Geezus my brother (the one who shares my Prime account) is a professor so has a .edu account. I am horrible at Prime, thanks for the heads-up!

(And now I wonder if my alumni .edu account would work...)

-Al

BTW, if anyone wants to read what I believe to be a pretty good overview of what Amazon Instant Video is trying to accomplish, and their competitive position vs. Netflix:

http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_b..._of_online_vi/

The one thing I forgot about is that Amazon has its own CDN (CloudFront) - Netflix uses Level 3 and some others to provision content online - Amazon will have a better cost structure leveraging their owned CDN, potentially allowing it to spend more money on content license fees, and who knows in time Amazon end up with a competitive catalog to Netflix.

(The author of the post above also makes an interesting point on the consumer view of Prime costs, which they're used to paying for already, sort of "subsidizing" Amazon Instant costs.)

As mentioned above, I don't see Amazon being that competitive with Netflix over the next 2-3 years - the key of course is what content the distributor has, and Netflix is going to lock up alot of titles now and over the next couple years. But I like where the industry is headed - both from what I do from a living standpoint (I work for a content producer, so more demand for our content, better rates hopefully for us) and from a consumer standpoint (more competition should help keep consumer sub price points lower).

-Al

i am kinda curious why amazon has not tried to compete with netflix sooner. The prices they charged in the past for streaming movies were just too steep.

I actually have a buddy who used to work at IMDB (a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon) - he helped launch IMDB's nascent/failed online video streaming service.

(And yes, that service was being deployed parallel to the Amazon streaming service you mention, Unbox - which has morphed into Amazon Instant today - corporately, Amazon apparently often has different groups working on similar initiatives, similar to Google.)

From what he's mentioned, the first thing Amazon suffered from was a lack of real resource committment to the online/over the top connected TV market - but that's fairly understandable...

When Unbox launched 4-5 years ago or so - the market was very different than it is today - content companies and Amazon were deathly afraid of cannibalizing their traditional businesses (for both of them - DVD retail sales) - so they developed streaming offerings to "be in the game", but with too high a price point to prevent real wide spread adoption (as you mention) - this is a muddled strategy - and one we see across the media landscape during that era.

Then Hulu happened. And Netflix happened. Netflix is a fairly recent phenomenon, and Amazon didn't quite envision the potential in growth that we see today. They always had a "let's keep a toe dipped in the water" strategy, but with the success of Netflix, and a transparent market in play - Amazon now has to go after it.

This is their first real push I'd say - and I really like how they're leveraging their Prime base. For years, I think Amazon has been trying to figure out how to leverage their best customers (Prime customers) - there were rumors that they were going to give Prime customers free kindles (to help widespread adoption of the ereader/ebook format) - but turns out they didn't need to do that. It's smart I think to use it to push their online video services.

(And props to Amazon for building out a CDN, positioning themselves to be a real player in this market.)

-Al

fwiw, with any online and/or streaming service, the biggest obstacle is not cost or storage or bandwidth. there are technology companies and technology groups within companies that have worked and improved those aspects for decades, and they only get cheaper with time and with your customer base.

the biggest obstacle is loyalty. it is relatively easy to drop the netflix subscription in favor of a "free" service. unless that subscription comes with some other benefit.

Oh, yeah that def makes sense - sorry my post above may not have brought out the point I was trying to make about AMZN owning their CDN - it'll be cheaper for Amazon to handle the technology/provisioning piece vs. Netflix (who has to pay outside 3rd party vendors).

So what that suggest is Amazon will have more money to spend on content, or pass the savings onto their subscribers in some way - so good positioning v. Netflix.

But one thing I think I'd disagree with you on - the biggest obstacle for online/OTT content distributors will be cost - not in the form of technology costs, but in the form of content licensing fees. The only thing that matters to the consumer for a video service is what content you have for them, and at what price. Netflix is already facing margin pressures, and will face more as they have to spend more for their content licenses.

Again, think it's really about the content the distributor has rights to. Netflix has great brand value, but if they can't lock up content rights they have today of course, they are done. And you couldn't drop Netflix today for Amazon Instant, because the library Amazon has is pretty weak.

But if Amazon over time gets a competitive content offering to Netflix, and (to your point) it's basically a "free" service to Prime members (if they keep the sub model the same as today), Netflix could def lose some subs...

Interestingly (and also I believe to your point) - one concept that gets thrown about alot in content distribution circles (lol this exists, I swear) - is the "good enough" phenomenon. It's the point where price point meets content availability to trigger a subscription. Netflix has found a "good enough" sweet spot - where Amazon Instant's good enough sweet spot will be is interesting considering their service is essentially "free" to Prime members.

And however this plays out, as mentioned above - happy to see Amazon in the game.

-Al

been meaning to watch hoop dreams for a long time and finally got around to it today, great documentary about a couple kids in chicago trying to make it to the nba. strongly recommend if you haven't seen it

yes, i overlooked that. but i would bet that at the end of the day (say 1-2 years from now), both amazon and netflix would end up with similar licensing costs, though probably slightly different libraries.

fact of the matter, prime program is really about customer loyalty. and you are paying for that privilege to boot. afaik, netflix customer loyalty is also very high, but it didn't stop me from cancelling the membership when i realized that i mostly watch current shows, sports, and only some older movie titles, and that need is filled by dvr, hulu, and other streaming and downloadable content.

