# The Ubuntu Forum Community > Ubuntu Official Flavours Support > Multimedia Software >  Linux vs Netflix

## ArtemNY

It s#cks! It really s#cks! It made me so angry!

I'm a long time Netflix user. Watching movies right from my PC.
After switching to Linux I couldn't imagine that there could be such problem.

Opened Netflix. For a few minutes was choosing a movie. Clicked PLAY and.... BAAAM! Doesn't work.

Ok. Relax. Let's try to fix it (I said). It says that Nitflix supports by Windows and Mac only. Ignored that, tried to get some info from automated Netflix help machine.

After a few steps it said that I don't have a Silverlight. Opened MS to install a Silverlight. Installed it in a few secs. (It's actually called Moonlight for Linux).

Was just happy that the problem is fixed and I'll be able to watch my movies. But than, on the last page of installation Moonlight it said:



> Netflix does not work with Moonlight at this time.  While Moonlight supports          all of the UI and media playback infrastructure, it lacks DRM support which          Netflix requires.  See this silverlight.net forum post and this page on the Moonlight wiki.


What the hell is this DRM (digital rights management)? How to fix it?

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## Wiebelhaus

You can't not right now , Netflix is scared your going to steal their crap so they enforce DRM , I personally don't use anything that uses DRM , period. And I won't , ever.

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## ArtemNY

> You can't


I HATE these two words!  :Brick wall: 

So there's NO chance to "play" Netflix in Linux not running a Virtual Machine?  :Sad:

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## mhpathfinder

No Netflix for Ubuntu or any other LINUX based operating system.  However, you can buy a ROKU box for $70, connect it to your TV and sound system and enjoy "Watch Instantly" Netflix, as well as having access to several other channels, besides Netflix, most of them at no additional charge beyond your low monthly Netflix fee.

Would it be nice to view Netflix on my Ubuntu Netbook Edition operating system?  Sure, but ROKU is a better alternative, viewing NETFLIX, many original independent films, listening to Pandora.com music, or exclusive web-based programs and presentations on a large TV screen with sound through my stereo system.

The ROKU box connects to your home network, either wired or wirelessly, then--with a code--identifies your queue for preferred channels, programs and movies and downloads the content to your ROKU box

I don't sell ROKU.  This is not a marketing message.  I just like it and think it's a better way to view "Watch Instantly" Netflix and other content.  And, no worry about your TV's operating system, neither Windows nor Mac, nor even LINUX, although I think the ROKU box is LINUX-based for its menus and channel selection software.

Alternatives are here, just not for viewing Netflix on a LINUX based computer.
 :Smile:

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## Naitsirhc Hsem

Why should you have to buy a separate piece of hardware to watch something you pay for anyway!!  Netflix should really offer a valid solution or people will keep trying to hack it and get around the DRM.

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## indylarry

I am sure that Netfix has to agree to use DRM if they want the content from the media companies. I don't blame them.  There seems to be a simple solution to this.  The ROKU box runs Linux.  That means the DRM code for Linux already exists.  I would be happy to pay $10-$20 for a proprietary app that would allow me to watch Netflix on Linux.  ROKU would gain another revenue stream to recover their development costs and Netflix would stop getting angry email from us *nixers.  Some will probably disagree, but I believe this would be a reasonable solution.

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## Naitsirhc Hsem

> I am sure that Netfix has to agree to use DRM if they want the content from the media companies. I don't blame them.  There seems to be a simple solution to this.  The ROKU box runs Linux.  That means the DRM code for Linux already exists.  I would be happy to pay $10-$20 for a proprietary app that would allow me to watch Netflix on Linux.  ROKU would gain another revenue stream to recover their development costs and Netflix would stop getting angry email from us *nixers.  Some will probably disagree, but I believe this would be a reasonable solution.


I don't disagree at all, that is an excellent idea!! Why haven't Netflix/ROKU/Microsoft thought of this.  It is a win win situation

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## snowpine

> Why should you have to buy a separate piece of hardware to watch something you pay for anyway!!  Netflix should really offer a valid solution or people will keep trying to hack it and get around the DRM.


Sorry, you knew it wouldn't work in Linux when you paid for it.  :Wink:  Netflix's system requirements are clearly stated in the FAQ; they are not making any deceptive claims or misleading advertising IMHO.

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## Chronon

> I don't disagree at all, that is an excellent idea!! Why haven't Netflix/ROKU/Microsoft thought of this.  It is a win win situation


I'm sure ROKU has signed a non-disclosure agreement and is not permitted to distribute the binary blobs, nor any information about them.  It's entirely up to Microsoft as to whether they will provide assistance to the Moonlight project (binary blobs).  Nobody else has any power to do anything about this.  The DRM is Microsoft's intellectual property.

