The likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime are growing in popularity and use, with 87% of consumers now binge watching services like this at least once a week.
Although TV remains king, there is a growing number of streaming services that look to break the shackles of the broadcasting schedule. Giving you greater control over what you want to watch, where you want to watch it on any device.
CBR helps you to stay on top of some of the best services around with a handy list.
1. Netflix
Possibly the best known service, Netflix has become almost synonymous with the video streaming world.
For around £6 a month users get access to films, documentaries, TV shows and all sorts. The large catalogue is frequently updated, however, don’t always expect to find your favourite shows or films there.
To compensate, Netflix has branched out into developing original content, shows like the Orange is the New Black have become award winning and extremely popular.
The service is also frequently heralded as being a great tech innovator with its recommendation engine.
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2. Amazon Prime Instant Video
Possibly number one competitor to the goliath that is Netflix, Amazon Prime also offers a large catalogue to please its customers.
Offline viewing is available and like Netflix, is has moved into developing its own content. For the streaming service users pay £6 a month and can be done across a broad range of devices.
Adaptive streaming is in use so the picture quality will adjust based on your connection quality, but it typically holds to a higher level of quality.
Amazon offers a more rounded package with integration with Amazon prime (at a cost) but it still comes down to who has the best shows and movies.
3. Now TV
Aimed at being a more flexible offering than Amazon or Netflix, Now TV is owned by Sky and gives users access to much of its live sports content, at a price.
That price is £6.99 for a day pass to watch seven Sky Sports channels, which is fine if you just want to watch a couple of matches a month and don’t fancy spending £35+ on a Sky subscription.
There is also an Entertainment month pass for £6.99, which gives users access to channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic and others.
You can buy a streaming box for £19.99 or use it across a range of devices, but you are limited to four activated devices on your account.
4. CinemaNow
This service allows you to rent or purchase films outright, so you don’t need to sign up to a subscription, just get what you need as you need it, choose to own it or not.
The service is powered by Rovi Technologies, which helps to assure quality and stores your purchases in a digital locker.
It’ll cost you £4.99 to rent a new HD movie, £16.99 to buy and older titles cost £3.99 for the same to rent and buying prices varying.
You could probably rack up quite a bill on TV shows, with standard definition per episode costing £1.59, maybe don’t use it to watch seven seasons of 21 episodes.
Applications are available across a number of devices and select Samsung Smart TV’s.
5. Itunes
It is no longer just a music store, the Apple owned marketplace is growing more and more into the video streaming market.
Unsurprisingly it is mainly supported on Apple devices, but playback is also supported on PC.
Handily, a tie in with YouTube allows users to see any purchased content appear so that you can watch it in the web player.
Prices vary for content, with new movies costing more, renting an HD movie will cost £4.49, with buying at £13.99.
Some of the perks include the high quality of 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound support.
