who say further action extremely unlikely if content deleted and no
further downloads (which will be monitored) take place.

Moving forward, we now have a Netflix 30 day trial running, subsequently
5.99 per month, for son to watch films or whatever. However, having
done a little more delving, there seems to be an Amazon service, also
available via TV as well as PC. However, our TV is fairly modern
flatscreen with USB and HDMI sockets but not a smart TV, so Fire TV is
required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00

or raspberry pi, and no doubt many other platforms that support netflix.

Am I missing anything? Is this the way to go, to get Netflix or Amazon
via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is there a better/cheaper
option? Any thoughts?

Yup, basically a smart tv is one with a computer built in, nothing to
stop you replicating the effect with separate boxes. Note also that some
Blueray players include smart TV style capabilities.

This can be cheaper and better than adpating the TV depending on how
good the box is...


--
New Socialism consists essentially in being seen to have your heart in
the right place whilst your head is in the clouds and your hand is in
someone else's pocket.

In message , News
writes



Moving forward, we now have a Netflix 30 day trial running,
subsequently 5.99 per month, for son to watch films or whatever.
However, having done a little more delving, there seems to be an Amazon
service, also available via TV as well as PC. However, our TV is
fairly modern flatscreen with USB and HDMI sockets but not a smart TV,
so Fire TV is required. Stick 35.00 or box 79.00

Am I missing anything? Is this the way to go, to get Netflix or Amazon
via the TV as well as PCs, phones etc? Is there a better/cheaper
option? Any thoughts?

Note that what is on the services differs, and changes over time as
things drop of the service and new things come along. So you might want
to look at what's on offer from each one. And the film selection is
relatively limited, and newer films tend not to be on them (as the
rights holders want to make more money from DVD and individual streaming
purchases). At the moment we are preferring Netflix

Of course you can stop and start subs as you wish.

Also worth noting (let 14yo loose on it) that Netflix has different
content depending on the region. It is possible to 'fool' the system
into thinking you are in the US or whatever and have access to their
content.

Cheapest way if you a suitable laptop/tablet/phone with HDMI output is
to hook that up and display it on the TV. though using a
Chromecast/Fire/Roku is a nicer experience.


--
Chris French

On 23 Jul 2015, The Natural Philosopher grunted:

On 23/07/15 11:31, John Rumm wrote:

Yup, basically a smart tv is one with a computer built in, nothing to
stop you replicating the effect with separate boxes. Note also that
some Blueray players include smart TV style capabilities.

This can be cheaper and better than adpating the TV depending on how
good the box is...

Speaking as somebody who has a smart TV (with separate amplifier) in one
room, and a standard TV with my son's Playstation attached (which in effect
converts the TV to 'smart') in the other, I would say there's a big
fundamental advantage to having a separate box.

On TV 1, I can select between the inputs 'Virginmedia' or DVD... if I want
the smart TV capability (which includes streaming pre-recorded video, music
or photos from a network-attached drive), I have to switch the TV into a
different mode (call it 'network' mode). That takes several seconds each
time to go back and forth, and you have to exit and kill whatever you were
doing on the network when you want to go back to any of the 'conventional'
inputs.

On TV 2, however, the inputs are in effect 'Virginmedia', 'DVD', or
'Network', and the TV just acts as a monitor, which is much more intuitive
to the user. It also means you can flip in and out of 'network' mode
instantly, and the 'network' input remains active. So I can pause a
streamed program while briefly flipping over to VirginMedia to check
something, or conversely have a live internet browser running in background
while watching TV.

I can't see a single advantage of TV 1, and I'd never get a model with
built-in 'smart' again (if it will be possible to avoid!)

--
David

On 23/07/15 20:55, Chris French wrote:

Note that what is on the services differs, and changes over time as
things drop of the service and new things come along. So you might want
to look at what's on offer from each one. And the film selection is
relatively limited, and newer films tend not to be on them (as the
rights holders want to make more money from DVD and individual streaming
purchases). At the moment we are preferring Netflix

Of course you can stop and start subs as you wish.

