Database Users

Netflix is full of it?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/14/qualcomm-promises-netflix-streaming-support-on-future-android-d/
Anyone read this yet? I mean, the HD7 (which has a netflix app) is running the same snapdragon processor as the Nexus One and Evo. This seams like a load of BS to me...

Netflix has issues with DRM on Android. Many game developers have also cited similiar concerns. The next version of snapdragon will handle DRM through hardware making it independent of OS.

Put attention to the blue part:
... meet all of the DRM requirements for Watch Instantly. ...
CPU power isn't the culprit and never was.

so if it isnt a harware issue, then why has it taken them so long to implement these "DRM securities". WP7 had netflix on launch day, why didnt android get these back when iOS got them?

Errrrrrm... because they all use a different software OS?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

danger-rat said:
Errrrrrm... because they all use a different software OS?
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you create the program, its pretty easy to port it from OS to OS

Blueman101 said:
Once you create the program, its pretty easy to port it from OS to OS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if a key component of your program relies on a feature one of the OSs doesn't support.

I think the problem is the way android handles DRM - or that's why Netflix has issues, at least...
Netflix appears to be happy with iOS and Windows, and the way they handle DRM.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Past post from Netflix seems to indicate they ate not happy about this either. This is a requirement of their licensed agreement with studios; not something Netflix wants. Same reason Netflix is not on Linux either.

Still, Netflix have an app on the Logitech Revue, so all is not lost...
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

And that's the story of how I canceled my Netflix subscription. Thanks for the rips, but I can no longer justify the monthly fee, especially since the N1 just got **** canned as ever getting the app.
Pretty lame IMO. I can log on to my bank's website from my phone, paypal has an app, there is an app to accept credit card swipes with the phone and the square reader... yet Netflix can't figure out how to stream a movie or tv show to it safely. STUPID.

This has more to do with the movie and television studios than netflix. They've said to netflix that this is the only way to protect the mobile streams that they will accept. Netflix has to comply because no studios == no content deals.
If the only reason you had a netflix account was so you could watch it on a small 4 inch screen I would cancel too. That seems like a waste of netflix lol.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

On a related note, has anything relating to the rumored Amazon Streaming service materialized yet? I'm itching for a reason to drop my Netflix for a more Linux friendly solution. Really tired of being treated like a second-class citizen for using a better OS.

yeah, I don't get it? i mean,.. if you was to download the app you still have to log in right? So is not like you can hack it. Unless they're afraid of long press save video option but honestly who wants to save low quality videos like that?

Yeah I don't understand the DRM thing either. You have to log in, therefore a DRM is already in place.
Maybe there can be some video capture software on the Android. "Great! Now I can capture a crappy quality mobile optimized video and throw it on a torrent website great!"
Hell, people probably already have Bluray rips up. It's not like Netflix gets their content in a timely manner...

yeah if your logged in than what does it matter, people have faster way of going around the whole drm thing on a pc/mac so why would too many people bother with a cell phone.

babyboy8100 said:
yeah, I don't get it? i mean,.. if you was to download the app you still have to log in right? So is not like you can hack it. Unless they're afraid of long press save video option but honestly who wants to save low quality videos like that?
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Click to collapse
Umm, what? You can still hack things you have to log into... They may know which user did it, but you could set up an account with fake information... The "hacking" netflix wants to avoid is people downloading full movies from them. People could make a fake account, download a bunch of movies from netflix, and then distribute them on the internet.
We all know that there are already better blu-ray rips available on the web, but the movie studios don't care, and unfortunately, they hold netflix by the balls on protecting their content. Its dumb, but its not Netflix's fault.
I'm as annoyed as anyone about this, but Netflix obviously wants to be on Android, its a giant platform.
The problem is, they are required by studios to use hardware encryption built into the processor on the device, but every processor is different and not all phones actually have the libraries needed to access that encryption (they said this, and I can see how that would be true). So Netflix says they are doing as much as they can. From all outward appearances, we can't know if they really are working as hard as they can or not, but its not unreasonable to think they're being truthful when they say that. It very well could be tough for them to implement.
I do think that if they don't figure out something at least for Tegra 2, and fast, they're missing a big opportunity, but lets not blame them yet. If its not out in a few months, then they're a bunch of ****ers, but lets give them time. If they get Netflix for Xoom before Adobe gives it flash, I'll consider them "fast enough". I don't think they will, but lets hope!
-Taylor

I don't see the big deal of having Netflix on your phone. But I guess people really want to watch their favorite episode of Cake Boss on a 3.7 inch screen.

Canceled my netflix today.with no foreseeable future of n1 support, the stream library is just not worth the 8 bucks a month.

RJvXP said:
I don't see the big deal of having Netflix on your phone. But I guess people really want to watch their favorite episode of Cake Boss on a 3.7 inch screen.
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Yeah I'm with you, I can never find the time to watch videos outside of short youtube clips on my phone, I don't see how people can watch a movie on it. I much prefer my netflix through my Xbox 360 on my 42 inch HDTV.