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## conradin

Im pretty sure the means netflicks uses to monitor what OS youre using is via your browser headers. There are ways to change what your Computer shows up as to servers.  I cant recall right now what this is called. browser masquerading or something. Look into that.
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IceCat

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## snowpine

> Not true at all. You never know for sure if something will work until you try it. Just because a company said they don't support it, doesn't mean it won't work. Loads of apps which claim they require a Windows pc work in Linux. You just have to try it.


I tried it.  :Smile:

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## jimbo99

> What the hell is this DRM (digital rights management)? How to fix it?



It's actually called digital "restrictions" management.  Because the big media companies decided it was to negative to say "restrictions" they changed it to say "rights".  That doesn't change the fact that it is a "restrictive" technology that does very little to help legitimate users.

Netflix's main problem is that they decided to go with Silverlight instead of with a known product such as flash.  I think right now that the only real product out there (given there are probably a couple I don't know about) is Silverlight.  Naught else.

There's no reason they can't make DRM work under Linux.  Many media sites have DRM working properly.  So, the only real limit is Microsoft probably not giving the proper support to Linux (in a seemingly uncompetitive way).

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## joi

Use windows for netflix and your problem is solved. There are many things that Ubuntu cannot do and that's is where the beauty of dual booting comes from. Use linux for stuff you wanna use it for and everything else WINDOWS this reduces many problems. whether you like it or not windows does and support more stuff than linux.  I only use linux for fun because i like solving problems inn it  :Capital Razz:

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## Perkins

That suggestion is workable for those of us who can afford to blow $160+ on an operating system that we'll rarely use.  Plus the absurd amount of disk space it takes...  But, if you are like I was, as you spend more time "having fun" in linux, you'll start to find yourself cringing whenever you have to go back.  I have one copy of XP on one machine.  I use it for playing the games that don't run under Wine...  A list which seems to be shrinking rather rapidly.  Eventually I doubt I'll need it at all.

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## light_seeker

Works just fine in Ubuntu 10.10 in VM virtualbox running XP. :Popcorn:

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## Chronon

> Works just fine in Ubuntu 10.10 in VM virtualbox running XP.


Yes, we all know it works fine in XP.

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## cptrohn

I think I saw a toaster that streams netflix the other day!  :Wink: 

But seriously it seems like EVERYTHING can stream Netflix these days.... I just use our Wii to stream it, not a huge problem really... Or you can just get a Roku.

I wish they would work on linux support, but probably not happening anytime soon.  I think they have enough business with the Windows/Mac/game console/tv embedded/blu-ray embedded/netflix players etc....


Linux support is just not a priority for them.... besides, there are LOTS of other places on the web to watch whatever you want anyway.

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## Perkins

It might be worth lobbying Blockbuster to add Linux support, since they're the ones playing catch-up and looking for something to give them an edge...  Between the people who would switch for the convenience factor, and the fact that they could probably get at least a little donated coding time if they asked nicely it might be a good move for them...

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## schanhorst

_Note: Just to clean the table and avoid confusion_ _before I start__:__1)__ I will use the "__L__inux OS" term exclusively for linux distributions targeting desktop/laptop sort of hardware (e.g. debian, slackware, ubuntu, ...) and_ _NOT__ for linux based OSes_ _u__sed on mobile devices_ _(like Android OS from Google or iOS from Apple).
__2) I would like to make clear, that no Netflix but unavailability of DRM functionality on linux OS is the root cause of the issue. And also that DRM is mandatory not because of Netflix but because of policies of whole entertainment industry._
 ---------------------


I have been reading trough whole this thread quite a while ... 


 Look, the real problem is maintenance ... once you bring a software alive (let say the DRM library for linux OS) it is JUST the first step - the less expensive step when you compare it with expenses going to be thrown in to the maintenance during oncoming years.

Let say somebody implements the first version of DRM for linux OS - let say the Microsoft would do that directly ... Fine, expenses would be let say $100,000 for first working version.
Well, each good manager know, that this expenses are nothing compared to maintain the software trough years (bug fixing, keep the software working on whole variety versions of linux kernels (from old version to most recent), variety of linux OS distributions, variety of hardware platforms where linux can be installed (e.g. imagine just 32bit and 64bit Intel&AMD HW platforms). 

All this maintenance is possible, sure, but it is insanely expensive trough years of life of the software. Imagine - you need to keep whole team of people having detailed know-how about DRM implementation & linux platform (pay them, take car of them ... anybody who was doing something with professional software development will exactly know what I'm talking about ...)

