Season 3 of Downton Abbey arrives as an Amazon streaming exclusive: members get their Dowager Countess fix for free

We knew season three of Downton Abbey was coming to Amazon Prime Instant Video as an exclusive, but it looks like those episodes have arrived on the subscription streaming service one day ahead of schedule. Starting today, Prime members can watch all three seasons of the Masterpiece Classic drama at no additional charge. Not signed up? Hold your binge-viewing parties now, because Prime Instant Video will soon be the only subscription streaming site to offer the show, period.

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Samsung 2012 Smart TVs get Amazon Instant Video streaming app, synchronicity with your Kindle Fire

Samsung 2012 Smart TVs get Amazon Instant Video streaming app, synchronicity with your Kindle Fire

Samsung just sweetened the streaming video pot for current and would-be owners of its modern Smart TVs. Viewers who've been craving Amazon Instant Video can download an app today to watch movies and TV shows through their 2012 set's internet link, in the event options for Blockbuster, Hulu Plus, Netflix and Vudu weren't already enough. It's not necessarily a cut-and-dried port, either -- Samsung is flaunting a redesigned interface tuned for big-screen distances and quick access to queuing, recommendations and captioning. Amazon junkies who wanted a larger canvas than their Kindle Fire HD now can't get much larger.

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Samsung 2012 Smart TVs get Amazon Instant Video streaming app, synchronicity with your Kindle Fire originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NextGuide iPad app continues its fight against boring grids, adds Amazon, gestures and more

NextGuide iPad app continues its fight against boring grids, adds Amazon, gestures and more

There's more than a few apps (and even DVRs) that promise to help you find something to watch, but one of the more interesting efforts came from Dijit Media's NextGuide app for the iPad. It launched its assault on the old grid-style layout last month, and an update rolling out is adding listings for more content from Amazon VOD and Prime streaming, plus support for new gestures like two finger swipe between show cards, pinch to hide and more. The "Your Picks" algorithms that attempt to figure out what else you may like before you do have been tweaked, and it can also pull up more information about any show or movie with saved searches and Wikipedia bio lookups. Hit iTunes to give the free app a shot, and see if this is a push in the right direction for your TV watching experience.

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NextGuide iPad app continues its fight against boring grids, adds Amazon, gestures and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fox kicks off its Digital HD initiative by joining Google Play and YouTube, offering movies early

Google Play and YouTube add Fox movies and TV shows, use Prometheus as a lure

Fox embraced a radical thought when it outlined its Digital HD initiative earlier this month: customers are more likely to buy digital movies if the content isn't artificially delayed and priced to match the releases on conventional discs. The studio is about to see if that gamble on common sense pays off. As of today, you'll find 600-plus Fox movies ready to buy or rent in HD across every major digital video store in the US, with many downloads cleared to arrive ahead of their physical counterparts at lower prices that reflect a disc-free reality. The media giant has also decided to play nicely with Google after a longstanding absence, putting its movies and TV shows on Google Play Movies and YouTube. Its tentpole movie release Prometheus is unsurprisingly being used as the prime incentive to try Digital HD; the title is available online three weeks before the Blu-ray launch at a more reasonable $15 price. The sci-fi thriller is even Fox's first movie destined for UltraViolet cloud lockers. Only Americans will have expanded access to movies and TV at first, but it shouldn't be too long before many countries can be creeped out by Michael Fassbender's android -- including on their Android devices.

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Fox kicks off its Digital HD initiative by joining Google Play and YouTube, offering movies early originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster

Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster

Truth be told, Amazon's Prime Instant Video selection isn't the most comprehensive library on the net, but it's well on its way, thanks to a new licensing agreement with the Epix. The entertainment network, which partners with studios that include Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount, brings access to recent blockbusters like The Avengers, The Hunger Games and Thor, along with evergreen gems like Justin Bieber Never Say Never. Most importantly, it means Netflix is no longer the only subscription streaming home for those titles after its two year exclusive deal ran out. Amazon's streaming service, which includes thousands of movies and television shows, enables customers subscribing to Prime for $79 per year to stream content without additional monthly fees, in addition to benefits that include discounted shipping and a Kindle book loan program. The terms of the deal have not been announced, but the press release (available in full after the break) lists the partnership as a "multi-year licensing agreement," benefiting customers in the US.

