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Comment by orky56 | Hacker News Reader

So is Amazon hoping to topple Netflix with this? I'm curious to find out if devices that support Amazon Instant Video will also have this service automatically. That would be a game changer for sure.

Amazon clearly has the user and advertising base for this sort of option. However, would I really put customers that want quick shipping and want streaming video in the same bucket? I guess the only similarity is wanting a premium service at a subscription.

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I think this is just a toe-dip into streaming video service rather than a full-on attempt to topple Netflix at this point. Prime subscribers give Amazon a ready-made, loyal group of beta-testers and I imagine they'll be paying close attention to the data that comes out of this offering.

I see similarities between this and the way they incrementally roll out new AWS features - they don't always feel the need to make a massive splash and they leave space to incorporate user feedback before betting the farm on a new service.

Amazon has been doing streaming for a while (September 2006), this isn't dipping their toe in the space. They actually beat Netflix to it (January 2007).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Video_on_Demand

http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=201

There have been lots of players in the pay-per-play streaming business for some time. Netflix was the first one to emerge with a good subscription service.

According to Jeff Bezos' note on Amazon's homepage, it is indeed compatible with Amazon Instant Video devices (over 200 and counting these days). Apparently TiVo is an exception currently, but that's the only note:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/ontv

Where is the PS3!?!?! I'd switch today...

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