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Old 18-06-2015, 10:53
56up
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I was happily watching the whole original series of Star Trek from the 60s as part of my Prime membership. When I went to view the next one I discover that is now chargeable - £35 for the whole series or £1.89 each and I don't get to keep them! Several of the other programmes in my Watchlist have also reverted to pay on demand.

I've paid you Amazon and do not expect this kind of treatment. My subscription will be cancelled as soon as it is up.
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Old 18-06-2015, 11:22
Tassium
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Should this have been sent to Amazon Customer Support?

No one in these forums can do anything.
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Old 18-06-2015, 12:54
Daveoc64
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I've paid you Amazon and do not expect this kind of treatment. My subscription will be cancelled as soon as it is up.
What treatment?

They make no guarantees about what content is available or how long it is available for.

You'll get this with any streaming service (like Netflix or Sky Now TV).

They are only able to get the rights to show programmes for a fixed period of time.
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Old 18-06-2015, 13:15
Tassium
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I thought maybe the OP had made a mistake,

but do Amazon Prime suddenly start charging for content that was previously included in the Amazon Prime price while a person is within their membership period?
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Old 18-06-2015, 13:53
johnathome
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I thought maybe the OP had made a mistake,

but do Amazon Prime suddenly start charging for content that was previously included in the Amazon Prime price while a person is within their membership period?
Netflix do that all the time, stuff gets removed, with Amazon it becomes chargeable.

With Netflix it, apparently, gives you an expiry date if the program is added to your watchlist.
I'm not sure if Amazon do this as well? If they don't i can understand the OPs beef about it.
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Old 18-06-2015, 15:59
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Netflix do that all the time, stuff gets removed, with Amazon it becomes chargeable.

With Netflix it, apparently, gives you an expiry date if the program is added to your watchlist.
I'm not sure if Amazon do this as well? If they don't i can understand the OPs beef about it.
I think from memory they sent me an e-mail telling me the series I was viewing at the time would be removed in something like a month’s time.

If you’re not watching a particular series then it just goes without warning, I assume.
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Old 18-06-2015, 16:13
ney
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Star Trek has been on CBS Action for the last few months. You could hae watch it there.
I have found that more people seem to use Netflix rather than Amazon Prime.

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Old 18-06-2015, 16:43
Peter the Great
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I think from memory they sent me an e-mail telling me the series I was viewing at the time would be removed in something like a month’s time.

If you’re not watching a particular series then it just goes without warning, I assume.
They do normally send an email as you say if you are watching something that is going to expire. Very often they can renegotiate a deal so it doesn't expire though. You do also have cases where something isn't available via prime on the website but is on devices.
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Old 18-06-2015, 19:19
Toen
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The big problem, for me, is that you can search for a TV series and the results include paid for episodes. You have to be very careful what is is included in Prime membership and what is charged. The Star Trek Episodes are a case in point.
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Old 18-06-2015, 21:01
Resonance
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The big problem, for me, is that you can search for a TV series and the results include paid for episodes. You have to be very careful what is is included in Prime membership and what is charged. The Star Trek Episodes are a case in point.
Yeah, I took a one month trial and found the same thing. There seemed no way of just looking at stuff that was included in the subscription, so I cancelled. Too annoying looking for something, finding it and then discovering they want more cash.
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Old 19-06-2015, 09:52
Philip Wales
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Amazon do need a better way of displaying things, I usually only look at the main section, with the recently added, and tend to not search for anything else, as NF is generally better.
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Old 19-06-2015, 10:04
Tassium
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I don't see these services as ever making good money, they exists as either marketing tools (Amazon) or the means for executives to make a nice living (Netflix)
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Old 19-06-2015, 10:11
56up
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Should this have been sent to Amazon Customer Support?

No one in these forums can do anything.
Why, what do you think customer support would do? I have no intention of bashing my head against a brick wall

What treatment?

They make no guarantees about what content is available or how long it is available for.

You'll get this with any streaming service (like Netflix or Sky Now TV).

