computer science term relating to data structures see object type object oriented programming unboxing . for the unpacking of new products see unboxing . amazon video type division traded as nasdaq amzn headquarters united states area served united states united kingdom japan germany austria industry internet parent amazon.com subsidiaries video direct website amazon.com video alexa rank 7 as of 6 august 2016 update type of site video on demand digital distribution registration required launched september 7 2006 ; 10 years ago 2006 09 07 current status active amazon video is an internet video on demand service developed and operated by amazon.com . it offers television shows and films for rental or purchase and as part of amazon s prime subscription selected titles can be viewed exclusively to full prime or prime video members in which video membership allows viewing without full prime . like competitors amazon has pursued a number of exclusive content deals to differentiate its service including a multi year licensing deal with hbo in the united states . 1 launched on 7 september 2006 as amazon unbox in the united states the service grew with its expanding library and added the prime video membership with the development of prime . it was then renamed as amazon instant video and demand . after acquiring the local streaming and dvd by mail service lovefilm in 2011 prime video was added to prime in the united kingdom germany and austria in 2014 a move that angered some prime uk members as the bundling was nonnegotiable with a 61 % increase in subscription fee . 2 in the uk germany and austria prime video has been available on a monthly subscription of 5.99 or 7.99 per month continuing the plan of lovefilm instant . 3 the service was previously available in norway denmark and sweden in 2012 but was discontinued in 2013 . 4 in 18 april 2016 amazon split prime video from amazon prime in the us for 8.99 m 5 the service also hosts amazon original content alongside titles on video as well . amazon video is planned to expand into india . 6 contents 1 history 2 information 2.1 video quality 2.2 requirements 2.3 devices 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit the service debuted on september 7 2006 as amazon unbox in the united states . 7 on september 4 2008 the service was renamed amazon video on demand . the unbox name still refers to the local program 8 9 which as of august 2014 is no longer available for downloading purchased instant videos . on february 22 2011 the service rebranded as amazon instant video and added access to 5 000 movies and tv shows for amazon prime members . 10 11 on september 4 2012 amazon signed a deal with pay tv channel epix to feature movies on their streaming service in a move to rival their competitor netflix . 12 additionally in november 2013 amazon premiered the comedies alpha house and betas which are original series available exclusively online via the prime instant video service . amazon offered the first three episodes of both series at once for free with each subsequent episode released weekly thereafter for prime members . 13 in february 2014 amazon announced that the streaming service of its uk subsidiary lovefilm would be folded into the instant video service on 26 february 2014 . 14 15 in january 2015 transparent became the first show produced by amazon studios to win a major award and the first series from a streaming video service to win the golden globe award for best television series musical or comedy . 16 on july 30 2015 amazon announced that they had hired jeremy clarkson richard hammond and james may to produce an untitled motoring show for amazon prime video that would later be named the grand tour . neither jeff bezos nor amazon.com had stated how much clarkson hammond or may are being paid to produce the programme via their production company w. chump & sons but jeff bezos stated that the deal was very expensive but worth it . 17 the budget for the show has not officially been announced but andy wilman the former executive producer of top gear stated that each episode would have a budget of around 4.5 million nine times larger than top gear s budget . 18 the new show is reportedly set to air in the latter half of 2016 . in september 2015 the word instant was dropped from its title in the us and it was renamed simply amazon video . 19 in may 2016 amazon launched a new video service called amazon video direct a video service allowing professional video creators to upload their videos to amazon where they will be displayed on video alongside studio created tv shows and movies . the videos will be viewed by all amazon customers via an ad supported model shown to amazon prime video subscribers presumably without ads or available as a one time rental or purchase . the service is launching in the united states united kingdom germany and japan . information edit video quality edit depending on the device amazon supports up to 1080p hd streaming with 5.1 dolby digital or dolby digital plus audio . for titles that are only available for purchase and not included in a customer s amazon prime subscription the hd option is often offered at an additional price . amazon video supports 4k uhd and high dynamic range hdr streaming beginning with its original content . 20 requirements edit amazon video is currently only available to residents of the united states united kingdom japan germany and austria . 21 22 there is also a rising trend among those living outside amazon video s available countries of using a vpn to get around the get around the geographical restrictions . 