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Amazon takes on Netflix with rebrand of LoveFilm video-on-demand service


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Old 22-02-2014, 06:54
noise747
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The increase in reality isn't that high tbh when you think about it. Anyone who does a reasonable amount of Amazon shopping will even at £79 be quids in unless they only buy things in batches to get meet the super saver threshold. Even then the benefit of getting the item next day is a major benefit rather than 3-5 on super saver. Most retailers charge at least £5 for next day after all.
Certainly if you don't have prime you are paying between £2 and £6 an order for First class so if you order at most just 4 of the cheapest to post items a month you have covered the cost.
I can see where you are going with this and yes I agree to a certain extent, but it is still a sharp increase for more or less the same service if you only use it for the original intention

They are only doing this to get people to use their video service, which I think have been knocked down by Netflix.


Also as prime is marketed as something you share with your family members you can pay! add them and get them to contribute towards the costs while getting the same benefits
If you got family members or if there is anyone else in the residence that uses Amazon.


My friend only got her daughter living there and she don't use Amazon that often.

My friend told me that she may take the offer this year, but next year she will drop Amazon. It will give her time to look elsewhere.


Also it may be more than an increase due to the streaming being added as Amazon did hint they would be rising the price of a prime in the US.
But not that much of a increase. Amazon should give people a choice, either Prime by itself or prime with extras.

It is not as if their streaming is that good anyway, I only tried it once as a trial and thought it was pretty naff to be honest.
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Old 22-02-2014, 11:05
ovbg
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Amazons Instant prime in the US is generally much better than Lovefilms so it may be the case that the switch does allow them to offer a better streaming quality because they can just use their US video framework rather than using Lovefilms custom one.

Should also hopefully see the streaming come to more devices as they should be able to use the streaming apps they use for the American service over here too in the same way Netflix can use a single app for both countries
Having subscriptions to both Lovefilm UK and Amazon Prime Instant Video in the US, I don't really see the American one being better. Both are about the same for content in my mind and in most cases there are not a lot of major differences between them.

Lovefilm had the advantage that they concentrated purely on the subscription service on their iOS apps and didn't mix it all in with everything like Prime does. Also, Lovefilm have by far the better website, Prime's use of Amazon.com is horrid for browsing films and TV shows.

Prime on the other hand does have a Roku app, but that is the only big platform advantage that I saw. Prime is also missing from the Apple TV and neither have Android apps (which is odd since they have iOS ones)

I'll have Lovefilm DE from today as well, so I'll start comparing that too.

Will never be able to match Netflix with picture quality ive seen lovefilm and even in HD its not good compared to netflix.
My own tests beg to differ. The highest I have tested Lovefilm was at 5300kbps, and Prime at 6000kbps. Netflix at its best was tested at 5800kbps.

-------------------------------------------------------

By the way, Prime users in the UK are getting seriously ripped off when compared to those in Germany. Now before we start going on about rip-off Britain, prices are usually far better in the UK than in Germany for these things. But this time it is seriously on the other side.
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Old 22-02-2014, 12:24
Anika Hanson
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Just signed up for this. I'm already subscribed to lovefilm instant for £4.99 a month, which works out at £59.88 per year. I have a kindle paperwhite and wouldn't mind using the kindle lending service. I buy most of my stuff from amazon and since they have changed the rules on super saver delivery I'm paying quite a bit for my deliveries. If you sign up this week it's £49. So for me it's a bit of a no brainer for the first year at least as it is cheaper than my lovefilm subscription.
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Old 22-02-2014, 14:38
ovbg
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Been reading this article over on Spiegel Online about the German switchover. It seems this also allows Kindle Fire owners offline downloads! Now that is pretty impressive.

It seems this is also possible in the US version, so I suspect the German version as well will allow this.

They say "at this time" it is only available on Kindle Fire, so there may be a chance this will arrive on other platforms.

That makes Watchever (via iOS or Android) and Amazon Prime (via Kindle Fire) the ability to download offline content for travel.

Netflix is looking a bit alone here without this feature. Let's hope they start it soon as well.
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Old 22-02-2014, 16:00
wakey
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Having subscriptions to both Lovefilm UK and Amazon Prime Instant Video in the US, I don't really see the American one being better. Both are about the same for content in my mind and in most cases there are not a lot of major differences between them.

Lovefilm had the advantage that they concentrated purely on the subscription service on their iOS apps and didn't mix it all in with everything like Prime does. Also, Lovefilm have by far the better website, Prime's use of Amazon.com is horrid for browsing films and TV shows.

