Katarzyna Petru
Disney+ is one of the largest streaming platforms in the world, but its reliability is increasingly coming into question. Users from various countries are reporting serious technical issues – from problems with 4K and HDR to lack of audio sync. What's worse, these problems affect almost all popular devices.
Nvidia Shield – audio issues
Initial complaints have started coming in from Nvidia Shield users. For months, they have been complaining about audio sync issues when watching content in the standard film and series mode of 23.976 Hz. A temporary workaround is to switch to 60 Hz, but Disney has yet to release an official fix.
Apple TV 4K – HDR and frame rates completely broken
The situation on Apple TV 4K is even worse. According to FlatpanelsHD, issues with the Disney+ app date back to 2024, but after the latest update, things have become dramatic.
Reddit users report a broken frame rate matching mechanism – the result is constant frame drops and a lack of proper HDR. Worse still, in many cases, content is played back only in 1080p SDR, despite subscribers paying for access to premium quality.
Some have found a workaround – setting the Apple TV to 4K 24Hz Dolby Vision forces it to work correctly. Unfortunately, this trick breaks other apps, so users have to constantly juggle settings.
Samsung TV and Fire TV – no HDR, no 4K, no… anything
Owners of Samsung TVs also have no reason to be happy – Disney+ does not play content in HDR on many models, and 4K is limited to 1080p SDR. So far, there is no known workaround for this issue.
However, the worst off are users of Amazon Fire TV. Since 20 August, the app does not work at all – it forces users to download a non-existent update. Attempts to reinstall only help partially, as the message quickly returns.
History that likes to repeat itself
This isn't the first time Disney+ has disappointed. Back in 2021, thousands of Android TV users lost access to 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, and a fix didn't arrive until several days later. Similarly, Dolby Atmos has been "broken" multiple times by successive app updates.
For now, it's hard to count on a quick solution. Disney's engineers are currently focused on integrating Disney+ with Hulu, and the new combined app is set to launch only next year. So, users are left with waiting... or struggling with temporary workarounds.
