When Disney Plus launched the 7 Marvel series that had previously been streaming on Netflix all of the titles (with the exception of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) were available in 4k Ultra HD with Dolby Vision.
To clarify, we’re talking about the former Netflix-distributed Marvel series Daredevil, Defenders, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and The Punisher, not newer Disney/Marvel Studios TV-14 shows such as WandaVision, Hawkeye, and Moon Knight.
The Netflix distribution deal ended last February and the Marvel series premiered on Disney Plus in late March. We wrote about how Disney Plus subscribers had to allow mature content in their profile settings before viewing the shows. (This was a first for Disney Plus which previously did not have any Mature content in its library.)
But a short time later, in maybe just days, the 4k Ultra HD Dolby Vision/HDR10 labels were replaced with just HD. After testing the video quality of the shows it did seem to be HD rather than higher-quality 4k, although there have been times when we noticed the description labels have been wrong.
Fast-forward to today when we noticed Daredevil is streaming in 4k with Dolby Vision again, tested on several devices including a Sony Bravia Smart TV app, Apple TV 4k, and Roku Ultra connected to an LG HDR monitor.
Now, some of the discrepancies may come from viewing the shows through different devices, as well as software and firmware versions. However, it appears Daredevil is currently the only title from the bunch that clearly streams in 4k.
Keep in mind that depending on your device, shows and movies may stream in Dolby Vision/HDR10 with without 4k resolution. HDR is a video spec that can increase the color depth on devices that support it. Examples can be found in series such as Star Trek: Discovery streaming on Paramount+ and the black and white movie Passing on Netflix, both of which max out in HD (Update: Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 streams in 4k).
In addition to the loss of 4k video (which, we hope is just temporary) Dolby Atmos audio was also removed from several of the Marvel series after migrating to Disney Plus. Those titles include Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and The Punisher, all of which were available on Netflix with Dolby Atmos on supporting audio systems. Now, those titles default to Dolby 5.1.