Also worth noting (let 14yo loose on it) that Netflix has different
content depending on the region. It is possible to 'fool' the system
into thinking you are in the US or whatever and have access to their
content.


www.unblock-us.com is the service I use. Warning though - chromecast
sticks, roku and even the Netflix app on android hard code 8.8.8.8 as
one of their DNS (ignoring the DHCP supplied value).

This is broken behaviour, but is designed to mess up DNS based region
switchers.

You will need to put a firewall rule on your router that redirects
8.8.8.8 (and 8.8.4.4) to the unblock-us DNS.


Anyway - that gives a huge amount of content. For the odd other thing I
tend to buy or rent from Google's play store which has a fantastic
selection, especially of esoteric and classic films.

I'm pretty close to telling BBC to shove their license. The *only* thing
we reliable watch is Dr Who.

On 24/07/15 08:40, Lobster wrote:

I can't see a single advantage of TV 1, and I'd never get a model with
built-in 'smart' again (if it will be possible to avoid!)


It's impossible to avoid - and I agree with you completely.

The panel will vastly outlast the "smart" bit and whereas with a Roku or
chromestick, you can junk and replace it, the smart TV is not upgradeable.

Also you get things like: will Samsung give a crap about firmware and
app upgrades on a 3 year old box? (Took long enough for my 18 month
Samsung Note 3 to get a Lollypop update).

Roku as they only have 3 or so models and that being their only and core
business are very much more likley to support their devices long term.

Sadly, it seems to be cheaper to get a smart TV and ignore the smart bit
and buy a box anyway.

In message , Tim Watts
writes
On 24/07/15 08:40, Lobster wrote:

I can't see a single advantage of TV 1, and I'd never get a model with
built-in 'smart' again (if it will be possible to avoid!)


It's impossible to avoid - and I agree with you completely.

Whilst I agree in principle with what David said, in reality it doesn't
seem to be an issue for us -as ever use cases.. Probably because we
don't switch between inputs that much - most viewing is done via the
TV's smart interface (iplayer and netflix mostly at the moment (we don't
really bother with streaming local content or music etc.)) or via the
attached 'htpc' which nowadays is really just used for playing
downloaded/ripped movies or TV shows via xbmc.

Live TV only really gets watched when in laws come to stay.

(yes we could use it for stuff we do via the TV smart interface, but
really it's much easier to use the TV.)

The panel will vastly outlast the "smart" bit and whereas with a Roku
or chromestick, you can junk and replace it, the smart TV is not
upgradeable.

Also you get things like: will Samsung give a crap about firmware and
app upgrades on a 3 year old box? (Took long enough for my 18 month
Samsung Note 3 to get a Lollypop update).

Roku as they only have 3 or so models and that being their only and
core business are very much more likley to support their devices long
term.

Sadly, it seems to be cheaper to get a smart TV and ignore the smart
bit and buy a box anyway.

Can't see why it has to be sadly - does it make any difference if you
don't use it and don't have it connected to the net?

We got a Samsung Smart TV 3 years ago (really cos it came with the TV),
but in reality we've used it lots. When eventually it stops working
properly/doesn't do what we want we can just get a suitable box/stick or
whatever
--
Chris French

In message , Tim Watts
writes

Sadly, it seems to be cheaper to get a smart TV and ignore the smart
bit and buy a box anyway.

Thanks for all the comments. Very useful.

This service is really for son, so I'll let him choose whether we go
with Netflix or Amazon. I think he'll go with Netflix.

Most of his viewing is via phone or computer, so the TV part is
secondary but, given that our TV is not smart, a box or stick seems to
be the way forward, particularly as TV viewing (by parents) is likely to
be minimal. The Roku stick seems to be the answer.

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.

--
Graeme

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

On 25 Jul 2015, Tim Watts grunted:

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

Are there any such internet-based *do* work like that - as far as I know,
there aren't?

