Best way to download Amazon VOD movies for Dolby 5.1?

[FairfaxCA]

I have already downloaded and watched 2 movies from Amazon VOD. I have been using my $50 coupon. The quality of the video and audio was good. Since neither movie had a lot of action I didn’t notice much surround sound loss from my AV receiver.

I was browsing on Amazon’s website looking for a movie to download to my TiVo. I noticed that they all (at least the movies I looked at) are labeled as Video Format; Letterbox (@ bit rate 2800 kbps), Stereo. If the film is downloaded to a PC the Video Format is Widescreen (@ 2500 kbps), 5.1. Am I correct in reading this to mean that the picture will be slightly better downloaded to a TiVo but with only with 2 channel sound than if downloaded to a PC, but that download would get 5.1 surround? I know the difference between 2500kbps and 2800kbps is greater than 10% but is that noticeable?

Has anyone experienced getting surround audio from Amazon? If I download from Amazon VOD to my PC can I use TiVo Desktop to watch movie on my home theater? Thus take advantage of the 5.1 audio. If TiVo Desktop won’t work is there another program that will?

[bkdtv]

If you find and order the movie through the TiVo, you have the choice of a 1080p HD movie (encoded @ 5Mbps) with Dolby Digital 5.1. From what I recall, only the HD movies are available with Dolby Digital 5.1.

You can find those movies on the Premiere using its Search.

I'm not sure about videos ordered through the web site.

[FairfaxCA]

If you find and order the movie through the TiVo, you have the choice of a 1080p HD movie (encoded @ 5Mbps) with Dolby Digital 5.1. From what I recall, only the HD movies are available with Dolby Digital 5.1.

You can find those movies on the Premiere using its Search.

I'm not sure about videos ordered through the web site.

Thank you. I did order both the movies I watched before through the TiVo. I didn't recall the purchase details while browsing Amazon's website earlier.

I just ordered “Public Enemies” through the TiVo and was given a choice of “plain” for $1.99 or HD for $2.99. There was no detail on the screen as to what the bit rate or audio would be. I ordered the HD. This time I will check my Onkyo receiver to see what signal it is getting.

The Amazon website is a good place to check and see what the weekend specials are then order through TiVo.

[Mike-Mike]

when you get a Amazon VOD does it download it to the Tivo hard drive? Currently I have a Roku and it simply streams the shows like Netflix. But am I correct in that with Amazon it will actually download the movie?

[aaronwt]

when you get a Amazon VOD does it download it to the TiVo hard drive? Currently I have a Roku and it simply streams the shows like Netflix. But am I correct in that with Amazon it will actually download the movie?



Yes, with Amazon it downloads the content to the hard drive. I believe Amazon allows you to download it to up to four devices including the PC.

I purchased some free content yesterday from Amazon, on the TiVo and online. When doing it online it said I could download it to four devices.

And with the Premiere the download was quick. It downloaded the content from Amazon at 32mbs. Close to the max of my INTERNET connection.

[bkdtv]

when you get a Amazon VOD does it download it to the Tivo hard drive? Currently I have a Roku and it simply streams the shows like Netflix. But am I correct in that with Amazon it will actually download the movie?That is correct.

The quality is significantly better than Roku as well. Roku uses the same 720p24 (2.5Mbps) stream you see when viewing HD through the Amazon.com web site. The downloadable streams for the TiVo are 1080p24 (5.0Mbps). If your display supports 1080p24, the Premiere will output 1080p to your TV.

Neither is as good as Vudu's higher-bitrate HDX (8+Mbps). That is the next service I would like to see TiVo add.

[Mike-Mike]

do you have to wait for it to completely download before you can watch it? or can you start watching it as you download?

[bkdtv]

do you have to wait for it to completely download before you can watch it? or can you start watching it as you download?You can start watching as it downloads, though the Premiere does require that some amount of the program be transferred before you can start watching.

As far as I can tell, TiVo did not update their interface code to reflect the faster Amazon downloads on the Premiere. It still assumes the slower transfers seen on older TiVos. I have FiOS 25/15, and Amazon HD downloads at about 25Mbps on the Premiere, so I should be able to watch immediately. Yet the TiVo software still wants me to wait five minutes or more before I can start watching.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/Premiere/review/charts/amazonvod2.png

[Mike-Mike]

thanks a lot for all of your help! lots of useful information!

[ericlhyman]

With the $50 in free downloads from Amazon, can you select all of your rental films at once and have them delete after viewing or do you have to view it within the stated timetable after downloading?

[aaronwt]

You can start watching as it downloads, though the Premiere does require that some amount of the program be transferred before you can start watching.

As far as I can tell, TiVo did not update their interface code to reflect the faster Amazon downloads on the Premiere. It still assumes the slower transfers seen on older TiVos. I have FiOS 25/15, and Amazon HD downloads at about 25Mbps on the Premiere, so I should be able to watch immediately. Yet the TiVo software still wants me to wait five minutes or more before I can start watching.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/Premiere/review/charts/amazonvod2.png

I just checked this with a couple of free hour long HD shows. I was able to start watching as soon as it started downloading. As soon as the blue light came on, it popped up in the NPL. I went to the title and started playing it. The titles had no more than a minute available when I started watching. They downloaded around a speed of 32mbs again. Some of my other seventy devices might be using the internet connection too. I guess I need to isolate the TiVo and see if I can hit my max download speed of 35.9mbs.