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Now Amazon Prime Video's Android app is available in the Play Store
Amazon's video app has always had odd gaps in its platform support, or weird hurdles to work around like requiring sideloading on Android. In the last few months, those have started to close, with the news that it will be available on Apple TV, and its inclusion on Vizio's SmartCast platform. Now, 9to5Google points out that the Amazon Video app is finally available as a standard app in the Google Play Store -- no more sideloading required.
Amazon nabs 'Moonlight' streaming exclusive
Competition between Amazon Prime Video and Netflix remains fierce. At the moment, both streaming platforms are doing whatever they can to gain an edge. Netflix is scooping up premium content like Dave Chappelle stand-up specials and an unfinished Orson Welles film. Meanwhile, Amazon made a move today to bring the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight to Prime Video starting May 21st.
Amazon's 'The Grand Tour' car show launches November 18th
If you've been missing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, then it's time to mark your calendar. The old Top Gear trio's new show is called The Grand Tour, and will begin streaming its episodes on November 18th. You'll need a subscription to Amazon Prime to watch, but there's no word on if or where it will air in countries where the subscription video service isn't available yet.
Tom Clancy's 'Jack Ryan' is now an Amazon exclusive series
Tom Clancy's famous fictional CIA agent Jack Ryan is back in action after 2013's critical and commercial disappointment Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Amazon has greenlit a 10-episode series, exclusive to Prime Video, that will star John Krasinski, of The Office fame, as the titular hero. Plot details are scarce, though it seems the series will be an origins story, with Ryan being an up-and-coming CIA analyst fighting terrorist groups.
Amazon will stream show pilots on Twitch for 24 hours
Amazon is no stranger to showing you series pilots to gauge your interest, but it's trying a different strategy this year. The internet retailer will stream its version of The Tick and Jean-Claude Van Johnson on Twitch for 24 hours on August 31st, roughly two weeks after their Amazon premiere on August 19th. That may sound like an odd move when Amazon-owned Twitch is still primarily known for gaming, but it makes sense considering the service's broadening horizons. There are plenty of people watching content on Twitch besides games, and it could attract viewers who otherwise wouldn't bother to visit Amazon to watch.
Half of US households now subscribe to VOD services
With the various ways you can consume digital media aside from television and cable channels, it should come as no surprise that now, according to a new report from Nielsen, that about half of all households in the US partake in subscription VOD services like Netflix or Hulu.
UHD Alliance reveals its specs for 'premium' 4K TVs
Last year a number of TV manufacturers, Hollywood studios and other content companies got together so they could avoid ruining the home experience of 4K. A battle over competing standards and formats has made a mess of tech like Blu-ray/HD DVD and the rollout of 3D, but this industry consortium is committed to making sure that doesn't happen with Ultra HD. As Fox exec Mike Dunn put it during a panel discussion, "Unless you have a standards group that puts the glue for the industry together, it's not seamless for the consumer." Tonight the group showed off the logo and specs (above) that you should probably look for if you consider buying a high-end Ultra HD television. Update: Samsung says its entire line of 2016 SUHD TVs has been tagged with the UHD Premium certification.
Amazon Prime will reportedly offer access to other video services
Normally, signing up for a streaming video service only gives you the content from that service, leaving you heading elsewhere when a TV network decides to hoard all its shows. If rumors are true, though, Amazon Prime Video may soon offer a lot more in one place. Bloomberg sources hear that Amazon will give you the option to add other subscription services to your account, and show their video libraries alongside its own. Just who's interested isn't clear, but Amazon is reportedly lining up "major, well-known" movie and TV channels for a launch that could happen as early as December.
