Katarzyna Petru
Disney+ is one of the largest streaming platforms in the world, but its reliability is increasingly being called into question. Users from various countries are reporting serious technical issues – from problems with 4K and HDR to sound synchronisation issues. Worse still, these problems affect almost all popular devices.
Nvidia Shield – sound issues
The first complaints have started to come in from Nvidia Shield users. For months, they have been complaining about the audio sync issue when watching content in the standard mode for films and series at 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 rate completely broken
The situation on Apple TV 4K is even worse. According to FlatpanelsHD, the problems with the Disney+ app date back to 2024, but after the latest update, the situation has become dramatic.
Reddit users report a broken frame rate matching mechanism – the result is constant image stuttering and lack of proper HDR. Worse still, in many cases, content is being 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 televisions 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 problem.
However, the worst off are users of Amazon Fire TV. Since 20th August, the app does not work at all – it forces the download of a non-existent update. Attempts to reinstall help only partially, as the message quickly returns.
A story that likes to repeat itself
This is not the first time that Disney+ has disappointed. Back in 2021, thousands of Android TV users lost access to 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, and the fix only appeared after a few days. Similarly, Dolby Atmos has been 'broken' several times due to subsequent app updates.
For now, it is difficult to expect a quick solution. Disney's engineers are currently focused on integrating Disney+ with Hulu, and the new joint application is not set to launch until next year. Users are left to either wait… or struggle with temporary workarounds.
