The arrival of advertising on Prime Video heralds less viewing comfort and an additional cost for subscribers who want to do without it.
This news concerning a small revolution coming to Prime Video may leave a bitter taste for some of its users. In addition to the introduction of advertisements on the streaming platform from April 9, those who have not subscribed to the ad-free option will no longer benefit from Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It will therefore be necessary to give up on viewing the Fallout series in optimal conditions, for example.
An extra to remove ads
This news took many subscribers abroad by surprise, as Amazon had not communicated clearly about these changes in connection with the introduction of advertisements on Prime Video. Thus, those who opt for the standard subscription, including advertisements, are now deprived of certain high-end audiovisual features.
Both Prime Video offers, with and without advertising, are already in effect in the United States and the United Kingdom, and some users have expressed their disappointment with this decision. As reported by Forbesconfirming these changes through testing, only subscribers who pay extra to remove ads can now enjoy Dolby Vision for HDR picture quality and Dolby Atmos for immersive sound.
Invisible information
Amazon had never mentioned this new restriction imposed on some of its users before the matter became known. Following the Forbes article, the company admitted that this change was not related to a technical problem, but was deliberate. We cannot find this information on the page “What content includes ads?”.
Despite the presence of the mentions Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on the content sheets for subscribers to the offer with advertising, the latter are effectively deprived of it once the playback of a program has started.
The question now is whether subscribers will be willing to pay extra to keep the experience ad-free. After Amazon confirmed that advertising will be introduced on the service in France on April 9, the amount of the surcharge has finally been announced.
You can even pre-order this option on a dedicated page in which the streamer announces an offer “Prime Video without advertising in France, Italy or Spain for an additional cost of €1.99 per month“.
This move by Amazon raises questions about the value and benefits of subscription, as well as its impact on users’ viewing experience.