Is there any workaround for Netflix compatibility?

Question

I know that Netflix does not work with Linux because Moonlight (an open-source implementation of Silverlight) doesn't support encryption.

Have any workarounds or solutions been identified to bring Netflix to the Raspberry Pi for those of us that want to create media centers?

Isn't this off topic (I mean, isn't this about linux in general)? — keyser, Jun 17 '12 at 18:18
Sort of a demonstration of what was discussed about Linux questions (Questions that initially appear to be linux-specific may have a useful answer relevant to the Raspberry Pi device itself) — ramblinjan, Jun 17 '12 at 18:30
What OS does the Roku use, or is it all proprietary? The Roku is AFAIK the only other device that uses the same chip, and it has a Netflix app available. Along with Hulu, Amazon, etc. — winwaed, Jun 17 '12 at 18:37
@winwaed It's not a problem with the chip but with Microsoft's propriety Silverlight language. — Jivings, Jun 17 '12 at 19:24
Netflix actually streams to different OSs, I doubt they all use Silverlight- eg. Wii, Roku, iPad all have Netflix apps and aren't Windows/.Net devices. — winwaed, Jun 17 '12 at 19:32

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 17 '12 at 18:14

12

Nope, sorry.

There is currently no way to run Netflix in Linux without emulating a Windows environment, which is something the Raspberry Pi will not have the resources to attempt.

answered Jun 17 '12 at 18:14

Jivings

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What about android? Wouldn't it run on the ARM chip and provide Netflix? Has anyone poked around with that? – wmarbut Jun 18 '12 at 00:24
@hidden_premise: http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/56/can-i-install-android – Jivings Jun 18 '12 at 00:25
How does the PS3 manage to run NetFlix? – image_doctor Jul 02 '12 at 13:54
@image_doctor I have no idea, I just do PC Linux. – Jivings Jul 02 '12 at 15:49
@Jivings PS3 is Linux based and I guess it doesn't emulate Windows, so somehow this should be possible. – image_doctor Jul 03 '12 at 06:38
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@image_doctor Netflix built an application for the PS3 using Sony's SDK that would allow them to have DRM type blocks on the videos that are being watched. This is part of why Netflix is not on Linux, as they have not found something that allows them DRM type blocks on Linux distros. That's my understanding of it anyways. – Nalum Sep 17 '12 at 10:30
@Jivings Netflix runs on a number of devices that are clearly Linux based. You can get Netflix for mobile phones, streaming devices, home entertainment systems and even Blueray players, so I would say that this answer is misleading. – Joppe Oct 23 '12 at 10:46
@Joppe Since this is Raspberry Pi Stack Exchange, it's inferred that I am referring to the use of Netflix in personal desktop Linux. Not other devices. – Jivings Oct 23 '12 at 20:20
http://fds-team.de/cms/articles/2013-08/pipelight-using-silverlight-in-linux-browsers.html - this work in linux - not tried on pi – matpol Dec 11 '13 at 08:39

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 17 '12 at 21:55

It is possible Netflix WILL run on the Raspberry Pi but it's based on current development of Android Pi. Currently Android compiles on the Pi but does not have video hardware acceleration. The developers are working on this now however with Broadcom. When finished the Android Netflix app should work just fine.

It's just waiting for finished driver development though.

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 17 '12 at 19:34

I've been looking into getting Netflix on the Pi as well.

If you have a PC that is fast enough you can run netflix there and stream the desktop through VLC mediaplayer to a HTTP stream and view that in Raspmc on the pi. I used the H.264 + MP3 (TS) codec and had to set the framerate and resolution too. In XBMC I opened a playlist file that pointed to the stream.
My results: I didn't get audio to work and my PC was too slow to get the framerate and resolution high enough, but the idea has potential.

Another option is to wait for a decent android or Chrome OS build, these should support a Netflix client.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 24 '12 at 13:30

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Try getting the Android Emulator included in the Android SDK to work. Netflix is available for Android, and Android is Linux.

answered Oct 24 '12 at 13:30

RobinJ

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that is a terrible idea. the Android Emulator is heavy, way too heavy for a raspberry pi. – Timothy Groote Nov 01 '12 at 16:13
@TimothyGroote True. – RobinJ Nov 02 '12 at 11:31

score -3 · Answer 5 · edited Oct 23 '12 at 09:23

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How fast are solutions like VNC or Citrix? Could you run a VNC client on your RPi that connects to a VNC server running on a Windows box? Would this be fast enough for realtime video? And will VNC show Silverlight video or does that not work due to DRM type of stuff?

What about PlayOn which kind of re-encodes web based content like Netflix, Hulu, etc to stream to other devices? It only works with SD video, not HD, but is this a partial solution? It works with pretty much all DLNA compatible devices. And it seems to run on a bunch of media streamers, some of which have similar hardware to the RPi.

edited Oct 23 '12 at 09:23

Avio

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answered Oct 22 '12 at 21:30

wayner

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This seems to be asking more questions than it answers? – Jivings Oct 22 '12 at 21:31
VNC in general is not suitable for video, so you need very high bandwidth for this to work. Most likely the Raspberry Pi is underdimensioned for this. – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Oct 22 '12 at 23:01

Is there any workaround for Netflix compatibility?

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