Why Is Amazon Crediting Customers For HD VOD?


It looks as though at least some of us are being credited by Amazon for high definition video on demand rentals or purchases that may not have actually achieved sustained HD streaming. A friend and I both received this email within in the last 24 hours:

As someone who has purchased digital movies or TV shows in high-definition (HD) from Amazon Instant Video, we wanted to provide you more information about how we deliver HD content. It is our goal to provide you an uninterrupted viewing experience without any video reloading or “buffering.” To provide you uninterrupted viewing we may lower the resolution of HD videos to standard definition during streaming playback. We do this if we detect that your Internet connection to our service may not be fast enough to support HD playback. For more information on viewing HD videos from Amazon Instant Video, please visit our Help page here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200256920

Because you may not have been able to playback one of your rentals or purchases in HD quality, we have issued you a one-time Amazon Instant Video credit of $1 for each of the HD movies and TV episodes you have purchased from us for a total amount of $23. In order to apply the credit to your Amazon Instant Video account, please click here,
http://www.amazon.com/instantvideo/hdcredit

While most of my HD Amazon VOD experience have been on TiVo, via download, my friend’s purchases have been exclusively for Roku streaming. So I’m wondering if distribution method may be a key criteria in Amazon’s calculations. And what exactly triggered Amazon issuing a one year VOD credit at this time.

Anyone else received similar outreach?

25 thoughts on “Why Is Amazon Crediting Customers For HD VOD?”

  1. Wondering if Amazon received a number of complaints from folks not able to stream in HD, that it wasn’t clear resolution might drop based on connection. So they’ve credited everyone across the board and updated their documentation to cover themselves going forward.

  2. If anything, this definitely shows that streaming HD content is not as trivial as Netflix makes it seem.

  3. My dad and I also got similar emails. I know that most of my HD Amazon content was downloaded to my TiVo, so there was no streaming. Seems strange.

  4. Got the same email. My viewing is probably split 50/50 over the vizio via amazon app and tivo downloads. I did find myself using tivo more after having trouble streaming Drive to the vizio.

  5. Got it. I actually did try to complain about six months ago; Tivo download didn’t work at all. No reply. Nice to see some customer service. I will start using Amazon VOD again.

  6. Got a $13 credit and I think I’ve only used my TiVos to download content although I may have linked accounts on other devices.

  7. I got a $14 credit also not sure why either. Everything I purchased/rented was downloaded to my TiVos. I can not figure out how they picked the $14, the email says it is $1/HD move or TV show purchased. Anyway I look at my purchases I can not come up with 14, of course I do not know the time period this reflects, but like others have said I will take the credit!

  8. Interesting comment from a Roku owner the TiVo Community:

    if I buy an HD video, then I get HD. If my internet connection is having bandwidth issues, then it just stops and buffers; it does not (as far as I’ve never noticed) lower the quality of the movie in the way Netflix does.

    Wonder if this has any bearing, maybe buffering complaints? Hm.

  9. “For those that have said they haven’t had issue due to it being downloaded to your TiVo, why would you accept the credit?”

    For the same reason one would take the free month of Prime even if one had no intention of continuing the service after the free month.

    It’s a pleasure being an Amazon customer. They do nice things for you. You give them business. Sometimes you get bonuses from them because they’re such a lovely company. Why refuse? Take the money and love Amazon more…

  10. As with Vince, I got an e-mail offering a $13 credit, though I’m pretty sure ALL of my viewing has been via download to TiVo, and NONE using streaming whose quality could be compromised by speed issues. I’ve certainly spent enough on Amazon Instant Video that I don’t feel bad taking their money even though I don’t think I’ve suffered from the issue they’re talking about. (And, of course, it’s not money, just potential to buy more video from them.) Chucky’s right. This is just good, proactive customer service.

  11. Weird I haven’t seen this email yet. I’ll have to check my gmail spam or just directly on Amazon.

  12. Yeah, I’ve got a symbiotic relationship with Amazon and this is mostly good customer service. I’ll apply the credit to that Zombie TV series, forget the name at the moment. The only time they’ve really let me down, more than one, is sending higher end digital cameras in oversized boxes with insufficient packing material. Back in the old, old days (90s) they used to send out branded tumblers around Christmas – very cool.

  13. I got a credit as well, $6. I think it must just be credits for the movies I’ve rented right on TiVo (instead of subscriptions, or through the site)… which would make the number about right.

    I was one of the early users of Amazon streaming, and it used to have tons of problems… files that would just stop midway through, for example. So to answer @Jason Hansen , because it’s long over due?

  14. Got my $18 credit. I didn’t ask any questions about it, but I assumed someone had threatened them with a class action law suit or something. Maybe Amazon was just being nice as this is the kind of think Amazon would do on their own.

    I’ve found Amazon to be a shining example of a company that maintains customers by providing good customer service. I’ve never once had a bad experience with Amazon. I think that’s one of the main reasons they’ve survived this long while a lot of other Internet companies have long folded.

    That’s one of the reasons I bought Amazon stock a while back, though I no longer own it anymore having taken a nice profit about 1 or 2 years ago (in hindsight I should have help on to it though).

  15. I got a $26 credit. I’m baffled as to why. I’ve had occasional problems with Amazon VOD streaming quality but they weren’t qualitatively different from the ones I had with Netflix.

    I want to second “Morac’s” comment on Amazon’s customer service.

  16. That’s why I’m wondering if there is a date/time or platform element to this. I’ve most likely watched more Amazon content than my buddy over the years… yet my credit was $3 and his was $23. Hm.

  17. In my case, Roku players were the only devices I used for Amazon VoD. The only thing I can attribute the seriously large credit to is that I purchased a few seasons of shows (6 or 7?) which were all in HD. However, I doubt if the total quantity of individual TV episodes purchased and HD movies purchased and rented were any where near 214. However, I certainly am not complaining. If I remember the email correctly, customers only have one year (May 2012) to use the credit. Quite frankly I am not sure I will be able to use up the credit in time. But of course, there are worse problems to have.

  18. “That’s why I’m wondering if there is a date/time or platform element to this.”

    Perhaps the number of devices registered with the service is a factor? I have registered multiple Roku players – 4 or 5 – with Amazon over the last couple of years.

  19. I received the same email. I don’t really recall renting any movies outside ones I watched with free credits for beta testing and as free amazon prime downloads. I only received $3 credit.

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