Amazon Prime Video Launches in Virtual Reality

Amazon Prime Video Launches in Virtual Reality

Amazon Prime Video has launched in virtual reality on Oculus Quest, Go and Samsung Gear VR. It offers a large, curated selection of immersive content, including the Emmy-nominated short film INVASION! and the immersive documentary Greenland Melting from NOVA and Frontline.

The app is free for Prime members and provides access to their entire movie library in a virtual theatre environment. It also includes ten 360 videos from Baobab Studios.

What is Prime Video VR?

Amazon has taken its first big step into virtual reality by launching a new video streaming app that can be used on Oculus Quest, Go and Gear VR headsets. The Prime Video VR app allows users to watch the entire Prime Video library of TV shows and movies in virtual theatres rendered in VR. The app also offers a curated selection of VR experiences and content.

The app is free for Prime members in the US and UK who have an Oculus Quest, Go or Gear VR headset. The company plans to add more VR experiences and content to the app. Non-Prime members can still watch TV shows and movies from their libraries in the app.

While Hulu, YouTube and Netflix have all expanded their VR apps with a range of curated VR content, Amazon is the first major player to make a significant move into the space. The e-commerce and cloud giant has the resources to build a severe content platform within this app and could expand its offerings into full VR.

This initial app will likely see a good uptake among virtual reality enthusiasts who already have Amazon Prime accounts and may be interested in trying out the video service for virtual reality. The price for the service is steep, though, and might be out of reach for most people who are not yet invested in virtual reality technology.

Although several well-funded start-ups have tried to distribute VR video content, most have needed help finding sustainable business models and have shut down or shifted focus. Amazon’s entry into this market may give it a much-needed boost to get its VR content out there.

While this move won’t necessarily transform the tech giant into a VR leader overnight, it will allow it to lay the groundwork for a potential inroad into the market. It will provide an attractive proposition to users who have been holding off on buying a headset until now. Adding the app to Facebook’s (META 2.48%) Oculus platform will also help it leverage the massive user base that already has access to the hardware.

How to access Prime Video VR

Prime Video VR is a new virtual reality app that brings the entire library of movies and TV shows to the Oculus Go, Go +, and Quest headsets. The app also offers a curated selection of VR content and features voice search to find what you’re looking for without navigating a touchscreen.

Download the Prime Video app from the Oculus Store on your headset and log in with your Amazon account. Once logged in, you can watch the latest Prime Original movies like Oscar-nominated Cold War and Guava Island and popular series such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Fleabag. Using the app’s built-in social tools, you can even host a movie night with friends.

The Prime Video VR app also offers ten handpicked 360-degree videos at launch, including the Emmy-nominated short film INVASION! and Greenland Melting, an immersive documentary from NOVA and Frontline. The app will continue to add VR-specific content as it becomes available. Non-Prime members can also use the app to watch library content.

Amazon Prime Video joins a growing list of streaming services offering Oculus VR apps. The Oculus Store already has apps from Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Sling TV, Pluto TV, and Fox Now.

The Prime Video VR app is free to download, but you will need an Oculus Go, Go +, or Quest headset to view the content. You can also stream non-VR videos to the Oculus Quest with the YouTube VR app, which will show the content in a virtual theatre and allow you to rotate the screen or move it directly overhead. The experience will be less immersive than watching the same videos on a flat monitor, but it’s still worth checking out if you have a Quest headset.

What content is available on Prime Video VR?

Amazon Prime Video is moving into virtual reality headsets with a dedicated VR app that launched Wednesday. The Prime Video VR app lets US and UK Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR users watch traditional Prime videos in their private virtual theatres. It also features curated 360-degree videos, starting with ten at launch, including Baobab Studios’ Invasion and Greenland Melting from Frontline and NOVA.

The app is free to download from the Oculus Store for Quest, Go, and Gear. It works in 6DOF and features an intuitive interface with the option to use voice search. It will also let users stream their own media files. Amazon says that it is also working with partners like Samsung to add support for additional VR headsets.

Other streaming services already offer VR apps. Netflix, Hulu and YouTube have native VR viewing applications for the Oculus platform, as do HBO NOW and Sling TV.

A new update to Bigscreen, a social VR video-watching and sharing app for Meta Quest 2 and 3, supports Prime Video, Disney+ and more. The app allows users to meet in virtual living rooms and movie theatres to watch movies, TV shows and other content together. It also supports desktop sharing and movie rentals.

The addition of Prime Video will give the app more content, but its virtual theatre experience is likely to be more popular with many users. The ability to huddle with friends and family in a VR environment where they can watch a movie together and chat is a much more compelling way to spend time with loved ones than in the same room on a flat-screen television.

Adding immersive VR content will also help make the app more appealing to non-Prime members, who can access the Prime Video VR library and other content not specifically for VR. The app is free on Meta Quest and will soon be released to other headsets. It is expected to come to the Google Daydream platform later this year.

How much does Prime Video VR cost?

Amazon Prime Video is one of the most popular streaming services available. It offers an affordable price tag, an easy-to-use platform, and popular original content like Fleabag, The Expanse, The Manor, and Hanna. Prime Video also offers an impressive lineup of movies and TV shows, including fan-favorite titles like Heathers, Silence of the Lambs, Scrubs, and The Wheel of Time.

Amazon has expanded its Prime Video service into virtual reality, bringing it to Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR headsets. The new VR app will allow Prime members to watch a curated collection of VR content in their private virtual movie theatre powered by voice search. Amazon will add more VR content to the app as it continues developing.

The company is working to develop “an expansive catalogue of exclusive VR experiences.” The current lineup will include ten VR experiences at launch, including the Emmy-nominated short film INVASION! and Greenland Melting, an immersive documentary from Frontline and NOVA. Prime members will have access to these experiences at no extra cost, although non-Prime members can still use the app to watch their collections of VR content.

In addition to VR, the Prime Video VR app offers a standard screen mode for those who want to watch non-VR content. The app is free to download for Oculus Quest, Go, and Samsung Gear headsets and can be found in the Oculus Store on your device. Once the app is installed, launch it to watch content in your virtual theatre and control the experience with your hands or by using voice commands.

Expanding Prime Video into VR could be an excellent way to drive the adoption of the headsets and attract new users. However, it remains to be seen how many new customers the service will bring in, particularly since competing with VR-only apps like Netflix and Hulu is difficult. Many early VR start-ups have struggled to build sustainable business models and have either shut down or been acquired by larger companies. Given its existing user base and deep pockets, Amazon may have a better chance of success with its virtual reality offering.