Prime on the other hand does have a Roku app, but that is the only big platform advantage that I saw. Prime is also missing from the Apple TV and neither have Android apps (which is odd since they have iOS ones)
I wasn't talking about the overall service but just the streaming quality (although their content is better than Lovefilms. Being under the Amazon name they have been able to be more aggressive with acquisitions where as Lovefilm have been limited to spending what they earn)

The streaming backed is much better and more modern. It results in less buffering, more stable streams, less processor intensive, better quality picture and better bitrates.

By the way, Prime users in the UK are getting seriously ripped off when compared to those in Germany. Now before we start going on about rip-off Britain, prices are usually far better in the UK than in Germany for these things. But this time it is seriously on the other side.
Wages are much lower in Germany, Infact the avergae wage is in the UK in USD is $33k but only $24k in Germany. At the top end for every £ you would earn in the UK you would earn a € but lower down it drops off signiicantly! helped especially by the lack of minimum wage.

It makes services cheaper to provide and I would assume postage in Germany is much lower.

These factors almost certainly make it easier for them to keep the price down. Additionally with no Netflix in Germany yet it makes sense to price it low to get a hook into people before netflix inevitable expansion into the country (There were reports in Jan that they had been holding talks in both Germany and France as their next countries to launch in)
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Old 22-02-2014, 16:53
moviegeek1992
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I'm currently using lovefilm 3 discs a month for £13.20 including lovefilm instant, would signing up for £49 cancel out my physical rental sub?

I'm also wondering how instant would work if I don't sign up, as Instant will be rebranded as prime instant video does that mean I'll lose access to instant streaming?
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Old 22-02-2014, 17:19
ovbg
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I wasn't talking about the overall service but just the streaming quality (although their content is better than Lovefilms. Being under the Amazon name they have been able to be more aggressive with acquisitions where as Lovefilm have been limited to spending what they earn)

The streaming backed is much better and more modern. It results in less buffering, more stable streams, less processor intensive, better quality picture and better bitrates.
Fair enough.
Although my own tests have shown slightly higher bitrates for US Amazon Prime, they were not significant enough over Lovefilm UK for me to consider it that much better. Visually I couldn't notice any difference.

As for buffering of Lovefilm, I have not experienced that yet. Nor have I for that matter with Amazon Prime in the US.

Wages are much lower in Germany, Infact the avergae wage is in the UK in USD is $33k but only $24k in Germany. At the top end for every £ you would earn in the UK you would earn a € but lower down it drops off signiicantly! helped especially by the lack of minimum wage.
No, not according this this list. Germany is higher, though only slightly on Net wages since income tax is also higher in Germany. But it doesn't show the figures you provided, and most other reports I have seen concur with these ones. So it's not wages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...y_average_wage

It makes services cheaper to provide and I would assume postage in Germany is much lower.
The recent rise in first class stamps have made postage for envelopes more expensive in the UK than Germany. But parcel delivery prices are not much different. Amazon deals in parcels, so it's not this either.


These factors almost certainly make it easier for them to keep the price down. Additionally with no Netflix in Germany yet it makes sense to price it low to get a hook into people before netflix inevitable expansion into the country (There were reports in Jan that they had been holding talks in both Germany and France as their next countries to launch in)
Now this sounds like it could have something to do with it.

Keep in mind that prices in Germany are normally higher than the UK. Media is a classic example. I can buy books, DVD's or Blu-Rays from Amazon UK, and send to Germany cheaper than buying locally with free delivery. So this is one of the odd ones where it is the other way around.

I think your last point is the answer and they are trying to grab people before the dreaded Netflix arrives.
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Old 22-02-2014, 19:30
wakey
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I'm currently using lovefilm 3 discs a month for £13.20 including lovefilm instant, would signing up for £49 cancel out my physical rental sub?

I'm also wondering how instant would work if I don't sign up, as Instant will be rebranded as prime instant video does that mean I'll lose access to instant streaming?
This is what will happen.

If you don't signup to prime you will lose streaming but will keep the physical rentals (supposedly with the a reduced rate for the physical rentals but they are refusing to say how much. I get the feeling the Guardian jumped the gun on the story and the idea was that it would have be kept under wraps until launch day and as such prices haven't been finalised)

If you signup to prime you will pay twice. You will pay a yearly prime fee that will get you streaming, free next day delivery from Amazon and the Kindle lending library AND a monthly fee for your physical rentals (again at a discounted rate)

A discount of £2.50 on the physical rental service will mean you won't pay anymore for the same service you have now at the £79 cost but at the £49 it provides even better value for money so its worth signing up now than later
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Old 22-02-2014, 20:51
Anika Hanson
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This is what will happen.

