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   TV June 16, 2022

   This morning (Thursday) the Israeli streaming market received a reinforcement actress in the form of the launch of Disney Plus in Israel , the streaming service of the American entertainment monster. Many users were quick to sign up for the expected service, but those who have subscribed to Disney Plus in recent years in the European or American version (including us), have found that they do not receive exactly the same service they are used to receiving - and quite a few users have begun to rage online willingness. So has Disney really knocked out Israeli users? We checked. First of all: this is not the exact same Disney Plus Personally, I've been using Disney Plus services for over two years, and I signed up for them through an American user - so I know the official version well (and hey, I even made you a review of Disney Plus before launch). There are not many ways to go about it: the American Disney Plus, and the Israeli Disney Plus - are not the same thing. I'm not even talking about the content (although we will get to it). After all, even on Netflix we are used to the fact that the content available in the United States is not necessarily available in Israel, usually due to distribution rights. The Disney Plus app in the United States and the Disney Plus app in Israel - is not the same app. Behind the Disney Plus app in the United States is one company, and behind the Israeli app is a company called Hotstar. Both are subsidiaries of Disney, although the latter was born out of the Indian market and was previously primarily responsible for broadcasting sports services. If you go to Apple's Appstore, for example, you will see that the key name is Endless Entertainment or Disney-Hotstar Electronic Content. After downloading the Israeli app to my iPad, I now have two Disney Plus apps, and they are not even exactly with the same icon. This means that Disney has set a very strange precedent in Israel. When you download a service app like Netflix, Spotify and the like, you download the exact same file that the user in the United States, Europe or India downloads. Simply because these are universal apps. Once the app detects that you are from Israel, it may restrict your content in accordance with the content agreements and sometimes even the features, but the code is the same code. Not in the case of Disney Plus. Here you get a completely different app. The Disney Plus interface, whether in the web version or the app version is not the same interface. The bars are not in the same places, the animations look quite different, the structure is different and the interface is quite slow and awkward. Feels a bit like the Ali Plus Express version of Disney Plus. It's important to note that we're not really going to address today the various glitches you may have encountered, as this is still a launch day with quite a few users trying to connect to the service at the same time - and we let Disney enjoy the vendor and trust them to handle glitches. But still, the network is not short of users who have been using the Hotstar app for some time and report a variety of interface problems, content restart, skips, crashes and more. Even the method of registration in Israel is different. Instead of a username and password, in the Israeli Disney Plus you will have to register with your phone number, without any password. On the one hand, it's a little more secure, because if someone tries to hack into your account they will need access to your messages, but on the other hand, on any device you want to install the app you will have to go through the process over and over again. The average Israeli who really wants to share his account with friends, exes, distant family members and neighbors, will have to mess with codes that will be sent to him from any device he tries to log into the account. It is important to note that the service allows - both here and in the American version - viewing for four devices simultaneously, with the difference between the services coming in the number of profiles that can be opened: in Israel you can open up to 7 profiles for you, family and neighbors. In Israel, there are also quite a few features available in the app available for the American and European market, such as shared viewing, playlists, Sing Along versions of popular movies with songs, extras such as behind-the-scenes videos and other nice bonuses. To be honest, it's not even possible to watch content trailers here. Disney has never promised that all of Plus American's content will reach Israel, but there is really basic content here that is owned by Disney, and is simply not available here and not for copyright or distribution agreements but simply because the app does not currently support them. It is important to note, in contrast to information circulating on the Internet, that not only Israel received the hotstar variant. Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, India, large parts of Asia and other countries have also received this version of Disney Plus. So we are not alone, and you know what many people say about trouble. There is quite a bit of inaccurate information on the net, such as claims that the Israeli Disney Plus does not support HDR or Dolby Vision. So I downloaded the app directly to the LG TV, and although the Disney app's interface to the LG OS is very slow and annoying, I can confirm that it supports Dolby Vision. What it does not support is Dolby Atmos, the very endearing surround sound format that is actually supported by a list of titles on the American Disney Plus. So here's another thing we do not get, but our neighbors on the other side of the sea (or VPN) yes. For all this pleasure, the Israeli customer will pay a price of NIS 39.90 per month before promotions. For comparison, for my American user I pay $ 7.99 a month (before taxes), which is about 28 shekels under the guise of falling dollar value. There is not too much doubt here - the Israeli user of Disney + pays (a little) more, and receives less technically. The main bright spot for the Israeli user is Star, the new category open in Israel that allows you to watch much more external content than the other Disney subsidiaries. This is content that is not necessarily available at Disney Plus in the United States, but through other services like Hollow, ABC and other series and movies that if you were in the United States now, you would have to pay extra and not a small fee. Some of the missing features in Israel may come later in the form of some software updates, but we have been taught not to buy a product based on what it will be, but on what it is now. At least for now, I'm staying at the American Disney Plus. We contacted Disney Israel for a response, but this was not received until the date of its publication.