Quote:A recent change to the mechanism Amazon uses to stream videos has caused the media center software XBMC to no longer be able to play Amazon videos, neither prime-available nor purchased content. While of course Amazon is not responsible for third-party software that it doesn't officially support, I think it is in Amazon's best interests to work with the developers of XBMC to resolve this issue. The reason is that users like myself are also Amazon customers, and XBMC compatibility with Amazon videos determines whether I purchase VOD. I have made purchases of over $45,000 since 1999 at your site according to a recently run activity report, so I think it's fair to say that I am a reasonably good and profitable customer. Thus, you are losing a potential VOD customer with a proven track record of purchasing from your site.

I built a media center computer two years ago, using many parts purchased at Amazon, for just such endeavors. Incompatibility with XBMC makes your VOD services much less appealing to me, and confirms my initial reluctance to go the VOD route: the provider can break compatibility on a whim, thus greatly devaluing the utility of any purchased library of streaming content.

I also think Amazon may be missing a golden opportunity. I see that Amazon is already taking pre-orders for the Ouya to be released in June. The item description page only mentions that it is an android-based gaming console for attachment to TVs, but Ouya has also partnered with XBMC for the device to serve as a media center. I think you may be risking having irate customers who purchase Ouyas complain that a device purchased at Amazon isn't compatible with Amazon's own VOD service. Rather, if Amazon fixes it's streaming to return compatibility with XBMC, Ouya sales will drive Amazon VOD sales, potentially quite substantially as it is a cheap multi-use device that is designed for the living room.

I am not going to rant and say "I'll never buy from Amazon again!", because I will. I have been very pleased with Amazon products and services over the years, and I intend to keep shopping at your site. However, the compatibility issue with XBMC does lessen greatly my inclination to buy/rent VOD services, and it does cause Amazon to lose some good will or "mindshare" with respect to a longtime and loyal customer.

(2013-04-18, 19:45)john.doe Wrote: Well that is bullshit because XMBC has been able to stream amazon prime for a long, long time. If they are going to discontinue support of XBMC and start using DRM then I want my $80 Amazon Prime membership back, which means I wont be ordering products from Amazon again either

Quote:Please understand that you can instantly stream Prime Instant Video titles on a Mac or PC, Kindle Fire, as well as many Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top-boxes. However at this time, Prime Videos cannot be streamed on third party applications (i.e. XBMC app).

I apologize for any disappointment this may have caused.

As you indicated that you're using a Linux system, please note that Linux isn't officially supported, however the Red Hat 5, SUSE 11, or Ubuntu 8.04 Linux versions may be able to successfully stream Amazon Instant Videos.