LinuxMCE Forums
General => Feature requests & roadmap => Topic started by: jammastercd on April 02, 2008, 07:56:37 pm
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I've been reading a lot about development for support of the Netflix WatchNow capability on Windows MCE. In fact, I think there are currently three different development efforts for this type of feature. This would be a great addition to LinuxMCE also.
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I agree this would be something I would like to see in the future as well. After the core packages have settled though.
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The problem is DRM. Unfortunately, a native Linux implementation of WatchNow is very unlikely.
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As mentioned by the previous poster this is a DRM issue.
Also the watch it now feature of netflix is tied to MSIE.
It will not even run on a windows machine using Firefox...
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Ah yes, I remember having that issue in FF. That is very unfortunate. One more reason to hate DRM I guess.
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I seem to recall somebody getting WatchNow to work with firefox by using a plugin that told the accessed page you were using IE instead...you can also use IETabs for firefox. As of now, the only way to get WatchNow working on a linux machine is to run a VM with Windows in it. Unfortunately, its not the most elegant solution. I'm actually trying to do this with my PS3 at the moment, which is a huge pain, but should be awesome once I get it working :)
There is also the possibility that WatchNow will work once somebody finishes a Silverlight port for linux, which was announced almost a year ago by Mono, but doesn't seem to have gone anywhere :-\. Here's hoping something gets done soon.
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Well if the Netflix WatchNow is not possible directly through LinuxMCE, would it be possible to make it work using the new set-top box by Roku and have it connected to the core.
http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/
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All you have to do for that, is have your IR transciever (I use a UIRT, most recommended!), learn the Roku remote, while creating a device template for the Roku device to be a generic player device. Would be about 20 minutes of work for someone who had the box and proper IR control.
-Thom
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I seem to recall somebody getting WatchNow to work with firefox by using a plugin that told the accessed page you were using IE instead...you can also use IETabs for firefox. As of now, the only way to get WatchNow working on a linux machine is to run a VM with Windows in it. Unfortunately, its not the most elegant solution. I'm actually trying to do this with my PS3 at the moment, which is a huge pain, but should be awesome once I get it working :)
There is also the possibility that WatchNow will work once somebody finishes a Silverlight port for linux, which was announced almost a year ago by Mono, but doesn't seem to have gone anywhere :-\. Here's hoping something gets done soon.
Novell announced download of Moonlight available May 2008:
http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/
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:)
I use the Roku NetFlix player in my LMCE system at home. (Soon to be 2 of them) I have it connected to a pvr150 card, and it has a "Live TV" device entry I call "Netflix Player" inside LMCE. Thom is correct, if you have a USB-UIRT (and everyone should) you simply learn the codes, and bang, in less than 10 minutes, you are watching your Roku box on all your MD's!!
I have a template for it that I will upload to "the collective" and if you get the updates, your template will already be there.
It is then the simple matter of going to netflix.com and setting up your instant queue.
Under the control of LMCE and the USB-UIRT, it's just like having on-demand movies. And you don't have to wait 3 days or go stand in line with your Ghostbuster's 1 and 2 DVD's :)
Just buy one, you can have 4 on an account, and if you are on the $8.99/month plan or better, you are only limited by the time you have.......
Regards, (-Now go buy one-)
Seth
P.S. Get the cable set they offer for an additional $19.99, you can't even get a HDMI cable for that, and it's part of the deal, you can never have enough cables..........
laters.
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nice tip - I'm going to order me one!
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:)
I have added a howto and some basic information on the Roku Netflix Player to the wiki
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Roku_Netflix_Player (http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Roku_Netflix_Player)
This includes howto get it set up in LMCE as well as the required pronto codes, in case you do not have the learning ability of the USB-UIRT (but you should....)
I think you will find it will give you full functionality, I use mine just about every evening, catching up on all those classics, and slowly freeing up precious hard disk space, by removing movies, that I can now get on demand.