23 customers of amazon video can stream on the web using an html5 player supported in the chrome ie11 and microsoft edge browsers or using microsoft silverlight 24 in firefox . use on various tvs blu ray players and consoles including panasonic lg samsung and other tvs requires a broadband connection . amazon video is also available on recent playstation xbox wii and wii u video game consoles . on october 1 2015 amazon announced that chromecast and apple tv products were banned from sale on its online marketplace effective october 29 2015 . amazon argued that this was to reduce customer confusion as these devices do not support the amazon video ecosystem . 25 devices edit manufacturer product type quality notes ref video audio amazon.com kindle fire tablet 1080p up to dolby atmos support fire phone smartphone 1080p n a discontinued on amazon website fire tv digital media player up to 4k up to dolby digital 7.1 support 26 fire tv stick up to 1080p apple inc. iphone smartphone up to 1080p n a ipad tablet up to 4k up to loudspeaker support 27 28 apple tv digital media player 1080p n a compatible with an ios device in airplay google android mobile operating system varies application available on google play . varies through device and version . 29 lg 2010 models smart television only select 2010 lg smart tv and blu ray player models and up microsoft xbox 360 home video game console up to 1080p up to dolby digital 5.1 support may vary depending on console specifications and models xbox one up to 1080p 7.1 surround sound support nintendo wii 480i n a wii u 720p 5.1 linear pcm analog stereo 30 dsi handheld game console n a n a any model 3ds nhd stereo 2ds nhd mono roku roku digital media player up to 1080p hdmi out 31 roku 2 up to 1080p roku lt up to 720p roku 3 up to 1080p roku 4 up to 4k samsung 2010 models smart television varies only select 2010 samsung smart tv and blu ray player models and up sony playstation 3 home video game console 1080p lcpm dolby digital 5.1 32 playstation 4 1080p hdmi n a 30 playstation vita handheld game console nhd stereo playstation tv microconsole hdmi out 2 channel lcpm see also edit list of original programs distributed by amazon references edit kleinman alexis 2014 04 23 . amazon prime just got way better with a ton of old hbo shows . the huffington post . retrieved 2014 04 23 . ruth lythe february 26 2014 . amazon prime customers angered at unwanted upgrade as internet giant hikes cost of subscription by 30 a year . daily mail . amazon prime prime is fast delivery and more looking for the prime video monthly membership after your free trial prime video is just 5.99 month . you can cancel your membership at any time . amazon.co.uk . retrieved 16 june 2016 . lawler ryan . amazon s lovefilm pulls its subscription dvd and streaming service out of scandinavia . techcrunch . video streaming race heats up amazon now offers its prime video service independent of prime subscription for 8.99 mo 9 to 5 mac april 18 2016 amazon readies 5 billion chest for bigger play in india to launch subscription based ecommerce services . economic times . retrieved 22 july 2015 . amazon.com investor relations press release . corporate ir.net . amazon media room news release . corporate ir.net . amazon.com help amazon instant video . amazon.com . christina warren2011 02 22 12 45 05 utc 2011 02 22 . hands on amazon s prime instant video . mashable.com . retrieved 2013 11 27 . amazon media room press releases . corporate ir.net . bloomberg news . september 4 2012 . amazon adds movies to streaming service in new challenge to netflix . http adage.com article media amazon adds epix movies streaming service 237003 amazon s original series alpha house debuts friday . the motley fool . associated press . retrieved 25 november 2013 . amazon takes on netflix with rebrand of lovefilm video on demand service . the guardian . retrieved 21 february 2014 . mance henry 21 february 2014 . amazon finds less passionate name for lovefilm streaming service . retrieved 21 february 2014 . amazon.com announces fourth quarter sales up 15 % to 29.33 billion xbrl . united states securities and exchange commission . january 29 2015 . amazon boss says jeremy clarkson s top gear follow on show expensive but worth it . the guardian . the guardian . retrieved 16 august 2015 . jeremy clarkson richard hammond and james may s new amazon prime show has an absolutely insane budget . independent.co.uk . retrieved 7 august 2015 . soper taylor . amazon drops instant from instant video streamlining its streaming brand . geekwire . retrieved 5 september 2015 . luke edwards . amazon is going 4k and bringing prime instant video to android . pocket lint . nick patrick . where can you get amazon prime video . stream sidekick . filme und serien kaufen amazon.de . retrieved 29 june 2016 . amazon prime video not available in your country here s how to get it . wtvpc.com . retrieved 2016 08 23 . amazon plans an online store for movies and tv shows amazon will ban sale of apple google video streaming devices . bloomberg news . october 1 2015 . retrieved 1 october 2015 . amazon fire tv . amazon.com . amazon s instant video ios app now lets you stream to apple tv via airplay tech news and analysis . gigaom.com . 2013 09 17 . retrieved 2013 11 27 . what are the production costs for top gear . quora . amazon brings prime instant video to all android phones in us uk and germany . sep 9 2014 sarah perez a b lardinois frederic . may 29 2012 . amazon instant video comes to xbox 360 . http techcrunch.com 2012 05 29 amazon instant video comes to xbox 360 roku . roku