Roku, now with Amazon Video ... Who asked for that?

Over the last weekend, my Roku updated with new features. I now have access to Amazon Video on Demand. Cool, I thought, but once I started learning the details, I was much less enthused. I have been a Netflix customer for about 3 years, and the streaming videos are nice (even if I have seen most of the films) and convenient. Pair it with the Roku, and you are now cooking. Now I have the Amazon video option, which is pay as you go for either rentals or purchases, but Amazon has broken their services with DRM.

If you rent with Amazon, then you have 24 hours after the purchase until the video goes away. Your spending 2-4 dollars and you don't get more then a one night rental. This will not compete with Netflix in anyway, except for the films offered on Amazon that are not on Netflix. There are overlaps. Some films are free (with subscription) on Netflix which you have to pay 3 dollars for a 24 hour viewing on Amazon. It must be trying to compete with cable on-demand services, but they don't even come close to the new-release selection provided by Comcast.

I may be willing to rent a film from Amazon, but it is unlikely. Amazon also has purchase options, but it is riddled with DRM. You can watch the film on the Roku any number of times or online at Amazon, but you only get 2 downloads of the film and then only on a Windows machine only playable on the same Windows machine. I could understand this if the price was less then if I purchased the DVD, but it is not. Why would I pay the same price for an inferior product? What happens if Amzon's video service fails? Well, then I loose my purchases (check the terms of service) because of the stupid DRM.

I am even more surprised by the DRM choice because Amazon has been a warrior against DRM in music downloads. The choice to not use DRM is what made Amazon's music store such a success, and it basically forced other services (looking at you iTunes) to remove their DRM to keep competing. So, why would they backtrack? I don't know, but it is not a successful business model.

All I can say is that Amzon Video is not a winner, and until they re-prioritize their service, they have lost a potential customer. Fix your service!