Amazon Prime Video Drops Dolby Vision, Atmos Unless You Pay Extra

Amazon Prime Video has cut Dolby Vision and Atmos support from their ad tier subscription. “That’s on top of the ads that Amazon injected into the service on January 29th,” reports The Verge. “Now, when you pay $2.99 a month to remove those ads, you can get Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos back as well.” The Verge reports: That’s the word from 4KFilme, which discovered that their smart TVs from Sony, LG, and Samsung were now displaying content in HDR10 with Dolby Digital 5.1 as opposed to the higher fidelity options they’d enjoyed previously. Amazon spokesperson Katie Barker confirms to The Verge that it’s a deliberate move: “Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos capabilities are only available on the ad free option, on relevant titles.”

While price hikes are no longer remotely unusual in the streaming video space, where Netflix now charges $22.99 a month for its 4K tier, it’s a bit harder to compare Amazon’s prices to Netflix. Prime Video is also available as an $8.99-per-month standalone subscription; if you subscribe that way and add $2.99 per month, it’s more like a 28 percent price hike. If you prefer ads, Prime Video’s $8.99-per-month is a dollar less than Disney Plus with ads at $9.99 per month, though Netflix currently offers its 1080p service with ads at $6.99 per month.

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