Disney+: Now even HDR is gone
First, Disney+ dropped Dolby Vision in its premium subscription, and now the streaming service itself no longer offers the standard HDR format HDR10.
"Predator: Badlands" on Disney+ with Dolby Atmos sound, but only in 4K, without Dolby Vision or even HDR10.
(Image: Disney)
The video streaming service Disney+ has once again reduced the features of its premium subscription. Since the end of last year, the highest subscription tier for 15.99 euros per month or 159 euros per year no longer offers enhanced contrast in the dynamic Dolby Vision format, and now even the static HDR variant HDR10 has disappeared. Thus, the premium subscription now only differs from the standard subscription in terms of image quality by offering a 4K instead of HD resolution and a handful of content in the so-called “IMAX Enhanced” format with an extended aspect ratio of 1.90:1.
It is also not to be expected that HDR will return soon. As with the discontinuation of Dolby Vision (and 3D films for Apple Vision Pro), Disney+ has already adjusted the information on available video formats on its website's help pages accordingly this time. Apparently, the employees responsible for the changes can no longer keep up with the deletions themselves: HDR is still listed as a feature on the page about subscriptions and prices.
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Users online also state that the image quality on Disney+ has generally deteriorated after the switch to standard contrast. However, our spot checks on Thursday morning could not confirm the reported “pixel mush.” Nevertheless, the question remains whether a pure 4K broadcast without HDR can still be considered premium quality, as the subscription name suggests.
(Image: Die Beschreibung auf den Hilfsseiten von Disney+, was das Premiumabo hinsichtlich Bildqualität bietet, wird immer magerer.)
Disney+ has not reacted to the discontinuation of Dolby Vision and HDR with price reductions or refunds so far. Not least because customers have taken out annual subscriptions and paid in advance when Disney+ was still advertising Dolby Vision and HDR. The question now arises whether the video streaming service has breached its contract with such a drastic reduction in image quality across its entire film and series catalog.
Further Puzzling
Disney has so far remained silent about the background of the current developments; several inquiries from heise online about the deterioration of image quality and possible reasons have remained unanswered.
However, much suggests that a patent dispute with the US company InterDigital is the cause of the current developments. For example, the Munich Regional Court ruled last November that Disney+ infringes InterDigital's rights when streaming videos with dynamic HDR images. The court issued a preliminary injunction against the streaming service, as stated in a press release from InterDigital. Disney+ was therefore apparently forced to remove the corresponding content.
(Image: Auf seiner -Seite zu Abos und Preisen hat Disney+ bislang versäumt, den Hinweis aus HDR zu löschen.)
In early February, Disney described the lack of Dolby Vision on the Disney+ streaming service in a statement to the industry publication FlatpanelsHD as “technical challenges”. However, the company did not elaborate on how these challenges arose. That a court dispute with InterDigital could be responsible is neither confirmed nor denied.
Meanwhile, Disney has also switched off dynamic HDR formats in other European countries. Currently, Disney+ still lists HDR as a feature of the premium subscription on other branches – which is why one can now be curious to see how long this will remain the case. (nij)
