Netflix?

A

aimeec1995

I am wondering about the feasibility of using the streaming service, Netflix on a FreeBSD Desktop.

I have tried using the site on chromium, but told I am missing components. From what I can learn from googling it, pipelight is no longer supported. So I don't know if that works.
 
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Some time ago, i saw that somebody achieve that using wine and firefox for windows, but I never achieve this. I get tired of try it.
 
Netflix works perfectly with Chrome on Linux; it has for a while and I use it. I use the google-chrome package on Kali and Manjaro (two different machines). The problem is however not FreeBSD itself, but the fact that the Widevine DRM plugin is not available on this system. I have been unable to find a working version.
 
Linux can run google-chrome. FreeBSD only has the opensource chromium, which doesn't have a few proprietary components.
You could use Linux in a VM, I suppose.

One would think that Netflix, which does seem to understand the Internet, would attempt to release their own content DRM free, realizing that it does nothing save drive people to look for pirated versons.
 
scottro said:
One would think that Netflix, which does seem to understand the Internet, would attempt to release their own content DRM free, realizing that it does nothing save drive people to look for pirated versons.
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As much as Netflix might want to do that I'm pretty sure the licenses they have with various production companies dictate that the content must be DRM protected. No DRM, no license, no content. It's as simple as that.
 
I figure that for all content from others. I meant for their own, original content, e.g. Bojack Horseman. But, reading your post, I realize that even such properties may not be completely owned by Netflix, e.g., the Marvel stuff they have may be their original content but owned by Marvel, Disney, or one of those others who thinks DRM helps protect their property.
 
scottro said:
I figure that for all content from others. I meant for their own, original content, e.g. Bojack Horseman. But, reading your post, I realize that even such properties may not be completely owned by Netflix, e.g., the Marvel stuff they have may be their original content but owned by Marvel, Disney, or one of those others who thinks DRM helps protect their property.
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Yeah, it's rarely just one production company, it's usually a collaboration with others.

The same principle applies to things like the NVidia driver. NVidia might be very willing to open source their drivers but they may be limited because they may have licensed other companies' intellectual properties. And those could be very strict.
 
scottro said:
One would think that Netflix, which does seem to understand the Internet, would attempt to release their own content DRM free, realizing that it does nothing save drive people to look for pirated versons.
Click to expand...
It would be easier to pay to watch Netflix's content than for someone to view a pirated version. Besides there's no incentive for Netflix to release material without DRM, except for select material samples such as episodes or select movies or select specials used as advertising.

Getting a drm plugin, even if paid for, to view Netflix on FreeBSD would be great. Chromium does it for Linux, because while Google can provide services like providing a free DRM plugin, which standards constantly change to hinder pirating, they can infrige on privacy to make money off of that information, and to know whether there is a certain trend or loophole to pirate content, to make their effort worth monetary gain. Google has more control, by knowing enough from a trend of users to adjust their software to block that potential of circumventing DRM.
 
sidetone said:
Getting a drm plugin, even if paid for, to view Netflix on FreeBSD would be great.
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Only the Widevine DRM would be needed. Adding that would also 'unlock' various other streaming services like HBO and Ziggo GO (Netherlands).
 
This is as interesting subject.

It seems Apple blocked widevine in Safari. So, no more Netflix and Spotify (and many others things) working on it too.

Would be interesting to watch what would be the actions from those companies if all major browsers do the same.

Fortunately, I do not use any of those services: Safari, Netflix or the mediocre Spotify. :D
 
One thing to note, a lot of people overlook this, is that Netflix may work on your browser but may not play at 1080p (or higher). Some browser and OS combinations are limited to a max of 720p. Lots of media-players claim to support Netflix but are actually limited to 720p. And that's not even accounting for 2.0 vs. DolbyDigital 5.1 audio. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a proper (stand-alone) media-player that's able to stream Netflix at 1080p (and 4K) and DD5.1. So far the only player I've found that supports all that is NVidia's Shield.

Only Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge on Windows, and Safari on Mac, support 1080p HTML5 player streams while Chrome, Firefox and Opera only streams up to 720p in quality.
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https://www.ghacks.net/2016/01/12/want-1080p-playback-on-netflix-dont-use-firefox-or-chrome/
 
SirDice said:
I've spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a proper (stand-alone) media-player that's able to stream Netflix at 1080p (and 4K) and DD5.1. So far the only player I've found that supports all that is NVidia's Shield.
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Roku Ultra and Chromecast Ultra support Netflix 4K and bitstreaming audio pass-through.

The Roku Premiere+ definitely supports 1080p Netflix (it's what we use at home, although we only have stereo speakers so can't speak to audio pass-through support).
 
phoenix said:
Roku Ultra and Chromecast Ultra support Netflix 4K and bitstreaming audio pass-through.
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I did look at the Chromecast but figured I wouldn't be able to run Kodi on it. I hadn't heard of the Roku before, I might have a look at one sometime.

Oh, one other major feature that seemed to be missing on a lot of players is support for HDMI-CEC. If there's no good CEC support my AVR won't automatically switch to the correct input channel, which means I have to juggle 3 remotes (one for the player, one for my AVR and one for the TV) :( Yeah, I know about the Logitech Harmony and similar products but nothing beats good CEC support.
 
SirDice said:
I did look at the Chromecast but figured I wouldn't be able to run Kodi on it. I hadn't heard of the Roku before, I might have a look at one sometime.
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There are Kodi and Plex apps for the Roku. As well as apps for just about every media company out there, and several aggregators for media. The only app I haven't found is one for Google Play Music; but I get around that by using Miracast on a tablet. 95% of our media viewing happens via Netflix and Plex, which run beautifully on the Roku devices (we have an Express+ and a Premiere+).

