Home Streaming Amazon Prime Video Review 2023 – A Comprehensive Look
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The streaming video market keeps growing, but it’s more competitive than ever. Surprisingly, Netflix is no longer the only go-to platform in this business space. Several services have entered the space and are doing extremely well, thanks to the overall growing significance of the original series.

One of the fast-growing streaming services in the current market is Amazon Prime Video – yes, one of the biggest companies on the globe, Amazon is deep into the fray. Their Amazon Video service is on a mission to overtake Netflix right in their game. So, how does Amazon Prime Video stack up? Don’t worry; you’re in the right place. Our complete and unbiased review has everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Video.

In This Guide

What is Amazon Prime Video? Your Gateway to a World of Streaming Entertainment

What is Amazon Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video is a video streaming arm of the global giant Amazon that first stepped into the video space in 2006 with the then video-downloading service called Amazon Unbox. It wasn’t until 2011 that this streaming service was launched as a separate service. Amazon Prime Video offers titles from several outlets.

Amazon Prime Video has been included with Amazon Prime. With this membership, all Amazon customers pay a fee regularly to receive faster shipping and other perks like accessing Amazon’s music streaming service. It’s among the most popular on-demand streaming services on the planet. It’s a consistently exceptional service with a wide variety of choices and offers value for money with many features, including movie, TV, and music streaming.

It offers a rising library of quality, original content and a wide collection of TV shows and movies you can enjoy. Furthermore, it allows you to download content to view offline and watch 4K titles. Additionally, it hosts an immense catalog for purchase or rent. Unfortunately, the service doesn’t feature as many high-quality shows as its rival.

Simply put, Prime Video is perhaps the best part of being an Amazon Prime member – think about access to more than 40,000 movies and shows at an affordable price. It’s a platform where you can get almost everything you want in one platform; even live sports programming is available. Moreover, its slow but steady growth of original content will make you glued to your screen.

Amazon Prime Video Availability by Country: Where Can You Stream?

Countries
Worldwide, except for Iran, Russia, Syria, Mainland China, Belarus, and North Korea.
Pro tip: Amazon Prime Video’s content library varies by region, but you can maximize your options by using a VPN to connect to an allowed country server. This allows you to access exclusive US (or any other) content regardless of your physical location. Just ensure your VPN service is compatible with streaming for uninterrupted entertainment.

Plans and Pricing – Unveiling the Value of Streaming Choices

Plans and Pricing

It’s a no-brainer to ask how much Amazon Prime Video will cost you – price is perhaps what most people look out for first. But what if we told you not to go for the price first? Going for something with value for money is always a good idea.

You can use two options to access Amazon’s video content. First, the standalone Prime Video subscription costs $8.99 a month and includes only access to Amazon’s streaming video library. Secondly, the Amazon Prime subscription costs $14.99 a month. It has Prime Video and several other perks like free two-day shipping, Twitch Prime membership, music streaming through Amazon Music Prime, and several discounts at Whole Foods.

Here’s something to note: both tiers will also give you access to similar content, and they’re all ad-free. Also, its Prime membership at $14.99 a month is something you can smile about – it means that a subscriber who signs up for Prime to enjoy the free shipping can easily hop online and start watching videos without any extra charge.

The most interesting part is that you can pay for a full-year subscription at about $139 – saving up to about $41 annually. Also, there’s an option to have a one-month free trial of Prime. You’ll miss out if you’ve had a Prime trial or Prime in the previous year. However, Amazon tries to reset that so that if you’ve been away for several years, you can return with the free month trial.

How to Get Amazon Prime Video?

The setup takes merely two ways – if you’re among the people who have subscribed to Amazon Prime across the globe for free two-day shipping, then Prime Video is included with the service. However, those without an Amazon Prime account can still subscribe to Prime Video at $9 monthly. Interestingly, Prime Video subscribers can easily add on subscriptions to Showtime, HBO, Paramount Plus, and Starz, among other channels, for some extra monthly cost, too.

Content Library – A Treasure Trove of Streaming Options

Content Library

There’s no limitation of choices when it comes to Amazon Prime Video. With over 20,000 titles on this exceptional platform, you can be assured of something that interests you. It’s easy to say that Prime Video offers more options than competitors like Netflix and Disney+.

Here’s the thing: Amazon Prime Video features three types of content: free, originals, and movies and shows to purchase or rent. Of all the categories, the most familiar is perhaps “included with Prime,” meaning you won’t be required to pay extra cash to watch a movie or TV series.

The movie catalog on Amazon Prime Video is extensive, with top classics like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Raging Bull” as well as new releases that will keep you glued to your screen. Moreover, the service produces as well as releases original content from blockbusters.

The service has ramped up its original content offerings over the past years. To get you off the mark, here are some of the top shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video:

  • The Winds
  • Homecoming
  • The Boys
  • The Tomorrow War
  • Upload
  • Late Night
  • The Wheel of Time
  • Harlem
  • All or Nothing: Manchester City
  • One Night in Miami

Moreover, the service provides over 100 channels you can purchase for an extra fee. Such channels range from live sports to premium cable networks. You’ll get some of the major live TV channel offerings like NBA League Pass MLB.TV, and NFL’s Thursday Night Football. Also, there are popular channels like Epix, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, and Paramount+.

User Interface – Navigating Your Streaming Experience

User Interface

One thing is for sure: Amazon is undoubtedly the world’s largest online retailer, meaning it should feature an incredible, intuitive, and highly usable website, right? Well, On the contrary, Amazon Prime Video has a user interface that not many people can enjoy that much. It’s somehow overcrowded and a bit messy. Its cluttered header bar is not the best, and it’s not even helped, given that Amazon puts all the video content on the same user interface, even content not included in Prime Video.

