Disney back in 4K and HDR10 on some TVs via the VP9 codec

Remember. In mid-June, Disney+ subscribers residing in eleven countries of the European Union suddenly found themselves deprived of [abc]HDR Dolby Vision[/abc] technology and 3D (see our news item Disney+: HDR Dolby Vision and 3D disabled in 11 European countries following a patent dispute). A restriction that extended to [abc]Ultra HD[/abc] [abc]4K[/abc] and [abc]HDR10[/abc] as of July. These technical setbacks stem from a bitter legal battle pitting the platform of the mouse-eared firm against the American company InterDigital, over patents on the essential [abc]HEVC[/abc] video codec. Faced with the outcry, notably led by the Euroconsumers association which firmly demanded financial compensation for affected subscribers, the entertainment giant had to react to restore an image quality worthy of the name.

 

The return of 4K and HDR10 thanks to the VP9 codec As of August, Disney+ began bringing back UHD 4K resolution on a selection of devices by abandoning HEVC (license-required) in favor of the [abc]VP9[/abc] video codec, known to be royalty-free (see our news item Disney+ 4K Ultra HD and HDR: an alternative solution deployed for a gradual return). While standard VP9 does not support extended dynamic range, adopting its evolution, VP9-2, also allowed the platform to resurrect HDR10. According to findings by our colleagues at FlatpanelsHD, HDR Dolby Vision remains absent, however. Disney says its former quality is back thanks to the switch to VP9/VP9-2. It is important to note that only users in eleven EU countries and Brazil are affected by these technical adjustments, with the North American market currently not impacted.

 

Limited list of compatible devices… To once again enjoy Disney+ in 4K and HDR, your television or set-top box must therefore imperatively decode VP9 and VP9-2. Unfortunately, VP9, and more particularly its VP9-2 variant, is far from universally supported. In practical terms, this workaround works on recent Android TV and Google TV devices (Philips, Sony, TCL, Google…), Amazon Fire TV products, Hisense Smart TVs (Vidaa) sold since 2019, LG Smart TVs (webOS) since 2020, as well as Meta Quest 3/3S headsets.

 

Apple TV 4K, Shield TV, Samsung: the big omissions The downside is that a significant number of systems extremely popular in homes are left out. At present, neither UHD 4K nor HDR works in the Disney+ app if you use an Apple TV 4K or nVidia Shield TV box. Worse still, Samsung Smart TVs (the brand has been the TV market leader for 20 years!), Panasonic televisions running MyHomeScreen, game consoles, as well as newer alternative OSes such as Titan OS or TiVo OS are not listed among the compatible devices. That’s starting to be a lot…

 

This hardware support and the rollout of 4K UHD via VP9 are of course likely to evolve over time. It remains to be seen how the legal dispute with InterDigital will play out, as the latter has already expanded its claims to include VP9 technology. The courts have not yet ruled, leaving the platform’s technical future in limbo. Meanwhile, a large part of Disney+ subscribers are being disregarded by Disney, as the Premium offer contract is not being honored. Do not hesitate to start a discussion with the streaming platform to obtain a discount. You can also unsubscribe to save a few monthly charges and come back later, while a more powerful technical solution is put in place or until an agreement is reached between Disney+ and InterDigital.