In a controversial move, Amazon will require subscribers to pay an extra $5 per month for 'Prime Ultra' to stream movies and series in 4K and Dolby Atmos.
Amazon is once again changing its Prime Video subscription plans after cramming ads into the base subscription plan in early 2024.
This time, the ad-free add-on package will increase in price from $3 to $5 per month and be renamed to 'Prime Video Ultra' in the US.
4K moves up, Dolby Vision down
Starting April 10, 4K resolution, in addition to Dolby Atmos, will only be available with the more expensive subscription plan, Ultra. On the other hand, Dolby Vision will be available to all subscribers, partly reversing the change from 2024.
- "Prime members will continue to enjoy the core Prime Video benefit, including HD/HDR and now Dolby Vision, at no additional cost with their Prime membership," Amazon said in its announcement.
The Ultra plan now also includes 5 simultaneous streams and 100 downloads for offline viewing, as if that is it some kind of perk to have downloads limited artificially rather than by the storage on your device.
- "Delivering ad-free streaming with premium features requires significant investment, and this structure aligns with other major streaming services while ensuring customers have the flexibility to choose how they want to watch," said Amazon.
Curiously, Amazon is rolling out the change only in the US at this time, possibly because it is engaged in a class action lawsuit in Europe over the insertion of ads.
Prime Video vs. Prime Video Ultra
In Amazon's own words:
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