You don't "run" anything on the Chromecast. You find the content you want to play on your phone or tablet, then press the "Cast" icon and it sends the URL for the media to the Chromecast, which then starts to play it. It's entirely dependent on a separate device for controlling playback and selecting media to play. Some people find that awesome; others (like me) find that to be horrible. :D

Oh, one other major feature that seemed to be missing on a lot of players is support for HDMI-CEC. If there's no good CEC support my AVR won't automatically switch to the correct input channel, which means I have to juggle 3 remotes (one for the player, one for my AVR and one for the TV) :( Yeah, I know about the Logitech Harmony and similar products but nothing beats good CEC support.
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The Roku Premiere+ supports CEC and turns on our TV. I think it used to control volume as well, but I changed something on the TV and now CEC doesn't work anymore. :( There's also a Universal Remote add-on for the Roku remote that allows it to control more aspects of the TV.

The biggest feature and greatest weakness of the Roku Premiere/Ultra is that it uses a wireless remote (meaning, using 802.11 Wifi). This is great because you can be essentially anywhere in the house and control the Roku. And it supports audio redirect to a headphone jack on the remote for private listening (an awesome feature for late-night TV viewing). But it means you are pretty much forced to use the Roku remote along with a universal remote for controlling the rest of the entertainment systems. AFAIK, there's no Harmony support for a Roku.

For us, with just a simple TV output to a 2.1 stereo system via stereo RCA cables, the Roku is a great system and the wireless remote is godsend (the Express+ upstairs has an IR remote and it annoys me to hell using it). For someone with a more complex audio setup, the wireless remote may be a hindrance.


I used to use an HTPC for media with all kinds of fancy applications installed, originally on Windows XP. Then migrated to Plex on our FreeBSD server and found ourselves using just a Chrome web browser to access the Plex web client, Netflix, and a few news sites. Migrated the HTPC to a smaller build running Linux and Chrome, and found ourselves using even fewer tabs. But maintaining them was getting to be a chore; it wasn't as set-it-and-forget-it as I wanted it to be. So we picked up a couple Roku boxes and now I don't have to manage anything but the Plex server. :) And even that is fully automated now, so I don't have to fiddle with anything at home except the remote. :D
 
Shouldn't it be possible to run Google Chrome for Linux under FreeBSD with Linux compatibility? Assuming of course, you don't mind having your Netflix choices tracked...
 
Reading this thread motivated me to try again because I had also thought to try the Linux version of Google Chrome with FreeBSD's Linux emulation. The hardest part was finding a way to download the Linux version of Chrome because the Google website doesn't offer an option to choose, and it always gave me the Windows installer when I tried to download. If you're interested in trying it yourself, I finally downloaded the latest stable version at https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/...google-chrome-stable_62.0.3202.94-1_amd64.deb After editing the startup script to point to FreeBSD's bash and installing 6 additional Linux libraries by hand, it finally started and immediately crashed with "Trace/BPT trap (core dumped)". I've also tried to use the Windows version of Chrome with Wine, and the installer crashes. So those routes are currently dead ends.
 
A possible alternative would be installing a minimal Linux distro + Firefox in bhyve and then using ssh (with X forward) to run that Firefox.

I did not test it. :)
 
PaddyMac said:
Reading this thread motivated me to try again because I had also thought to try the Linux version of Google Chrome with FreeBSD's Linux emulation. The hardest part was finding a way to download the Linux version of Chrome because the Google website doesn't offer an option to choose, and it always gave me the Windows installer when I tried to download. If you're interested in trying it yourself, I finally downloaded the latest stable version at https://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/...google-chrome-stable_62.0.3202.94-1_amd64.deb After editing the startup script to point to FreeBSD's bash and installing 6 additional Linux libraries by hand, it finally started and immediately crashed with "Trace/BPT trap (core dumped)". I've also tried to use the Windows version of Chrome with Wine, and the installer crashes. So those routes are currently dead ends.
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I had similar results about a year ago, but never put the time in to try and resolve it. I got a TV with built-in Roku for $130, so my days of streaming movies though a laptop are over.

You might try the RPM version instead, as it may use different shared libs than the Debian package. I would also contact the Linux compat developers to discuss the core dump issue. They were very helpful to me in the past when I had trouble with other Linux apps.
 
SirDice said:
Lots of media-players claim to support Netflix but are actually limited to 720p. And that's not even accounting for 2.0 vs. DolbyDigital 5.1 audio. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for a proper (stand-alone) media-player that's able to stream Netflix at 1080p (and 4K) and DD5.1. So far the only player I've found that supports all that is NVidia's Shield.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing Sony PS3 and PS4 are the same? I could have sworn they did 1080p.
 
Don't know actually, I'm not interesting in any of those (PC master-race! ;) )
 
A. D. Sharpe Sr. said:
I sent up a troubleshooting ticket to Widevine asking why their software isn't available for FreeBSD. I'd advise everyone who's interested in watching Netflix on FreeBSD to do the same thing: https://support.google.com/widevine/troubleshooter/6027072
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Well, obviously, they are not interested, they do not have even adequate category for such a ticket. What option did you take:
Code: 
I'm an end user / consumer with a question about Widevine software on my computer
I have a general inquiry or am interested in completing a License Agreement
I found an issue and would like to file a bug report
I'm a Certified Widevine Partner (CWIP) and would like to report an issue
I'm a licensed Widevine partner and would like to report an issue or request information
I'm a hardware manufacturer (OEM or SoC vendor)
Everything is closed on their side. You must be some kind of "manufacturer" with an "agreement" with them to have any details.
 
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