11. Watching Paid and Rented Programs

In this chapter, you learn how to purchase and rent streaming videos over the Internet.

Shopping at the Amazon Prime Video Store

Shopping at FandangoNOW

Shopping at Google Play

Shopping at Vudu

Playing Movies Purchased Anywhere with Movies Anywhere

As you’ve learned in the previous chapters, some streaming services offer movies and television programming for free; some require a monthly paid subscription. But not everything you want to watch is available from these services. There’s a lot more programming available online than you might find on Hulu or Netflix.

Many movies and TV series—especially older or less mainstream fare—are available for purchase or rental on a per-item or per-view basis. There are several online retailers that sell or rent videos through your Smart TV or streaming media player of choice. You’ll pay anywhere from $1 to $15 or even $20 USD to watch these programs, and they stream just like the content available from regular streaming services. You just have to pay for them one at a time.

Shopping at the Amazon Prime Video Store

Amazon is the largest online retailer today, and for years it has offered physical DVDs and Blu-ray discs for sale on its site. What you might not know is that it also offers an even larger selection of movies and TV shows for sale or rental online—perhaps the biggest selection online today.

What’s Available

Amazon offers all manner of movies and TV series—pretty much anything also available on DVD or Blu-ray—for online sale or rental. When you rent a title, you have 30 days to start watching and 2 days after that to finish. When you purchase a title, you have endless access to that title. (Sort of—read the It’s Not All Good sidebar later in this chapter.)

In terms of television shows, Amazon offers a huge selection of series from current network fare to classic programs from our youth (and, for some of us, even before!). Most television series are available for purchase only, not rental, and prices run from a buck or three per episode; complete seasons typically are priced from $10 to $30 USD.

Just about every current television series is available for streaming, from This Is Us and Star Trek: Discovery to Brother vs. Brother and NCIS. There’s a ton of children’s shows, from Disney, Nickelodeon, and others. And the variety of vintage television shows is mind-boggling, from the original Dragnet and Perry Mason shows to Get Smart and Leave It to Beaver. You can typically buy a complete season’s worth of episodes, or you can buy just one episode at a time.

If you’re looking at the current season’s fare, you can sign up for what Amazon calls a TV Season Pass. With this, you can watch previously aired episodes immediately and get access to each new episode as it airs.

In terms of movies, Amazon has a ton, and most are available for purchase or short-term rental. As you might suspect, renting costs less than buying; some films can be rented for just a few dollars, whereas most purchases cost $15 USD or more (especially for more recent films). Amazon is the place to find not only new and popular films, but also classic, foreign, and independent fare. In fact, the Amazon streaming video store is the place to buy or rent those obscure movies you just can’t find anyplace else. It’s like having a quirky neighborhood video store on your streaming media player.

Rent or Purchase a Video

Ordering an item for purchase or rental is as simple as searching or browsing for it from within the Amazon Prime Video app, selecting the appropriate button, and entering a payment method.

Select Search to search for a specific movie or series. Or…

Scroll to any of the “Rent or Buy” sections.

Select the item you want to purchase or rent.

Select one of the Buy Movie options to purchase a movie. (You typically have the option of buying in HD or standard definition, which has a slightly lower cost; select More Purchase Options to see all available options.)

Select the Rent Movie option to rent a movie.

To purchase a television show, select the season you want to watch.

Select the episode you want to purchase.

Select the Buy Episode option; then confirm and pay for your purchase. Or…

Select the Buy Season option to buy all the episodes from that season; then confirm and pay for your purchase.

Watch a Purchased or Rented Video

When you purchase or rent a video from Amazon, it’s available in your library in the Amazon Prime Video app. When you rent a video, you typically have 30 days to start watching, and then 2 days after that to finish. You can watch an unlimited number of times after you start, but when the time period is over, the video is removed from your video library. Items you purchase are stored in your library forever, or until Amazon loses the rights to distribute them.

From within the Amazon Prime Video app, select the My Stuff tab.

All the movies and TV shows you’ve purchased are displayed here. Select the item you want to watch.

Select Watch Now to begin viewing the item.

It’s Not All Good

You Don’t Actually Own It

Here’s the thing with purchasing a streaming video: You’re only buying the right to stream that video from a particular online store. You don’t own the video itself. So if the store loses the right to sell that video, you lose the right to play it. (In practice, that means the video won’t play, and you’ll get a message describing the situation.) It doesn’t happen often, because the various online stores tend to share their licenses to avoid stranding their customers, but it can happen.

Shopping at FandangoNOW

You might know Fandango as a company that sells movie theater tickets over the Internet. The company is also in the streaming video business—selling and renting movies and TV shows for streaming over the Internet and on many streaming media players through the FandangoNOW app.

