Pipelight Progresses For Silverlight, Netflix On Linux

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Pipelight Progresses For Silverlight, Netflix On Linux

The open-source Pipelight project that seeks to support Microsoft's Silverlight on Linux through the use of Wine, continues making progress and is under active development. Pipelight remains a way to make it possible to play Netflix movies on Linux...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTYwNTA

[tmpdir]

Phoronix: Pipelight Progresses For Silverlight, Netflix On Linux

The open-source Pipelight project that seeks to support Microsoft's Silverlight on Linux through the use of Wine, continues making progress and is under active development. Pipelight remains a way to make it possible to play Netflix movies on Linux...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTYwNTA

Netflixed confirmed they will roll out html5 support. So M$ technology isn't needed.

Also I've read its possible to simulate a chromecast with your linux OS, with this you can stream netflix movies to an linux client.

For the other purposes... not so interested in M$ stuff.

[Ericg]

Netflixed confirmed they will roll out html5 support. So M$ technology isn't needed.

Also I've read its possible to simulate a chromecast with your linux OS, with this you can stream netflix movies to an linux client.

For the other purposes... not so interested in M$ stuff.

Netflix supporting html5 is fine but they will almost assuredly also roll out the DRM component of HMTL5 which requires browser, OS, AND server integration. So they can still elect to say "Screw Linux"

[smitty3268]

Netflix supporting html5 is fine but they will almost assuredly also roll out the DRM component of HMTL5 which requires browser, OS, AND server integration. So they can still elect to say "Screw Linux"

I have some hope that SteamOS may provide a nice incentive to provide the linux drm support needed. I don't know that Valve is necessarily focused on that yet, but I could see them wanting to provide things like netflix support on their steamboxes once they start selling.

[Vash63]

I'm sure Linux will support the DRM components, Google has always kept Chrome at parity with Windows. My bigger fear is whether it will support open source drivers and browsers... I don't consider Chrome open source and wouldn't be surprised if Chromium does not support the HTML5 DRM.

[Etzos]

I'm sure Linux will support the DRM components, Google has always kept Chrome at parity with Windows. My bigger fear is whether it will support open source drivers and browsers... I don't consider Chrome open source and wouldn't be surprised if Chromium does not support the HTML5 DRM.

Actually it's not Google (or Mozilla, or any other browser vendor) that's going to be in control of whether or not the DRM will work on a given platform. It's up to the content provider. The DRM mechanism isn't really built into the browser, that's just the helper which downloads or asks you to download the actual decoder called the Content Decryption Module or CDM) and runs that to actually decode the encrypted content. However, that decoder isn't necessarily cross-platform. It's just an add-on. So it's likely to be a platform-specific binary.

[smitty3268]

Actually it's not Google (or Mozilla, or any other browser vendor) that's going to be in control of whether or not the DRM will work on a given platform. It's up to the content provider. The DRM mechanism isn't really built into the browser, that's just the helper which downloads or asks you to download the actual decoder called the Content Decryption Module or CDM) and runs that to actually decode the encrypted content. However, that decoder isn't necessarily cross-platform. It's just an add-on. So it's likely to be a platform-specific binary.

Yeah, the DRM is based on the same way they did the video tag - it's not defined what you do, other than the browser can load native OS plugins. So FF and Chromium shouldn't have any issues, the only question is whether the DRM provider provides a linux plugin or not.

[claudex]

Video of the talk

The video of the talk is available on the Fosdem website http://video.fosdem.org/2014/AW1120/..._via_Wine.webm

[anda_skoa]

Yeah, the DRM is based on the same way they did the video tag - it's not defined what you do, other than the browser can load native OS plugins.

Unfortunately not.
The only defined thing is a JavaScript API, a bunch of functions that are present in the environment of the web page.
Whether those functions are implemented by the browser, a plugin in the browser, a operatings system service or even in hardware/firmware is left to the browser vendor.

So FF and Chromium shouldn't have any issues

Only on platforms where the CDM is either implemented in the operating system or in hardware. E.g. is is likely that FF/Chromium will be able to use Microsofts CDM on Windows.

the only question is whether the DRM provider provides a linux plugin or not.

That's even the question on other platforms. If for example Google decides to implement their CDM in Chrome, without the use of a plugin mechanism, then FF/Chromium will not be able to use it. Independent of platform.

Depending on which DRM systems a content provider has licensed, user might have to use different browsers for different providers.

Cheers,
_

[Pajn]

Also I've read its possible to simulate a chromecast with your linux OS, with this you can stream netflix movies to an linux client.

Chromecast is just a modified Chrome browser and leapcast is just an implementation
using a unmodified Chrome browser. This means that it doesn't help you with viewing
Netflix on Linux.