Amazon’s Prime Video is introducing an AI-assisted lip-sync feature for dubbed programming, beginning with the German-language romance “Maxton Hall,” the service’s most-watched international original series to date.
The new option is designed to make English-language dubs appear more natural by adjusting on-screen mouth movements to better match the dubbed dialogue. According to Amazon, the feature synchronizes actors’ lip movements with human-dubbed audio in an effort to create “a seamless viewing experience that allows audiences to remain fully immersed in the story.”
Prime Video is rolling out the lip-sync dubs globally in English on Seasons 1 and 2 of “Maxton Hall” starting Wednesday. The feature will also be included when the show’s third and final season debuts on Prime Video on Dec. 9.
The upcoming third season is based on “Save Me,” the 2018 novel by Mona Kasten.
How Prime Video Is Using the Technology
Amazon said Prime Video developed the feature using a combination of AI and VFX technologies. The company is not disclosing the specific AI tools used in the process.
The company is positioning the rollout as part of a broader effort to improve how international titles travel across languages. While many viewers are accustomed to watching dubbed programming with mismatched mouth movements, Prime Video’s new system is intended to narrow that gap while keeping the dubbed audio human-performed.
Raf Soltanovich, VP of technology at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said the company is focused on using new tools to improve the customer experience.
“At Prime Video, we’re constantly innovating with new tools that enhance the viewing experience for our customers,” Soltanovich said. “With lip-syncing, we’re creating a more seamless and immersive way for customers to enjoy global content. And for creators, we’re making it easier for their stories to reach an even broader and global audience, all done under creative oversight to ensure the integrity of their artistic vision is preserved.”
Amazon also said Prime Video “continues to explore practical and useful applications of AI that help enhance the viewing experience, always with the customer at the center and creators in the driver’s seat.”
What Happens Next?
For now, “Maxton Hall” is the launch title for Prime Video’s AI lip-sync dubs, with Seasons 1 and 2 available in English globally beginning Wednesday and Season 3 set to include the feature when it arrives Dec. 9.
Amazon said Prime Video plans to expand the technology to additional titles in the future, though it has not announced which projects will receive the feature next.