Amazon’s ‘streaming’ platform has become one of the most popular, but do you know all its functions and possibilities?
The platform war has intensified as new streaming services have come out. Netflix arrived in Spain in 2015 and, six years later, the picture is very different. It has to compete against many other platforms, which also produce original content and have managed to create a very interesting catalog.
It is the case of Amazon Prime Video, that It has been standing out for some time in the battle of ‘streaming’ with original series and movies, a very pleasant catalog to consult and a quite comfortable application. The service debuted in the United States in 2006, but in Spain we could not use it until 2016. Almost no one remembers how we consumed audiovisual products a few years ago and, although we are totally used to VOD, surely you do not know some secrets that these services keep.
We all know that Amazon Prime Video is included in any Amazon Prime subscription, right? So let’s dig deeper into the platform now review some of the features that may go unnoticed but are most practical. For example, did you know that you could change the look of the subtitles? And that you can enjoy benefits on other websites like Twitch or Audible?
1. Amazon Channels: Access to different channels and platforms
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The Amazon Channels function was already working in other countries when, at the end of 2020, the service also arrived in Spain. What does it consist of? Basically in the possibility of accessing different streaming platforms, channels or various distributors through the same Prime Video application, but as long as we have a subscription to them.
The most popular channel in this new section is StarzPlay, the streaming platform of the famous American payment channel Starz that has such top series in its catalog as Heels, The Act or Normal People, among others, and whose monthly subscription has a price of 4.99 euros per month. Likewise, they are also available through Prime Video MGM, Flix Olé, Noggin, Mubi, OUTtv and some musicals.
The best way to find out is browsing the ‘Channels’ section of Prime Video and testing the trial periods of the different options.
2. Enjoy content offline
One of the essential qualities in any ‘streaming’ platform today is that you have the option of download the content so that it is available when the user decides, without having to have an internet connection. It may now be taken for granted, but remember that not so long ago there were many applications that had not incorporated this option and having it meant adding value to the user.
If you want to download a couple of episodes or a movie for your trips on the subway, you have it easy. You simply have to enter the application, access the file of a series or a movie and press the ‘Download’ icon. In the case of a movie, it appears just below ‘Watch now’, if you want to use it in a series, the icon is in each of the episodes. If you prefer, you can download the entire season. Of course, the downloaded content cannot be played using Chromecast or Airplay.
3. X-Ray: Sound like an actor to you? Pause the scene and find out who he is, where he came from and much more information
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This function is really top and, by the way, it is not very common on other streaming platforms. What does it consist of? Well, we could summarize it in that the service offers, in addition to hundreds of thousands of series and movies, a kind of X-ray of them. A) Yes, If while you are watching a title you have the typical doubts about the name of a certain actor, where you have seen him and even more biographical details, you can know them by simply pausing the scene.
Once paused, the platform analyzes the scene and offers you information: biography of actors, filmographies, trivia and curiosities, photos and additional video content. If you have not tried it already and you are one of those people who loves to continue learning every day, we promise that when you try it you will not stop using it.
4. Buying or renting first-run movies
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The Amazon Prime Video catalog is very extensive and you will not have problems finding a good movie or series among its dozens of titles. In addition to this service, They offer newly released titles in cinema that are also available to users paying rent (around € 5) or purchase (more or less between € 8-15, depending on the production).
In this way, you will be able to access films that were in theaters a few months ago, such as The Warren File: Forced by the Demon and In a New York Neighborhood, two of the most outstanding productions of the year that you can see from your sofa at home paying one small quantity. And not only are there recent releases, you can also rent or buy movies that are difficult to find on other platforms, such as the Halloween franchise or the James Bond franchise.
Purchases you make in the Prime Video store are automatically charged to the 1-Click payment method.
5. Three months free on Audible
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The future is in Audible and that is, If you are one of those people to whom a new universe has been opened through the ears, you have to try Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service.
Also, doing it will be free, since the availability of Audible for Amazon Prime members has its advantages. Mainly in regards to its price, although the first thing you have to know is that the advantages are not only in the first months and that, once the trial period has passed, Audible users will have the same conditions whether they only they are from Audible as if they are also Prime users.
Then, What are these advantages? That the 9.99 euros per month that the Audible subscription costs you save during the first three months if you are an Amazon Prime user. Plenty of time to find out if the audiobook service is for you. The rest of the users, however, have a free month.
6. Ad-free streaming on Twitch
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Amazon Prime Video is constantly reviewing its benefits to offer subscribers an up-to-date service. He has not been slow to incorporate Twitch into his agreement and Now anyone with an Amazon Prime account can also use Twitch without ads. To do this, you need to link the accounts.
It’s as simple as accessing Prime Gaming: Your Twitch accounts. Once inside, select the option ‘Connect a Twitch account’ and enter the details of the account you want to associate.
7. Change the appearance of subtitles
If you love to watch series and movies in their original version, you will have your preferences in terms of the way you like the subtitles. Perhaps you are one of those who prefer them yellow and avoid having a hard time seeing them when the scene we see on the screen is too light, or perhaps you are one of those who always remain faithful to the white classics.
The good news is that With Prime Video you can modify them to your liking and change the color and, best of all, also the size. You can do it from the menu itself that allows you to choose one language or another for both audio and subtitles, by clicking on settings.
8. All the Prime benefits of Amazon
The Prime Video streaming platform is one of the advantages that you can enjoy as a member of the Amazon Prime service and without the need to pay any additional cost. If so and you are a Prime member, you also have other wonderful benefits, such as access to Amazon Music, shopping in supermarkets online through Prime Now, Prime Reading, unlimited storage with Amazon Drive and, of course, free and fast shipping -a times in the same day – and access to flash offers. In short, all the benefits that membership offers you.
Of course, it is good to know that, if the only thing you are interested in is the streaming platform or any of its titles, you can do it without being a subscriber: Customers can buy or rent selected titles from the catalog with payment method 1 -Click.
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