According to Digital Trends, a source at Disney+ admits that the service is working with its device partners to enable Dolby Atmos playback and will be bringing Dolby Atmos to additional devices soon.
If you’re subscribed to the Disney Bundle ($13.99), then you’ll notice that both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos are available for a significant amount of its banner content on Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.
On the Disney+ support page, it states that if your device can handle Dolby Atmos, it should get Dolby Atmos: “Disney+ offers a growing library of content in 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Atmos.” However, Digital Trends discovered discrepancies in how Disney+ content is handled by three major platforms: Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV.
The Disney+ app on Apple TV 4K presents all Dolby Vision content like all of the Star Wars flicks and “The Mandalorian” in HDR. However, only the Star Wars movies are streaming in Dolby Atmos. When watching “The Mandalorian,” the best sound quality was Dolby 5.1. Dolby Atmos doesn’t work on any content on the Android TV device either.
The Roku Streaming Stick+ was the most capable of the three devices and easily played both the Star Wars movies and “The Mandalorian” in Dolby Atmos. Unfortunately, because the Streaming Stick+ does not support Dolby Vision, you can only watch this content in HDR10.
This is a big problem for audio enthusiasts who signed up for Disney+ hoping for the very best in home theater surround sound. Although Dolby 5.1 sounds pretty great, having a Dolby Atmos-capable sound system at home means you shouldn’t have to opt for Dolby 5.1 if Dolby Atmos isn’t working. You deserve to hear what the format can do to bring content to life in a whole new exciting way.
So hopefully Disney+ is aiming to resolve this soon.
What Do You Need to Watch Dolby Atmos on Disney+?
- A compatible soundbar or receiver. There are a variety of different Dolby Atmos systems in a number of price ranges
- A Dolby Atmos compatible streaming device (Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV, a variety of Roku models, etc.)
- There are also a few high-end televisions that offer built-in support for Atmos content.
How to Find Disney+ Content That Supports Dolby Atmos
- Once you find something you’d like to watch, select the “Details” tab.
- In the “Available” formats section, look for Dolby Atmos.
- Check your soundbar to confirm. There should be some type of light or another logo that shows Dolby Atmos is working.
Troubleshooting tips:
- Make sure that your internet connection is the fastest possible since any internet issues can cause Disney+ to default to a lower-quality video and audio.
- Or restart all of your TV equipment including the streaming device and soundbar.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”