They are only able to get the rights to show programmes for a fixed period of time.
Then they should be parcelled out. Who the hell watches something around 70 episodes of a programme in a few months? I'm really not that sad a person.
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Old 19-06-2015, 10:29
SkipTracer
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The big problem, for me, is that you can search for a TV series and the results include paid for episodes. You have to be very careful what is is included in Prime membership and what is charged. The Star Trek Episodes are a case in point.
I have the PIN set on my ATV for payments so no worries about accidently clicking on a paid for item and its good security practice to set the PIN anyway in my view.

To set PIN for anyone who may want this feature is to go to Prime settings in your Amazon account (not sure if you can set this via the TV but can on a PC) >Parental Controls and enter PIN then next line >Purchase Restrictions and enter Yes. Now whenever you click a paid for item it will ask for the PIN. Viewing any “Included with Prime” stuff will not trigger the PIN so no need to enter it under most instances.
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Old 21-06-2015, 22:15
Andrew_Reid
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Get yourself an android tv box,and dont pay anything.
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Old 21-06-2015, 23:13
jrmswfc
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I was happily watching the whole original series of Star Trek from the 60s as part of my Prime membership. When I went to view the next one I discover that is now chargeable - £35 for the whole series or £1.89 each and I don't get to keep them! Several of the other programmes in my Watchlist have also reverted to pay on demand.

I've paid you Amazon and do not expect this kind of treatment. My subscription will be cancelled as soon as it is up.
I was watching Star Trek on Prime too, until it disappeared without any warning. It happened about 3 weeks ago though.

Sometimes they start streaming removed stuff again at a later date, it's to do with contractual/licensing issues, so hopefully they'll do it with ST.
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Old 23-06-2015, 13:47
56up
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Sometimes they start streaming removed stuff again at a later date, it's to do with contractual/licensing issues, so hopefully they'll do it with ST.
I do hope you are correct.

I took the membership because of Ripper Street, a few good movies etc and paid the annual membership because of some of the back series including series 1 of arrow. The other other series are charged - even the ones that were running at that time at no extra cost on Sky!
But now I find that I am using it less and less and my Tivo has piles to watch. So the need has reduced.

However, I predicted the rise of streamed programmes more than 10 years ago. I said at the time that channels would diappear and viewing would be programme led. That has not happened to a great degree, but I still believe that it will happen in the future.

There are still entrenched attitudes to TV watching. Going back to the years my Nan dismissed all the BBC channels, only watching ITV. Now I still am the only one in my group of friends who uses time shifted TV - though in our case it is almost exclusively. The demographic of my cirde is 55 and up so that may explain some of it. If they do not watch a programme when it is first broadcast then they have "missed" it. An concept I really do not understand especially with drama.
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Old 23-06-2015, 16:43
mred2000
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If they do not watch a programme when it is first broadcast then they have "missed" it...
Really? That kind of attitude hasn't existed for years, surely? I've had a VHS recorder in the house since 1982-83...
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Old 25-06-2015, 11:32
56up
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Really? That kind of attitude hasn't existed for years, surely? I've had a VHS recorder in the house since 1982-83...
I don't know how old you are - the "since 1982-83" bit does suggest you're not a teenager. The younger generation arer heavily into streaming and the attitude there is different. But my peers are not (most of them are over 60) except for the odd You Tube music video.

And yes, sales of VHS recorders soared in the 80s. A survey of buyers when asked at time of purchase, more than 80% stated they would use it to record programmes for future viewing. When asked again 6 months later only 6% had done so. The rest had either recorded the progamme they were currently watching (why?) or used it to watch commercial videos. (The numbers are from memory so may not be totally correct - but the order of magnitiude is correct.)

The users of these fora tend to be technophiles and, as such are a poor representative cross section of the populace. Try asking around, you may be surprised.
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Old 25-06-2015, 15:21
ovbg
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I agree with 56up on the situation regarding on-demand and catch-up TV. Really young people obviously are growing up only knowing of the Internet's existence, so there is no hesitation in using it to watch content - especially when almost all of them find ways to do so for free (usually due to a combination of lack of funds, an entitlement belief, and a lifestyle that rarely uses an actual TV).

