Amazon TV - can someone please explain to me how it works etc?

[jillruss]

I currently subscribe to Sky Sports for the tennis coverage but have just read that from 2019 Amazon have got the contract to show all ATP tournaments - apart from the Majors.

I have no idea how Amazon TV works and would really appreciate some info:

I presume I'll need to invest in a smart TV?

Is it a subscription base like Sky? i.e. you pay for what channels you watch? Does Amazon even have channels?

Where does that firestick thing come into it?

Presumably, if I watched a long tennis match it would 'eat into' my broadband allowance? Or does the stick negate this?

See? Total higgorance!! 

Jill

[Dyingout]

Amazon TV come with the "Prime" subscription
It is currently £7.99 PM
It is available in many ways but the easiest if you dont own a smart TV but do have an HDMI port on your tv is by an Amazon Firestick which just plugs into the HDMI
If you don't have an HDMI you can get an adaptor from HDMI to the Red, Yellow, White Video cables
Prime subscription also carries many other great factors like free delivery on all things sold on Amazon. Access to loads of free music, early access to deals, Box sets free films and amazon self made programmes, which are increasing quickly and much more, well worth the price in my view.

[mazi]

It seems to me that whatever you watch comes down your broadband, so yes it eats into your broadband allowance very very quickly, you will also need a pretty fast broadband speed to watch anything.

Mike

[Dyingout]

Worked OK for me on ordinary Bband only had usual speeds of 5 -6 Mbps since upgraded to fibre and 4k tv as most of their stuff is in 4k

[Christine53]

It seems to me that whatever you watch comes down your broadband, so yes it eats into your broadband allowance very very quickly, you will also need a pretty fast broadband speed to watch anything.

Mike

We have unlimited downloads on our package , which I think is advisable , but we don't have fibre and we manage fine with about 9mb.I think it's good value for money as the savings we've made on deliveries over a year pay for the subscription , irrespective of how much tv we watch.

[jillruss]

Thanks - that gives me a better idea.

My TV isn't that old but it certainly isn't a smart tv (as the grumpy chap who installed my fibre connection a few months ago said!), so will have to look into whether it has a HDMI port (wouldn't know one if I fell over it!)

If the firestick means I don't need to fork out for a new tv, then that's got to be the way to go.

I'm now on fibre broadband but - again - will have to see if I am on unlimited. No doubt, I'll have to pay out more for that!

Do you really get access to all those Amazon prime tv series and boxed sets for just £7.99 a month? That seems good to me. I agree about all these tv series they seem to be showing which are getting great reviews.

Have they already expanded into the sports world, or will this tennis deal in 2019 be their first? If so, I can see the monthly payment going up and up.

I've got a year to sort it out - can't miss my tennis!

[Christine53]

Do you really get access to all those Amazon prime tv series and boxed sets for just £7.99 a month? That seems good to me. I agree about all these tv series they seem to be showing which are getting great reviews.

The answer to that is yes - and no. For example we watched Season 1- 3 of the Americans without paying extra but have had to pay extra to watch Season 4 and 5.

You mentioned channels in your earlier post. It isn't set up like that. They offer various series and films , some of which are flagged up on the home page, and they suggest programs based on your viewing history. One feature I like particularly is that a whole series is usually available at the same time - binge tv !

[jillruss]

Is that the Americans with Matthew Rhys? I watched it on ITV Encore. Brilliant series.

So no sport on Amazon at the moment? I wonder if this is the start of them taking over the world!!!

How do you know from one week to the next if you're going to have to pay extra for something? It all sounds a bit random to me.

[Christine53]

I'm not into sport that much so I don't really know what they have. Yes , the Americans with Matthew Rhys , one of my all time favourites.

It's not a question of suddenly having to pay extra for something in the middle of a series. It's more that you may see something advertised that you want to watch which is available for a fee. The information on a particular program will either say " watch now with Prime ", which is free , or "ways to watch ". You can then see the price and choose to pay or chose not to watch that particular item.