Amazon now allows you to gift Prime, just in time for the holidays

If you're still looking for gift ideas for that special someone, Amazon is looking to lend a hand. The online retailer has announced that customers can now give a $79 one-year membership to Prime. Recipients will get an email on the day of the giver's choosing with instructions on how to get started. For folks in the US, this means unlimited streaming of certain titles from Prime Instant Video on top of a Kindle book each month from the Owners' Lending Library, Kindle First and free two-day shipping that also come with the annual dues. In a giving mood? Jump down to that first source link below to add 12 months of access to your shopping cart.

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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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Source: Amazon Prime Instant Video

Google TV’s PrimeTime app update welcomes Amazon Prime content

Google TV's PrimeTime app update welcomes Amazon Prime content to the mix

An update to the PrimeTime Android app for Google TV has been released, bringing with it some bug fixes, as well as a "subscription selector" which means Netflix, HBO Go and Amazon Prime content now shows up as free if you're paying for any of those services. Wait, Amazon Prime content, you say? Well yes, we did, as the Amazon Prime Instant Video catalogue has been worked into the new version of the guide and recommendation app. Yet more ways to make sure we're up to date with The Good Wife? Sounds fine to us.

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Source: Google Play store

CBS tries multi-stage syndication for The Good Wife on Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus and TV

CBS tries multiplatform syndication for The Good Wife on Amazon, Hulu Plus and TV

Almost by definition, TV syndication in the modern era leads us to wonder just where and when we'll get to see a show online. For CBS' The Good Wife, streaming on third-party services will be a cornerstone of an uncommon, multi-step syndication strategy that puts the internet first. The drama will be available for Amazon Prime Instant Video subscribers starting March 14th, expanding beyond its existing availability for purchase. Hulu Plus members, meanwhile, will get their own turn at streaming in September. Traditional TV will still be around, but it's notably pushed to the back of the queue -- Hallmark won't have airing rights until January 2014, and most other broadcasters will be denied until a year after Hulu. The new approach another sign that CBS' one-time cold shoulder to some forms of digital distribution is growing warmer and warmer.

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Amazon stops testing monthly Prime subscriptions, leaves the results a mystery

Amazon Prime monthly trial

Amazon's trial periods must be as quick as its shipping -- just days after we first learned that it was testing monthly subscriptions for Amazon Prime, the online retailer has already put a halt to the program. A spokesperson says only that the company has "completed" its testing and has stopped taking sign-ups. We haven't been told whether or not the test was successful, although it's not hard to see the math working against Amazon's experiment when a $79 yearly Prime subscription is unquestionably the better deal. Chalk up the rapid-fire testing to the competitive heat in the streaming video world.

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Amazon stops testing monthly Prime subscriptions, leaves the results a mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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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