Since at Chez Lobster we watch a lot of so-called 'boxed sets'; by which I
mean 'series of episodic drama', we rarely watch live TV but set the
VirginMedia box to record particular series, and it may be many months
before we'll get round to watching the whole lot, usually depending on
which permutation of the family is in residence at the time. For that
reason we have always steered clear of on-demand offerings, assuming they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...

--
David

On 25/07/15 23:40, Lobster wrote:
assuming they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...


That is the one thing I do not like about Netflix.

That they don't advise on the end date of the titles - why not - they
must have decided to pay x-months licensing?

In message , Lobster
writes
On 25 Jul 2015, Tim Watts grunted:

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

Are there any such internet-based *do* work like that - as far as I know,
there aren't?

No, except iPlayer I guess - which will let you download and gives you
30 days IIRC to watch. And get iplayer will get it for you if you want
to keep it.

It is possible to record the video output from Netflix - or anything
else - with a screen capture program but you have record it whilst
playing it. all rather clunky. With Netflix, for an extra quid a month
you can stream to 2 devices.

Since at Chez Lobster we watch a lot of so-called 'boxed sets'; by which I
mean 'series of episodic drama', we rarely watch live TV but set the
VirginMedia box to record particular series, and it may be many months
before we'll get round to watching the whole lot, usually depending on
which permutation of the family is in residence at the time. For that
reason we have always steered clear of on-demand offerings, assuming they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...

Mostly it's been ok.

Though there have been occasions when something has fallen of the
service and I've gone looking for *cough* - alternative sources to
download it from (which is where we came in)

--
Chris French

On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:
In message , Lobster
writes
On 25 Jul 2015, Tim Watts grunted:

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

Are there any such internet-based *do* work like that - as far as I know,
there aren't?

No, except iPlayer I guess - which will let you download and gives you
30 days IIRC to watch. And get iplayer will get it for you if you want
to keep it.

It is possible to record the video output from Netflix - or anything
else - with a screen capture program but you have record it whilst
playing it. all rather clunky. With Netflix, for an extra quid a month
you can stream to 2 devices.

Since at Chez Lobster we watch a lot of so-called 'boxed sets'; by
which I
mean 'series of episodic drama', we rarely watch live TV but set the
VirginMedia box to record particular series, and it may be many months
before we'll get round to watching the whole lot, usually depending on
which permutation of the family is in residence at the time. For that
reason we have always steered clear of on-demand offerings, assuming they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...

Mostly it's been ok.

Though there have been occasions when something has fallen of the
service and I've gone looking for *cough* - alternative sources to
download it from (which is where we came in)


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films on
the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why they
don't...

In message , Tim Watts
writes
On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:
In message , Lobster
writes
On 25 Jul 2015, Tim Watts grunted:

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

Are there any such internet-based *do* work like that - as far as I know,
there aren't?

No, except iPlayer I guess - which will let you download and gives you
30 days IIRC to watch. And get iplayer will get it for you if you want
to keep it.

It is possible to record the video output from Netflix - or anything
else - with a screen capture program but you have record it whilst
playing it. all rather clunky. With Netflix, for an extra quid a month
you can stream to 2 devices.

Since at Chez Lobster we watch a lot of so-called 'boxed sets'; by
which I
mean 'series of episodic drama', we rarely watch live TV but set the
VirginMedia box to record particular series, and it may be many months
before we'll get round to watching the whole lot, usually depending on
which permutation of the family is in residence at the time. For that
reason we have always steered clear of on-demand offerings, assuming they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...

Mostly it's been ok.

Though there have been occasions when something has fallen of the
service and I've gone looking for *cough* - alternative sources to
download it from (which is where we came in)


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films
on the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why
they don't...

Licensing I imagine. I guess the rights holders would want more money
for that facility
--
Chris French

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:
In message , Lobster
writes
On 25 Jul 2015, Tim Watts grunted:

On 25/07/15 09:36, News wrote:

One last question. Assuming we select Netflix, with one device, is it
possible to record, for later viewing? I'm thinking that we (parents)
could download and record whilst son is at school, for later evening
viewing, so we could watch something recorded while he uses the live
download.


