Amazon Prime Video is locking 4K streaming behind a paywall and giving its ad-free tier a new name

[tripplej]

from yahoo,

Amazon Prime Video’s ad-free tier is getting a bit of a rebrand soon. Starting April 10, it will be known as Prime Video Ultra, but it’s more than just a name change.

In a blog post announcing the changes, Amazon says Prime Video Ultra will still cost $4.99 per month, but will now include “up to five concurrent streams (previously three), up to 100 downloads (previously 25), and exclusive access to 4K/UHD streaming.” That’s up from the $2.99 per month that Amazon currently charges for ad-free streaming.

If you want to keep streaming 4K content after April 10, you’ll have to pay $5 per month in addition to your Amazon Prime subscription cost for Prime Video Ultra. Alternatively, Amazon says you can switch to the Prime Video Ultra annual plan for $46, a 23% discount off the monthly rate.

 

[JStewart]

from yahoo,

Naturally. A 68% price increase, but in their infinite generosity we’re getting upgrades hardly anyone will use. Nice.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Do you guys remember when cutting the cord meant you were making moves to save money?

Streaming services and their pricing tiers have slaughtered that idea.

I really don't use Amazon to watch movies... primarily because I only have Amazon Prime. Which precludes me from some content (I think?) Every time I do look at what's available, I'm put off by how much content needs to be purchased.

 

[JStewart]

Do you guys remember when cutting the cord meant you were making moves to save money?

I do and it’s definitely not the case.

Streaming services and their pricing tiers have slaughtered that idea.

They have and I feel like it’s going to get worse.
A couple of tricks I have learned… rotating the services and restarting when there’s a deal. Be sure and cancel the service before the deal expires. Right now I have Paramount Plus for $.99 a month and Disney offered $4.99 down from $20, I think it was , when they and YouTubeTV were having their dispute and YouTubeTV subscribers lost CBS and the ESPN channels. (A crisis of epic proportions!!!)

I really don't use Amazon to watch movies... primarily because I only have Amazon Prime. Which precludes me from some content (I think?) Every time I do look at what's available, I'm put off by how much content needs to be purchased.

They do have some good series shows from time to time, though. One thing about Amazon is you can still browse and put stuff in your watch list and when you feel like you’ve got enough worth watching, turn on the hdr and add free. I used to be able to get away with that with Netflix. Now you can’t even see what they have without a subscription. I need to keep an offline list. I haven’t seen the latest season of stranger things yet, so I’ll re-up at some point for that.
It’s all way more work than I’d like, but I can’t stand paying for anything that’s not used.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I think that's where I'm stuck... the amount of work it takes to constantly manage subscriptions. It's exhausting and not always easy to execute.

I have DirecTV Stream, which I love as a streaming service. No complaints. But I know I'm overpaying on a monthly basis. I really do need to reach out and talk down my monthly fee.

For other services, Netflix, HBO Max, etc., I haven't kept track of what the fees are. My two daughters and my wife all watch different content across those platforms and Disney+, and every time I suggest making a change, one balks. So, it's easier to just leave them active.

I'd bet good money I'm leaving a decent chunk of change on the table every month because of laziness about pursuing the best deal out there.