Comments on: Amazon Instant Video for iPad takes media mobile http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-instant-video-for-ipad-takes-media-mobile-01241244/ Feeding Your Gadget and Tech Obsessions Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:27:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Appledystopia http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-instant-video-for-ipad-takes-media-mobile-01241244/#comment-228360 Appledystopia Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:14:00 +0000 http://www.slashgear.com/?p=241244#comment-228360 Actually, Breaking Bad season 5 is slightly cheaper on iTunes (than Amazon) and looks much better. Amazon really annoys me — when I looked at Breaking Bad, they offer an HD Season Pass, but don’t show how much it costs. They say it is 5% less than buying the episodes a la carte. I did the math. It costs more than iTunes. This may be why they resort to such a cheap and obnoxious trick. The only disadvantage to iTunes is that you have to wait for it to download. Good things come to those who wait — the video quality is superior. The last time I rented an Amazon movie, I was disappointed The video stuttered and the stream “thinned” to low resolution at many points. I checked my ISP’s speed (with SpeedTest) and it was fine. I used to think streaming was bleeding edge, but Netflix seems to do it quite well. That said, when I compare the same content on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and iTunes, iTunes always looks the best. It has the highest frame rate. If you are watching this on an HDTV and want to enjoy the best quality, iTunes is the way to go. That said, I mainly watch Netflix streaming, which has vastly improved over the past year.

Given all that iOS users have, in terms of content that can be played on our HDTVs via AirPlay, the Amazon offering is underwhelming.

The weak AirPlay support is ridiculous. AirPlay is a standard, like Podcasts. Beyond Apple TV, there are many AV receivers and gadgets that support AirPlay now. Windows computers can also transmit AirPlay (via iTunes or AirParrot). This is no longer an Apple-only feature. My suspicion is that Amazon hobbled AirPlay in order to ensure that the iPad app wasn’t any better than the Kindle Fire app. After all, an iPad Mini is likely on the way, and that will turn the Kindle into kindling, whether Amazon supports AirPlay or not.

]]> By: Appledystopia http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-instant-video-for-ipad-takes-media-mobile-01241244/#comment-228356 Appledystopia Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:05:00 +0000 http://www.slashgear.com/?p=241244#comment-228356 This is a good piece, but it misses a few points. AirPlay is supported via screen mirroring, but it offers a 4:3 (non-widescreen) format and stutters between key frame transitions (scene or camera changes). Amazon’s subscriber content is weak. Also iTunes costs about as much as an Amazon rental/purchase, but offers much better video quality — higher frame rates. Of course, this better video quality cannot be streamed. You need to download iTunes content, whereas Amazon can be streamed. For the iOS user, the Amazon Instant iOS app is not compelling. I deleted it. I wrote a review on my site…

]]> By: nathan118 http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-instant-video-for-ipad-takes-media-mobile-01241244/#comment-227895 nathan118 Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:51:00 +0000 http://www.slashgear.com/?p=241244#comment-227895 Where’s the android app?

]]>