This is not gonna happen without having a revenue from that ... 

~1% of the marked share is assigned to linux OS (http://www.netmarketshare.com/os-mar...e.aspx?qprid=9)  
==> BUT take care - this number covers all sorts of possibly existing and active linux OS installations on this earth (all linux OS distributions, big range of kernel versions - even really old, all HW platforms ... in one word 'everything' using linux).
==> So If we remove (from this 1% over all number) such computers which are NOT likely to be interested to use Netflix (e.g. all linux servers, all linux installations outside the US - yes Netflix is available *only* on US territories, all linux installations used for science like physics/mathematics/chemistry ..., and of course all ordinary people using linux on their computers but NOT interested in having Netflix, ...) ==> then this 1% number will be easily decimated down to something like ~0.1% (and I think this is really VERY optimistic estimation)

OK, so summing it up, where we got now: On the one side we need to keep expensive team of experienced software engineers to keep DRM library for linux alive AND on the other side potential to target 0.1% of OS marked share ... 

So This is very, very jealous accounting balance - try to present this to any experienced manager and you will be kicked out of the room right after that ...

Almost ALL the people I know they chosen to use linux as they primary OS (as I do for many years already) are also having access to some sort Microsoft OS or Mac OS installed HW (mostly laptop from work). Last x-years you got a laptop in work, so it easily to carry with you from work to home ... ===> Thus, for those people, there is a free option to watch Netflix if they really want. This is shrinking down the 0.1% even more ...

When I started with linux during my college, it was ~1994 it think - I can remember long lasting discussion battles about what is better MS Windows or Linux and why ... these discussion battles were really hot and were able to survive years - even now it is possible to find some of them revamped and still alive here and there ... 
I was fighting for the linux side at that time  :Smile: 
==> After years of experiences I painfully gained on the field of software development (commercial and scientific field as well) I may say these battles were and are completely pointless, no real-use outcome, nothing useful  ===> and this battle about Netflix on Linux reminds me these pointless battles ...



 Based on Linux OS marked share statistics, its marked share is growing slowly, really slowly (proven by years ) and the speed is not likely to be changed up significantly if at all.  
 For example market share of the iOS (iPhone/iPod/iPad/iSomethongElse) beaten Linux OS about 3 years after introducing it on to the market, and difference is still growing!
Android OS made even bigger mark over linux OS than iOS. 
===> SURE both of them - either iOS from Apple or Android OS from Google are linux based in the background, but that is NOT the real reason why they are successful.  
 The real reason of their success is highly experienced product/project management tightly controlled by BIG commercial companies  it is the common mark for both of them.  
 Do NOT get confused by stack of Free Software+Open Source+Appache Licenses used by Google for Android OS - this open licensing policy does not have anything to do with product success ==> success&quality of resulting product is determined by quality of management and NOT by license (or because it is unix-sort OS)!  
 Apple's management is excellent - top of the top in the hardware/software field in the word - and that you can directly feel on resulting products (and on the price of course). 
_Side note: It is completely different story that Apples licensing polices turned in to one of the most paranoid nightmare in the word. Microsoft was notoriously known in past decades as the one having_ _most__ offensive licensing polices, but what Apple is doing last years on thi__s_ _field,_ _it_ _does not ha__s__ a precedence.
_But what is important here - do NOT consider the Android OS or iOS as "linux OS" - as I told, management of this products is based on COMPLETELY different bases, And, by idea they are supposed to serve to different purpose than Linux OS. The main idea of Linux OS is to serve for free with NO hidden commercial side effect, but Android OS and iOS are supposed to make money  indirectly  by creating platform for selling apps, advertisement, entertainment, and all remaining crap ongoing to be just invented how to suck money from customer even more effectively ...


 So summing it up - SilverLight is available (full versions with no restrictions) on Mac OS and iOS (iPhone, iPad). But Android OS is still left behind having the same issue as Linux OS, but not for so long (see http://blog.netflix.com/2010/11/netflix-on-android.html)  Android is quickly gaining marked share numbers, and it is just the beginning  I believe implementation of DRM functionality will be available on Android soon - I believe it will be distributed exclusively in binary form (no source code freely available).
 If I would see any chance how to get Netflix working natively on Linux OS, this is it  via Android, since I think implementation and consecutive maintenance could be common (with minimal differences) for Android OS and Linux OS.

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## Don1500

> Works just fine in Ubuntu 10.10 in VM virtualbox running XP.


LOC (Load o' Cr*p) Running it in Vbox gives you no proper control of sreen size, all in all a bad experience compared to just booting up in Windows.

