Amazon Prime Video Guide
StreamingFull-range ProRes trapGamma 2.4 requiredAmazon's most common rejection isn't loudness or resolution — it's a ProRes export setting that's invisible to playback. Full-range YCbCr is an automatic, undiscussed rejection with cryptic feedback.
Prime Video Direct
Indie / self-distribution
Amazon Studios
Original productions
Amazon Studios portal explicitly documents this: "ProRes files encoded as full range YCbCr will be rejected during QC because it generates clipped code values."
When ProRes is exported as full-range, luma values of 0–255 are used. When Amazon's tools assume limited range (16–235), the headroom values (235–255) get clipped — causing a visible crush or wash-out. The reverse (limited exported as full-range) creates illegal code values.
DaVinci Resolve
In Export settings: Data Levels = Video (not Full). Default is Video (limited) — check if using custom preset.
Premiere Pro
AME: Color Range = Limited. Full range can be accidentally enabled with certain presets from the internet.
Amazon requires Rec.709 with gamma 2.4. Apple hardware and macOS display content in Rec.709-A (Apple's gamma variant with a different transfer function). Files created on Mac hardware and delivered without gamma correction look slightly wrong — too dark or washed out — on calibrated reference monitors.
The file passes container validation and codec checks. It only fails visual QC when a human reviewer or automated visual analysis compares the reference gamut.
In DaVinci Resolve: Set Output Color Space to Rec.709 (not Rec.709-A or Rec.709 Scene). In Project Settings → Color Management → Output gamma: Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.
ProRes file encoded as full-range YCbCr — generates clipped code values
DaVinci Resolve, Shutter Encoder, or other tools set to 'full range' color space export. Amazon Studios portal explicitly documents this as an automatic rejection. Default ProRes export in Resolve is limited range — this typically happens when a custom export preset is used.
Color space tagging mismatch — Rec.709-A delivered instead of Rec.709 gamma 2.4
Editors working on Apple hardware in Rec.709-A (Apple's gamma variant) export without flagging the correct gamma value. File appears too dark or washed out on Amazon's reference monitors. Very common when delivering from Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve set to 'Video' monitor mode.
Interlaced video detected — Amazon requires progressive only
Legacy broadcast-style export settings; field-based source not de-interlaced
Variable frame rate (VFR) detected in video stream
Screen recordings embedded in timeline are VFR by default; iPhone video shot in variable frame rate mode; mixed-rate timeline not conformed
Resolution does not match spec or requested format
1080p delivered for a 4K request; upscaled content from SD source
Black bars detected — letterboxing or pillarboxing present
4:3 source embedded in 16:9 frame without cropping or AR-correct scaling
Audio channels not mapped as true stereo L/R or correctly labeled 5.1
Dual mono (identical L+R channels) detected instead of true stereo; 5.1 channel order incorrect (must be L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs); channel labels absent in MXF/MOV metadata
Integrated loudness outside acceptable range (-23 LKFS ± 2 LU)
Mix optimized for dialogue-gated standard (-24 LKFS) instead of Amazon's integrated target (-23 LKFS); silence at heads/tails pulling down integrated measurement
True Peak level exceeds -2 dBTP
Inter-sample peaks not caught by sample-peak metering; dialogue peaks uncontrolled
Audio sample rate is not 48 kHz
Music or SFX assets at 44.1 kHz not resampled before delivery; mixed sample rates in multi-track export
SRT file not UTF-8 encoded — special characters cause parse failure
Subtitle file created on Windows with ANSI encoding; em dashes, smart quotes, or accented characters not properly escaped; BOM (Byte Order Mark) present in file
Subtitle timecodes do not match video frame rate — out-of-sync captions
SRT file timed for 25fps project delivered with 23.976fps video; caption export uses different frame rate than master
Multiple caption events overlap in time
Duplicate events in subtitle editor; import from non-validated source file
Language tag missing from caption sidecar file
SRT file delivered without language identifier; required for Amazon's localization pipeline
Timecode breaks, resets, or is absent
Edit splices without timecode correction; file exported without embedded timecode
Container format does not match codec — e.g., H.264 in .mxf incorrectly wrapped
Rewrapping without validation; automated pipeline produced wrong container
Delivered file does not match project-specific spec sheet requirements
Post coordinator used general Amazon guidelines instead of reading the per-project spec sheet provided by Amazon Studios. Amazon now uses project-specific sheets that override general guidance.
Amazon is the loudest platform. Content targeting -24 LKFS is already in-spec but Amazon's wider tolerance means mixes with up to -21 LKFS won't fail hard (will be normalized in transcoding).