If you stream your favorite shows on Disney+ and happen to own a Samsung TV, you might notice things looking a little better lately. That’s because Disney+ has started rolling out support for HDR10+, a format that boosts picture quality by adjusting brightness and contrast on the fly. But there’s a catch — right now, it only works on Samsung TVs (and a few monitors).

At launch, the update brings HDR10+ support to over 1,000 Hulu titles through the Disney+ app. More content from both Hulu and Disney+ is expected to follow, but there’s no timeline yet for how quickly that expansion will happen.

If you’ve ever noticed how some streaming shows look amazing in one scene but a bit washed out in another, that’s where HDR (high dynamic range) formats come into play. HDR10+ is a more advanced version of regular HDR10. Instead of applying one set of settings to an entire video, HDR10+ tweaks the picture scene by scene. That helps preserve details in darker scenes without blowing out the bright ones — think sunrises that don’t lose shadow detail, or nighttime shots that don’t turn into murky blobs.

And here’s the big thing: HDR10+ was created in part by Samsung. It’s royalty-free, meaning it’s cheaper for manufacturers to implement than Dolby Vision, which works similarly but has tighter licensing. Samsung TVs don’t support Dolby Vision at all, so this is their answer to that format — and this Disney+ rollout is a pretty big moment for it.

Right now, HDR10+ on Disney+ is only available on Samsung TVs from 2018 and newer, including models like Crystal UHD, QLED, Neo QLED, OLED, The Frame, and even some Samsung Smart Monitors. You also have to be using the built-in Disney+ app on the TV, not an external streaming box like Apple TV or Fire TV.

Even if you’ve got a high-end TV from another brand that supports HDR10+ — like Hisense, TCL, or Panasonic — you’re out of luck for now. And if you’ve got a Samsung TV but watch Disney+ through an external device, you still won’t get HDR10+ until support expands.

There’s no official word from Disney about when other platforms or brands will get access. Interestingly, FlatpanelsHD spotted HDR10+ tags appearing in the Disney+ app on Apple TV 4K, suggesting a wider rollout might be on the horizon — but for now, it’s still Samsung or bust.

For people with supported Samsung TVs, this update brings better image quality, especially in scenes where lighting conditions change a lot. HDR10+ can make a noticeable difference in contrast, color accuracy, and overall detail. And because it's more efficient to implement than Dolby Vision, there’s potential for it to spread across more devices in the long run.

This move also highlights something a lot of streamers forget: your TV’s format support matters. Two people watching the same Disney+ show might be getting very different experiences depending on the TV and app they’re using.

The broader picture is that HDR format competition is still very much alive. Dolby Vision still dominates in terms of support across most platforms and premium TVs, but HDR10+ has been gaining ground, especially with backing from Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google TV, Rakuten, Paramount+, and now Disney+.

Nobody outside Disney knows when — or if — HDR10+ will roll out more widely across other platforms. But the groundwork seems to be in place. This launch with Samsung feels like a soft opening, possibly to test the waters before going broader.

If you’re using Disney+ on a Samsung TV from the past several years and have a Disney+ Premium subscription (required for 4K and HDR content), you can start watching HDR10+ content right now. If not, you’ll need to stick with standard HDR10 or Dolby Vision until further notice.

In the end, it’s one more reminder that in today’s streaming world, the gear you use matters just as much as the subscription you pay for.

If you’re thinking about buying a Samsung TV, these are a few we recommend — and they’re currently discounted on Amazon:

• Samsung 98-Inch Crystal UHD DU9000 — now $1,697.99 (was
  $2,497.99)
• Samsung 65-Inch S85D OLED TV — now $1,147.95 (was $1,897.99)
• Samsung 65-Inch QN90F Neo QLED — now $1,597.99 (was
  $2,197.99)
• Samsung 77-Inch S85F OLED TV — now $1,797.99 (was $2,797.99)