Device Availability

You can purchase from FandangoNOW on Roku streaming media players, on most Smart TVs, and on your computer or mobile device at the FandangoNOW website (www.fandangonow.com). You cannot purchase or rent programs on Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV devices—although you can use the FandangoNOW or Movies Anywhere apps to watch programs you’ve purchased elsewhere.

What’s Available

Fandango offers a decent selection of both movies and TV shows. All TV shows are available for purchase only. Some series let you purchase one episode at a time; others sell only complete seasons. Prices vary.

Most movies are available for either purchase or rental. Rentals typically give you 30 days to start viewing, and then 48 hours to watch it. Most rentals run $4 to $6 USD, with some Home Premiere first-run movies priced at $19.99; purchase prices typically run $15 to $25 USD.

Home Premiere Movies

Because of the coronavirus shutting down movie theaters in 2020, many films set for first-run theatrical release were instead released directly to streaming video. These so-called Home Premiere video rentals are typically priced at $19.99—a little more than the average price of two first-run movie tickets—and available at most online video stores.

Rent or Purchase a Video

If you have a Roku device and the Fandango menu options displayed, purchasing or renting a video is relatively easy.

From Roku’s main menu, select Movie Store by Fandango to purchase a film. Or…

Select TV Store by Fandango to purchase a television show.

Make a selection from the left-hand column to display items of a specific type.

Select the item you want to purchase or rent.

Select one of the purchase options to purchase a movie.

Select one of the rental options to rent a movie.

To purchase a television show, select the desired season of that series.

Select the episode you want to watch.

Select the desired purchase option.

Watch a Purchased or Rented Video

You can watch items you’ve purchased directly from the FandangoNOW app.

From Roku’s main menu, select Movie Store by Fandango to view films you’ve purchased. Or…

Select TV Store by Fandango to view television shows you’ve purchased.

Select either My Movie Library or My TV Library.

Select the item you want to watch.

If you want to watch an episode from a television show, select that episode.

Shopping at Google Play

The Google Play store is much like the Amazon Prime Video store in that it offers a large variety of movies and television series for streaming purchase or rental. You can access the Google Play store from Google Chromecast and Roku devices, most Smart TVs, and any computer or connected mobile device. You cannot purchase from the Google Play store on Amazon Fire TV or Apple TV devices. You can, however, play items purchased from Google Play on any device using the Movies Anywhere app.

What’s Available

Like Amazon Prime Video and FandangoNOW, Google Play offers a wide selection of movies and television shows for purchase or rental. I’ve found Google Play to have fewer foreign, classic, and independent films than Amazon, but the two services have a similar number of recent blockbusters. Google offers most videos in HD format, with selected titles in 4K Ultra HD with HDR.

Movie rentals range from $2.99 to $5.99 USD, with some Home Premiere first-run movies going for $19.99. Purchase prices range from $9.99 to $19.99 USD. Television episodes are priced from $1.99 to $2.99 USD. Rentals expire in 30 days or 48 hours after you start watching, whichever comes first.

Purchase or Rent a Video

You need a Google account (that’s linked to a credit card) to purchase or rent from Google Play. After that, it’s a simple matter of finding what you want and clicking a few buttons.

From the Google Play app, select Search to search for specific movies and shows. Or…

Select the Home tab to view featured items. Or…

Select TV to view television shows.

Select Genres to view programming by type.

Select a genre.

Select the item you want to purchase or rent.

Purchase a movie by selecting the Buy button.

Rent a movie by selecting the Rent button.

To purchase a television show, select the season you want.

Select the episode within that season.

Select the SD button to purchase the item in standard definition.

Select the HD button to purchase the item in high definition (typically at a slightly higher price).

Watch a Purchased or Rented Video

The Google Play app lets you watch items you’ve purchased or rented.

Select Library.

Select My Movies to view only purchased or rented movies.

Select My TV Shows to view only purchased television episodes.

Select the item you want to watch.

If you selected a TV show, select the desired season.

Select an episode to begin watching it.

Shopping at Vudu

The other notable online marketplace for purchasing and renting streaming videos is Vudu, which used to be owned by Walmart. It’s recently been purchased by Fandango (which is owned by NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast), so who knows how that will affect the way Vudu works in the future.

Currently, the Vudu store is available on Google Chromecast and Roku devices, many Smart TVs, and computers and connected mobile devices. It is not available for Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV devices.

What’s Available

Most Vudu videos are available in HD with Dolby Digital 5.1-channel sound. Selected titles are offered in 4K Ultra HD, typically for $5 USD or so more than HD pricing.