If you don't signup to prime you will lose streaming but will keep the physical rentals (supposedly with the a reduced rate for the physical rentals but they are refusing to say how much. I get the feeling the Guardian jumped the gun on the story and the idea was that it would have be kept under wraps until launch day and as such prices haven't been finalised)

If you signup to prime you will pay twice. You will pay a yearly prime fee that will get you streaming, free next day delivery from Amazon and the Kindle lending library AND a monthly fee for your physical rentals (again at a discounted rate)

A discount of £2.50 on the physical rental service will mean you won't pay anymore for the same service you have now at the £79 cost but at the £49 it provides even better value for money so its worth signing up now than later
This is what I was told by amazon

LOVEFiLM Instant will shortly become Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Your Watchlist, rental list, payment and account settings will all be available on Prime Instant Video from 26 February. The latest versions of the LOVEFiLM connected TV and mobile applications will be updated to work with your Prime Instant Video membership. The amount of your monthly bill won't change. If you had a LOVEFiLM Hybrid package, you'll now see separate transactions for Prime Instant Video and LOVEFiLM by Post.
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Old 22-02-2014, 21:06
Chparmar
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I've been a Amazon Prime customer for quite sometime just for free 'one-day delivery' , never used Lovefilm, what can I expect in a few days??
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Old 22-02-2014, 21:14
zx50
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From what I've seen of Lovefilm's website, they don't exactly have a lot of content. They've got quite a few videos and that's about it. I can't see them doing Netflix any harm, especially if Netflix has as many videos as people on here say they have. More titles means more customers will sign up once word gets round.
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Old 22-02-2014, 21:18
Chparmar
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As someone who is used to high quailty Blu-ray for my video needs - this Prime new 'deal' sounds like crap!
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Old 22-02-2014, 21:36
passingbat
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As someone who is used to high quailty Blu-ray for my video needs - this Prime new 'deal' sounds like crap!

Then why are you interested in this thread or any of the other streaming services?
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Old 22-02-2014, 21:59
noise747
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From what I've seen of Lovefilm's website, they don't exactly have a lot of content. They've got quite a few videos and that's about it. I can't see them doing Netflix any harm, especially if Netflix has as many videos as people on here say they have. More titles means more customers will sign up once word gets round.
Only used Lovefilm streaming once on a trial and wa snot that impressed, granted it was a time when I had a slow ADSl connection, but Netflix could and still can produce good quality streams, so lovefilm should be able to do the same thing.

I thought by now they would have gave me another trial to try to get e off their disk service, but they have not done so. Sent a disk back today, I had it here for over two weeks, this is the problem I am having now, just not watching the things. If I want to watch anything, the first thing I stick on is Netflix.

i have got a couple of free disks on Lovefilm, so I may have them and then cancel. Free as in that instead of my 2 a month, I can also have one at home at the same time free. I can do that twice
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Old 22-02-2014, 22:01
noise747
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As someone who is used to high quailty Blu-ray for my video needs - this Prime new 'deal' sounds like crap!
it is a good deal if you are going to make use of it and if the quality is better than when I last looked.
But not so much of a good deal if all you want is the free delivery part

i like Blue-ray as well for certain things, but I can cope with lower quality.
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Old 23-02-2014, 00:28
Chparmar
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Then why are you interested in this thread or any of the other streaming services?
Because my Prime Membership is going up, upon next renewal because of this!
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Old 23-02-2014, 08:42
wavejockglw
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I just left LoveFilm for Netflix and would definitely return for the combined Prime/LoveFilm offer but only once Amazon make the streaming available to Android devices.
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Old 23-02-2014, 09:47
JEFF62
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This is all so confusing. I am with Lovefilm instant £5.99 package at the moment. I am actually on a free month trial which ends next week. So if i continue after next wednesday what will happen? As for as I can make out Lovefilm Instant will be renamed Amazon Prime Instant and will offer newer films on a pay per view basis like Blinkbox and Apple do. This will be as well as the streaming selection I am getting now. So will I get this for the £5.99? Or are they scrapping that and expecting me to sign up to this £79 per year service? I dont have a kindle and only order stuff on Amazon occasionally so do not need unlimited free delivery.
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Old 23-02-2014, 10:12
Inkblot
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I just left LoveFilm for Netflix and would definitely return for the combined Prime/LoveFilm offer but only once Amazon make the streaming available to Android devices.
Does anyone know whether they plan to extend it to other devices? I have Amazon Prime but I use Netflix for streaming because it's available on Panasonic TVs and Apple TV. Amazon Prime Instant Video won't be a lot of use if you can't watch it on your television.
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Old 23-02-2014, 10:20
Sue_C
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This is all so confusing. I am with Lovefilm instant £5.99 package at the moment. I am actually on a free month trial which ends next week. So if i continue after next wednesday what will happen? As for as I can make out Lovefilm Instant will be renamed Amazon Prime Instant and will offer newer films on a pay per view basis like Blinkbox and Apple do. This will be as well as the streaming selection I am getting now. So will I get this for the £5.99? Or are they scrapping that and expecting me to sign up to this £79 per year service? I dont have a kindle and only order stuff on Amazon occasionally so do not need unlimited free delivery.
The only difference for you will be that the monthly payment will be to Amazon instead of Lovefilm. They'll sort that out, you don't have to do anything.

