No 4K or HDR on Disney+ Premium? Why It Happened and How to Get Money Back

If you pay for Disney+ Premium in Germany, France, Italy, Romania or seven other EU countries, you have probably been watching in plain HD since July - and you can ask for some of your money back.

Nothing is wrong with your TV or your internet: Disney switched off 4K and HDR after losing a patent fight over the video format it streams in.

4K has since come back on some devices, but HDR has not, and Premium still costs the same.

Here is what happened, which devices got 4K back and how to get a refund or pay less.

What Happened

Disney+ streamed its 4K and HDR films in HEVC, the video format that squeezes 4K pictures small enough to stream. A company called InterDigital owns patents on parts of HEVC, and says Disney never paid to license them.

European courts agreed with InterDigital and ordered Disney to stop. Dolby Vision went first, and on 23 July a court in Dusseldorf took out 4K and HDR as well.

The affected countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Sweden. The UK and the US are not affected, and films you downloaded to watch offline still play as before.

Which Devices Got 4K Back

In early August, Disney brought 4K back by switching to a different video format, reported to be VP9. It only works on some devices, and so far without HDR:

This list comes from reports summarising Disney's statements, and support can differ by model and app version. If your Samsung TV gets no 4K, a cheap 4K Fire TV or Google TV stick plugged into it may bring it back.

Do not count on it lasting. In September, InterDigital sued Disney over VP9 too, saying the new format infringes its patents as well.

How to Get Some of Your Money Back

Disney does not refund anyone automatically. But in its message to subscribers, it says Premium members in the affected countries can ask for a partial refund, or move to a cheaper plan:

1. Check what you are getting. Open a big recent film on your TV and look for a 4K UHD or HDR badge on its page - no badge means your device is still affected.
2. Contact Disney+ support. Go to the Disney+ Help Center, start a chat and ask for a partial refund because the 4K and HDR you pay for are missing.
3. Save the conversation. Take screenshots and note the date, in case you need them later.
4. Or switch to Standard. In Germany and France it costs about 5 euros a month less, and you keep Full HD - you lose Dolby Atmos and two of your four streams.
5. Paid through Apple, Google or Amazon? Then the refund request goes to them, not to Disney.

One thing we would not do is use a VPN to reach the UK version of Disney+. It breaks the service's terms and can put your account at risk, for a picture that may come back anyway.

Want 4K HDR That No Court Can Switch Off?

Streaming quality depends on licensing deals you cannot see, and this is not the first of these codec patent fights. Films you own are different: a 4K Blu-ray or your own 4K HDR file plays the same tomorrow as today.

On a Windows PC, the free HEVC Video Extensions and Dolby Vision Extensions let Windows play 4K HDR files.

And Kodi turns your own collection into a Netflix-style library on your TV.

Quick questions