X-ray unleashed
Fifteen years in, X-Ray remains tied to single-screen logic.
It is time to evolve and embrace the reality of the modern viewer.
X-Ray moves to a new home on mobile. This restores immersion on the TV while satisfying curiosity at a glance. It also enables new features to enhance the experience.
Evolving from an integrated overlay to a companion app, it becomes more than a side feature. It is now a true partner for Prime Video, delivering the experience viewers want while renewing the way we consume streaming video.
Let me introduce you to X-Ray² (X-Ray Squared).
I
Why X-ray needed to evolve
The conflict between immersion and information
The new side-by-side view avoids overlays but fails immersion.
It forces a ritual viewer into an instrumental frame with functional distraction.
The disconnect with viewer behaviour
Casting is now the standard: 70% of sessions begin on a smartphone.
However, once the content starts, the mobile device loses its utility.
Second-screen distraction
88% of viewers use a second screen, 71% search for content-related info.
This confirms they want the data, but refuse to sacrifice their immersion.
TV interface complexity
62% of viewers find Smart TV navigation "cumbersome and unintuitive."
78% of viewers now consider their phone their primary remote for information
The Non-Decision Shift
Passive discovery now leads active search. Nielsen (2025) reports 60-62% of viewers spend most of their week in linear-style flows, favoring ritualized consumption over search-and-click.
II
X-ray2, the companion app
Decoupling Information
from the Narrative
Preserve immersive narrative by offloading synchronized data to the mobile device, leaving the TV as a dedicated viewing canvas. This also eliminates manual searches, directly serving the 50-72% of viewers who already search related info on their phones while streaming.
UX Improvements
Retroactive Cast ID:
Identify actors from the previous scene
without pausing.
Dynamic Recaps:
Get a writing "catch-up" plot summary
for latecomers to avoid verbal explanations.
Cut mobile distractions
Access informations without disrupting other viewers or being interrupted by their curiosity. Xray2 minimizes mobile distraction by providing all insights at a glance. This prevents viewers from getting sidetracked on the web, or other app.
UX Improvements
Bookmarking:
Save trivia and production notes to a "Read Later" queue for after the movie.
Audio EQ:
Real-time soundscape calibration directly from the mobile interface.
III
X-ray2 New features
watch in two different languages simultaneously
In households with differing language levels
(for example, a parent in France preferring the original English audio while a child requires French dubbing) the choice of audio or subtitles is a constant compromise that degrades the experience for at least one viewer.
Non-native viewers often need help with slang but dislike permanent subtitles. XRAY2 offers private, synced translations on mobile, ensuring personal understanding without forcing subtitles on the entire group.
Bookmark for video
SceneMark acts as a digital highlighter for cinephiles, capturing and archiving scenes or technical cinematography details without breaking immersion. These curated insights can be shared with friends to spark deeper discussion, transforming passive viewing into a collaborative exploration of the work.
IV
Another way to watch Prime Video
X-Ray² is more than a companion tool. It offers an alternative for the growing segment
of viewers who prefer the lean-back ease of traditional television.
It merges the discovery of linear broadcasting with the control of VOD, easing search fatigue and the mere-exposure effect. By prioritizing expert curation, it provides a space where content is discovered rather than calculated, offering a human-led alternative to the standard data-driven experience.
Hybrid Recap
X-Ray2 pairs human editorial direction with AI production. Editors set the narrative arc to ensure nuance; AI generates localized text and audio. This delivers a handmade feel with instant, global scale.
UX Improvements
Filter by character:
Viewers can isolate a specific
character's narrative arc.
Multi-formats catch-up:
Whether through video, audio, or text,
the new Recap adapts to your lifestyle
Director’s Residency
The director acts as a curator, selecting a resident creative (photographer, videomaker, or podcaster) whose style aligns with the project’s spirit. This peer-to-peer choice ensures a cohesive narrative of the production journey. Much like a concert’s opening act, this residency provides fans an authorial perspective that transforms standard promotion into an authentic tribute to the craft.
Reference
For the Paris 2024 Olympics, @odieuxboby was invited by the French Olympic Committee to document athletes from the inside; his commitment to unretouched analog photography created a unique visual narrative.
Tastemakers Selections
Authority in different fields curate each week a limited number of titles, standing in opposition to the streaming standard with algorithms that prioritize repetition. It marks the return of the tastemaker, inspired by the golden age of networks like Canal+ or first years of Canal Jimmy in France.
V
Prime TV on X-Ray2
By combining effortless live discovery with on-demand control,
X-Ray2 captures the strengths of both systems.
Prime TV restores the ritual of shared viewing by scheduling exclusive premieres before their VOD release and the cultural ritual of fixed weekly schedules. The experience remain flexible through X-Ray² which allows users to browse other channels without interrupting their current program on big screen. This hybrid model also eliminates the limitations of live broadcasting by allowing any viewer to start a show from the very first frame.
PRIME TV CHANNELS
Serie
Movie
sport
ent.
music
Blockbusters
Massive hits, high-budget
classics
Timeless stories, legendary icons
indies
Bold, artistic, unconventional
Blockbusters
Massive hits, high-budget
classics
Timeless stories, legendary icons
indies
Bold, artistic, unconventional
major leagues
Big four, last games, news
classics
archives premium, olympics
alternatives
Chasetag, battlebots, petanque
variety
Show, sketches, pop culture
games
Reality TV, competitions, prizes
documentary
True crime, history, investigations
past
Golden era, oldies, legends
present
Today's bangers, charts, hits
future
Young bands, discovery
VI
Why Prime Video needed Prime TV
Discovery crisis
Paradox of Choice
Modern streaming has reached a stalemate. Data shows the average viewer spends over 24 minutes simply deciding what to watch, with nearly half abandoning the effort entirely. This cognitive strain triggers the Mere-Exposure Effect: rewatching the familiar to avoid the risk of a bad choice.
