[REVISION HISTORY]

Disney+ 4K/HDR availability fluctuates in Europe

Updated 13 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-03 19:05 UTC → 2026-09-14 14:41 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Following a July 23, 2026, Unified Patent Court injunction regarding InterDigital’s HEVC patents, Disney+ suspended 4K UHD and HDR support across eleven EU member states, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. This forced Premium subscribers to a maximum of 1080p SDR resolution. By early August 2026, Disney+ began a phased restoration of 4K using an alternative streaming technology, likely the VP9 codec. This rollout was limited to specific hardware, such as certain Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, LG (2020+), Sky Glass, and Sky Stream devices, while Apple TV remained excluded. HDR and Dolby Vision remained unavailable as Disney sought a FRAND licence. However, the technical workaround faces new legal challenges. As of September 2, 2026, InterDigital has expanded its legal proceedings before the Unified Patent Court to include the VP9 codec. InterDigital’s Chief Legal Officer, Josh Schmidt, stated that the company has expanded its case, asserting that VP9 is not a valid workaround and that Disney’s use of the codec still infringes on their patented innovations. InterDigital claims Disney is using VP9 to avoid paying fair royalties while delivering an inferior experience, noting that the codec lacks HDR support. A court in Düsseldorf previously ruled in favor of InterDigital regarding technologies for seamless video playback, affecting markets like Germany and the Netherlands. By mid-September 2026, the financial scale of the dispute became clearer as InterDigital sought at least 101.7 million euros in damages specifically concerning HDR streaming patents. This figure does not represent total potential liability, as additional claims involve 4K streaming, Google Cast, and Apple AirPlay 2. The removal of AirPlay 2 and Google Cast has rendered the platform unusable on certain older Chromecast devices. If the court rules in favor of InterDigital regarding the VP9 expansion, Disney+ may be forced to remove 4K support once more.

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