In one site this question was raised a poster said that there are any number of open source programmers that would be glad to write the code to make DRM work with Moonlight, for free. If that is so why don't they just do it and get Netflix to work under linux by tricking the server into believing it is looking at a windows machine? I do not mean that a person should be able to do this without a subscription, just work around the Netflix/Microsoft problem.

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## mellery

> If I would see any chance how to get Netflix working natively on Linux OS, this is it  via Android, since I think implementation and consecutive maintenance could be common (with minimal differences) for Android OS and Linux OS.


What do you think about the WINE route?  If wine support for silverlight improved, and the DRM is internal to silverlight then nothing else needs to be added. Other then fixing the issues that keep wine from running silverlight currently.  Those issues aren't DRM related since non-drm silverlight apps currently don't work under wine.

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## Perkins

So far as I know the moonlight developers are working on implementing the DRM support.  However, if what I've heard is accurate, they are basically having to reverse-engineer it since, even though Microsoft points anyone not using Windows at Moonlight, they still won't provide the least bit of help to the project.


The Wine route is a good idea, and it _almost_ works.  Unfortunately, the last time I tried it, I discovered that Silverlight had mysteriously stopped working with Firefox, and Microsoft was claiming it was the Mozilla team's fault, while the Mozilla people were scratching their heads and saying that they hadn't changed anything that should affect it.  The older versions of Firefox it tries, but kind of stutters and dies almost immediately.

I need to find time to build the latest ReactOS and see what it does.  You'd still have to reboot, but at least you wouldn't have to buy a copy of windows.

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## schanhorst

> What do you think about the WINE route?  If wine support for silverlight improved, and the DRM is internal to silverlight then nothing else needs to be added. Other then fixing the issues that keep wine from running silverlight currently.  Those issues aren't DRM related since non-drm silverlight apps currently don't work under wine.


Sure, wine would be a way ... 
I hope wine's guys will try to invent something legal and still working (reverse engineering could  violate license of MS DRM eventually), but I have still feeling that Android OS would be the first guy having DRM working properly. Then it is not so far to port it on desktop type linux OS. This would give native support to linux, no simulation ...

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## DawgSoldier

> You don't even get full access to netflix streaming through the Wii.  You get a "special" list which excludes much of the movies which would be available through a windows os.


This is most certainly not correct. For the first few months we used the netflix disk and it was hard to pick movies so we used the web to select the one we wanted to watch then we picked it up from our que on the Wii.

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## gtsorbo

I haven't tried this out yet, but i think I have a possible solution.

I just set up the Dolphin (Wii) emulator on my Linux box. I learned that you can actually install the Wii menu and other "Channels". I also learned that recently, you could download a channel to do Instant Streaming on the Wii, instead of needing the disc. The Dolphin emulator supports .WAD files for the Wii, so theoretically, if someone got a .WAD file of the Netflix channel, they could use it inside the emulator to stream Netflix content.

Only problem is, I'm not exactly sure how to make the emulator "connected" to the internet. I think there is a way to do it, just not sure how.

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## ramblinche81

> I think you are referring to what is called a USER AGENT SWITCHER or spoofer. Essentially it will tell the web server you are accessing exactly what kind of OS and browser you are using, however the UAS will hijack those requests and fill in anything you choose. I have not seen one for Chrome (haven't looked either). The one for Mozilla works well but not for this purpose. Netflix will still attempt to look for WMP to play the content. If WMP can be ported over to linux - PROBLEM SOLVED. However it is not likely that anyone will do that.
> 
> Like Netflix HULU uses silver light and if you download moonlight that works fine on HULU for 99.9% of the media (there are exceptions as in olympic coverage and president obama's inauguration to name a few) that had some issues on linux machines because of DRM. Any DRM can be chosen however Netflix has cut a deal with Micro$haft in which M$ provides the DRM encoding software as required by the studios and in doing so M$ locks up its proprietary codec in windows machines along with all of netflix's customers. What I do not understand is if the codec was licensed for use on ROKU boxes and other set top hardware that will play netflix (Wii or other 3rd party players - not just M$ Xbox), why can it not be made available to the netflix clients by SOME means even a binary if an opensource client can not be made?
> 
> So far the VM is the only way I have gotten it to work and even that kinda sucks (even with 4GB of ram).
> 
> I wont buy a roku box cause that doesnt solve my problem, I already carry a laptop on the road I dont have room in my bag for an LCD and a roku box. The DVD by mail is useless if I am not home so... Streaming would be nice. However if I can't get it soon Netflix will quickly lose it's utility and be an expense I can do without.


