How to use Prime Video: tips, tricks, and features everyone should know

An Amazon Prime subscription has always been about more than free shipping. Prime Video, the service's streaming arm, has grown into one of the most capable platforms in the business. In the past year or two, we've seen good and bad changes arrive: ads, Thursday Night Football, AI-powered features, and a premium tier called Prime Video Ultra.

Whether you're a new subscriber trying to figure out where to start, or a longtime Prime member who hasn't explored beyond the home screen, this guide covers everything you need to know.

Prime Video plans and pricing: what you actually get

Prime Video is no longer a single, standalone streaming platform. As of 2026, there are three distinct tiers, and understanding the difference matters—especially if you've been wondering why ads suddenly hit the plan you've been paying for (very frustrating, we know!).

The standard plan (with ads)

Both the full Amazon Prime membership ($14.99/month or $139/year) and the Prime Video standalone plan ($8.99/month) now include ads by default. Amazon introduced advertising to Prime Video in January 2024, so the platform now carries a limited ad load, similar in volume to traditional cable TV.

The standard plan streams in HD up to 1080p, supports up to four simultaneous streams, and allows up to 50 downloads for offline viewing.

Prime Video Ultra: the premium upgrade

If you want an ad-free experience, or if you want to watch in 4K, you'll need Prime Video Ultra, a $4.99/month add-on (or $45.99/year) on top of any Prime Video plan.

What Ultra gets you:

• Ad-free viewing for all Prime Video content (note: live sports and some select content may still include ads even on Ultra)
• Up to five simultaneous streams (standard plan allows four)
• Up to 100 offline downloads (standard allows 50)

To upgrade, go to Account & Settings on the Prime Video website or app, select Your Account, then Go Ad Free, and choose the Ultra plan. The upgrade applies to all profiles on your account.

How to set up a Prime Video profile

Prime Video supports up to six individual profiles per account, useful for personalizing recommendations and keeping watch histories separate for different family members. You can manage profiles on any device: the Prime Video mobile app, Fire TV, connected devices like Roku or PlayStation, or the Prime Video website.

To create or edit a profile on a connected device, select the silhouette icon in the top menu. On the website, go to the Prime Video home page and select the profile name next to Who's Watching.

If you want to set up a profile specifically for kids with age restrictions, skip ahead to the Parental Controls section below—that's where you'll configure content ratings and PIN protection.

How to find videos on Prime Video

The Prime Video home screen is continually redesigned and now features a cleaner navigation bar at the top with dedicated tabs for Home, Movies, TV Shows, and Live TV.

Look for the Prime badge in the bottom corner of a title's thumbnail to identify what is included with your subscription at no extra cost. A shopping bag icon marks content that requires a rental or purchase.

On the mobile app, you can toggle Free to Me at the top of the page to filter only content available with your membership. Use the search bar to look for titles, actors, characters, or genres. There is also a Rent or Buy section for older or recently released titles not included in the base subscription.

The Subscriptions tab lets you manage and add Prime Video Channels—third-party services like Max, Paramount+, Starz, Apple TV+, Peacock Premium Plus, MGM+, and Crunchyroll, among others, all managed and billed through Amazon.

AI-powered recommendations

Prime Video's recommendation engine now uses generative AI to surface content based on your individual tastes. The more you watch, the more tailored the home screen becomes, and you'll start to see curated rows based on specific shows or genres you've engaged with. Simply watching things is the fastest way to improve what the algorithm shows you.

Live sports on Prime Video

Live sports have become one of Prime Video's biggest differentiators, and the lineup has expanded significantly in recent years. Here's what's available as part of a standard Prime membership, at no extra cost:

Thursday Night Football (NFL)

Prime Video has held the exclusive streaming rights to NFL Thursday Night Football since 2022, and the package has grown into the most-watched season in TNF's 20-year history. The 2025 season averaged more than 15 million viewers per game, a 16% year-over-year increase and the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.

The 2026 TNF season kicks off in September with the Detroit Lions at the Buffalo Bills. Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit return as the main broadcast team. Prime members also get TNF Tonight pregame coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET each Thursday, with games beginning at 8:15 p.m. ET.

NBA

Prime Video launched its inaugural NBA package in the 2025–26 season, streaming more than 60 regular-season games, including a Friday night doubleheader at the start of the season. Prime also carries the NBA Play-In Tournament and select WNBA and NBA G League games.

WNBA

Prime Video streams approximately 30 exclusive regular-season WNBA games per year, along with the Commissioner's Cup Final and first-round playoff series. The deal runs for 11 seasons and includes semifinal and Finals coverage.

NASCAR, NWSL, and more

The sports lineup also includes NASCAR races, New York Yankees games, National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) matches, and professional tennis. Some of these require separate add-on packages (like MLB.TV or NBA League Pass for expanded coverage), but the core Prime Video sports package is included in your membership.

You can find all current live sports offerings under the Live TV tab in the Prime Video navigation bar.

How to check and set video quality

For those on the Ultra tier, 4K availability still depends on your internet connection speed and your device's capabilities—not all content is available in all resolutions.

On smart TVs and other streaming devices, Prime Video adjusts quality automatically based on your connection. The stream will drop in quality if your bandwidth is insufficient.

In a PC or laptop browser, a settings cog appears in the top-right corner during playback—click it to manually select quality.

