Sounds like Netflix wins. 
Can you get DVD seasons of shows on Netflix??? And is there a time limit to having a DVD if you go with that plan???
Netflix DVD plans are for how many you can have at one time. You keep the DVD as long as you want until you’re ready to return it. You pay the monthly fee for the number of discs you’re allowed to have. I watched “The Wire” on DVDs back before streaming. I’m sure they have series on DVDs.
Only the primary account holder can get shows on Amazon Prime, don’t know about the student version. Have used Netfix and Prime, and I think for the most part Netfix is better, although some things are available on Amazon and not Netfix and vice versa. I let my Prime membership lapse, will wait to re-up until I need a lot of 2-day shipping and then will catch up on Downton Abbey… I loathe Hulu because of the commercials.
The commercials on Hulu do get repetitive but they don’t bother me as they are less frequent than on cable.
If you primarily watch British TV, there is also Acorn.
Yes, anything that’s available on DVD, in theory,* you can get through the Netflix DVD service, which works extremely well. But you have to pay separately for that. There’s no limit on how long you can keep a DVD, but it’s not optimal for watching entire series unless you are paying for 2-3 DVDs at a time, which I am not.
There’s a weird oscillation between what’s available on DVD only and what is streaming. It is often the case that a movie in my DVD queue will suddenly become available to stream. A few years ago, there was a point when Netflix lost the right to stream a whole bunch of movies, which was really too bad.
- In practice, there was one French movie I really wanted to see, and I got the DVD from Netflix, but it arrived broken. That was apparently Netflix's only copy of the movie, and it has never replaced the disk. It looks like I am the only person in the world who wants to rent it. Netflix just tells me to "expect a long wait" for it -- it's been two years and counting.
Sounds like this is one you should buy.
Only paid student accounts get Prime Instant Movies and Music and Kindle Owner’s lending library (mostly carip).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201133670
I have both and like both but I seem to be watching a lot more on Amazon lately. The Americans and other series. The occasional movie. There are limited but still a lot of free content with Prime, but there is a lot of content you have to pay extra for which I rarely do.
@emeraldkity4, what british shows are on Acorn? I watch mainly british shows on Netflix. Is it worth the switch? I briefly tried Amazon. Most interesting shows on Amazon was pay per play. I didn’t like that.
I have both and see positives and negatives to both
NETFLIX:
Positives: Incredible original programming (where are my House of Cards fans at?), relatively decent programming overall, rarely crashes, and is organized and easy to use.
Negatives: Often repeats recommendations for things that you just simply don’t want to watch, and pushes lower rated programming downward, when in reality some of it is pretty good. Also biased towards newer programming as well as their own over the classics.
AMAZON PRIME:
Positives: More breadth of programming with more categories than Netflix
Negatives: What gall of the people over at Amazon to create a streaming service of equal price to Netflix and then charge for most of their decent programming. Also hard to manage on a larger TV. If you have a wide 50-inch, you’re screwed.
Overall, I’d go with Netflix if you had to pick just one.
^^^^
ditto to above!
i think that netflix has a few more movie choices; but actually we rarely watch the movies on netflix streaming any more. they arent super current and are so often “b” movies and sequels. but we like the series netflix features.
I also have Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu Plus. All three are much cheaper than cable which I don’t have. I agree that the free programming is a great way to pick up viruses and malwear. If I had to choose, I’m not sure. They all add something the other doesn’t.
@calicash, just wondering about your Chipotle comment. Do you disapprove of people buying drinks?
My complaint about Netflix and Amazon prime is that often older things I want to watch are not available either. With newer movies, Netflix and Amazon have about the same record of getting them, I am shocked when Amazon prime has something that is new. Netflix and Amazon sell unlimited streaming services as being this panacea, but the reality is thanks to complex licensing agreements the availability is fragmented, so in many cases you can’t just rely on one service. TV shows seem to be the domain of Hulu (talking recent ones), with movies it is a crap shoot who has it. It is one of the reasons Netflix and Amazon came up with their unlimited streaming services having their own programming, they need to find ways to get people to stay, if their offerings are limited with outside programming, then having their own content will make people want to subscribe.
Amazon Prime and Netflix are not comparable services. I have had a full pay account on both as far as I remember. Despite the perennial abuses, the student Amazon were not offered to be shared. A fully shared account was and still is a bargain. It is more than a Netflix counterpart.
Compared to what pays for cell and cable service, AZ and the likes are an afterthought. That or comparing to catching a flight. You can subscribe to all the Netflix, Hulu, etc for a reasonable fee.
I’m another one who has all 3 services. We have Amazon Prime primarily for the shipping - it’s the last place we go for streaming. We use Netflix for movies and for binge-watching older TV series. Hulu is for watching current episodes of TV shows and watching old movies in the Criterion Collection (which is why S asked to get a subscription). I think the last time we streamed on Amazon was when D wanted to binge-watch Downton Abbey and that was the only service that had it available.
We always check Amazon Prime last because inevitably if we find something we want to stream on Amazon it’s paid, not free.
Netflix does a pretty good job figuring out which movies you like and making sure they are NOT available to watch. I swear, 8 times out of 10 the movie I want to see isn’t available.
Amazon and Netflix are pretty close to be honest. Considering the yearly cost for Netflix is close to what you pay for Amazon Prime, I’d get Amazon Prime.