I've never been anti MS, but the more I read about how MS controls DRM processes, I am starting to change my mind.

MS actions smell like typical anti trust behaviors....the kind of stuff the EUC was very effective at gaining concessions from MS.

If MS is blocking DRM resources with some end users and providing restricted license to others, that seems problematic.

If MS is telling Netflix they can only provide encoding/decoding utilities to MS OS and exclude others, that seems problematic.

I wish some Linux supporting legal minds would review how MS controls DRM for distributors and end users.

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## gunther222

Well it's one step closer, two steps back.

I changed my user agent string in firefox to..
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.8) Gecko/20100722 Firefox/3.6.8


and now netflix will let me try to play the videos, but it fails anyway. I'm looking into the differences between moonlight and sliverlight to try and understand why.

However now that netflix thinks I'm coming from a windows box it doesn't just refuse to play out right, it fails handing the video off to moonlight which can't deal with it.


Here's a rather confusing statement from the moonlight pages which make it seem like it supports the PlayReady DRM, which it doesn't.

From moonlights pages.....

* Digital Rights Management* 

 Silverlight 2 supports Microsoft _PlayReady_ Digital Rights  Management (DRM). This is the DRM solution being used by Netflix's  Watch Instantly service for streaming movies to PC (Windows-only) and  Mac computers. 
Status: *unsupported*

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## joekm

Searching around the internet on the DRM issues surrounding moonlight, it appears that Neflix native support on Linux isn't happening soon.  (although Dolphin looks intriguing for a couple reasons - if I can emulate a Wii, I could add that to the guest room).


It may be that the best solution for Linux users is to look at Amazon instant video, Hulu, or maybe iTunes (although I'm not sure if the latter is supported on linux)

I was able to stream a "free" video on Amazon, it appears they use flash so I'm guessing the required DRM is available on Linux.


Amazon is looking pretty inexpensive as well...

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## CharlesA

Another option it to get a bluray player that has streaming functionality. That's what I use.

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## oldsoundguy

> Another option it to get a bluray player that has streaming functionality. That's what I use.


Did the same thing and watch on my 55" LCD rather than squeezing it down to watch on a computer monitor. (even though that is a 24" and even bigger than my bedroom set!)

LOTS of streaming audio/video built right into the Blu-Ray players.  Sony has a music channel on demand that has some acts you never see on any other channel.  (they had Dream Theater live in concert on the selections for a while .. not sure if it is still available.)

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## jimbob

I have both a Blu-ray player in the bedroom and the Roku box in the main room.  

Problem with Netflix is they won't stream the newer movies everyone wants to watch, but really old stuff (1940's) and Indie films no one ever heard of.

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## ladynikon

sigh i was hoping this was fixed.

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## Shibblet

I think a lot of people are missing the point.  The point is to be able to play Netflix Streaming videos on your computer.

I have a Netflix enabled Blu-Ray player attached to my TV.  But I'd like to have it work on my netbook, so if I want to watch a different show, I should be able to.  Should, of course, being the operative word.

What happens if I go over to my grandmothers house, who knows exactly nothing about computer, netflix, or even cable TV, and I want to watch a movie on my netbook?

DRM is a p*ss poor excuse by Microsoft, and a bad business decision by Netflix.  They would get more subscriptions if they made their own streaming program for Linux users.  Then it could be included in devices such as XBMC, Linux based Streaming Video devices, laptops, etc.  Not to mention, the up and coming Google Chrome OS Laptop/Netbooks that are soon to be released.

It doesn't even have to be a full fledged application, it can be a browser plugin.

I get tired of excuses, when it seems no one at Netflix is even trying to fix this.

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## 3177

If MS had control of netflix, Sony and Nintendo wouldn't have rights to it. :Capital Razz:

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## slooksterpsv

Personally, Microsoft should let Netflix strip down a version of windows (XP preferably) to allow Linux users to download XP as a VM to virtualize to watch Netflix.

I run XP in a VM just for Netflix. They could use stupid security policies to lock it down to where only Firefox + Netflix + Silverlight would run. NO IE, NO INTERNET EXPLORER CRAP!

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## 3177

> Personally, Microsoft should let Netflix strip down a version of windows (XP preferably) to allow Linux users to download XP as a VM to virtualize to watch Netflix.
> 
> I run XP in a VM just for Netflix. They could use stupid security policies to lock it down to where only Firefox + Netflix + Silverlight would run. NO IE, NO INTERNET EXPLORER CRAP!


 no where near the subject,  but....
I use XP in a VBox for diablo. 
That being said, I've run netflix on ubuntu since 9.04.
Need wine though. 1.2.2

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## Shibblet

> Personally, Microsoft should let Netflix strip down a version of windows (XP preferably) to allow Linux users to download XP as a VM to virtualize to watch Netflix.
> 
> I run XP in a VM just for Netflix. They could use stupid security policies to lock it down to where only Firefox + Netflix + Silverlight would run. NO IE, NO INTERNET EXPLORER CRAP!