In the Prime Video mobile app, tap My Stuff at the bottom right, then the settings cog at the top right, and select Stream & Download. You can set streaming and download quality separately. Options include Data Saver, Good, Better, and Best (ranging from about 0.14 GB/hour up to 1.82 GB/hour). There's also an option to automatically use the highest quality when connected to Wi-Fi.

How to download content to watch offline

Most Prime Video titles are available for download to the mobile app or laptop, so you can watch without an internet connection on flights or while traveling. Look for the download icon (a downward arrow) next to any eligible title.

Download limits: Standard plan subscribers can download up to 50 titles at a time. Prime Video Ultra subscribers can download up to 100 titles. Downloads are tied to your account and expire if you're offline for too long or if your subscription lapses.

How to build a watchlist

To avoid spending more time browsing than watching, add titles to your personal watchlist. On any TV show or movie page, tap the plus icon to add it to your list. Find it later under My Stuff, then Watchlist.

You can filter your watchlist by recently added, A–Z, or Z–A, and toggle between movies and TV shows separately.

How to edit your watch history

Sometimes you have an outlier that messes up recommendations, or something you just want to keep private (like Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus). Hop onto a web browser, then go to Account & Settings > Watch History > View Watch History. From there, select Delete Movie or Delete Episodes from Watch History next to any title you want to remove.

How to turn off autoplay

By default, the next episode of a TV series starts automatically when the current one ends. To turn this off in a browser, go to Account & Settings > Player, then toggle off Auto Play.

In the mobile app, navigate via My Stuff > settings cog.

How to set parental controls

Parental controls matter on Prime Video for two reasons: some content is clearly unsuitable for younger viewers, and the service mixes rental and purchase options with free streaming, which can lead to accidental charges if a curious child is browsing unsupervised.

From a web browser, go to Account & Settings > Permissions. In the mobile app, tap My Stuff > settings cog > Parental Controls.

The most important settings to configure:

• PIN protection: Set a PIN that your kids don't know. Turn on PIN on Purchase to block accidental (or deliberate) content purchases.
• Viewing Restrictions: Set age-appropriate content ratings and choose which devices those restrictions apply to.
• Kid profiles: Consider creating a dedicated kid's profile with its own viewing restrictions baked in from the start.

How to customize subtitles

To turn subtitles on or off during playback, tap the screen (on mobile) or hover your mouse/remote on desktop/TV and select the speech bubble icon in the top right corner. When subtitles are enabled, you'll see a Subtitle Settings option appear—tap it to adjust size and format.

For deeper customization, go to Account & Settings > Subtitles in a browser. Scroll down to the bottom and look for Edit next to your presets. From there, you can change colors, fonts, size, edges, and opacity. Make sure to save your edits when you're done.

How to use X-Ray (and the new AI recap features)

X-Ray is one of Prime Video's most distinctive features, and Amazon has expanded it considerably. Here's what's available:

X-Ray: cast, crew, and songs

While you're watching a movie or show, tap the screen (mobile) or hover your mouse (desktop) to reveal the X-Ray button in the top right corner. Select it to see the cast members currently on screen, along with any music playing in the scene. On most smart TVs, press down on the remote to access X-Ray. Pausing a title also surfaces X-Ray info automatically.

For select titles, X-Ray also includes trivia, bonus content, and scene-by-scene details that go well beyond the basics.

X-Ray Recaps: AI text summaries

Launched in November 2024, X-Ray Recaps uses generative AI to create spoiler-free text summaries of TV shows. You can get recaps of full seasons, individual episodes, or even just the portion of an episode up to wherever you stopped watching, so you'll never see a spoiler for content you haven't reached yet.

To access X-Ray Recaps, navigate to the next season of a supported show and look for the Recap button on the show's detail page.

Video Recaps: AI video summaries (new)

The newest addition, launched in beta in November 2025, Video Recaps takes the concept further by creating short, cinematic video summaries of prior seasons. The AI identifies key plot points and character arcs, selects relevant clips from the show, and assembles them with synchronized voice narration, dialogue snippets, and music, producing a polished, roughly three-minute refresher before you start a new season.

Video Recaps are currently available in beta on select Prime Originals in the US, including Fallout, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Bosch, Upload, and The Rig. Access them via the Recap button on a show's detail page when navigating to a new season. They're currently available on connected-TV devices first, with more devices coming.

How to use Shop the Show

Shop the Show is a second-screen shopping feature that lets you browse and buy products related to what you're currently watching without interrupting your viewing. It's available across more than 1,300 titles, including The Boys, Fallout, Star Wars, and live sports like NASCAR and the NFL.

To use it: open the Amazon Shopping app on your phone while a supported title is playing on Prime Video (logged into the same Amazon account). Search for Shop the Show in the app, and the relevant shopping page for your current title will appear automatically. You can also browse Shop the Show before or after watching, as Amazon remembers titles you've watched in the past 30 days.

The feature focuses on merchandise, apparel, collectibles, home entertainment, and branded products tied to the content, not disruptive on-screen ads or QR codes. It's a second-screen experience entirely, so it doesn't affect the viewing experience.

Getting the most from your Prime Video subscription

Prime Video has grown considerably from the simple streaming add-on it started as. With the right setup, a Prime Video Ultra subscription if you have a 4K TV and want an ad-free experience, profiles tailored to each member of your household, parental controls in place, and a watchlist to keep things organized, it's one of the most versatile streaming platforms available.