Search Fatigue Factor
57% of TV content viewers regularly use linear-style streaming, reintegrating channel-surfing into their digital routines. 42% of these users choose linear flows specifically to avoid the time spent searching through traditional VOD catalogs. (Horowitz 2025)
Non-Decision Shift
Passive discovery leads active search. 60-62% of viewers spend most of their week in linear-style flows, favouring ritualised consumption over search-and-click. (Nielsen 2025)
Strategic advantages
Exposure to unknown
VOD relies on intentional selection, but linear TV thrives on discovery. In this unpredictable environment, X-Ray² acts as a real-time guide, allowing viewers to identify and explore new content the moment it appears on screen.
The Bridge to Prime video
Linearity serves as the hook, while X-Ray2 facilitates the transition to active consumption. One-click bookmarking creates a seamless path from passive discovery on Prime TV to intentional binge-watching on Prime Video.
increase subscription Conversion
Third-party content from channels like Max and Paramount+ integrates into the linear flow through free first episodes or timed previews for non-subscribers. When the timer expires, the feed transitions to a scrambled state to create a visceral sense of exclusion. X-Ray² offers a one-click path to restore the high-definition flow, converting passive viewers into subscribers through momentum rather than friction.
Advertising
Advertising is essential for X-Ray²’s financial viability. Prime TV features ads between programs that sync with X-Ray² to display a one-click buy button on the mobile screen, turning standard commercials into frictionless retail opportunities.
VII
Seamless Sports Immersion
While Amazon’s AI sports features offer incredible data, displaying them directly over the live match often disrupts the viewing experience and creates visual clutter. X-Ray2 solves this by offloading all information layers to a Second Screen, keeping the main broadcast pristine.
This second device acts as an Advanced Remote Control: users can privately explore live stats and AI-driven insights on their mobile or tablet. Most importantly, it allows them to cast specific AI analysis layers (such as player speed, ball trajectories, or win probabilities) directly onto the big screen only when they choose. Data becomes an on-demand enhancement rather than an unwanted distraction.
X-Ray2 sport features
in game stats
Just like X-Ray for movies, game and player data appears automatically in sync with the live broadcast. No searching is required. One tap provides a deep dive into any player's full performance profile.
AI insights
While the traditional broadcast forces data overlays onto your TV, X-Ray2 puts the control in your hands. Manage advanced AI features privately on your second screen, and cast only the insights you want to share onto the big screen.
AI features: Manage advanced AI overlays on your device. View tactical data privately
or cast it to the main screen.
Player Focus: Select any player to isolate them within the frame. Real-time AI upscaling reconstructs the zoomed image to maintain high-definition clarity, while integrated RFID tracking ensures the camera follows the athlete’s movement automatically.
Interactive Replay: Take control of the action. Review any play in slow-motion
on your phone or Cast the replay to the main screen
multi-games
Track up to four additional games on your device while the main match stays on the big screen. Instantly swap feeds between screens or display all games on the TV simultaneously. Discrete on-screen badges notify you of key plays in other matches, allowing you to switch focus in one tap.
bet tracking
The personalized bet tracking feature presents a dynamic, real-time integration of betting information during live game action. and activate live odds, lines, and probabilities associated with popular bets
Prime video studio
Access instant highlights and game recaps for a seamless catch-up. Stream decoupled guest analysis via Bluetooth for deep-dive insights without disrupting the primary broadcast atmosphere.
61%
viewers use a
second screen
88%
viewers use a
second screen
71%
use phones for
related content
search
VI
Closing Thoughts
technical note
Feasibility
X-Ray² shifts to a local client-server model over home Wi-Fi. By using mDNS and WebSockets, the TV broadcasts timecodes with zero cloud latency, a low-resource task that remains stable even on older Smart TVs.
Asymmetric Processing
This strategy offloads complex UI tasks to a more powerful device. While the phone handles the interaction, the TV focuses solely on video decoding, improving performance across 80% of the existing market.
Deployment
Since it uses standard protocols (FireOS, Tizen, WebOS, Android TV), no new hardware
is required. It is a software update scaled by the global reach of AWS.
business note
Attention Reclamation
Amazon currently loses viewers to content related search on mobile. X-Ray² reclaims this attention by aligning with the reality that 88% of viewers already have phones in hand.
Ecosystem Stickiness
Moving the UI to mobile keeps viewers inside the Amazon ecosystem. This creates a frictionless path to purchase, From discovery to the "Buy" button to feed the retail flywheel.
Frictionless Commerce via X-Ray2
When watching Prime TV, X-Ray2 stays active during commercials, syncing product pages or third-party subscriptions to the viewer's mobile. By removing the friction of manual searching, it creates a seamless, one-click path to checkout.
Author note
In 2015, I pitched a campaign called 'LIVE MORE NETFLIX' that predicted features like 'Skip Intro' and 'Recaps' long before they became reality. The project stayed on the shelf, but the core idea remains relevant. ( Have a look )
I started this X-Ray² case study by revisiting that pitch for 2026 viewers. In the process,
I found that behaviours have shifted, confirming my 2015 intuition while creating a new opportunity for a hybrid streaming experience.
There is plenty of room for improvement, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.