Netflix doesn't work like that - it is all on-demand and the concept of
recording has no meaning.

Are there any such internet-based *do* work like that - as far as I
know,
there aren't?

No, except iPlayer I guess - which will let you download and gives you
30 days IIRC to watch. And get iplayer will get it for you if you want
to keep it.

It is possible to record the video output from Netflix - or anything
else - with a screen capture program but you have record it whilst
playing it. all rather clunky. With Netflix, for an extra quid a month
you can stream to 2 devices.

Since at Chez Lobster we watch a lot of so-called 'boxed sets'; by
which I
mean 'series of episodic drama', we rarely watch live TV but set the
VirginMedia box to record particular series, and it may be many months
before we'll get round to watching the whole lot, usually depending on
which permutation of the family is in residence at the time. For that
reason we have always steered clear of on-demand offerings, assuming
they
are likely to be taken down before we've finished watching the series...

Mostly it's been ok.

Though there have been occasions when something has fallen of the
service and I've gone looking for *cough* - alternative sources to
download it from (which is where we came in)


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films on
the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why they
don't...

Because it hasn’t been.

On 27/07/15 12:19, Hank wrote:


"Tim Watts" wrote in message

I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films
on the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why
they don't...

Because it hasn’t been.

It's been solved well enough by iPlayer - and the BBC's providers are
very fussy.

"Tim Watts" wrote in message
...
On 27/07/15 12:19, Hank wrote:


"Tim Watts" wrote in message

I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films
on the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why
they don't...

Because it hasn’t been.

It's been solved well enough by iPlayer

Easy to circumvent.

- and the BBC's providers are
very fussy.

Bet they don’t get asked.

In message , Chris French
writes

Cheapest way if you a suitable laptop/tablet/phone with HDMI output is
to hook that up and display it on the TV. though using a
Chromecast/Fire/Roku is a nicer experience.

Chris, everyone, thanks, as ever. We thought we had settled on Netflix
until today's Amazon announcement - son is now thinking we should switch
to Prime, because the ex Top Gear crew are his heroes. The Prime site
is even worse than Netflix! Am I understanding correctly? Pure
streaming 5.99 per month OR streaming, music, delivery etc 79 per annum?
Than is, an extra seven pounds a year for the extras? (I hope it is not
79pa PLUS 5.99pm).

Having signed for one of the above, are there additional charges for
specific content? Wife has just found Braveheart on Amazon, but it
seems that we pay an additional 2.49 to watch, in addition to the
subscription?

Taking Chris's point above, could we use an old X Box as the 'box' to
turn an ordinary TV into a smart TV?

Finally, I can't find, on the Amazon site, the additional cost, if any,
to allow more than one simultaneous download.

I could ask Child all these questions, but he already thinks I'm a
clueless old fart :-)
--
Graeme

On 30/07/15 15:16, News wrote:
In message , Chris French
writes

Cheapest way if you a suitable laptop/tablet/phone with HDMI output is
to hook that up and display it on the TV. though using a
Chromecast/Fire/Roku is a nicer experience.

Chris, everyone, thanks, as ever. We thought we had settled on Netflix
until today's Amazon announcement - son is now thinking we should switch
to Prime, because the ex Top Gear crew are his heroes. The Prime site
is even worse than Netflix! Am I understanding correctly? Pure
streaming 5.99 per month OR streaming, music, delivery etc 79 per annum?
Than is, an extra seven pounds a year for the extras? (I hope it is not
79pa PLUS 5.99pm).

Having signed for one of the above, are there additional charges for
specific content? Wife has just found Braveheart on Amazon, but it
seems that we pay an additional 2.49 to watch, in addition to the
subscription?

No extra charges for Netflix - unless you count subscribing to a region
switcher to get access to ALL the content worldwide.