Probably slightly longer runway (3+ years out) just because Netflix should (hopefully for them) lock in some exclusivity, boxing Amazon out for a couple years - but def, just like with Comcast, Time Warner etc in their market - Netflix/Amazon etc. will all pay similar rates for the rights to distribute a what will probably be a similar offering of content.

Definitely Netflix is vulnerable (as are all content distributor pure plays) to migration. The consumer is pretty agnostic and just wants the best content for their needs at the best price.

I've not spent much time thinking about the Prime program (not my biz) - but yeah, pretty crazy - it is essentially a customer loyalty program people are willing to spend some real money on. I'm not exactly sure how the economics break out of "free 2-day shipping" vs. "increased loyalty/spending on Amazon", but I'm sure it must really favor Amazon.

(And for myself, as a Prime customer for years now - this has been the general trajectoy for me - knowing I have Prime makes me want to spend more on Amazon to get the free shipping, offsetting membership fee - because Prime is so fast, and also because Amazon has awesome customer service, this just further encourages me to spend on Amazon - when I think about it... maybe 90% of my purchases are through Amazon )

-Al

Yeah I always assumed that Amazon lost money on shipping but made up for it in increased revenue. That's certainly been the case for me in the 8 months I've had Prime. I've bought a lot more stuff off of Amazon than I might otherwise have because I have the 2-day shipping and because I enjoy the whole experience way more at Amazon than just about anywhere else.

i think netflix being on consoles has to have it pretty safe, i have to imagine thats where the majority of their business comes from now

That's a pretty solid point (and pretty sure some huge % of their connected streaming to TV sets is through X-Box/Wii/PS3). But I don't think that will help Netflix for too long.

Amazon hasn't signed deals with the console guys yet, but they are with a bunch of devices already - I'd expect them to be on the consoles relatively soon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv

-Al

i only just signed up for netflix a week ago, but i'll probably keep it as long as its on my ps3 and it's the cheapest/best option.

Watched "The Machinist" last night. A little creepier then I thought it would be, I'll give it a solid 3/5. Bale's performance was pretty awesome, and he truly looked like a skeleton from all that weight he lost to play the role. I could see it being a movie that grows even more on me the more I think about it, the twist was relatively standard but the set-up for it was pretty creative and well done.

Watched the Dustin Hoffman biopic "Lenny" on the life of Lenny Bruce. As a film it was far from perfect, but it was an entertaining way to learn more about a comic who had so much influence on modern day comics that I love.

There are 2 other films on WI which feature performance clips from Lenny himself "Lenny Bruce: Without Tears" and "The Lenny Bruce Performance Film." I didn't enjoy those as much, but that may have been a combination of the fact that I was really sick last week and they both concentrate mostly on the tail end of his career when he became obsessed with the legal battles he was facing. Now that I am starting to feel better I might give them a try again.

Oh snap. wife gets this free as a student

yea, I cancelled my cable service after my 360 allows for ESPN/Netflix to stream ****. However, the shows on Netflix is quite limited.

I've watched; Lost, 24, Arrested Development, Prison Break, The Office, Veronica Mars, Lie to Me, Psych, Eureka, Heroes, Spartacus, Futurama, Family Guy, Flashfoward, Scrubs, Dexter, Better off Ted, 30 Rock, Chapelle's show.

Only thing left in my Queue: Terminator: SCA, Weeds, Dollhouse, Brotherhood, In Plain Sight, Bones. Half of South Park.

I was going through most of the TV instants last night, pretty bleak. I want to watch the Soprano's, Six Feet Under, or some OG series soon.

here's other tv shows just off my instant queue: parks and rec, larry sanders, king of the hill, newsradio, kids in the hall, the state, party down, married with children, reno 911, chapelle's show, monty python, south park, 30 rock, beavis and butthead, louie

add that to what you listed and this is bleak? lol wtf

You say that it is limited but you were able to find 25 entire series worth watching. That doesn't sound that limiting.

Also, you will never see HBO shows on watch instantly. HBO charges more of their content and Netflix does not think they can pay those fess and still provide streaming at a price customers want.

Dollhouse was quite good once they got done with all the stand alone episodes. Dushku sucks, it was a tough acting job and she couldn't hack it. I didn't much like the end, don't know what the majority opinion is on that though.

Have you considered that you may watch too much TV?

-Al

Just got around to watching The Third Man and I sorta disagree with Triumph, I think it fits pretty reasonably into the detective genre, just with a slight spin. I thought it was fantastic, loved that it refused to move in predictable ways in a few crucial spots. If you're a film noir person at all I highly recommend it.

They added Reaper S1 and Bulletproof. Reaper is this decent (kinda like scrubs) type comedy where this guy meets the devil and has to kill demons for him. Bulletproof has Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler. Wayans is undercover trying to bust Sandler's character. I'm sure most have heard of Bulletproof but I thought it's better to explain it anyways. They also added Lean on Me to WI. Carlito's Way is an old classic that some might've missed being on Instant. I also found a doc on Jimi Hendrix, haven't got a chance to watch it yet though.

Thanks for the Reaper heads-up - have heard from multiple sources that it's really good- just queued up S1 and S2 on WI (although I vaguely remember it being in my queue before, and never getting around to watching it...)

-Al

I started wathing this late night last night it was really good but I feel asleep during it since I started watching it so late. I'm def going to finish watching it.

I also watched Heartbreak Ridge for the first time. That movie was good really also.