Video streaming
Amazon is pushing millions of Prime Video customers into advertising subscriptions – and secretly removing other features
Streaming services are gradually evolving into traditional television programs where you simply choose the broadcast schedule yourself. Advertising has long been an integral part of many offers.
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Advertisements have been showing on Amazon Prime Video for a few days now – unless you pay extra. But that is not the only deterioration for the numerous customers.
This was first noticed by a reader of the specialist website “4KFilme”. The experts checked the claim and were able to confirm it: If you use the basic version of Amazon Prime Video – the one in which every customer has been classified since February 5th if you don’t pay an additional 2.99 euros – the options are can no longer be selected for the Dolby Atmos surround sound and the improved Dolby Vision picture technology. Even if the TV actually supports it. If you switch to the ad-free subscription, both technologies work again. “4KFilme” was able to confirm this for televisions from LG and Sony, and according to “Forbes” devices from TCL are also affected.
Amazon Prime Video: Hidden Deterioration
The restriction is particularly notable for one reason: Amazon does not communicate the restriction on image and sound quality. While other streaming providers clearly communicate the limitations of cheaper subscriptions, Prime Video does not indicate that the two Dolby technologies are not part of the basic subscription.
One of the reasons could be that the restrictions at Amazon are much more granular than at their competitors. While with Disney or Netflix you have to completely forego high-resolution playback in 4K or colorful HDR in the cheap subscriptions, this is not the case with Amazon: the basic Prime Video subscription also offers 4K, while televisions offer HDR-10 + Instead of relying on Dolby Vision, the advertising subscription also shines in full color.
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Is it because of the cost?
There could be a simple reason why only the two Dolby standards are excluded: While HDR-10+ can be used free of charge as an open standard, content in the proprietary Dolby standard must be additionally licensed. This is probably why Prime Video stopped supporting Dolby Vision in 2017. Dolby Atmos only came back to the platform in 2022 – in Amazon’s self-produced million-dollar epic “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.
It is therefore conceivable that Amazon only wants to pay for the licenses for the Dolby content for its additional paying premium customers. Not communicating this is still a strange decision.
How long the advertising subscriptions last has not yet been fully clarified: Because virtually all customers were suddenly made worse off without being asked, the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers has already filed a lawsuit against Amazon. According to consumer advocates, Amazon’s unilateral subscription change is not sufficient to meet applicable legal requirements. The provider thereby violated the rights of consumers. Amazon has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Sources: 4K movies, Ars Technica