Disney Plus will give you 4 simultaneous streams, 4K and HDR at no additional cost

Three months before the launch of Disney Plus, Disney's streaming service is already starting to take shape, unlike Netflix. The $ 7 per month Disney Plus subscription will include four simultaneous streams; videos with 4K, UHD and High Dynamic Range image quality; and seven different user profiles, all without any additional cost. (And, yes, you choose a favorite Disney character who will be the avatar of your profile.)

According to interviews with executives, Disney will release new episodes of its original series each week, rather than spending an entire season at a time. They spoke to CNET and presented a live demonstration of the service at Disney's superfan biennial convention, the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California.

Netflix, on the other hand, was the pioneer of the microwave model of publishing all episodes of a series in a single group. But the service only allows five profiles and subscribers must pay for the most expensive level of service available to it to unlock four simultaneous streams and 4K / HDR format.

When Disney revealed in April that its service would cost $ 7 a month, most people compared that price to the 13-month $ 13 of Netflix's most popular US plan, which lets you watch two different devices simultaneously. in high definition. But the features of Disney Plus are closer to those of the higher level of Netflix, which costs $ 16 per month in the United States. That's more than double the price of Disney Plus.

Disney Plus, whose launch is scheduled for Nov. 12, is the most famous example of the Hollywood tradition that seeks to compete in streaming with Netflix, Amazon and – soon – Apple. With tech giants investing money in their own TV shows and movies and driving consumers away from traditional pay TV, Disney wants to create a single broadcast center for all of its content for families. Disney General Manager Bob Iger has called Disney Plus nothing less than the future of Walt Disney Co.

"Is there pressure, of course," said Michael Paull, president of Disney's streaming services, in an interview. "But that's how I like it."

Amazon, password sharing, parental controls

Paull, a former leader of Amazon, explained how Amazon and its popular Fire TV streaming products were missing Monday from a list of devices capable of streaming Disney Plus.

"What we released on Monday was actually the list of devices we currently have an agreement with, but we expect to expand the list from here to launch," Paull said. He also said that contracts with device manufacturers would include more than just support for Disney Plus apps – they would include a promotion in interfaces and other products, such as Roku remotes with a Disney Plus button. dedicated.

Disney said it would monitor the warning signs of password-sharing abuse, but Paull said the company had no plans at its disposal regarding the application of the abusive password sharing.

"We recognize that this is a product for the whole family and we want the whole family to be able to use the product simultaneously," he said. "In my mind, whether in the household or not, I want all household members to be able to use the service at the same time, I want them to really have value."

The Disney Plus demo also gave a more complete picture of parental control. The streaming service will have a "Kids Mode" designed for children ages 7 and under. The mode has a more colorful interface, with larger icons, fewer words written and more graphics.

But at launch, Disney Plus will not have any PIN protection that can prevent young users from switching from a child profile to a profile with a standard interface. . Parental controls based on PINs are on Disney's roadmap and Paull noted that Disney Plus's most successful content only reaches PG-13.

Originally released on August 23rd.
Update of August 24: Adds additional details, as well as comments from leaders.