Now that most default on-the-go devices are bereft of ways to load DVDs and Blu-rays, offline options for streaming video services have become that much more desirable in areas with little to no reception. Sadly, the current king of the American streaming crop, Netflix, has said in no uncertain terms that offline viewing options are "never going to happen," and the company's reasoning was cold comfort for people in cabins, on airplanes, or with frequent local-ISP outages.
For some time, Amazon Instant Video was the only major American streaming video subscription service with an offline option, but the service used to come with a pretty big catch: you needed a Kindle-branded tablet or phone to download those streaming-only videos. That changed on Tuesday with the relaunch of the video app, now simply named Amazon Video, for all iOS and Android devices.
A few other caveats remain, including a lack of a similar option for PC or Mac users and the fact that not every Prime Instant Video option can be downloaded. No full list has yet been published, but while we found that a ton of stuff—including all Prime content from Amazon Studios, HBO, PBS, Cinemax, and Lionsgate—was compatible, offerings from outlets such as Columbia Pictures and Starz were not. (Also, Android users get to jump through the extra hoop of downloading Amazon Video from the new Amazon app as opposed to getting it through Google Play. That app was delisted last December—just months after its debut. The new Amazon app already has its own hoops as well.)
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You're damn right I'm downloading Space Jam to watch later.
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Download options; no size is specified.
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Sure, let's download some Awkward.
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Download status appears in your Android notifications bar.
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One at a time.
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Amazon Video's warning, should you start an offline viewing for the first time.
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Offline X-Ray! It's a little limited, but it's still a cool touch.
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The introductory screen on iOS. What's with the misspelling of "favorite," though? Perhaps a test version soft-launched on the Canadian App Store...
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The iOS interface is a little different than on Android, thanks to the bottom row of icons instead of a top-left, drop-down menu.
Once you start watching a downloaded video offline—which can be downloaded in one of three quality settings—the app will pop up a warning that the video will stop working 72 hours after the viewing first began. Simply reloading the app once you've returned to an Internet connection will restart any such timers. In a neat twist, offline videos also come with Amazon's IMDB-fueled "X-Ray" blurbs that can be tapped at any time, meaning you don't have to get online to answer pesky "who is that actor" questions. However, the app doesn't include any way to parse how much space you've used by downloading videos, nor does it warn you how much space remains. You'll have to go through your iOS or Android device's space menus to sort that stuff out.
Today's news doesn't change the fact that you could previously pay for individual episodes or films to download for offline viewing, a la iTunes or Google Play Video.
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