Prime Video is a free perk of your Amazon Prime membership - here's how the streaming service works and what kind of content you can access

Amazon

• Prime Video - Amazon's video streaming service - is one of the best perks included in an Amazon Prime membership.
• It houses thousands of movies and TV shows that can be streamed or downloaded through the Prime Video app and are included in the price of your Prime membership.
• Subscribers can also rent or buy movies and TV episodes that aren't free, and sign up for popular networks like HBO and STARZ that can be streamed through Prime Video.
• Find 31 other perks to an Amazon Prime membership.

The perks of an Amazon Prime membership seem so numerous that most of its 100-million-and-counting U.S. subscribers are probably only using a fraction of them.

If you hate shopping for groceries, you've got AmazonFresh. If your packages keep disappearing while you're on vacation, you've got scheduled delivery with Amazon Day. If you're crunched for time, you can even have a package delivered directly into your garage or even into your vehicle when it's parked at a publicly accessible area.

But perhaps one of the best perks of a Prime membership is Prime Video - its video streaming service.

What is Amazon Prime Video?

Prime Video is a video streaming service that's included in your Amazon Prime membership. You can watch thousands of titles on Prime Video at no additional cost - including many award-winning movies and critically acclaimed original TV series. You can rent or buy movies and TV episodes not included with Prime Video, and subscribe to over 100 premium channels with Prime Video Channels Subscriptions.

What can you watch?

Prime Video content spans movies, TV shows, and, in the case of Prime Video Channels Subscriptions, premium networks like HBO and CBS All Access. For such networks, subscribers don't need to have cable or additional apps. Prices for each range from $4.99/month to $14.99 per month.

Genres range from romantic comedies to classics. You'll also get access to Prime Original Movies and Prime Original TV Shows - or, in other words, content that's original or unique to Amazon. Like Netflix and HBO, Amazon is no stranger to Emmys.

What are some standout features?

Some of Prime Video's premium features include 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of select content. The latter means you can load your phone up with pre-downloaded episodes of your favorite TV shows to catch up on without Wi-Fi access - making it ideal for traveling, be it by plane or public transportation. Just hit the download button (an arrow pointing down) next to whatever eligible content you want to download, and the app will alert you when the episode or movie has downloaded in the background. How long you have to watch your download before it expires depends on the content, and some of it may be locked geographically - meaning you may not be able to watch some content overseas, even with a VPN service. Though, you could theoretically keep your device on airplane mode to circumvent that.

Amazon owns IMDB, which means Prime Video also has something called "X-Ray" to offer you instant access to cast information, featured music, and trivia about the show or movie you're watching while you're watching it. If you want to dig into its other features, it also offers character backstories, behind-the-scenes photos, bonus video content, and more. To access it, just tap the screen or click up on the remote while the video is playing.

Which devices can you watch Prime Video on?

You can stream unlimited movies and TV episodes from the Prime Video app on a compatible Fire TV, smart TV, streaming media player, game console, mobile phone, or tablet.

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