However, all is not lost; the interface gets better when you start going into menus to search or browse for content. It features helpful genres and categories you can choose from; some other top shows are highlighted. Furthermore, the site has added a significant blue flag denoting the type of content available when you have a Prime membership. Therefore, it’s easy to say that the interface is not ideally a deal breaker, but once you get used to it, you’ll have no problem navigating the platform.

Features – Enhancing Your Streaming Adventure

Features

Audio and Video Quality

Amazon Prime Video streams at 1080p HD and other original movies and TV shows in 4K, HDR10+, HDR, and Dolby Vision. However, you should note that it’s not always consistent from one show to another. However, you can be sure that if you have a solid and fast internet connection, the picture quality on Amazon Prime Video is reliably pristine. The service recommends at least 5 Mbps for that quality – for buffer-free streaming, it’s highly recommendable to go for 25 Mbps. Regarding the audio quality, the service supports Dolby 5.1 digital surround sound on several of its original TV shows and movies. However, for a larger part of the programming on the service, the sound output is the standard 2.0 stereo that’s usually offered by all the other streaming services.

Simultaneous Streaming

Amazon Prime Video allows users to have up to three simultaneous streams per account; however, the same movie or show can be watched simultaneously on two devices. Interestingly, it allows you to create up to 6 user profiles to stream content on, so you don’t have to wait for your family or friends to enjoy your favorite episode. Besides, the service allows subscribers to designate toddler profiles and limit the available programs.

Parental Controls

Amazon Prime Video has parental controls for users to restrict access to the content children can access on the account. They offer an option to limit access according to age groups; you can restrict titles for toddlers under 15 years and various restrictions for older children. Furthermore, parental controls can be applied differently on multiple devices; some devices, like Amazon Fire Tablets and Amazon Fire TV, have parental controls that you can manage separately on those devices.

Offline Downloads

Like most major streaming services, Amazon Prime Video allows users to download given titles that they can view and watch offline. However, you should note that Prime Video states that only selected titles are available for download, while some videos are available only for download in specific locations.

Supported Devices – Where Can You Watch Your Favorites?

Supported Devices

Amazon Prime Video is compatible with a plethora of streaming devices. You can enjoy the service from all the major smart TV brands. Unsurprisingly, the service works with Amazon’s devices like Fire TV and Echo Show.

Moreover, it works well with major gaming consoles like PlayStation models and Microsoft Xbox devices. Besides, you can enjoy the service on PCs, laptops, and mobile devices. The service works well with Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, and several other devices.

Moreover, the Amazon Prime Video mobile app is interesting and available for almost all mobile devices. It has an interesting user interface that’s almost similar to that of computer and TV interfaces. The mobile app has a “Store” icon at the lower part, making it easier to find videos and rentals available for purchase. As you watch your TV program on your mobile device, the app automatically downloads your next episode.

How Does Prime Video Compare with Other Services?

Streaming Service Allowed Countries Best Known For Rating Pricing
Prime Video Worldwide, except in some countries Original content 4 $8.99/month
Paramount+ United States Top-notch content 3.8 $5.99/month
MGM+ Germany, the United States, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, and Italy Movies library 3.5 $5.99/month
Showtime United States Extensive content library 3.7 $11.99/month
Hulu Japan and the United States Live TV 2.26 $7.99/month
Starz Puerto Rico and the United States Best TV shows 4.2 $9/month
Crackle United States Free movies and TV shows 2.49 Free service
Disney+ Worldwide Best content 3.1 $10.99/month
Sling TV United States Affordable streaming 3.7 $6.4/month
Peacock Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Austria Extensive library of movies and TV shows 1.8 $6/month

Prime Video and VPN – How to Enjoy Secure Streaming from Anywhere

Prime Video and VPN

As a rule of thumb, you should have a good Virtual Private Network (VPN) when browsing the internet. A VPN is a significant tool to stay safe and private online. Unfortunately, streaming services like Prime Video make streaming content hard when connected to a VPN. The policy results from content licensing deals, given that most movies and shows are geo-restricted.

However, the good news is that some VPNs work well with Amazon Prime Video. Therefore, all you need to do is to look for the best VPN that works with Amazon Prime Video. For instance, ExpressVPN is one such VPN that you can use to stream movies and TV shows on this service.

Exploring Alternatives: Other Streaming Options Beyond Amazon Prime Video

Discover a world of entertainment beyond the usual options. Explore various streaming services to elevate your viewing experience — check out our comprehensive reviews for insightful recommendations. There’s a whole universe of content waiting for you to explore!

Verdict: Is Amazon Prime Video Worth It?

No video streaming service has risen faster than Amazon Prime Video, but it doesn’t mean it’s ready to take on Netflix. However, slowly but steadily, the service is getting to the top, and sooner, it might be bagging the bragging rights – who knows? Amazon Prime Video has a huge movie library, a robust range of original programming, and many add-on channels. Moreover, it provides high-quality viewing, offering 4K Ultra HD streaming and several other Prime membership benefits like free two-day and one-day shipping. Therefore, it’s easy to say that Amazon Prime Video is one for the future, arguably one to try now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Amazon Prime Video?

What is the price of Prime Video monthly subscription?

Can you use a VPN with Prime Video?

Does Prime Video offer Originals?

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Samuel Gitt Streaming Expert

Samuel Gitt Streaming Expert

Due to his tendency to research extensively, Samuel Gitt is the go-to person to tell you what's happening in streaming town. And so he does. A serial binge-watcher with an opinionated attitude toward web freedom for all; you name it, he's got it.