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Amazon Instant now available on Samsung TVs

Samsung has announced that the Amazon Instant streaming video service is now available on its HDTVs.

David Katzmaier Editorial Director -- Personal Tech
David reviews TVs and leads the Personal Tech team at CNET, covering mobile, software, computing, streaming and home entertainment. We provide helpful, expert reviews, advice and videos on what gadget or service to buy and how to get the most out of it.
Expertise A 20-year CNET veteran, David has been reviewing TVs since the days of CRT, rear-projection and plasma. Prior to CNET he worked at Sound & Vision magazine and eTown.com. He is known to two people on Twitter as the Cormac McCarthy of consumer electronics. Credentials
  • Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
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David Katzmaier

Samsung's Smart Hub now is now the content king. Sarah Tew/CNET

The one major streaming service heretofore absent from Samsung's TVs, Amazon Instant, is now available.

Today Samsung announced that the popular video service is available for immediate, free download to all 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. The Amazon Instant catalog includes more than 140,000 movies and commercial-free TV shows at a la carte pricing. The app on Samsung TVs also allows access to the more than 30,000 titles available for free to Prime members.

A Samsung rep told CNET that the app will not be made available to 2011 Samsung Smart TVs at this time, but couldn't say whether that would change. The company also didn't specify whether the app would be coming to its Blu-ray players or other home theater devices.

With the addition of Amazon, I now consider Samsung's 2012 Smart TV platform the undisputed king of content. The company's TVs also offer exclusive access to HBO Go, as well as nearly every other major audio and video-streaming app, in addition to the largest app store.

We'll follow up with hands-on impressions when we get the chance to check out the new app.