[mythtv-users] Netflix

[Gerhard Gappmeier]

Hi all

since Netflix is now also available in Germany I gave it a try.
It's the first video on demand service (I know from) that now also works 
natively on Linux.

Using wine/virtualbox tricks to run this MS Silverlight stuff was never an 
option for me and I think also not for many other uses.

Now Netflix can stream video using HTML5 and an additional DRM plugin which 
currently works in Google Chrome and Chromium.

* Pro: First native Linux support
* Con: Still DRM, but it works

I just wanted to let you know how I did a first integration into MythTV (far 
from perfect, but works).

1.) Install Google Chrome (or Chromium).
2.) Install libnss3 version 3.14 or higher
 (this is required by the DRM plugin to work)
3.) Configure the user-agent as described here: 
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2014/08/netflix-linux-html5-support-plugins
3.) edit /usr/share/mythtv/themes/classic/mainmenu.xml (the path may vary on 
your system)
Add the following new "Netflix" command.

    <button>
        <type>VIDEO</type>
        <text>Netflix</text>
        <action>EXEC DISPLAY=":0.0" /usr/bin/google-chrome-stable --alsa-
output-device=iec958 --start-fullscreen https://www2.netflix.com</action>
    </button>

This will start Google Chrome in full-screen mode with the netflix URL.
Things to note here:
* DISPLAY variable must be set so that Chrome can access X
* --start-fullscreen: This should be obvious
* --alsa-output-device=iec958 selects my optical SPDIF output which I use for 
sound. Remove or change this to fit your needs.
  By default the output goes via HDMI to my TV, which is not what I want.


Result: I can start Netflix using the MythTV menu and it works.
Cons: The Netflix website cannot be controlled by keyboard or the HTPC remote. 
The website is designed for interacting with the mouse. Exiting chrome works 
using my wireless keyboard and the shortcut CTRL-SHIFT-Q.

Ideas: It should be possible to create a myth plugin for browsing the Netflix 
library. No DRM is necessary here. This way the remote control would work as 
usual to select a movie.
When starting a movie we can use google-chrome as a player using the correct 
movie url.

Netflix was providing an API that could be used to create a MythTV Netflix 
browser. But the public API will stop working on November 14, 2014.
See http://developer.netflix.com/blog/read/Retiring_the_Netflix_Public_API

Interested developers can still get access to the API as the site says.
It would be worth a try. The alternative would be reading the web content and 
parse this. And this is always a fragile thing, as web layouts frequently 
change.

Unfortunately I don' have the time to develop such a plugin. Volunteers are 
welcome ;-)

Cheers,
Gerhard.
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