Disney+ has lost Dolby Vision streaming across parts of Europe, leaving subscribers limited to standard HDR10 streaming amid what appears to be a growing legal issue.
Reports first surfaced in late 2025 when German users noticed Dolby Vision was no longer on compatible devices, despite Disney+ Premium subscriptions continuing at full price.
German outlet 4KFilme initially documented the change, with affected streams falling back to HDR10 even on televisions and players that previously supported Dolby Vision without issue.
In January 2026, further reporting from German publication Heise linked the removal of advanced HDR formats to a patent lawsuit filed in a German court.
The case centres on alleged patent infringement claims brought by US-based InterDigital, with the court issuing an injunction that directly affects Disney+ streaming operations in Germany.
Since February, Disney+ subscribers in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland have reported the same issues, showing the problem has spread beyond a single market.
Dutch technology outlet Tweakers confirmed the issue in the Netherlands, while users across multiple European countries have reported missing Dolby Vision indicators on supported hardware.
FlatpanelsHD has also verified the loss of Dolby Vision on its own devices, which further adds weight to claims that the issue is consistent across platforms and manufacturers.
Users in the Nordic region have since reported comparable behaviour on Flatpanels’ forums, with Dolby Vision streams no longer available across Disney+ titles.
By contrast, the service continues to operate normally in the UK, where Dolby Vision playback remains available at the time of writing.
Patent dispute and Disney’s response
Meanwhile, Disney has acknowledged the disruption but attributed the changes to technical challenges rather than confirming any direct link to the German patent ruling.
Disney+ has since removed all references to Dolby Vision from its European support pages, with similar changes now visible on US-facing documentation.
If the disruption is tied to the InterDigital lawsuit, resolution could take months or longer, as patent disputes often involve prolonged legal negotiations.
InterDigital holds thousands of patents related to video and radio technologies and has previously pursued licensing cases against major technology companies.
At present, Disney has not provided a timeline for when Dolby Vision, or Apple Vision Pro content will return to Disney+ across affected European regions.
