Dolby Vision and 3D have been removed from Disney+ in several European countries, disabling stereoscopic movie playback on Apple Vision Pro.
Premium subscribers to Disney+ typically receive access to content in up to 4K UHD, HDR10, and Dolby Vision, provided the content supports those formats. In addition, the Premium tier includes a selection of 3D movies for Apple Vision Pro users, including blockbusters such as the Avatar series, Marvel Avengers films, and multiple Star Wars titles.
But Dolby Vision and 3D support now appear to have been removed in various European countries, according to user reports on Reddit and other platforms. The change reportedly began in Germany late last year and has since expanded to neighboring markets.
UploadVR reviewed the Disney+ support pages for Germany, France, Italy, and the UK and found no mention of Dolby Vision support, only HDR10, suggesting that references to Dolby Vision were removed recently. In Germany and France, a notice states that 3D is currently unavailable. No such notice appears on the Italian support page. In the UK, meanwhile, 3D content remains listed as supported.
Notably, references to Dolby Vision have also been removed from the U.S. support page, even though 3D content remains listed as supported there. In other markets, such as Australia, all major video formats, including 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and 3D, continue to be listed as available.
According to an official statement given to FlatPanelsHD, “technical challenges” are the reason for the downgrade of the Premium tier. “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,” Disney said.
At the same time, there have been reports that an ongoing patent dispute between InterDigital and Disney+ is playing a role in the removal. InterDigital is a U.S.-based company that develops wireless and video technologies and is known for actively enforcing its portfolio of standard-essential patents through licensing negotiations and, when necessary, litigation.
In November, InterDigital announced that Germany’s Munich Regional Court granted an injunction against Disney for infringing one of InterDigital’s patents related to streaming video content using HDR technology. Dolby Vision is an advanced form of HDR that uses dynamic metadata to adjust brightness, contrast, and color accuracy scene by scene, or even frame by frame.
The injunction could explain why the removal began in Germany and has since expanded to neighboring markets. As companies typically operate unified EU-wide services and infrastructure, changes implemented to comply in Germany may be rolled out across multiple EU markets, as has happened before with other patent rulings by the German court.
Still, it remains unclear why 3D content is also affected. One possible explanation is that 3D films on Disney+ also use Dolby Vision, according to Disney’s initial Apple Vision Pro announcement.
An injunction in the German market should have no impact on the U.S. market, but it is worth noting that InterDigital is currently also pursuing a patent case against Disney in the United States.
Even in Europe, it remains unclear how the dispute will ultimately be resolved. Disney could appeal the decision by the German court or reach a settlement with InterDigital.
For Vision Pro users in these markets, the removal of 3D is a significant loss, as while there are also 3D movies available to rent on Apple TV, Disney+ offered a plethora of 3D movies with the subscription, and films of this kind remain one of the headset’s standout features.
