LONDON, 7 February 2026, 10:30 GMT
- Disney reports that Dolby Vision isn’t available on Disney+ in multiple European countries, citing “technical challenges” as the reason
- Subscribers in several European regions say their streams are reverting to HDR10, with some Apple Vision Pro 3D titles hit as well
- Tech outlets and user reports point to a German patent dispute involving InterDigital as the root cause of the broader disruption
Disney+ has disabled Dolby Vision in multiple European markets, citing “technical challenges” and promising to bring the feature back. The company confirmed to FlatpanelsHD that “4K UHD and HDR support remain available on supported devices.” (Flatpanelshd)
This shift is significant since Dolby Vision is a top-tier high dynamic range (HDR) format that many users pay a premium for and rely on as a gold standard in home cinema streaming. Titles losing Dolby Vision support fall back to HDR10, a simpler, less adaptable format.
The disruption has sparked fresh rumors that Disney might be trying to sidestep legal risks tied to a patent dispute in Germany—and possibly beyond. TechRadar pointed out that mentions of Dolby Vision have vanished from Disney+ support pages, including in the U.S., even though playback problems have so far been reported only in Europe. (TechRadar)
Subscribers and tech sites have reported issues in Germany as well as France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland. 9to5Google noted that Disney’s video-quality support page no longer mentions Dolby Vision—a change that’s also reflected on the U.S. version of the page. (9to5Google)
HDTVTest noted comparable issues across the Nordics, pointing to viewer posts from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. At the time of their report, U.K. audiences still had access. The site connected the wider disruption back to the earlier dispute centered in Germany. (Hdtvtest)
Disney+’s 3D movies on Apple Vision Pro, which depend on Dolby Vision streams, have also taken a hit, Thurrott reported. (Thurrott)
Confusion persists about which formats were actually removed. Engadget says Disney told them the service never supported HDR10+ in the impacted European countries, even though other sources claimed HDR10+ vanished alongside Dolby Vision. (Engadget)
InterDigital, at the heart of the patent dispute, revealed the Munich Regional Court handed it an injunction in November 2025 concerning a patent tied to streaming video with HDR technology. “Disney continues to use our technology and infringe our intellectual property without a license, for free,” said Josh Schmidt, InterDigital’s chief legal officer, in the statement. (Interdigital)
HDR expands the contrast between dark and bright areas, pushing highlights higher and deepening shadows on screens that support it. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ tweak picture settings on a scene-by-scene basis, whereas HDR10 usually applies one set of instructions to the whole title.
Disney hasn’t announced when Dolby Vision support will come back, nor linked the blackout to the ongoing lawsuit. If the fight continues, Disney might have to cut a licensing deal, rework its streaming setup, or settle for a longer drop in quality in certain regions.
Disney+ faces stiff competition from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ as it battles for subscribers focused on picture quality and high-end living-room features.
Disney says 4K UHD and standard HDR continue to work on supported devices for now, despite Dolby Vision being unavailable in some parts of Europe. The company hasn’t shared which countries are affected or whether this restriction will spread to other regions.
