Amazon Prime Video tips, tricks and features

Whether you’re new to Prime or just thinking of signing up, you’ll want to get the most out of the service. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to do that…

Setting up a ‘Household’ account

Prime Video will recommend content based on your viewing history – but what if you’re really into crime thrillers, your other half loves romantic comedies and the kids love cartoons? The answer is by linking together two Amazon accounts that both have access to Prime Video. Go to Your Account > Shopping Programmes > Amazon Household. There you can add another adult or profiles for children, and then click ‘Create Household’.

Parental Controls

If you don’t want your little ones coming across adult content, set up a four-digit PIN. You can do this on the web by going into the ‘Settings’ of the Prime Video section and also in the mobile app’s settings.

Streaming Ultra HD video

On Amazon’s TV app there’s a Ultra HD category and you can also search for ‘4K’ or ‘Ultra HD’ in the search bar. However, the search results might not be complete – you can only tell for sure if a TV show or movie is 4K by clicking on it. Unfortunately, on a mobile device, that distinction doesn’t show up at all.

Streaming HDR video

HDR video or Dolby Vision on compatible LG OLEDS, is a more difficult to spot than 4K. Amazon’s search function is also incomplete – typing ‘HDR’ brings up The

Man In The High Castle but leaves out other HDR shows. It’s a bit trial-and-error, so it’s best to click on shows to see if they come up with the HDR or Dolby Vision symbol.

Changing resolution

If you want to save space on your hard drive, try changing the quality of the download. Go to the app’s settings and click on ‘Download Quality’. There you can switch between the three tiers of video quality: Good, Better or Best. If you want to ensure content is only downloaded over wi-fi (saving you from using all your mobile data), there’s a toggle for that too.

X-ray vision

One of Prime Video’s most interesting features is X-ray, which grants access to actor biographies, trivia and other information overlaid on your show. It’s taken straight from IMDB and tapping anywhere on the screen on IOS, Android or Fire devices will bring it up.

De-registering devices

So, you’ve decided to sell your Android or IOS device. But wait, you’re still logged in to Amazon Prime! Rather than relinquish your streaming service to someone else, you can go into the app’s settings on another device and click ‘Registered devices’. There, you can remove any unwanted devices from your account.