Is the Disney+ app terrible for anyone else?

[Deedeekay]

This seems to have started happening with the last few updates of the Disney+ app on tVOS, about six weeks ago I think, and it's only been getting worse.

The primary issues I'm having, aside from the UI just being made terrible when it comes to navigating for things like subtitles, are mostly to do with playback. Jumping ahead or going back has become much more painful. I have to press more deliberately, so no click-click-click-click to fast forward or rewind, it's click, wait. Click, wait. Click, wait. Click, wait. And jumping forward or backward any significant amount beyond a few clicks (so pausing, scrolling, clicking to start at a new position) has become almost undoable and at times requires quitting the app and restarting, and even then sometimes refuses to work.

And then there's the audio refusing to stop playing. Say if I use the Menu button to back out of a show. The show will just keep playing audio... even if I start a new show. What's even worse is that this sometimes even happens through the automated function whether I click anything or not. So I'll be listening to a show, see the picture minimise, watch the countdown to the next episode, see the next episode start playing, and hear the audio of both episodes. Or sometimes the screen just goes black and I continue to hear the last episode and the next one stalls.

All these tend to require quitting out of the app and restarting to 'fix'. I've deleted the app and data off my ATV and reinstalled but it's still doing the same things. I have an Apple TV 4K (2nd generation). Other apps seem to work fine enough. So is this just me or are other people experiencing issues with the Disney+ app on their Apple TV's as well?

 

[BeatCrazy]

Holy cow - stopped by this subform to complain about the Disney+ app on my Apple TV 4K (2021). I'm using hardwired ethernet at 1Gbps, so the connection is rock solid.

My main issue is pausing then trying to FF/RW. The app locks up and can't resume from any part of the stream. Quitting the app doesn't help. I literally have to reboot the Apple TV then it works OK for a while.

I had half a mind to buy a new Apple TV. But I'm thinking it's an app problem, and Disney+ must have a memory leak or something.

 

[audiomixer]

I’m seeing the same thing on my 2021 ATV.

 

[Gator5000e]

I have not seen any of this on my 2021 model. I watched Andor last night and it was fine. No issues. Do you have the most recent D+ update installed? Make sure you have the most recent update if you haven’t checked. Sometimes I find there are updates to apps even though I have auto update apps enabled. Also, are you on 16.1?

 

[svenmany]

Yeah, I've had to force quit the app a few times when I make some mistake about how I should try to scroll forward or back. I forget the details. It's truly horrific. This is especially challenging considering they often add additional content after the lengthy initial credits.

 

[Casey Royals]

I’ve got problems with app popping up a message when I start watching something telling me there’s a problem with HDCP and to get a new cable. A restart is required before I can watch anything on the app and this is the only app I have the problem with and none of my other sources have this problem either. All myequipment is well suited for the task, so it’s definitely the app.

 

[Deedeekay]

I have not seen any of this on my 2021 model. I watched Andor last night and it was fine. No issues. Do you have the most recent D+ update installed? Make sure you have the most recent update if you haven’t checked. Sometimes I find there are updates to apps even though I have auto update apps enabled. Also, are you on 16.1?

I tend to update everything as soon as the updates are available so the tvOS is almost always the most current. As for individual app updates, I don't believe there's any means of controlling that (or even determining which version you currently have), or if there is I certainly can't find it, but given that I started noticing this issue 4-6 weeks ago, as well as changes to how the UI functioned (in particular with how you navigate to subtitles which is SO infuriating), I'd wager it's updated itself pretty regularly.

 

[HDFan]

Jumping ahead or going back has become much more painful.

Fast forward/rewind seems to be problematic. Often only the 10 second forwards/rewinds works.

My main issue is pausing then trying to FF/RW. The app locks up and can't resume from any part of the stream. Quitting the app doesn't help. I literally have to reboot the Apple TV then it works OK for a while.

Does force quitting the app work?

 

[BeatCrazy]

Does force quitting the app work?

I forgot to try that.

 

[maflynn]

Let me just say the Apple TV disney+ app is so much better then the disney+ app on my LG tv (running WebOS).

My biggest gripe is HDR, I have a 55+ tv and the HDR support is middling at best. So when I watch a dark-ish movie on Disney+ it uses HDR and its too dark. A for instance, Star wars revenge of the Sith, where Anakin and Palpatine are talking during the opera scene. The shadows are so dark, the faces are so obscured by darkness, that it ruins it.

There's a bandwidth option in the app that has the impact of dropping HDR, but it also drops the resolution out of 4k. I could probably live with that, except that it does not work. It stays at 4k/HDR in the app.

My Apple TV allows me to disable HDR, and and so now I can watch my Star Wars movies in 4k and not worry about HDR ruining the experience.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I have older Apple TV HD with touch remote. I don’t get any problems with Disney+ app. It all been smooth for me. Fast forward I just swipe swipe swipe etc.

Sounds like issues might be newer Apple TV 4K with newer remote that have wheel buttons back on again??

 

[kristoffer4]

Nope also a problem here on my 1st. 4K ATV.

 

[Gator5000e]

I tend to update everything as soon as the updates are available so the tvOS is almost always the most current. As for individual app updates, I don't believe there's any means of controlling that (or even determining which version you currently have), or if there is I certainly can't find it, but given that I started noticing this issue 4-6 weeks ago, as well as changes to how the UI functioned (in particular with how you navigate to subtitles which is SO infuriating), I'd wager it's updated itself pretty regularly.

Actually, you can check. Go from the home screen (with all the provider icons) into the Apps (Blue A) section. Then click on Purchased. You should see a category on the left side that says recently updated. Click on that, you will see apps that supposedly have been recently updated. But I have gone through and clicked on the apps and sometime found it say "update" instead of Open. Click on update and the app will update. You can also check when the latest update was applied by opening the app info card and scrolling all the way down to see the update date.

The steps I have outlined here to update the apps are from memory. Hope this helps.

 

[Deedeekay]

Thanks. I did check. Everything is as updated as possible.

 

[dan980]

Let me just say the Apple TV disney+ app is so much better then the disney+ app on my LG tv (running WebOS).

My biggest gripe is HDR, I have a 55+ tv and the HDR support is middling at best. So when I watch a dark-ish movie on Disney+ it uses HDR and its too dark. A for instance, Star wars revenge of the Sith, where Anakin and Palpatine are talking during the opera scene. The shadows are so dark, the faces are so obscured by darkness, that it ruins it.

There's a bandwidth option in the app that has the impact of dropping HDR, but it also drops the resolution out of 4k. I could probably live with that, except that it does not work. It stays at 4k/HDR in the app.

My Apple TV allows me to disable HDR, and and so now I can watch my Star Wars movies in 4k and not worry about HDR ruining the experience.

I have the same problem, HDR is to dark, especially for Star Wars Series (Andor and The Book of Boba Fett). Looks like brightness is dropped to minimum.

SDR is fine, but you don’t have an in-app option to disable HDR without dropping the resolution. I resorted to disabling dynamic range matching on the device.