20 somethings also have grown up with the Internet, so they have no hesitation. But again, they are not very big "TV" watchers. 20 somethings tend to go out a lot in the evenings, have friends around, study etc and when they watch TV, many are equally happy to watch a show on a laptop as with a mobile phone. Standard TV watching still exists, but it doesn't creep in until the 30s.

30s and 40s is the main TV demographic. First of all, 30 somethings settle down and start to have kids. This means they are usually in at night, and they like to watch television a lot more. By the 40s, the kids are teenagers, and their income is usually higher. Recordings are popular and on-demand TV is becoming more popular, but many still grew up watching TV the old fashioned linear way, and once patterns set in, it is difficult to change.

Generally speaking, the more particular (fussy) someone is in what they are watching on TV (in this demographic), the more likely they are to watch either time shifted or on-demand. Being selective means that they watch a lot less, but don't want to miss what they enjoy. People less selective (i.e. those that may like more of the reality shows and the like) are much more likely to watch linear (live) TV.

The over 50s is where it goes back to linear simply by habit, as well as a fear of modern technologies. Trailblazers like 56up are not common, but fantastic to see.

Oh, and one thing to add, anyone reading this on this forum doesn't count whatever demographic you belong to. You're already a trailblazer as you are not only using on-demand, but have an interest large enough to post on a forum about on-demand. We are quite simply, not normal people

Actually, those figures for VHS recordings in the 80s is true and interesting. The main reason people stopped recording shows for future viewing was the difficulty in programming a VHS recorder. There were no EPGs in those days, and it was a real pain.

Finally, I have to say that although I honestly sympathise your situation 56up about the shows that disappeared (I really do, and it has happened to me as well), this is how it works. As annoying as it is, this is why the streaming companies can offer us so many shows, with no ads and for comparatively so little. If it had what you want, for as long as you want it, then basically you've purchased the content... which is not the subscription model and costs more... What I will say is that the screaming companies should make it a LOT more clear how long a series lasts for, and a countdown to when it disappears to avoid annoyed customers like yourself - after all, it is better to keep a happy customer, than to lose an unhappy one.
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Old 29-06-2015, 11:10
56up
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We are quite simply, not normal people
That's funny, my friends definitely have that opinion of me.

Thanks for your post ovbg, good to see a point well put and readable. I'm headed towards 70 and I think out on my own when it comes to technology in my peer group.
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Old 03-07-2015, 13:01
jrmswfc
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Definitely going to cancel Prime at the end of my membership, there's no point in getting into a series when you don't know if it's going to get suddenly removed. Hundreds more items removed in the last few days including Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and worst of all the one thing that's guaranteed to keep my toddlers occupied, Pingu! So along with Star Trek and Twin Peaks which I was part way through watching when they were removed a month ago, there's rapidly becoming less and less on there that I'm interested in.

Lots of films that I'd been meaning to watch when I got chance have suddenly gone as well, some of which hadn't even been on Prime for very long. I know it's contractual, but comparing the removals to Netflix and there's far more Amazon stuff gone than there has been on Netflix.
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Old 04-07-2015, 14:24
pokemaster
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http://amzprime.maft.uk/

Gives lists of things that have been removed, unlike its Netflix counterpart it doesn't have "leaving soon" which would be an excellent feature

594 things removed this week alone!
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Old 06-07-2015, 12:30
56up
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But now Season 2 of Arrow is available so I will have to watch that before my contract runs out
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Old 09-07-2015, 16:20
Nailz
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http://amzprime.maft.uk/

Gives lists of things that have been removed, unlike its Netflix counterpart it doesn't have "leaving soon" which would be an excellent feature

594 things removed this week alone!
However over 700 new titles were added in June.

Shows and films do seem to come and go a lot.
It would be nice for us to be given end dates. Sky on demand shows how long titles are available till.
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