Katarzyna Petru
As reported by the flatpanelshd service Disney+ has lowered the image quality in some markets, removing support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and 3D content. This issue is related to an ongoing patent proceeding in Germany, which may reportedly expand to other countries in Europe.
Although the earlier technical problems of the Disney+ application were resolved in the autumn of 2025, current limitations now concern the formats of the image themselves. By the end of 2025, German media noted the disappearance of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ from the Disney+ offering in Germany, which meant that even users of the Premium plan could only watch content in HDR10. In January 2026, the German service Heise linked these changes to a patent lawsuit in which Disney was accused of infringing rights belonging to the American company InterDigital. The court issued an injunction that has a direct impact on the platform's operations.
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The problem is spreading across Europe
In February, further reports began to emerge from Disney+ subscribers in various European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Poland. Dutch media confirmed that Dolby Vision support had disappeared from the local market, and similar signals are coming from Nordic countries as well. Disney's official statement explains the situation as “technical challenges” and neither confirms nor denies any connection to the ongoing patent dispute. However, the company assures that it is working on restoring Dolby Vision and that support for 4K UHD and HDR (HDR10) remains available on compatible devices. At the same time, Disney+ has removed all mentions of Dolby Vision from its European help pages and even from some support materials in the USA. In several countries, 3D films presented in Dolby Vision have also disappeared from the offering.
While it can be assumed that HDR10+ has a greater chance of returning to Disney+, the situation regarding Dolby Vision remains considerably less certain. HDR10+ is an open format and completely free for creators, and any potential licensing fees are incomparable to those of Dolby technology. This makes it an attractive alternative for streaming platforms, especially in the context of patent disputes and rising costs.
Source: flatpanelshd