Look for a program called nLite.

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## Perkins

> no where near the subject,  but....
> I use XP in a VBox for diablo. 
> That being said, I've run netflix on ubuntu since 9.04.
> Need wine though. 1.2.2



Would you care to post a How-to?  For those of us who have been banging our heads against this wall for a long time and haven't managed to find the secret knock by random chance yet?

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## 3177

okay...
*get the download for netflix player on a windows machine.
*move it to your ubuntu 9.04+ machine with wine.
* install firefox for windows and run in wine.
*install netflix plugin onto WinFirefox(in wine)
never had a problem.
loads okay(could be faster) but I'm not complaining.


you could also run xp in a VB as someone else already said.

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## mellery

Can you explain these two steps please?

*get the download for netflix player on a windows machine.
*move it to your ubuntu 9.04+ machine with wine.

What files need to be copied and where are they located on the windows machine?

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## E1337ist

> I would think that people willing to pay for viewing content in a digital environment where that isn't necessary shows responsibility on the part of us consumers.  We know we'd be shooting ourselves in the foot by downloading torrents of media for free.  But unfortunately, that's what I end up doing.  If a Linux users money isn't good enough then media barons shouldn't pitch a fit when I have to find creative ways to get the same content other OS users get.


^ this

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## aysiu

> okay...
> *get the download for netflix player on a windows machine.
> *move it to your ubuntu 9.04+ machine with wine.
> * install firefox for windows and run in wine.
> *install netflix plugin onto WinFirefox(in wine)
> never had a problem.


 I have. Can you post a screenshot of it actually playing a movie?

I have never gotten it to work in Windows Firefox in Wine in Ubuntu, and I've never seen a convincing case of it either.

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## slooksterpsv

> okay...
> *get the download for netflix player on a windows machine.
> *move it to your ubuntu 9.04+ machine with wine.
> * install firefox for windows and run in wine.
> *install netflix plugin onto WinFirefox(in wine)
> never had a problem.
> loads okay(could be faster) but I'm not complaining.
> 
> 
> you could also run xp in a VB as someone else already said.


I want to see a screenshot of this as well. I've tried using Silverlight 3.0 on Firefox in WINE, never got it to work. I should try Boxee it has Netflix support... probably won't work (the Ubuntu version doesn't have Netflix of course). I doubt your suggestion above will work.

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## Perkins

The one thing that's different that I can think of from what I've tried before is that he's downloading the installer program on a Windows machine first, and then installing it under Wine...

I don't suppose you could list the precise version of Wine you're using...  That might make a difference too...

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## mellery

his earlier post mentioned wine 1.2.2

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## seth3d

> okay...
> *get the download for netflix player on a windows machine.


Netflix "player" being Silverlight? It won't install for me with wine 1.2.2. I tried this a long time ago. Have you modified your wine configuration or installed any major windows components on wine such as IE6?
This is my output from trying to install silverlight on wine:


```
~/Desktop$ wine Silverlight.exe 

fixme:clusapi:GetNodeClusterState ((null),0x32ec24) stub!
fixme:advapi:DecryptFileA "c:\\31c1d6821f7518d0a8ac\\" 00000000
fixme:advapi:LookupAccountNameW (null) L"media" (nil) 0x33d980 (nil) 0x33d984 0x33d978 - stub
fixme:advapi:LookupAccountNameW (null) L"media" 0x1428b0 0x33d980 0x148600 0x33d984 0x33d978 - stub
fixme:msi:MsiSourceListGetInfoW Unhandled context 4
fixme:msi:MsiSourceListGetInfoW Unhandled context 4
fixme:msi:msi_unimplemented_action_stub RemoveExistingProducts -> 3 ignored L"Upgrade" table values
fixme:msi:msi_unimplemented_action_stub MsiUnpublishAssemblies -> 120 ignored L"MsiAssembly" table values
```

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## Objekt

This isn't the ideal solution, and won't satisfy the purists, but I can now watch Netflix streaming through a Windows XP VM.

It would probably also work through a Windows 7 VM, but I haven't tested it.

I was only able to make it work after a recent upgrade to my Nvidia drivers.  

