Disney+ Disables Dolby Vision and HDR10+ in Some European Countries Due to “Technical Challenges”

Disney+ has disabled Dolby Vision and HDR10 for Premium subscribers in several European countries, citing “technical challenges.” 3D movies on the Apple Vision Pro, which are also streamed in the Dolby Vision format, are also currently unavailable in affected markets.

FlatPanelsHD received the following statement from Disney+ about the issue. The publication also noticed that all references to Dolby Vision have been quietly removed from the Disney+ support page about video quality, including the US version.

“Dolby Vision support for content on Disney+ is currently unavailable in several European countries due to technical challenges. We are actively working to restore access to Dolby Vision and will provide an update as soon as possible. 4K UHD and HDR support remain available on supported devices.”

This statement doesn’t tell the full story, however. Last month, German website Heise reported that there’s a patent dispute between Disney and Interdigital, a US company developing advanced video technologies. A German court recently issued an injunction “over “Disney’s infringement of an InterDigital patent related to the streaming of video content using high dynamic range (HDR) technology.”

If you’re in Europe and are paying for Disney+ Premium, you can still watch content in 4K and standard HDR. However, it’s currently unclear when support for the premium High Dynamic Range formats will come back.