Amazon Prime Video

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Richard
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Re: Amazon Prime Video

Postby Richard » Wed May 06, 2020 6:16 pm

seahermit Yes! I think you just have to reset 'input' on the TV settings.
There was no 'Alexa' when I purchased Fire stick so I can't help you there.
'Alexa' seems another step into the world of lazy fat couch potatoes!
We used to have to walk up to the TV and change channels manually, now we just use the TV pad console thing.
Cheap 'Fast' food delivered to the door as well can only add up to more obesity.
'Progress' can sometimes be a curse, methinks.

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seahermit
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Re: Amazon Prime Video

Postby seahermit » Fri May 08, 2020 1:48 am

Thanks again, Richard. I do not sit about for hours watching TV, would rather be creative myself than passively press buttons to be entertained! So I don't think I will bother with a smart TV for now but I am going to try the Firestick, for some films.

I am very much against all the automated tech - "AI"? I think it is beyond what is necessary and is unhealthy mentally and physically. Obviously there are some specific benefits e.g. for disabled people, for fast sharing of information in certain professions etc. etc. But a potentially huge price to be paid in terms of security, erosion of personal liberty and privacy, misuse of information for political or monetary reasons ..

And the huge reliance on complicated technology makes society very vulnerable to technical failures and attacks from future enemies. It also means that many humans are forgetting the mental and physical "hands-on" skills which we have acquired over the last two millennia - I wonder how many people would know how to forage, hunt and merely survive in a post-apocalyptic world? Those futuristic films have always fascinated me!

Sorry, going right off topic with some big questions. Maybe a good subject for another thread ..

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seahermit
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Re: Amazon Prime Video

Postby seahermit » Sun May 10, 2020 1:18 pm

Well, an interesting exercise but over-rated and disappointing - I should have guessed! Whilst inserting the Amazon Firestick gives access to numerous film streaming services, many of those services need a subscription (on top of the monthly one for Amazon Prime Video). And a further one-off payment (some up to £10) to watch a particular film. So, potentially getting pretty expensive. Many services, e.g. BFI Player, can also be accessed on the PC, without the need to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video - the catch is that the video streaming quality via internet is much less reliable than via the TV! BFI Player gets some terrible reviews, with complaints about "buffering" and the need to keep stopping what you are watching and restarting from where you left off.

In comparison, I have managed to watch numerous really good and classic films on YouTube without paying anything at all, or in some cases just £2/£3.

There are indeed a great number of films available on Amazon Prime Video, but they are heavily orientated towards modern Hollywood action films etc., frankly a good deal of rubbish. Any good classic or foreign films are hard to find or expensive, in many cases they can ONLY be watched if you also sign-up to the relevant streaming service.

The setting up was curious - you do need to switch the PC on in order to access your Amazon Prime Video account and enter a code, which appears on your TV screen! But after registration, the system just connects via Wi-Fi to your hub, no need for the PC to be on (I had some vision in my mind of mirroring taking place, two screens flickering away in different corners of the room!).

I will no doubt get the hang of whatever tricks there are and cheaper ways of doing things, but can't see myself staying with this long-term. I will catch up on particular films which I missed for one reason or another, after that I will probably cancel and a s/h Amazon Firestick (with Alexa) will be on the market at a bargain price!

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seahermit
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Re: Amazon Prime Video

Postby seahermit » Thu May 21, 2020 12:02 am

Well, I take back some of what I said - I have in the end discovered a number of excellent classic films on Amazon Prime Video, some of them free i.e. without a further one-off "rent" payment. But it has taken me ages to find them, because there doesn't seem to be much of an index system to help you browse films in a particular category. Instead, if you watch a thriller, Amazon then randomly throws up a number of other thrillers which you might like to watch - but not necessarily things you are at all interested in!

No matter. I enjoyed Fred Astaire in Top Hat last night - corny as hell, romantic fantasy, but still quite a funny plot based on mistaken identity. Can't wait to watch The Goldrush and Modern Times again and Citizen Kane is on there too. There's a whole section of foreign films - Belle de Jour, La Bete Humaine .. this lockdown has its good points!


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