You don't have to sign up for the delivery service.

You will have access to the pay per view stuff if you want it.

It gets confusing if you have Lovefilm's DVD rental service as well as streaming because there will be two separate monthly payments from now on and it's unclear how it will be split.

We've got Netflix and Lovefilm at the moment. So far as streaming quality is concerned they seem about the same to me apart from the fact that Netflix does surround sound and Lovefilm doesn't. I prefer the choice on Lovefilm on the whole.

I'd like to know what the price split between streaming and dvds will be. We're on a legacy package £8.16 a month for 4 dvds and streaming. I've got a feeling that if we go for Prime at £49 we might actually end up paying more!
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Old 23-02-2014, 11:02
Valeron
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I must admit I'm confused too and don't really know what I will be paying or getting after the change. I have just send them this email so if anyway else here knows the answer I would be grateful if you could let me know.

"Hi, I have a question re the changes happening on 26th February. I currently have a package which costs £9.99 per month and for that I have unlimited DVDs by post(2 discs at home) and unlimited streaming on Lovefilm Instant. I do NOT plan to change my subscription at all or purchase Prime. What will this mean for me after 26th February? What will my cost be and will I have access to exactly the same package I have now?"
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Old 23-02-2014, 11:22
Anika Hanson
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Does anyone know whether they plan to extend it to other devices? I have Amazon Prime but I use Netflix for streaming because it's available on Panasonic TVs and Apple TV. Amazon Prime Instant Video won't be a lot of use if you can't watch it on your television.
If you have an iPad/iPhone/iPod touch you can airplay to the Apple TV. I do wonder if they will ever have an app on android though.
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Old 23-02-2014, 11:34
Sue_C
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I must admit I'm confused too and don't really know what I will be paying or getting after the change. I have just send them this email so if anyway else here knows the answer I would be grateful if you could let me know.

"Hi, I have a question re the changes happening on 26th February. I currently have a package which costs £9.99 per month and for that I have unlimited DVDs by post(2 discs at home) and unlimited streaming on Lovefilm Instant. I do NOT plan to change my subscription at all or purchase Prime. What will this mean for me after 26th February? What will my cost be and will I have access to exactly the same package I have now?"
So far as I understand it from Lovefilm's help pages the total cost will remain the same if you don't subscribe to the Prime delivery service. There will be two debits a month, one for streaming and one for dvds, the total of the two will be the same as before. They're not saying how much of the current premium will be allocated to streaming and how much to renting dvds.

If the bulk of the subscription is allocated to streaming it might be worth taking out a Prime delivery subscription at £49 to cover online stuff, leaving a small monthly sum to be paid for DVD rentals. Not so good if they decide to allocate a token sum to streaming and most of the subscription to rentals.

If there's a Prime delivery subscription in place before the switch I can't see that Amazon could justify increasing the monthly charge as it's them initiating the change, not the customer.
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Old 23-02-2014, 11:35
JEFF62
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The only difference for you will be that the monthly payment will be to Amazon instead of Lovefilm. They'll sort that out, you don't have to do anything.

You don't have to sign up for the delivery service.

You will have access to the pay per view stuff if you want it.

It gets confusing if you have Lovefilm's DVD rental service as well as streaming because there will be two separate monthly payments from now on and it's unclear how it will be split.

We've got Netflix and Lovefilm at the moment. So far as streaming quality is concerned they seem about the same to me apart from the fact that Netflix does surround sound and Lovefilm doesn't. I prefer the choice on Lovefilm on the whole.

I'd like to know what the price split between streaming and dvds will be. We're on a legacy package £8.16 a month for 4 dvds and streaming. I've got a feeling that if we go for Prime at £49 we might actually end up paying more!
Thanks for clearing that up. I have only just rejoined Lovefilm. They have improved the streaming service since I last subscribed in 2012. I used to have the dvd and streaming package but now just the streaming. I found Netflix much better. Now not sure what to do. Will probably continue with Lovefilm or whatever it will be called for another month to see what changes. Sounds like the dvd/blu ray service may become a bit redundunt if you can rent latest films from now on.
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Old 23-02-2014, 12:00
wakey
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Because my Prime Membership is going up, upon next renewal because of this!
I'm pretty sure its not because of this though. Amazon hinted at it in the yearly results (they hinted at between a $20 and $40 rise coming in the US)

The videos just being used to sweeten the deal while allowing them to bring services inline with the US thus reducing costs
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