Amazon starts streaming Prime music and videos on JetBlue
Back in May, Amazon said it would bring Prime Music and Instant Video to select JetBlue flights. Fast forward to today, over six months since the original announcement, and the retailer is finally turning this feature on for Amazon Prime customers. If you're a subscriber who's flying in one of JetBlue's Fly-Fi-ready planes, you can stream tunes, movies and TV shows at no extra cost thanks to the airline's newly developed internet service. The experience itself is built into the Fly-Fi hub, letting you easily access your Prime media library on laptops, iOS and Android smartphones or tablets and, naturally, Amazon's Fire devices. Amazon says this is already working on most of JetBlue's Fly-Fi fleet, with the full rollout expected to be completed by November 26th.
Amazon lands exclusive streaming rights to more CBS series
If you thought Amazon was done getting cozy with CBS, think again. The online retailer today announced yet another streaming deal with the TV network, which will give it exclusive access to three new summer series through 2018. What this means is you'll be able to watch certain CBS episodes on Prime Instant Video four days after they're first aired, as has been the case with Under the Dome and Extant -- two of the channel's most popular shows. This new licensing partnership includes episodes from CBS' upcoming BrainDead a comic thriller about brain-eating aliens in Washington, DC, plus two more shows that have yet to be disclosed.
Amazon is the next US streaming video service to launch in Japan
Amazon isn't about to let Netflix launch in Japan without making a move of its own. The American internet giant has announced plans to bring Prime Video to the island nation this September, including its worldwide original shows (such as Mozart in the Jungle) as well as Japan-specific content. Sounds exactly like what you'd expect for a regional expansion, wouldn't it? You may think differently when you see how little Japanese residents will pay, however. They'll get Prime Video as part of their existing Prime subscription, which costs a mere ¥3,900 per year ($32) -- that's a bargain when many Americans are paying three times as much for largely the same thing. That rock-bottom pricing might be necessary, though, as being a US streaming powerhouse is no guarantee of success across the Pacific.
HBO's exclusive deal for 'Sesame Street' cuts out Amazon and Netflix
With HBO finally doing battle directly against streaming video subscriptions from Netflix and Amazon, its biggest strike against those two comes today with an exclusive deal for Sesame Street. Most of us have grown up with Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the rest available primarily through PBS and they'll still be there, but with this five-year deal, HBO gets a nine-month exclusive (cable and streaming) on new episodes. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeff Dunn called the arrangement "a true winning public-private partnership model," that will give it the funding to keep making new episodes of the show, and a new Sesame Street Muppet spinoff series.
Amazon Studios has two new pilots for you to judge
While Amazon has a track record to go by for its upcoming car show, it's still crowdsourcing impressions for its new dramas. Today the service posted pilot episodes for two new series that it might pick up for streaming, and you can check them out for free. First up is the Brian Cranston-produced Sneaky Pete (not Skinny Pete, this is not a Breaking Bad spinoff), starring Giovanni Ribisi as an ex-con who has assumed the identity of his former cellmate. Meanwhile, Casanova is directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet (Amelie) and stars Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) telling the "true" story of the legendary playboy. Pilots for both are live for viewers in the US, UK and Germany, so watch and give your opinion -- or just check out the newest clip for Amazon's The Man in the High Castle, which debuts November 20th.
Amazon previews its 'The Man in the High Castle' series tonight
We already got a look at the pilot episode from Amazon's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle, but now it's time to get ready for the series. At Comic-Con Amazon is presenting the first two episodes, which you can watch live online at EW.com at 10:30ET. Even if you can't make the stream, you can still check out the full series trailer, embedded after the break, presenting an alternate history where the Allies lost World War II, or the pilot on Amazon before the show launches this fall.
Amazon is bringing Prime videos and music to JetBlue's fleet
Amazon has spent an exorbitant amount of cash to grow its Prime Instant Video service. Still, the company knows there's more it can do to make the offering better for subscribers. As such, Amazon is teaming up with JetBlue to bring Prime's on-demand video and music content to the skies, though only in the US. The new feature, which will be powered by JetBlue's super-speedy Fly-Fi internet, will be included as part of any existing Prime membership -- it's free in-flight entertainment, and that's a gesture people are likely to appreciate. Unfortunately, it won't be available until later this year, but at least that gives you some time to start building out your Watchlist.