Regards,
Seth
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Seth--
Great work putting this together. I've committed the template to the sqlCVS server, so once it's approved, everyone should have access to it.
http://mantis.linuxmce.org/view.php?id=4268
Thanks a lot for the help.
-Pete
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Crossover Linux has an free trial so why not try that 1st; although I don't Netflix I can't see any resaone why it sound be Windows only; wean BitTorrnet and Unbox is supported buy PS3, X-BOX 360, TVIO, and it looks like Apple TV is coming.
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Roku is going open source. This may allow LinuxMCE get a hold of the code it intigrate Netflix video on demand applications.
Check it out here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2932
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A most interesting development. Does someone want to take the SDK and dissect it?
I can help a determined developer create a native DCE device for it.
-Thom
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The reason they are open sourcing the project is to allow for publicly or third party created modules to work on the system. Another opportunity here would be to make the Roku into a MD by creating modules for it that allow it to interact with LinuxMCE. The SDK is supposedly going to be coming out before the end of the year. Should be interesting.
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From my understanding this cant be done in just software. Apparently the Netflix set-top box not only runs linux but it also is using a piece of dedicated hardware for the DRM stuff.... If i can find the old post ill put it up here...
-E
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Hey guys, looks like this is a step in the right direction.
http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/26/macs-getting-netflix-watch-instantly-with-silverlight/ (http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/10/26/macs-getting-netflix-watch-instantly-with-silverlight/)
Does this lend anything to possible LMCE support?
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No.
-Thom
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Mono is planning on porting Silverlight to Linux. That might get the Flix working.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9714669-7.html
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Looks like Novell almost has a Silverlight client available. That might help LinuxMCE view Netflix online.
http://www.betanews.com/article/Novell_and_Microsoft_sanction_Silverlight_workalike_for_Linux/1227124377
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there are no plans to integrate that silverlight _crap_. Feature requests are declined. If you come up with a patch, maybe.
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I have a partial solution, which may ultimately work or prove to be a dead end. I need some advice:
I have an XP box which I can view Netflix on-demand movies on. With a gigabit connection to my core, I can use VNC to remote into it and also watch Netflix on-demand movies. Trouble is, the video is choppy and there's no audio.
As, of course, my MDs play movies all the time streamed across my LAN, I'm not sure why the Netflix video is choppy. I'm hoping there's a VNC setting to improve throughput. Not sure about the audio yet.
Any help appreciated.
Regards,
Mark
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The remote framebuffer protocol used by VNC is not optimized at all for playing video over a network. That's why it's choppy. You can't use it like that.
-Thom
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"remote desktop" type applications of any flavour are not intended for transporting video... to say the least it is highly inefficient. Whilst some may add in smarts to identify video, and retranscode it to make it smooth or at least less choppy, this is avoiding the point completely.... it is using a sledgehammer to crack a wallnut, and conceptually no different from seting up a video camera pointing at a screen displaying Netflix, then digitising the output and sending it over the network!
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Yes, this approach does indeed appear to be a dead end.
The solution that I've settled on for now is simply to install Windows on one of my MDs and, when I want to watch a Netflix on-demand movie, just restart the box and preempt the netboot to load XP from the local hard drive instead.
Ultimately I plan to get a Roku box. That's the real solution.
Cheers,
Mark
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Are you aware that there is a reboot option on all MDs to reboot "locally"? Essentially this modifies the PXE boot config so that it fails, and then the MD will pass thru to the next boot option in the sequence.
If you set up your MDs BIOS to boot first from PXE then second from HDD, when you are running the MD, you simply choose the reboot local option and it will automatically boot Windows with no interaction. There is also a reboot tool for Windows, I believe (haven't used it) that allows this process to be reversed, ie you reboot Windows using it, and the MD will automatically boot up next time, with no interaction. Makes switching easier
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Cool. I'll check out that MD reboot option. Thanks. :-)