Full transparency: X-Ray is my top Prime Video feature
Full transparency: X-Ray is my top Prime Video feature
The Prime Video feature takes viewers behind the scenes of a title while they watch, making streaming movies and TV on the service really fun.
There are plenty of things to like about Prime Video, and maybe some things viewers won’t like as much either. There is one thing I really like about the Prime Video interface when actually sitting down to watch a TV show or movie, however: the X-Ray feature that’s available with the Prime Video playback controls. It’s my favorite feature of the streamer during playback, and you can watch it with a big selection of different content across a wide range of devices.
X-Ray is overlayed on the Prime Video playback controls when you call them up, allowing you to see the actors appearing in the scene being played. You can pause if you want to read more about the actors, and clicking on each one will call up their IMDb profile in a window on the side of the screen, displaying more information about their top roles and more.
The X-Ray feature’s expanded window holds a wealth of information.
This side-screen window also allows you to scroll through the cast of an episode, and you can even call up bonus features like behind-the-scenes videos for some shows. This last feature is likely to be found primarily on Prime Video originals, as well as movies you have purchased digitally through the platform. It’s a handy way to access behind-the-scenes content all in one place.
These bonus features aren’t as available with X-Ray on older, licensed titles in the Prime Video lineup, but even on these shows, X-Ray will at least display the actors in a scene. It’s a really cool way to travel through television history a little bit and connect actors between shows in an age where TV didn’t attract a ton of big-name movie stars.
X-Ray can even call up trivia from a TV show or movie, again sourced from IMDb. I confess that often when using X-Ray, I get so caught up in reading the trivia from a production that I have to rewind a scene a couple of times before I actually can process the action on the screen. X-Ray gives the feeling that you’re getting behind-the-scenes featurettes at the same time that you’re watching the actual movie, and I really enjoy it.
X-Ray is also a great feature to have while watching live sports. Using X-Ray helps you pull up stats instantly; if you’re watching “Thursday Night Football” on the service, you’ll be able to see passing stats for the opposing quarterbacks, rushing and receiving numbers, and even Next Gen Stats like time to throw just by pulling up the X-Ray view.
X-Ray also has in-depth player analysis while watching sports, including biographies, career stats, and other details about their playing history. It makes watching sports on Prime Video a more immersive experience, one I’m particularly excited for as the streamer prepares to add NBA games in 2025.
Prime Video has a lot of features that are designed to steer you to buy things, but X-Ray at least gives the feeling that the streamer also wants to help you discover more about the shows and movies you love most. It’s my favorite feature when watching an actual title on Prime Video, and one that more services may attempt to adopt in the future.
Prime Video
Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.