After Years of including Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos with a subscription, Prime Video now charges more for the high-quality video and audio specs, each of which is included when subscribers “upgrade” to the Ad-Free streaming plan.
The Ad-Free tier costs an extra $2.99 per month, and supposedly removes any advertising from the streaming movies and TV series. And, the premium tier includes support for the Dolby Vision flavour of High Dynamic Range and Dolby Atmos object-based audio.
As far as we’ve seen so far, Amazon’s Ad-Supported plan is still allowing 4k resolution and HDR10 to work. One might be glad that at least 4k is still supported, as it’s often a premium from other services. It may also make sense that HDR10 (an open-source format) is still provided at no charge, while the proprietary Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos formats are not.
The move to start charging more for higher-quality video and audio is not uncommon among streamers. Netflix started charging more for 4k about 10 years ago and Max’s recent change to three tiers only provides 4k in the most expensive tier. Apple TV+, Paramount+, and Peacock, however, are among services that still don’t charge for 4k.
