How to Watch Netflix in Ubuntu Linux (opens in new tab)

DVDs remain a video media which can be considered DRM free (their DRM is nominal and trivially removable). Most other video distribution channels remain seriously afflicted by DRM. Video is one of the few industries where DRM is still very dominant. Other industries such as e-books and gaming move away from DRM, though slowly. Or at least you can find decent DRM free channels for them. Music industry already dumped DRM for good.

So if you care, buy DVDs and ignore DRM afflicted distribution channels.

The problem with Netflix is not just in them using DRM, but in them actively proliferating it, up to pushing to build it into HTML standard. While the general trend goes in the right direction, Netflix pushes into the wrong one.

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smoyer13y ago

My wife's ARM-based Samsung Chromebook now streams Netflix via HTML5 streaming (as of March 11th). I think a much cleaner solution on Linux is imminent - simply spoof enough of the information about your machine to make Netflix think you're also on a Chromebook. Here's one of the announcements: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/11/samsung-chromebook-netfli....

zimbatm13y ago

It's going to take a little while. Netflix on Chromebook uses a compiled plugin to enforce the DRM. If you turn the developer mode on the plugin doesn't work.

BlindRubyCoder13y ago

That's a great idea. I know part of the problem with Netflix and Linux is not only does Netflix not develop a solution, but they try to block Linux access, probably due to DRM. A good solution like you suggest might be the best bet.

gcr13y ago

It's not HTML5, it's a propietary plugin. This is like the old ActiveX days.

pavanky13y ago

This came up on reddit a few days ago. The consensus was that there is dynamic library that is present on the ARM chromebooks which is used by netflix(and hence can not be used on regular x86 machines).

That said, it may be possible to reverse engineer it.

jonny_eh13y ago

I bet that this library references a unique DRM key in the Chromebook's hardware.

xyproto13y ago

The "One of the biggest hurdles to Linux adoption..." paragraph is just not true anymore. Steam for Linux is a good example of how things have changed.

It's more like Netflix is one of the few services that many people wish to use where they strangely enough have chosen to ignore Linux.

Laremere13y ago

I must disagree. It's a sign things are changing, not that they have changed. I dual boot, and while I highly prefer my linux side, there are a handful of programs which keep me in windows most of the time. Steam was one of them, Netflix is one of them.

linuxhansl13y ago

This is somewhat ridiculous.

Netflix is using a lot of open source software: Linux, Cassandra, Zookeeper, Java, etc.

And then they sign a sleazy backroom deal with Microsoft and only support silverlight, which is a technology dead on arrival. I don't get it.

rajivm13y ago

It was not DOA when they first started using it -- it was better than the streaming technology available via Flash at the time - and also the only one with DRM that would meet the the qualifications of the media companies that they license their content from. I don't think Netflix wants DRM any more than the majority of us, but they don't really have a choice to offer such content.

tomrod13y ago

I've seen this same "solution" posted 3 times now to HN (forgive me not back-linking). Every one relies on WINE in some form, and every single one is choppy for me despite a lot of customization. I'm not sure where to go with it.

budgetperson13y ago

If you look at his website (http://www.compholio.com/wine-compholio/) apparently he is using some of his own custom Wine patches to resolve choppiness.

tomrod13y ago

This is actually the specific solution to which I'm referring. I get major choppiness.

rdtsc13y ago

Mine works and this is an old T60 Thinkpad. Maybe I just don't notice slight choppiness as much.

shmerl13y ago

Netflix deserves to be boycotted for pushing DRM into HTML standard.

dscrd13y ago

Netflix works (apparently) natively on my TV. That's why I use it: it's just far too convenient to ignore.

kmfrk13y ago

I still can't get the Netflix app to work on Windows 8 ... :P

hristov13y ago

Easy. Just run Linux in a virtual machine and then you can follow the directions of the present article to run Netflix in Linux.

aw3c213y ago

blogspam

BlindRubyCoder13y ago

why do you say that, because it isn't a press release or some startup garbage? It's old news, but still news

jlgreco13y ago

Blogspam is a term used to indicate that the article in question is just a rehashing of the real article that adds no additional content or insight, the sole purpose of which is to increase pageviews of the blog.

He is not saying that the content is bad, he is saying that the provided link is bad. This appears to be the real article (i.e., not blogspam): http://www.iheartubuntu.com/2012/11/ppa-for-netflix-desktop-...

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44 comments

sneak13y ago

Paying Netflix funds the companies that have made this bullshit DRM a reality.

Just torrent your media and play it in VLC. Works better, without WINE, and without subsidizing these dicks.

rayiner13y ago

If you don't like the terms they're offering, just don't consume the content they create.

sneak13y ago

This presupposes that one can own information in the first place.

The "terms" are that I download shit for free.

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2emoore413y ago

the ones offering the terms are not the ones creating the content

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pmahoney13y ago

You're still giving your eyes and attention to "these dicks".

I suggest trying to find and support media that is offered without DRM in the first place, if that is what you consider important.

shmerl13y ago

So if you care, buy DVDs and ignore DRM afflicted distribution channels.

1 more reply

smoyer13y ago

zimbatm13y ago

It's going to take a little while. Netflix on Chromebook uses a compiled plugin to enforce the DRM. If you turn the developer mode on the plugin doesn't work.

BlindRubyCoder13y ago

gcr13y ago

It's not HTML5, it's a propietary plugin. This is like the old ActiveX days.

pavanky13y ago

That said, it may be possible to reverse engineer it.

jonny_eh13y ago

I bet that this library references a unique DRM key in the Chromebook's hardware.

xyproto13y ago

The "One of the biggest hurdles to Linux adoption..." paragraph is just not true anymore. Steam for Linux is a good example of how things have changed.

It's more like Netflix is one of the few services that many people wish to use where they strangely enough have chosen to ignore Linux.

Laremere13y ago

linuxhansl13y ago

This is somewhat ridiculous.

Netflix is using a lot of open source software: Linux, Cassandra, Zookeeper, Java, etc.

And then they sign a sleazy backroom deal with Microsoft and only support silverlight, which is a technology dead on arrival. I don't get it.

rajivm13y ago

tomrod13y ago

budgetperson13y ago

If you look at his website (http://www.compholio.com/wine-compholio/) apparently he is using some of his own custom Wine patches to resolve choppiness.

tomrod13y ago

This is actually the specific solution to which I'm referring. I get major choppiness.

rdtsc13y ago

Mine works and this is an old T60 Thinkpad. Maybe I just don't notice slight choppiness as much.

shmerl13y ago

Netflix deserves to be boycotted for pushing DRM into HTML standard.

dscrd13y ago

Netflix works (apparently) natively on my TV. That's why I use it: it's just far too convenient to ignore.

kmfrk13y ago

I still can't get the Netflix app to work on Windows 8 ... :P

hristov13y ago

Easy. Just run Linux in a virtual machine and then you can follow the directions of the present article to run Netflix in Linux.

aw3c213y ago

blogspam

BlindRubyCoder13y ago

why do you say that, because it isn't a press release or some startup garbage? It's old news, but still news

jlgreco13y ago

2 more replies

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