Amazon Prime Instant Video finally comes to Android tablets
Android users have been able to stream content from Amazon's Prime Instant Video for a while now, but only to their phones. However, starting today, Prime subscribers in the US, UK and Germany can access Amazon's extensive content archives from their Android tablets as well. Users will also be able to launch the mobile Instant Video webpage and watch shows directly from there. Unfortunately, actually getting Prime onto your tablet is going to be a hassle. You'll have to first install the Amazon Appstore, then turn off the "don't install from unknown sources" option in the tablet's security menu and then launch the Appstore. Once you've done that, congratulations! You're halfway there. Next you'll need to download, install, and launch the separate Prime Instant Video app. Of course, if this all seems like too much hassle, you can always access Instant Video on your (Android-based) Fire tablet.
Amazon will stream 'Transparent' for free this Saturday
Fresh off its two Golden Globe wins, Amazon is streaming all ten episodes of its Transparent original series for free this weekend. Starting at 12:01AM ET until 11:59PM PT Saturday, you can watch via Amazon's Instant Video app for TVs, streaming gadgets and mobile devices, including Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation and more. The show won Best Musical or Comedy Series and the lead, Jeffrey Tambor of Arrested Development fame, took home Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series a few days back. If that wasn't enough of a celebration, new Prime subscriptions will be $72 on Saturday -- a nod to the 72nd installment of the awards soirée. When the time comes, you can start the viewing session right here. [Photo credit: Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Amazon Studios]
Amazon scores two Golden Globes, Netflix debuts House of Cards trailer
Tonight's Golden Globe Awards were a triumph for internet TV services, as Amazon and Netflix scored wins for their original series -- all on a night when the big four broadcast networks didn't win any. Amazon had two awards to Netflix's one, and won their head to head battle as its hit Transparent triumphed in the "Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy" category that included Orange is the New Black, Silicon Valley, Jane the Virgin and Girls. Series star Jeffrey Tambor collected the other award for Best Actor in a TV Comedy. Netflix won a single award (Kevin Spacey, Best Actor in a TV Drama, House of Cards) but might have given us the best moment of the evening by releasing a trailer for House of Cards season three. It's embedded after the break if you need a taste of the Underwoods before the new season debuts worldwide on February 27th.
Amazon's original shows will stream in 4K starting this October
Earlier this year, Amazon said that its 2014 original series lineup would be shot and eventually streamed in 4K to Samsung UltraHD TVs, and now we know when -- sometime this October. It was Samsung that actually revealed the date, saying it would support Amazon's Prime Instant Video UHD streaming on most Samsung 4K TVs. There's no word if Amazon's 4K service will hit other manufacturer's UltraHD models, but Samsung noted it has also expanded 4K content in Europe to Netflix, Wuaki.tv, Chili and Maxdome. Like Sony, Samsung has other plans to make sure you're not wasting all those pixels, as well. It recently did a live 4K stream of a Placido Domingo opera in Europe and released a 500GB drive with 40 recent 4K movies and documentaries.
New Zealand ISP admits its free VPN exists just so people can watch Netflix
One of the most frustrating parts of trying to go legit with your movie watching is being restricted by Hollywood's windows and geofences that limit what's available to watch in your area. Of course, a network of third parties provide tools to help users go around and through the blocks, but now an ISP is taking the unusual step of getting directly involved. For the last year, New Zealand's Slingshot has offered a Global Mode VPN feature marketed for use by visitors from the US or UK. As a not-so-secret side effect it also let Kiwis pull in streams from the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and BBC iPlayer, but that wasn't mentioned -- until now. Slingshot General Manager Taryn Hamilton confirmed to the New Zealand Herald that "No beating around the bush. This is to watch Netflix," ending the ruse and opening it to all subscribers for free. [Image credit: Nathaniel Bell for Netflix]
