I’m one of those people that don’t have cable television. While the rest of the world is talking about the final season of Breaking Bad, I’m still watching the third season of Mad Men. I miss out on a lot of cool sounding HBO shows, but for the most part, I get along by having a subscription to Hulu Plus and Netflix streaming and by watching movies and TV shows on my Apple TV.
There are still a few titles that Amazon Prime offers that are not available anywhere else. But, that isn’t as easy for me to watch on my big screen. Today, Amazon updated their Instant Video app to include support for AirPlay, making it much easier to stream TV shows and movies to Apple TV from the iPad.
Version 2.1, which just launched today, makes AirPlay viewing possible from the iPad or iPhone. Now, users can watch more than 40,000 streaming videos, plus rent or buy more than 140,000 titles with an Amazon Prime membership.
It is hard to understand why Amazon would finally offer AirPlay support after holding out for so long. It has been rumored that the online retail giant was working on a set-top box of its own, which would explain why they didn’t offer AirPlay support in the past. It is possible that the company has decided not to go forward with the Apple TV competition. It is also possible that Amazon has just decided to try to generate more interest in the Prime service by finally making AirPlay possible.
In addition to AirPlay support, the app now features IMDB intigration, plus in-app customer reviews so you can read what others are saying about a movie or show you want to see.
Amazon Instant Video is available for free in the App Store. Users must have a Prime membership to stream TV shows and movies for free.
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