“What in blue hell is this?” I wondered last night when I sat down to watch the fifth season of Clarkson’s Farm, which premiered the other week. I was looking at something strange on the screen that I hadn’t noticed before. I’d always held Prime Video, Amazon’s TV streaming service included with an Amazon Prime membership, a little higher in regard because it included 4K streaming without making you shell out $20 or more per month for an elevated tier of service like Netflix and HBO.Now there was a tiny button saying that I could watch ad-free and in 4K if I signed up for Amazon Prime Video Ultra. A little digging was in order. And yeah, it turns out that Amazon very quietly rolled out the Ultra tier on April 10. Now you’ve gotta pay $5 per month for it, added to your Amazon Prime subscription, if you want to stream movies, documentaries, and television shows in 4K. And all this right before Prime Day 2026, too.(opens in a new window)AmazonPrime Video Ultra(opens in a new window)Available at AmazonBuy Now(opens in a new window)What is Prime Video Ultra, Even?Prime Video Ultra replaces the old $3-per-month Prime Video subscription that removed advertisements (AKA bathroom breaks).Existing Prime Video subscribers weren’t grandfathered in; they just lost access to 4K.It costs $5 per month, on top of your Amazon Prime membership or standalone Prime Video subscription.Prime Video Ultra removes the ads. It’s now also the only way to see movies, TV shows, and documentaries in 4K (if there’s a 4K version of the title available; not all do), and you can download up to 100 movies or episodes to watch offline.You’ll also need Ultra to take advantage of Dolby Atmos, a premium audio format used by most sound systems, like this Sonos soundbar and subwoofer deal from May that’s still live.How to Check Whether You’re Actually Streaming in 4KGo to your Prime Video subscription page to check whether you’ve got an Ultra subscription. Since nobody was opting into it automatically, if you have to wonder then you probably don’t have Ultra, unless someone in your household sneakily added it already.Upgrading to Ultra is easy. There’s a huge button that says “Go ad free with Ultra.” Click it, and it’ll take you to a page where you can sign up. Since Amazon already has your payment info, it takes just a moment.Because Amazon has been so quiet about Ultra, it can be hard to notice that you’re suddenly not seeing movies and shows in 4K. Where you used to see “4K Video” displayed under the title on the title page of your chosen show or movie, you may not see that anymore. Instead, if you see a button down below the description that advertises Ultra, that means you don’t have Ultra and therefore aren’t able to watch in 4K.Is Prime Video Ultra Worth It?Worth It If:Prime Video is one of your most-used streaming services.You own a large 4K TV.You care about picture quality and Dolby features.Skip If It:You mostly watch casually.You stream on phones or tablets.You already subscribe to too many premium tiers.The Streaming Industry’s Favorite New Hobby: Charging Extra for Things We Used to GetNetflix raised its prices a few times in recent history, and now it costs $27 a month to stream in 4K on Netflix Premium.And Apple TV really angered people last August when it raised its base-level subscription from $10 to $13.Netflix had long cracked down on people sharing passwords across different households, and HBO joined them late last year in enforcing a prohibition on password sharing, too.and don’t forget…You need a TV streaming device to stream channels. Your TV probably has a way to watch them built into it; these days almost every TV is a smart TV. But if you want a particular service or aren’t happy with the proprietary streaming UIs used by, for example, Samsung, you can upgrade to something like my personal favorite 4K TV streaming box that I tested; check out my Roku Ultra 4K review.The post Did Amazon Just Quietly Paywall 4K Content Behind a $5-a-Month Prime Video Ultra Subscription? appeared first on VICE.