Disney+ Hotstar rolls out support for Dolby 5.1 surround sound but only for The Mandalorian

After its recent debut in India, Disney+ Hotstar is now streaming its popular TV show The Mandalorian with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. It is the only title available on the platform that supports high-quality audio playback hinting at an imminent widespread rollout.

In response to a user’s query on Twitter, Disney+ Hotstar tweeted the following:

Yes, You can enjoy The Mandalorian with 5.1 sound on our latest apps on Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV. We will be bringing 5.1 sound to more content soon. Appreciate your support.

— Disney+HS_helps (@hotstar_helps) April 3, 2020

Just about a year back, the erstwhile Hotstar had revealed that high-quality audio support was “a part of the road map” and it was in pretty early stages. Looks like with the launch of Disney+ Hotstar, the company is now prepping to introduce Dolby 5.1 surround sound support to other shows and movies as well.

There’s a possibility that 4K UHD support with HDR is also in development but we could be reading too much in between the lines. However, 4K support is something that a premier OTT service can’t live without in 2020.

With the roll-out of Dolby 5.1 support for a single show, it’s not yet clear if and when we will be able to see more content with high-quality audio. For now, subscribers are having to do with stereo sound and up to Full HD (1080p) playback quality.

The other two big OTT platforms, Netflix and Prime Video, both offer Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos supported content and up to 4K UHD playback quality. This definitely gives them an edge over newly minted Disney+ Hotstar. Interestingly, while Disney+ supports streaming in 4K globally, due to its partnership with Hotstar we are now having to make do with 1080p as the highest quality.

Disney+ Hotstar offers over 7,000 episodes worth of TV shows with 500+ movies from the house of Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studio, Star Wars and National Geographic. There are two new annual subscription plans-- Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Disney+ Hotstar Premium. The VIP plan costs Rs 399 while the Premium tier subscription offers Disney+ original content and is priced at Rs 1,499.