Movie rentals run from $2.99 to $5.99 USD, with some first-run Home Premiere movies going for $19.99. Purchases are priced from $4.99 to $24.99 USD. Purchases of television episodes run from $1.99 to $2.99 USD.

Vudu also offers a selection of free videos, but these videos include advertising. If you don’t mind suffering through the non-fast-forwardable ads, this might have some appeal.

All that said, I’ve found that Vudu doesn’t have quite the selection as its main competitors. Also, its pricing—especially for 4K UHD titles—tends to run a little higher than the other services. If you can find what you want at Vudu for a decent price (or even for free, with ads), go for it. Otherwise, you might be better off shopping at a store with a bigger selection.

How to Purchase or Rent a Video

Vudu operates in much the same fashion as the other online streaming stores. Find what you want to watch, select a purchase option, and click the appropriate buttons.

From within the Vudu app, select Spotlight to view featured and recommended content.

Select Movies to view films for purchase or rent.

Select TV to view television shows for purchase.

Select the item you want to purchase or rent.

To purchase or rent a movie, select Rent/Buy.

Select the desired rental or purchase option. Most films are available for purchase or rental in SD or HD (what Vudu calls HDX); some films are available in 4K (UHD).

To purchase a television show, select the episode you want to purchase.

Select either the SD or HDX option. (If you’re looking at an older show, you’ll see only a single Own option, which is in SD.)

Watch a Purchased or Rented Video

You can view all the programs you’ve purchased or rented from within the Vudu app.

Select My Vudu.

Select Movies to view films you’ve purchased or rented.

Select TV to view television shows you’ve purchased.

Select the item you want to watch.

Select Watch.

>>>Go Further

Shopping at the Itunes Store

If you have an Apple TV streaming media player, you can purchase or rent movies from Apple’s iTunes Store. You can also access the iTunes Store from any Apple computer, iPhone, or iPad—but not from most non-Apple devices. That means you can’t access the iTunes Store from an Amazon Fire TV or Roku device or from most Smart TVs.

The iTunes Store offers a similar selection of movies and television shows as you find in the Amazon Prime Video store and somewhat more than in Google Play. Most movies in the iTunes Store are available for both purchase and rental; purchase prices run from $7.99 to $19.99 USD, and rental prices run from $2.99 to $5.99 USD. You typically have 30 days to start watching a rental title and 48 hours to finish. Some titles are available in 4K at no increase in price.

To order an item from your Apple TV devices, select either iTunes Movies (to shop for films) or iTunes TV Shows (to shop for television programming). Browse or search for the item you want and then click to select it. To purchase an item, select the Buy option; to rent an item, select the Rent option. That’s about it.

After you’ve confirmed your purchase or rental, that item is available in your iTunes library for future viewing. To view all the items you’ve purchased or rented, select the Library tab from the Apple TV home screen. Click to select the item you want to watch.

Playing Movies Purchased Anywhere with Movies Anywhere

Not every streaming media player company wants other companies making money by selling or renting videos on their platform. That’s why you can’t shop iTunes or Vudu from an Amazon Fire TV device, for example.

Fortunately, you can watch movies you rent or purchase elsewhere—even on your computer—on just about any Smart TV or streaming media player, thanks to the Movies Anywhere app.

Movies Anywhere lets you play videos purchased from Amazon Prime Video, FandangoNOW, Google Play, the iTunes Store, Microsoft Movies & TV, Vudu, Verizon, and Xfinity on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and Roku devices, as well as many Smart TVs. You can use Movies Anywhere as a single repository and player for videos you purchase from those multiple sources.

The Movies Anywhere app is free and available in your device’s app or channel store. Learn more about Movies Anywhere (and create a free account) at www.moviesanywhere.com.

Watch a Program with Movies Anywhere

To use Movies Anywhere, you first need to create a Movies Anywhere account and link it to your accounts at those online stores at which you shop. After that, the movies you rent or purchase are available in the Movies Anywhere library, even if you couldn’t purchase them otherwise on your streaming media player.

From within the Movies Anywhere app, select My Movies. This displays all the movies and TV shows you’ve purchased on any participating platform.

Select the item you want to watch.

Select Play Movie to begin viewing.

>>>Go Further

Purchasing Online Videos in Canada and the UK

Most of the online video marketplaces discussed in this chapter are global in nature, although pricing and content in other countries may vary from their U.S. cousins. You can find Canadian- and UK-specific versions of the Amazon Prime Video store, Google Play, and the iTunes Store.

Other online stores are U.S.-only. Specifically, you cannot access FandangoNOW or Vudu in Canada or the UK.