Disney+ back to full 4K and Dolby Atmos quality – just in time for Hamilton

Disney+ back to full 4K and Dolby Atmos quality – just in time for Hamilton
(Image credit: Future)

Disney has lifted the streaming restrictions it placed on its Disney+ service in March in light of the Coronavirus pandemic, it has today confirmed to Forbes.

The House of Mouse was among the streaming services to follow Netflix's lead in reducing the video quality of its streams to help ease internet traffic during the lockdown period.

Disney+ therefore launched in the UK and a handful of European countries on 24th March with "at least 25 per cent less bandwidth" and, thus, a reduction in picture quality and seemingly limited Dolby Atmos support. At the time, Disney said: "We have instituted measures to lower bandwidth utilization, and in some circumstances streaming content in HD and UHD formats, including Dolby Atmos audio, will be limited or unavailable."

The lifting of such restrictions from today means that 4K, HDR and Atmos titles in the Disney+ catalogue should now be available to stream in their full quality. Upon streaming an Atmos title, such as Thor: Ragnarok, we currently appear to be getting an Atmos feed on some occasions but not others. So we'd try it for yourself!

The restrictions lift is particularly good timing considering that the filmed version of the original Broadway production Hamilton (trailer below) is coming to the Disney+ catalogue in Dolby Vision HDR and Atmos on Friday (3rd July). 

Coincidentally, Disney has recently stopped offering its seven-day trial for new subscribers to the service – so if you haven't signed up yet but wish to sing along to every word of Alexander Hamilton, you'll have to commit to at least one £5.99 / AU$8.99 monthly payment. We think the subscription fee is worth it for Disney fans anyway.

MORE:

Disney Plus review

11 of the best Disney Plus shows and movies to watch right now

Disney Plus UK: price, films, shows and all the details

Best Disney Plus prices: deals, bundles and how to get a free trial

Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.

  • PonyRidingBEAR
    It hasn’t I’ve checked it’s it’s still 1440p at 9.29Mbps on my Apple TV. Netflix and Apple TV /iTunes are all back to normal.

    update some content has been restored but not all ie Captain Marvel/ Black panther and so on is at 9Mbps 1440p but Princess diaries is 4K at 17Mbps

    it’s very frustrating hopefully Disney get there ask to together
    Reply
  • joehod
    Same here. No Atmos on Star Wars movies, via Apple TV 4K. Atmos works fine on Netflix.

    Edit: Atmos is fixed - you must restart the Apple TV box (hold down top two buttons at the same time). When it restarts, Atmos fully working!
    Reply
  • prawnmadras
    Still not seeing ATMOS on the Disney+ app running on Samsung TV Tizen 1356. I note that the app was last updated 1 June 2020.
    Reply
  • joehod
    Try deleting and reinstalling the app.
    Reply
  • prawnmadras
    joehod said:
    Try deleting and reinstalling the app.
    Thanks for the suggestion but that didn't work.
    Reply
  • prawnmadras
    Just had a chat with Disney+ support. These are the only devices that Disney+ has Dolby Atmos support for:


    1419

    :(:(
    Reply