No, Disney+ is not removing 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos from Premium accounts across Europe
The rumour originated in France and had some basis in fact, but we have been able to confirm what has happened.
Over the past week, several reports emerged, mainly from French users, stating that they could no longer watch streaming platform Disney+ in modern audiovisual formats, such as 4K resolution, HDR10 high dynamic range (nor Dolby Vision), or Dolby Atmos spatial audio. All this despite having compatible devices, trying to watch titles that support these formats, having a Premium subscription and, naturally, having enjoyed them previously.
The complaints snowballed; people began to mention other formats that had disappeared and, worse still, the idea began to spread that this 'decision by Disney' affected the whole of Europe, with countries such as Spain and the UK also seeing their formats cut back, according to some claims.
We carried out an initial check last week and, on our Spanish or British Disney+ Premium account, all the listed formats were intact, for example on a title such as The Mandalorian (remember that many platforms restrict Dolby Atmos to the original English audio track, and it disappears with the local dubbing). 4K, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos were available, and both the TV and the home cinema audio receiver received and recognised all formats as usual. We came across several accounts (which we won't link to here) claiming that "Disney+ is removing 4K and HDR in Europe", which is clearly not true.
Apparently, it's all down to codecs and regional licensing. As reported by French journalist Nicolas Lellouche (one of the first to share the news and assume it affected the whole of Europe) Disney has already issued a statement announcing the return of 2160p UHD resolution in France. The solution? Switching from the H.265 codec to the VP9 codec, according to the source:
"Following a recent court ruling, we have implemented an alternative technology that allows us to gradually restore access to 4K UHD on Disney+ in France. However, 4K UHD may remain temporarily unavailable on some devices during this transition phase. We are aware of the inconvenience this may cause our subscribers and are doing everything possible to rapidly expand device compatibility and restore access to 4K UHD and HDR as soon as possible."
Having carried out the checks, some doubts remain. Media outlets such as flatpanelshd reported in June that Dolby Vision and 3D mode had already been removed from Disney+. However, we have been able to confirm that Dolby Vision is available, although we do not have a 3D screen at hand, and everything suggests that stereoscopic mode has indeed been 'dropped' from the platform.
"At that time (February), the patent dispute only affected Germany, but it wasn't until mid-March that Disney+ restored Dolby Vision in the rest of the EU.
"The problem has resurfaced across Europe. Flatpanels has received several reports from readers stating that Dolby Vision HDR is once again unavailable via the Disney+ app on their televisions. Having checked this ourselves, we are experiencing the same issue on our own devices".
With the Nordic countries also out of the picture, once again, as things stand, it is possible to play a title in 4K HDR Dolby Atmos/Vision on Disney+, at least on the British and Spanish version, which temporarily refutes these reports, although it is clear that Disney is grappling with certain codec licensing issues in certain countries.
Can you watch Disney+ in all these formats without any problems? From which country and on which device?
