Amazon Prime Video Stargate Sg 1

Tiptop Ten Reviews Verdict

Amazon Prime Video offers decent value with acclaimed original content and admission to a lot of popular Tv shows and movies. If you do enough shopping from Amazon to make Prime a worthwhile investment, so you'll exist happy enough with Prime Video.

Pros

+
Access to HBO, Starz, Showtime, and more
+
Huge library
+
Gratuitous with Prime number!

Cons

-
Offerings are inconsistent beyond devices
-
The UI is a nightmare

Once upon a fourth dimension, Amazon was just an online volume seller, but now it does everything - books, tech, furniture, groceries - even Telly and movie streaming. But in a market place dominated by Netflix (opens in new tab) and with new competition from Disney Plus (opens in new tab), how does Amazon Prime Video stack up against the best TV streaming services (opens in new tab)?

Amazon'southward original programming has been lagging behind Netflix's for some years now. Don't get the states wrong, there are some skillful shows on at that place (The Boys is excellent), but information technology hasn't had a smash hit on the same level as Stranger Things or Daredevil yet. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth your fourth dimension, peculiarly if you're a big online shopper.

Also on the pic front, Prime Video's original content efforts take been mixed so far. Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm was good, but The Tomorrow War is comically bad (make clean sweep at the Razzies coming up for sure). Prime'due south library of movies is decent though, and y'all can always rent other movies for an extra fee if you actually feel the need to watch something specific. Information technology's not the all-time movie streaming service (opens in new tab) out there, but information technology'due south worth checking out.

Depending on where you lot live, you might exist able to do all your household shopping via Amazon, in which instance having Amazon Prime number solely for the free shipping is a very smart investment that nets you lot Prime number Video equally a costless bonus. If you're non in that campsite, notwithstanding, Amazon Prime Video is...well, it's a little weird, to be honest.

Amazon Prime Video review: TV Shows

Prime Video has its own line of high-quality original content, though not in the same volume or frequency as other services like Netflix. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel continues to win awards, Good Omens is delightful, and Fleabag is a masterpiece, but they are the few jewels scattered amongst the remainder of Amazon'southward so-so library of originals. Prime Video is all-time suited for people who don't mind occasionally paying to rent a moving-picture show, and don't listen putting in a bit of search work to detect what they desire to watch.

Amazon Prime Video Originals — (Paradigm credit: Amazon)

Outside the telescopic of Amazon originals, there are too a ton of other TV shows on this service including classics like The Sopranos, Downtown Abbey and Star Trek: The Side by side Generation so you'll never be brusk of quality content to binge, even if virtually of it wasn't created by Amazon.

Amazon Prime Video review: Movies

Amazon doesn't actually exercise information technology'south own movies, then well-nigh everything on here came from a third party creator. With that said, Amazon Prime Video's movie collection is all-encompassing and varied.

There are plenty of excellent movies to blast through including critically-acclaimed gems similar Creed 2, Blade Runner 2049, and A Quiet Place aslope bombastic blockbusters similar Transformers: Dark of the Moon . As things currently, stand up, a lot of the Curiosity movies similar Avengers and Atomic number 26 Human are still on the service, merely once existing deals run out these are unlikely to remain due to the advent of Disney Plus (opens in new tab).

You can also rent or buy movies on demand using Amazon Prime Video. You have to pay for each of these movies, but the selection includes the latest movies that accept just finished their cinema runs. The electric current selection has huge titles similar Joker, IT: Chapter Two and The Gentlemen. It also has Cats, but the less said near that the amend.

Amazon Prime number Video review: Pricing

Video streaming services typically work i of two means: either y'all pay for each slice of individual programming (iTunes) or you pay a monthly subscription fee and belly up to the all-you lot-tin can-picket buffet (Netflix). Amazon Prime does both, resulting in a very large library (which is swell) where you'll never be quite certain if you have to pay to watch or not (which is not). Some content is gratis with the monthly fee, some isn't.

Amazon Prime costs $12.99 per calendar month (opens in new tab) if you lot choose to pay monthly, or $119 per yr if you pay outright. You can too just subscribe to Amazon Prime number Video, if you're non interested in the free commitment and other services that Amazon Prime offers. Amazon Prime Video costs $8.99 a month when bought separately.

The really adept news is that Prime has a xxx-24-hour interval free trial period, leaving you plenty of time to figure out if you're happy with the ratio of costless-to-paid content, and with the service's UI, which is both pleasingly granular and maddeningly obtuse. Prime Video doesn't brand personalized recommendations and instead leaves yous to browse yourself. You lot tin can even browse by aqueduct, especially handy as you can upgrade your Prime Video subscription with content from HBO, Starz, and Britbox. This makes for a nice transition from cable to streaming, but you lot have to pay to sentinel content from each channel.

Depending on the channel, you can sometimes purchase ane episode at a fourth dimension if you'd adopt fugitive a subscription. This is the same for many movie titles; they appear bachelor until y'all hover your cursor over them, at which fourth dimension yous discover out you'll need to pay an boosted fee to sentinel the motion-picture show through HBO, Starz, Starting time, etc.

Amazon Prime number Video review: User Interface

The homepage for Amazon Prime Video is a trivial chaotic, simply it does a skilful job of presenting you with a variety of the services content. You can search by genre or title, but the search results include options y'all have to pay extra for, which is abrasive. On the other manus, our reviewers said they didn't accept to await for whatever video to load. They also really liked the mobile app and the fact that on the desktop version, the overlay screen that pops upwardly shows you who is in the title you lot're watching.

While the screen is unique and informative, some reviewers besides felt it was too distracting and took likewise long to disappear. 1 tester also didn't like using Amazon Prime Video through a Roku because she couldn't select which episode of a Idiot box show she wanted to watch. Using Prime Video on an Apple tree TV is similarly frustrating, equally not all of the content is bachelor.

As a service by itself, Amazon Prime Video is a piffling difficult to justify when compared to its rivals, Netflix, Hulu (opens in new tab), and Disney Plus. There are a few gems hiding in the Amazons Originals drove, just the quality of their abode-brewed programming is certainly nowhere near Netflix'south level, and neither is the quantity.

Just if you're already a regular Amazon customer who would make the most of the free delivery and other perks, the Amazon Prime Video is an accented steal.

Ian Stokes is the Tech Editor here at Top Ten Reviews. He has extensive experience in tech and games journalism, with work published on IGN, Kotaku Britain, Waypoint, GamesRadar, Trusted Reviews, and many more than. You'll find him roofing everything from smartphones and dwelling house computers to 3D printers and headphones. He'southward also our resident cocktail expert.