netflix or amazon

I have both. I watch them on a Samsung smart TV.
Amazon's offerings are much more limited than Netflix. The movies in general are also poorer.
Also a 3 star rating on an Amazon movie is often the equivalent of a 1 star on Netflix. I think that may be because it is more difficult to rate a movie on Amazon. Many of Amazon's movies are rated by only a few people while Netflix's are often in the 100s or 1000s.
There have been several movies on Amazon produced by independents that I couldn't watch past the first 15 minutes or so and they were rated at 4 or 5 stars, apparently all by friends of the producer (10 or 15 or so). If the Amazon streaming service didn't come with my Prime membership I wouldn't have it.

Amazon seems to have better deals with the TV networks, many shows that are currently running on TV are also available to stream for Prime members.

Roku can do so much more, PBS has a huge library of videos to watch. NASA does as well... only thing I don't like about Roku is the poor YouTube support. So much content from TED, MIT, CalTech, Discovery Channel and more on YouTube.

I have both. It depends on what shows you want to watch. Amazon doesn't have a lot of "free" content with the base prime subscription, but they offer streaming a lot of shows that you can't get on Netflix- for a fee. They both also offer free trials.

Amazon's app is different on every device. I have a Roku TV and Amazon's app works well there- in fact, my TV will search across all the apps installed on the TV and give you multiple sources to watch a given show from. Amazon's app is terrible on Android.

Another option with Roku is Sony's new PlayStation Vue, which is more like a traditional cable subscription without the cable.

They all eat bandwith like a bunch of hogs.

pasusan, you are cracking me up! Believe it or not I have "Arsenic and Old Lace" on DVD.
For the OP I believe that you can try out Amazon Prime for 30 days at no charge.

We have both plus Hulu.

My wife and I enjoy hulu better than the other two.

Amazon is very hard to find stuff we like to watch and then most of it is to rent or they say you must be on an actual computer to watch. The only reason we have it was that it came with our prime membership. If it was not included I wouldn't even consider it an option.

Netflix my kids like as there are a lot of the shows they like. We watch it occasionally as some shows aren't on Hulu.

mbrower wrote:
Netflix has original series though.

Actually both services have original content now. One show that I, and many others, are quite looking forward to is The Grand Tour which is Amazon owned. I was a huge Top Gear (British version) fan. Clarkson, Hammond and May all left Top Gear and will be stars of The Grand Tour which starts in November. It will be another car related show so not everyone's cup of tea but prior to them leaving Top Gear, it was the highest rated TV show in the world.

Amazon also has access rights to content from Showtime and Starz is another differentiator from Netflix.

Mortimer Brewster wrote:

mbrower wrote:
I have both and they pretty much the same thing. Netflix has original series though. Some good some bad. Amazon will let you rent or buy movies where Netflix does not. Netflix is much more user friendly with thier menues. Amazon came with my prime membership. I would not have it without prime.

X2 on this. I have both services. If I had to to choose between the two I would go with Amazon due to the benefits of Amazon Prime. I have found that the ratings are more accurate on Amazon. It uses IMDb.com, which I believe is owned by Amazon.

FYI, I find that searching for movies to watch is much easier using my iPad. I then add them to a list to be watched later.

Neither of them have Arsenic and Old Lace free streaming with membership. But you can pay to stream it on Amazon. :)

mbrower wrote:
I have both and they pretty much the same thing. Netflix has original series though. Some good some bad. Amazon will let you rent or buy movies where Netflix does not. Netflix is much more user friendly with thier menues. Amazon came with my prime membership. I would not have it without prime.

X2 on this. I have both services. If I had to to choose between the two I would go with Amazon due to the benefits of Amazon Prime. I have found that the ratings are more accurate on Amazon. It uses IMDb.com, which I believe is owned by Amazon.

FYI, I find that searching for movies to watch is much easier using my iPad. I then add them to a list to be watched later.

Both systems have their strengths and weaknesses. Netflix is a little easier to use, neither is hard to use. But both rely on streaming, which is not condusive to a camping or RV park usage model as it requires large amounts of data and high bandwidth.