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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss Christmas and digital assistants, consumer spending during the holidays, and more.
Jolene in Jefferson City, Missouri and asked: “Well, they say the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask. So here it goes… I happen to be a paid Amazon member with the right to watch Amazon movies. But Mediacom, my cable company, has suddenly changed my Tivo machine and I am no longer able to watch Amazon. Before you clicked “Amazon” and the movies would come up. Now, it’s only Amazon Alexa. If you do not have Alexa, you can’t watch Amazon movies. I’m paying for the right to watch the movies but I can not. Amazon blames it on Mediacom, Mediacom blames it on Amazon. and Tivo blames someone else. Is there any way that I can watch Amazon movies that I’m paying for on my TV – which is not a smart TV.”
Jolene, Amazon is not to blame, and TiVo is not to blame either, but Mediacom probably only ever thought of Amazon Video as something that happened to come with their DVR, not a service they were providing to you.
You do have options to access Amazon Video on your TV, though you may have to invest a little bit of money.
If you have a computer that can be connected to your TV, you can just play the videos from there, though it’s definitely not the simplest, most enjoyable way to browse Amazon’s movie collection.
CHRIS; You can also buy a dedicated streaming device to access the service, since you’re interested in Amazon Video, your easiest choice may be one of Amazon’s own cheap devices, a 4K Amazon streaming stick goes for $50, but there are cheaper 1080p devices. You could also go with a non-Amazon device with access to the service, which basically means any other streaming stick. A Chromecast or Roku would both be good options for a little less money (but not much really, think around $30-35 depending on what offers you find online), the Roku is standalone but the Chromecast would require you to use a smartphone with it.
If you’re interested in an Amazon branded device, you may still be able to find Amazon Black Friday deals by the time you hear this, since they seem to think that “Friday” lasts around a week and a half.
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