Solved! Amazon video stopped working on Samsung

[juliemoore100]

Two days ago, my Amazon video services topped working on my Samsung Smart ?tv Model number UE32ES550.
I have contacted both Samsung and Amazon, and still not sorted the problem. When I go to the App on the tv, it tells me to go to Amazon customer services.
Here is what I have tried so far:
1. Updating software by USB from 2007 to 2008 on my TV
2. Switching off the power and pressing power for 20 seconds
3. Unregistering my Samsung tv from my Amazon devices and being unable to re register it. When I go to the Amazon App on my tv to get the code, it says get in touch with customer services.
4. I have uninstalled and installed the Amazon App at least a dozen times , but get the same customer service go to 'video help' blah, blah blah!
5. My Prime video works fine on my Kindle, by the way. All other apps work.
Any help is appreciated. Thank you

 

[Ralston18]

This: "it says get in touch with customer services."

Have you actually contacted Amazon accordingly? If not, why not?

 

[Solandri]

I suspect it's never going to work again. This TV seems to be over a decade old. Standalone devices like this typically did not include a processor capable of decoding streamed video in real time. Instead, they rely on a hardware decoder built into an embedded GPU to do the decoding.

Unfortunately, as time moves on, better video codecs are implemented, and support for older video codecs is dropped. I would not at all be surprised if Amazon Video has moved on to a newer codec which your TV can no longer decode in real-time. So the app no longer works since Amazon's video servers are no longer sending it a video stream the TV's embedded GPU knows how to decode. I know this happened to the YouTube app on various smart TVs when Google switched to VP9-only for newer and 4k videos.

You'll probably have to buy a standalone device like a Roku or Fire TV or Chromecast or Apple TV, and plug it into an open HDMI port on the TV. This is yet another reason not to buy a smart TV.

 

[juliemoore100]

This: "it says get in touch with customer services."

Have you actually contacted Amazon accordingly? If not, why not?

Thanks for you reply, my post states 'I have contacted both Samsung and Amazon, and still not sorted the problem.' I would add that I spent almost two hours on the phone but neither was able to offer any real help.

 

[juliemoore100]

I suspect it's never going to work again. This TV seems to be over a decade old. Standalone devices like this typically did not include a processor capable of decoding streamed video in real time. Instead, they rely on a hardware decoder built into an embedded GPU to do the decoding.

Unfortunately, as time moves on, better video codecs are implemented, and support for older video codecs is dropped. I would not at all be surprised if Amazon Video has moved on to a newer codec which your TV can no longer decode in real-time. So the app no longer works since Amazon's video servers are no longer sending it a video stream the TV's embedded GPU knows how to decode. I know this happened to the YouTube app on various smart TVs when Google switched to VP9-only for newer and 4k videos.

You'll probably have to buy a standalone device like a Roku or Fire TV or Chromecast or Apple TV, and plug it into an open HDMI port on the TV. This is yet another reason not to buy a smart TV.

 

[juliemoore100]

Thanks for you reply. Does that mean that even if I buy a firestick or any other device, that too will become obsolete as soon as the next shiny codec is released ???

 

[Solandri]

Thanks for you reply. Does that mean that even if I buy a firestick or any other device, that too will become obsolete as soon as the next shiny codec is released ???

Yes, but that's fixed by buying a new $50 streaming device. Not by replacing the TV.

Most of the devices released in the last 2 years support h.265, which seems to be the next new codec standard. Although Google has put its weight behind AV1, which is not encumbered with patents so it may end up winning.