Silverlight performance on a Windows VM seems to be highly dependent on the host system's graphics performance, at least for those of us running an Ubuntu host.  I suspect my solution wouldn't work for those using integrated graphics devices or older drivers.

FWIW.

update:
Almost completely forgot: The Silverlight DRM is pointless anyway.  Anything that I can display on my computer, I can capture on my computer.  A German program called Audials can capture Silverlight streams.

I don't see why anyone would want to, though.  Mostly I just watch TV shows via Netflix streaming.  I've never once gone back and watched a TV show a second time, almost never for a movie.  Life is just too short to watch the same thing over and over.

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## tshirtdr1

Join the page Add Netflix Support to Linux here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage...31631793574946

Let Netflix know this is important to us!

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## Shibblet

> I don't see why anyone would want to, though.  Mostly I just watch TV shows via Netflix streaming.  I've never once gone back and watched a TV show a second time, almost never for a movie.  Life is just too short to watch the same thing over and over.


Agreed.  One of the best things about NetFlix is the ability to watch TV shows that you may have missed.  Commercial free, I might add.

The thing that NetFlix is so worried about is DRM.  Who gives a flying fruitcake!  By the time a movie has made it onto Netflix for streaming, it's been on DVD or Blu-Ray for a couple of months!  If people want to steal it, they've already had the opportunity.

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## pHr34kY

> I don't see why anyone would want to, though.  Mostly I just watch TV shows via Netflix streaming.  I've never once gone back and watched a TV show a second time, almost never for a movie.  Life is just too short to watch the same thing over and over.


Actually, the movie studios are scared that you'll save the content and share it with a friend, or put it up on TPB right next to the DVD rip that's been there since 3 days before the official release date.

The model is quite broken. Legitimate retailers don't offer movies without DRM, so Linux users have no option but to resort to less-than-reputable sources (i.e. torrents). It's quite clear that the studios don't want our money anyway.

To quote Richard Stallman:



> If you're ever in a situation where you must choose between sharing something with a friend and breaching a license agreement, I recommend you do the lesser of the two evils and breach the license agreement.


Hell, they don't *have* NetFlix in my country. Others exist - my ISP even has one. It won't work on Linux; exact same problem.

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## Percius

1. Wine does not support the base drm that windows has, I suspect it never will. This would be virtually impossible to duplicate these kernel functions even by wines impressive standard.

2. Without the windows DRM methods Sliverlight in wine will never support DRM.

3. Moonlight cannot support windows DRM because dispute microsoft claiming it is a multiplatform platform it is closed source and not released for Linux. The drm specifications are not available.

--> Netflix & Holywood need to get over themselves. They need to realize that the harder they make it to consume legal services the more people will consume illegal services. They need to realize by now there is no Music/Video/Game that cannot be broken. For streaming services you do not need to make it impossible to save the file, just hard. I understand if one creates low lieing fruit virtually everyone will grab it. For such protections flash or a simple drm will do.

For purchased services your own DRM is discouraging people from purchasing it. I should not have to buy a Blueray, buy a dvd for my non blueray TV, and then Buy a android or ipod copy for my android, and still not be able to stream it to my tv via something like boxee.


That said until Netflix and the "Content Owners" realize that they are killing their own industry, I expect you will not see an official version of Netflix on Linux Desktops. The reason is that they cannot lock down linux. The openness of the os prohibits it.

A true DRM on linux is impossible. I would claim its impossible on windows too but more so on linux.

Lets say that someone enabled encryption and created a DRM such that netflix's player could stream encrypted video from the software directly to the driver. 

Someone could simply recompile the kernel and make it so that the dirver connection also output to a file. 

This is the same problem netflix has with Android. When you have full access to the source of the kernel you can change anything they do. 

With the GoogleTV and boxes like roku they are fairly closed. I am sure they can be hacked, but given the users they can be assumed to be a closed.

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## Perkins

The sad thing is that they won't support Linux for fear of people copying their stuff, but all the programs for recording screen and audio output on Windows work just fine.

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## aysiu

Once Amazon gets more than 5000 movies streaming, I may start up Amazon Prime again, since it uses Flash and streams to Linux desktops/laptops and Android phones.

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## plowdawg

I've been looking at the possibilities for Netflix on Linux and I believe that it is highly possible...Netflix uses the Playready DRM from Microsoft and they license a porting kit for it which is $50,000 plus another $25,000 to create.  Looking at the web console on Windows it seems that the player requests parts of the movie every few seconds and this could probably be reversed engineered and ran through the porting kit for the DRM to remove the DRM for a temporary moment while it streams then delete it.  The problem, this is very very pricey and well, though I may like to try on this adventure I just don't know if I would be able to make it in the end and the price is too much for me.