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Amazon joins up with Epix, adds thousands of flicks to Prime Instant Video roster originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 10:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon and NBCUniversal expand Prime Instant Video deal, let you stream Parks and Rec in one place

Amazon and NBCUniversal Cable & New Media Distribution today announced a deal that will expand the mega-retailer's streaming selection by hundreds of episodes, including the likes of Parks and Recreation, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Heroes and Battlestar Galactica. Prime users will be able to check out older seasons of those shows on their computers, iPads, Xbox 360s, PlayStation 3s and, of course, Kindle Fires. Non-Prime subscribers can also try out Prime Instant Video's 22,000 movies and TV shows for one month, gratis. More information and lots of excited quotes about the deal can be found after the break.

Continue reading Amazon and NBCUniversal expand Prime Instant Video deal, let you stream Parks and Rec in one place

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Amazon and NBCUniversal expand Prime Instant Video deal, let you stream Parks and Rec in one place originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch still left wanting

Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch are left wanting

A day after upgrading its cloud music player, Amazon has delivered a native Amazon Instant Video app for iPad (not iPhone or iPod Touch, yet) to the App Store. It has access to streaming Prime Instant Video for subscribers, as well as downloaded or streamed video on-demand. Other key features include access to the Watchlist / queue, and automatic access to any shows subscribed to with a Season Pass the day after they air on TV. The free app is available in the iTunes store right now, however like the sudden appearance of Hulu Plus on Apple TV yesterday we don't have any official PR to share just yet.

We've had a chance to play around with it and we must say, Amazon is really coming after Netflix with this one. The app runs smoothly, and while the video player itself gets just the bare bones iOS treatment, every other part of the app seems polished, including the Watchlist. Add in the fact that you can watch things via subscription and seamlessly jump to fresher / premium content available for purchase or individual rental (with the notable caveat that you can't actually browse the VOD content, or purchase or buy it from within the app itself) and there's a serious competition going on.

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Amazon Instant Video iPad app now available, iPhone and iPod Touch still left wanting originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon, Warner deal brings Fringe, The West Wing to Prime Instant Video exclusively

Amazon deal brings Warner TV shows including Fringe, The West Wing to Prime Instant Video exclusively

The battle between Amazon's Prime Instant Video and Netflix Watch Instantly continues to heat up, with Amazon following up a slew of rollouts on new devices like the Xbox 360 and the addition of a queue by locking up some exclusive TV content from Warner Bros. According to the press release (included after the break) Amazon's agreement means episodes of Fringe and The West Wing will be "On Prime Instant Video First" and not on other streaming services for the summer. Stats show and Netflix has repeatedly indicated that subscribers view more TV content than movies on these types of services so content exclusives may become even more important differentiators. Other shows specifically named include Dark Blue, Alcatraz and The Whole Truth, hit up the Prime site to see any other less prominent names that may have escaped mention.

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Amazon, Warner deal brings Fringe, The West Wing to Prime Instant Video exclusively originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Jul 2012 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Studios adds first four original shows to its ‘development slate’

Amazon Studios pulls back the curtain on first four original productions

Back in May, Amazon put a call out for budding screenwriters to submit their ideas for an original comedy or children's series. Now, four of the submissions have been marked up on the Amazon Series Development Slate, with more being added to a "consider" list. The chosen projects comprise three comedies, and one preschooler's show. By getting the Amazonian thumbs-up, the ideas receive $10,000 to extend the initial option, assistance to develop the script, and potentially a pilot episode. So, we might not be seeing them on our screens / displays just yet, but we're sure we're not the only ones paying close attention.

Amazon Studios adds first four original shows to its 'development slate' originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Jun 2012 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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