Watching Disney+ on a TV Box
★★
[Movies, TV Shows, Originals]
Watching Disney+ on a common unlicensed TV box is possible with some workaround, but some minor issues remain. The no-sound issue is solved, but only for 480p standard resolution. And part of the user interface requires a mouse.
Disney+ is a new but fast-growing video streaming service launched in November 2019. It primarily distributes movies and TV shows produced by Disney, with dedicated content hubs for Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and Star, as well as its own original movies and TV series. Subscription plans start at $11.99 per month. On top of that, there is also an additional Disney+ Premier Access for streaming major new releases in areas with closed movie theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney+ does not officially support common TV boxes. But there is some workaround to make it work, with some restrictions and minor issues.
Pros
- Fast-growing video streaming service, with lots of great shows.
- Commercial grade service, very reliable and smooth.
- Has quality subtitles.
- Has an automatic viewing history in addition to the manual Watchlist (like favorites).
- Can resume playing from where you left off last time.
Cons
- Paid subscription.
- Only limited to movies and shows produced by or licensed to Disney+.
- Can only play 480p standard resolution properly on common unlicensed TV boxes.
- On common unlicensed TV boxes, some areas of the app don’t work properly. The download feature seems to be missing, and the Watchlist seems to crash. In addition, parts of the user interface require a mouse.
- Can’t directly use the arrow buttons on the remote control to rewind/fast-forward.
Details
App Workaround
Disney+ officially only supports licensed devices, which include major brands of smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs, and only a handful of high-end media streamers. That leaves most TV boxes unlicensed and unsupported. However, there is some workaround to get Disney+ working on a common TV box.
One major issue people run into when trying to run the Disney+ app on their TV boxes is that there appears to be no sound. Turns out the no-sound problem has something to do with the default HD 5.1 format. So the workaround is to only play the SD format. This issue and its workaround effectively restrict you to stream only at the standard 480p resolution on an unlicensed TV box.
In addition, there are some other minor issues on an unlicensed TV box. For example, some visual elements may not appear at the right spot, and some features may crash or not show.
Downloads
The Disney+ app is supposed to have the download feature for offline viewing. However, it seems to be missing on an unlicensed TV box. Not sure if it is intentional or a bug.
Playback Features
Disney+ has some useful features during playback:
- It can resume playing from where you left off last time.
- It keeps an automatic viewing history. You can also manually add a video title to the Watchlist (like favorites). However, attempts to open the Watchlist seem to crash the app.
One annoyance is that you cannot intuitively use the LEFT/RIGHT buttons on the remote control to rewind and fast-forward. Instead, you must first press the DOWN button a few times to move to the playback progress bar, then you can use the LEFT/RIGHT buttons to move your current position.
Mouse Required
On an unlicensed TV box, you can use the remote control to operate parts of the user interface but not everything. So you still need to add a mouse or an air mouse remote control in order to use the app properly.
HOMETEQ has several voice air mouse remote controls that will work perfectly with the Disney+ app:
Voice Search
Disney+ supports voice search. The voice search button appears as part of the Android onscreen keyboard, so you will need to use the mouse to access it.
Subtitles
Disney+ supports subtitles natively as part of its streaming service. So the subtitles are nice and high quality.
Subscription, Not Ads
Disney+ is a paid subscription. A subscriber can access the entire Disney+ collection of video titles (except for the in-theater new releases which require an additional Premier Access). And there is no ad.
Install & Setup
Because Disney+ doesn’t officially support common unlicensed TV boxes, Google Play Store will not show the app (com.disney.disneyplus) to you if your TV box is unlicensed. The workaround is to sideload it from an APK file. You can download the latest APK from apkmirror.com.
By default, you may not get any sound when you play a video. That’s because the default HD 5.1 format doesn’t seem to work properly on an unlicensed TV box. And the workaround is to change the Wi-Fi Data Usage setting from Automatic to Save Data (meaning SD quality).
The following step-by-step instructions demonstrate the workaround in detail:
(1) Choose Profile
From the Disney+ Home screen, Click on Profile.
(2) Choose App Settings
On the Profile screen, click on App Settings.
(3) Choose Wi-Fi Data Usage under App Settings
On the App Settings screen, click on Wi-Fi Data Usage.
(4) Change Wi-Fi Data Usage Setting to Save Data
On the Wi-Fi Data Usage setting screen, click on Save Data to use SD quality.
(5) Sound Now Works under SD Quality (END)
Use BACK to back all the way out of Profile. From now on, you won’t see HD 5.1 on the video info page. And sound will work perfectly under SD quality.
the TX3 smart TV box from HOMETEQ
If your TV box is from HOMETEQ, we already have the Display+ app preinstalled. If you have an older TV box and you have trouble getting Disney+ to work, you may consider buying a new box from us. Our TX3 Smart TV boxes have high-quality and high-performance hardware, enhanced with a customized version of the SlimBOX firmware. They are very fast and reliable, and yet very competitively priced. The 4+32G model is only $65.