On Thu, 30 Jul 2015 15:16:46 +0100, News wrote:

Chris, everyone, thanks, as ever. We thought we had settled on Netflix
until today's Amazon announcement - son is now thinking we should switch
to Prime, because the ex Top Gear crew are his heroes. The Prime site
is even worse than Netflix! Am I understanding correctly? Pure
streaming 5.99 per month OR streaming, music, delivery etc 79 per annum?
Than is, an extra seven pounds a year for the extras? (I hope it is not
79pa PLUS 5.99pm).

When they jacked their Prime price up and added Netflix, I gave up Prime
as I didn't need the extra (since found that I can usually beat Amazon on
price elsewhere anyway)

That aside...there were a lot of mutterings in the Amazone discussion
forums about limitations of the Prime offering. I'd check that out very
carefully.

In message , News
writes
In message , Chris French
writes

Cheapest way if you a suitable laptop/tablet/phone with HDMI output is
to hook that up and display it on the TV. though using a
Chromecast/Fire/Roku is a nicer experience.

Chris, everyone, thanks, as ever. We thought we had settled on Netflix
until today's Amazon announcement - son is now thinking we should
switch to Prime, because the ex Top Gear crew are his heroes.

Not sure when the program will actually be available.

The Prime site is even worse than Netflix! Am I understanding
correctly? Pure streaming 5.99 per month OR streaming, music, delivery
etc 79 per annum? Than is, an extra seven pounds a year for the extras?
(I hope it is not 79pa PLUS 5.99pm).

That's right, just the £79 pa -of course you are signed up for a year.

Just sign up for a months trial of Prime to see which is preferred.

Having signed for one of the above, are there additional charges for
specific content? Wife has just found Braveheart on Amazon, but it
seems that we pay an additional 2.49 to watch, in addition to the
subscription?

Some content has extra charges (buy or rent), some content is included
'Prime Instant video' stuff is included. My feeling from using both at
different times is that the amount of included stuff on Amazon is about
the same as Netflix, but they also have extra stuff that you pay to
either own or rent. This isn't necessarily bad. Films just released on
DVD can be available to buy on Amazon Instant Video at the same time.
They won't appear on Netflix for a ages.

The business models are bit different I think.

Taking Chris's point above, could we use an old X Box as the 'box' to
turn an ordinary TV into a smart TV?

Might depend on how old is 'old'

Finally, I can't find, on the Amazon site, the additional cost, if any,
to allow more than one simultaneous download.

Basically 2 devices, but I think it's a bit more complicated cos of the
options to by and rent.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201422770


--
Chris French

On 26/07/2015 20:47, Tim Watts wrote:
On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films on
the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why they
don't...

The BEEB have finally got "Download" working on iPlayer radio for
Android. Havn't actually checked if TV works too.

I guess one of the reasons that providers are so keen on streaming
rather than permitting saved downloads is that they can bill advertisers
per viewing that way.

On 30/07/15 20:55, newshound wrote:
On 26/07/2015 20:47, Tim Watts wrote:
On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films on
the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why they
don't...

The BEEB have finally got "Download" working on iPlayer radio for
Android. Havn't actually checked if TV works too.

I guess one of the reasons that providers are so keen on streaming
rather than permitting saved downloads is that they can bill advertisers
per viewing that way.

In theory they still (mostly) can.

The DRM requires their app to play the cached copy, so it can still
tally viewings and report back at the next opportunity.

In message ,
newshound writes
On 26/07/2015 20:47, Tim Watts wrote:
On 26/07/15 20:32, Chris French wrote:


I wish Netflix did do a download-and-watch - then I could watch films on
the train. The problem of DRM is well solved so I do not know why they
don't...

The BEEB have finally got "Download" working on iPlayer radio for
Android. Havn't actually checked if TV works too.

Tv has been doing it for ages.

I guess one of the reasons that providers are so keen on streaming
rather than permitting saved downloads is that they can bill
advertisers per viewing that way.

No adverts on Netflix, or iPlayer though.

Amaozn do allow some downloading AIUI
--
Chris French