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## mikefreeman

Check this out!

http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog...nux-via-html5/

As soon as this becomes available, problem solved!  :Very Happy:

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## slooksterpsv

> Check this out!
> 
> http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog...nux-via-html5/
> 
> As soon as this becomes available, problem solved!


I'm so excited for that =D

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## DarkAvneger1337

Cool!

Here's a thought, not sure if it'll work or not, but you COULD download the android SDK, grab an APK of the new netflix app, and test it out. Logic seems sound to me, but I'm not 100% any thoughts?

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## slooksterpsv

> Cool!
> 
> Here's a thought, not sure if it'll work or not, but you COULD download the android SDK, grab an APK of the new netflix app, and test it out. Logic seems sound to me, but I'm not 100% any thoughts?


Yes, Yes, Possibly - you would have to edit a file in order to get it to work, but issue is, that emulating the android OS is slow! Like unbearably slow. When I dev apps for my phone I'm going to just test the apps on my phone.

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## DarkAvneger1337

worth a try I guess...

Here's a link to an APK without device check

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## DarkAvneger1337

It'd be going a bit far, but you could get a virtual machine running with android, and watch from there. It seems like it would solve licensing issues compared to running 'other' OS's to watch netflix.

Or you could just wait...

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## aysiu

> It'd be going a bit far, but you could get a virtual machine running with android, and watch from there. It seems like it would solve licensing issues compared to running 'other' OS's to watch netflix.
> 
> Or you could just wait...


I can't even get it to run on my _real_ (rooted) Android phone...

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## slooksterpsv

> I can't even get it to run on my _real_ (rooted) Android phone...


I was able to on my non-rooted phone, LG Optimus S. Colors are messed up like it's trying to render in 3D.

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## joeoshawa

I was reading this out of curiosity due to my computer being an htpc as well. All my entertainment is run through Ubuntu and I have no Interest in changing or using any Microsoft software at all. Now that doesn't mean I hate Microsoft or bill gates in any way. I love Linux and Ubuntu and the whole open source movement and how I can change my operating system in any way I want.  Everyone has the right to choose. I even suggest to people who use and enjoy windows without problems to stay with windows.

Now first off the whole Microsoft should do blah blah blah.  No offence but get real. Do you really believe that Microsoft is going to do anything because of a moral or ethical consideration????  If you do let me start by saying this, Microsoft is a company that makes a thing called software for a device called a computer, Google the rest. Microsoft does not do anything unless it increases the popularity of there OS.

Now one way or the other I am sure companies like Netflix are going to pop up that will support Linux and there is a thousand ways they can deal with the needs of the companies providing the media.  As it stands i would like to use this type of service but if I cannot oh well. I have tons of free and non free media from the Internet as it is and i am more then satisfied with the quality.

As for all the people who keep quoting the problem with multiple distros and window systems as a reason for developers not developing on Linux your just showing that you don't bother to check your info any Linux native program can work on any distro as long as you have the right dependencies unless maybe the developer made that program specifically for one window system on purpose and even then its been made to work.

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## PVversion666

Hi. I've been lurking on the Ubuntu forums and have finally registered in order to chime in on this subject. 

Unless this is a poorly-timed April Fool's joke, Netflix will be coming to Google Chrome (and Chromium). Click it, my friend! It's the article that will put a smile on your face.

I can't wait. My wife watches Netflix on her laptop, but alas, we don't have that luxury- at the moment.

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## MentatGhola

Its pretty dumb if you ask me.  Pirates don't need to go to the trouble of catching from a netflix stream.  There are much easier ways like illegal torrents, etc.  Plain and simple.  The reason has to be political.

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## scu-ba-de-buntu

I think the whole process of making it difficult for linux users is a clever ploy to encourage people to stop using mac and windows. You see, I wouldn't mind proprietary OSes if companies didn't go out of their way for anti-features and anti-support of open source OSes. Netflix is encouraging people to make a statistical difference in market-share by installing linux on everything so more and more paying customers are unhappy and stop paying. 

For example, as of the 1st, I'm not a netflix customer anymore. VM are just such a hassle, slow, the wait-time while it fake buffers after a change in Internet speed is slower than HULU's free service commercials, and the resolution is crap.

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## OpenSorce

I know this is an old thread, but searching Netflix Ubuntu still points here so I thought I'd add the following information for new visitors:

*IT WORKS NOW*
http://www.iheartubuntu.com/2012/11/...sktop-app.html

Yes, it uses Wine but the playback and quality are remarkably good.

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## CharlesA

I think this thread has run it's course - last post was back in 2011.

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