Amazon’s Prime Video has rolled out an additional change to its service that removes Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound unless you pay extra. This follows the introduction of ads to Prime Video in January.
Now, the only way for Prime Video subscribers to remove the ads and bring back Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos is to pay $3 extra per month. The website 4KFilme first discovered that the features were locked behind a paywall.
A spokesperson for Prime Video confirmed to The Verge: “Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos capabilities are only available on the ad-free option, on relevant titles.”
Prime Video is included with a Prime membership ($15/month) or users can sign up for a standalone subscription for $9/month. Adding on the extra $3, the membership rates rise by 18% and 28%, respectively.
For comparison, Disney Plus with ads costs $8/month and Netflix with ads costs $7/month.
Locking some features behind a paywall is nothing new. Before this, the streaming service Max’s ad-free plan removed the ability to stream content in 4K unless users paid extra.
A Prime Video subscriber has launched a class-action lawsuit proposal that calls out Amazon for being “deceptive” by marketing Prime Video as an ad-free experience and then introducing ads.
