Netflix on Chrome/Chromium/OS

[aysiu]

I disagree that that's a per-requisite for Netflix. Your mentioning Chrome OS is a case in point. Chrome OS hardly meets any of the requirements you laid out for Ubuntu. Chrome OS's survival is far from guaranteed. It's far from certain that the product will be continuously supported. Google played ball with Netflix. Canonical/Shuttleworth, for whatever reason, has not.

Actually, Chrome OS meets all of the requirements I laid out. They are custom-designed products (not just off-the-shelf Windows laptops with Chrome OS installed on them). They're guaranteed updates and full compatibility with future Chrome OS versions. And they're competitively priced.

[neu5eeCh]

Actually, Chrome OS meets all of the requirements I laid out. They are custom-designed products (not just off-the-shelf Windows laptops with Chrome OS installed on them). They're guaranteed updates and full compatibility with future Chrome OS versions. And they're competitively priced.

...release a product that has and will continuously support preinstalled and upgraded versions of Ubuntu indefinitely.

No.

"How many versions back do you support? We support only the most current dev, beta, and stable channel releases"

"It has to be a product people can buy off-the-shelf that has a unique design (not just Ubuntu installed on a normal Windows computer)"

No. Google is simply using dumbed-down WIndows computers. The only facet of the design that's unique is its deliberate curtailment of specs without a commensurate drop in price. They're deliberately handicapped "windows computers". As is repeatedly pointed out by users on this forum (among others), why should they buy a Chromebook when they can spend the same or less on a Windows computer with several times the capability?

... and competitive pricing.

No again. Here's an Amazon price list. I can drive down to Radioshack, today, and get a 299 dollar computer with superior specs all around.

The issue, for Netflix, is not the platform, it's the $market$ and the $money$.

[litiform]

I would subscribe to netflix if I could download the movies and watch the download. I don't like the whole streaming concept though because of inability to rewind/fast forward etc smoothly.

[irv]

I would subscribe to netflix if I could download the movies and watch the download. I don't like the whole streaming concept though because of inability to rewind/fast forward etc smoothly.

I guess I kinda disagree with this. I just move the slider back to where on want to rewind too. Downloads are nice if you just watch on one device, but I have Netflix on my Nook, Roku, Sony Blu-Ray DVD player and two computers. So I would have to keep moving my movie around or put it on a server and take up storage. I like streaming.

[gary987]

I have seen bluerays player running linux, and I have a mediabox running linux.. both have netflix. Its not about whether it can be done for traditional linux, but whether netflix will ever do it.. I'm guesssing they could release something in less than a day, but they wont.

As soon as I see another service like netflix that supports linux, I will drop netflix and probably never look back

[evilsoup]

I'm pretty sure that Android and Chromebooks both use hardware-based DRM. That's why you can't just install ChomeOS on a VM and expect Netflix to work; and that's why the Android integration with the kernel probably won't be much help.

We'll have to either hope that Microsoft ports Silverlight DRM over to Moonlight (lol), or someone else can do it; or in five years, when Netflix changes from Silverlight to whatever, that that solution will be cross-platform.

[deh_p3000]

a bit late for a reply but, here is netflix official stance,


Thank you for contacting Netflix customer support.
Here is the transcript from your recent chat with customer support:

Netflix Tanya:
Hey there! This is Tanya, how can I help you?


You:
hi
You:
I would like to ask exactly why netflix will work on damn near any computer/phone/tablet etc.... except one running linux?

Netflix Tanya:
Good question! And I have an answer for you! May I ask (quickly) who I'm chatting with please?

You:
my name is Garry #$%^&, and i am a current subscriber, and the only thing holding me back from moving to linux full time is netflix.

You:
and if another streaming service adds support for linux you can bet i will cancel. and move to them.

Netflix Tanya:
I can understand your frustration Garry! And what I was able to find is that Netflix is not compatible with Linux. The reason why is we use Silverlight to stream movies. The Microsoft Silverlight plugin uses DRM. Although there is a Linux/Ubuntu alternative to Silverlight called Mono/Moonlight, it does not have any DRM built in and it is very unlikely Microsoft will ever make a DRM option for it. I'll gladly take your feedback on getting Linux available for our super tech-savvy users like you, though!"

You:
so basically netflix allows microsoft, to dictate what operating systems you can use... thats great.... wonderful. Honestly i'm sick of "microsoft" you guys need to find another may to manage digital rights.

Netflix Tanya:
I totally understand what you're saying and I'll be glad to take your feedback to our Development Team so that you can be heard. You are not alone in your thoughts about Microsoft and hopefully in the near future Linux will be a viable option for Members to utilize.

You:
so how is it any dvd player pretty much can play the streaming? i still am a little unsure as to why you can't write your own .app for linux......

Netflix Tanya:
It's something that Technical Support has been looking into but at this moment Netflix and Linuz have not been able to create an application that won't stop crashing! I guess it's not as easy as it sounds in theory....yet!

Netflix Tanya:
But we are not giving up!


Check out our Help Center if you have any more questions.

- Your Friends at Netflix

Please note this is the entire conversation, the chat was terminated right after her last message without any other comments or without checking if i had other questions.

[monkeybrain2012]

my name is Garry #$%^&, and i am a current subscriber, and the only thing holding me back from moving to linux full time is netflix.

That is kind of lame if you tried to make a demand. Why would they listen to you if the bottom line is that you would choose netflix over Linux full time? After that conversation they could be rest assured that they would continue be getting your money.

[sdowney717]

That is kind of lame if you tried to make a demand. Why would they listen to you if the bottom line is that you would choose netflix over Linux full time? After that conversation they could be rest assured that they would continue be getting your money.

He was talking to a borg. A robotic person programmed to offer nothing of substance. You might as well have talked to someone working at Walmart.

[scorpiosnake]

As soon as I see another service like netflix that supports linux, I will drop netflix and probably never look back

Here you go: Amazon Prime

I have never had a problem watching tv shows or movies on Amazon.

What I don't understand is, if Amazon and Google can do it, why can't Netflix?