[Q] Moonlight for Xoom's Browser

With the Moonlight source available at http://ftp.novell.com/pub/mono/sources/moon/, I'm curious as to how difficult it might be to compile and package Moonlight for use with the Xoom's browser. My university uses Silverlight/Moonlight for online lecture viewing (pretty sure the software they use is called MediaSite), and it would be awesome to be able to access these from my Xoom.
I run Ubuntu on all my PCs and I've been able to compile applications like MythTV, but I have no experience with Android in that regard. Any ideas?

I'm actually curious to know if that could work. I seriously doubt it, but if Silverlight could be added onto the Xoom's browser, it means that the Xoom could have Netflix support, until they block the Xoom.

Suntarus said:
I'm actually curious to know if that could work. I seriously doubt it, but if Silverlight could be added onto the Xoom's browser, it means that the Xoom could have Netflix support, until they block the Xoom.
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Unfortunately, Moonlight doesn't support the DRM features required by Netflix that are present in Silverlight. It's the same reason why Linux users have issues getting Netflix working. Moonlight is decent, but the lack of DRM support makes it a little less useful for a home user.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

This may sound stupid, but since Silverlight is available for Google Chrome, and the browser on the Xoom (Honeycomb) is basically Chrome, is it possible to port Silverlight to it? I'm thinking while Silverlight is not open source, it might be possible to tweak the Honeycomb browser itself (which is open source) to better match it to Chrome (also open source), and thus provide us with Silverlight in some way.
Of course, doing this would be very difficult, and I'm not even sure that my idea is solid.

It's not possible. Silverlight is compiled for x86 platform and we don't have source code of it. Xoom has ARM processor which is much different.

I see.
Of course, there'll be a Netflix app for any Tegra 2 device (Xoom included) soon enough. ("Netflix is using the Tegra 2 development platform to bring the Netflix experience to Android super phones and tablets. We're working closely with NVIDIA to ensure Netflix takes full advantage of Tegra's outstanding acceleration and security capabilities." -- Greg Peters, Vice President, Product Development at Netflix)
But what about Moonlight? Same issue concerning x86 and ARM? The fact that Silverlight for Mobile exists means that there is a chance to get it working properly.

Suntarus said:
This may sound stupid, but since Silverlight is available for Google Chrome, and the browser on the Xoom (Honeycomb) is basically Chrome, is it possible to port Silverlight to it? I'm thinking while Silverlight is not open source, it might be possible to tweak the Honeycomb browser itself (which is open source) to better match it to Chrome (also open source), and thus provide us with Silverlight in some way.
Of course, doing this would be very difficult, and I'm not even sure that my idea is solid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Android browser uses the same rendering engine, WebKit, but it doesn't have that much in common with Chrome. Additionally, plugins like Flash and Silverlight need to be compiled for the OS, not the browser. Silverlight works in Firefox on Windows, but not on Linux.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Moonlight on Android
This may sound stupid, but since Silverlight is available for Google Chrome, and the browser on the Xoom (Honeycomb) is basically Chrome, is it possible to port Silverlight to it? I'm thinking while Silverlight is not open source, it might be possible to tweak the Honeycomb browser itself (which is open source) to better match it to Chrome (also open source), and thus provide us with Silverlight in some way.
Of course, doing this would be very difficult, and I'm not even sure that my idea is solid.
The Android browser uses the same rendering engine, WebKit, but it doesn't have that much in common with Chrome. Additionally, plugins like Flash and Silverlight need to be compiled for the OS, not the browser. Silverlight works in Firefox on Windows, but not on Linux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I took up your question with Miguel De Icaza...having wondered this same thing myself just recently.....and his answer...
Miguel de Icaza
@marcelol<omitted> Don't think so.
7 minutes ago in reply to marcelol<omitted> from web
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Click to collapse
There you go folks....straight from the man himself. Pesky DRM will get ya every time.

Netflix

Is there an app for viewing Netflix on the Iconia? I tried to view Netflix from the browser and received an error about formatting for this device.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

Nothing official from them yet. I've seen a leaked app, but it didn't work on my Samsung Fascinate.

Unless Google comes up with some blanket deal with Netflix, the process for portable devices is device specific:
1. Device must have the proper DRM keys and chipset for adequate streaming & playback.
2. OEM must submit the device for approval and pay Netlfix for the set-up and Netflix server access.
It would be cool if this changed, but Google would have to pay up, since already tons of iPhones, iPad and iPods using the service. LG is the only Android OEM to get Netlfix approval with their Revolution.

You can use Playon Mobile to watch Netflix on your Android device temporarily. You'll have to pay for it though after the trial is done. I think you pay annually and then you get access to PlayOn on pretty much any device the whole time. Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon VOD should work this way.

PlayOn is nice, but less efficient than a straight Netflix app (need to have your host computer on to network off of for PlayOn). Still better than nothing and provides more options for content.
People waiting for a working Netflix app will probably not be happy. OEMs have to pay up and the chipset must be qualified.

i have a netflix app for my G2 which works great. It also worked on my Nook Color. But it doesnt work on my brand new acer. It says my device isnt supported.

minotauri said:
i have a netflix app for my G2 which works great. It also worked on my Nook Color. But it doesnt work on my brand new acer. It says my device isnt supported.
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The actual Netflix app that stream movies from Netflix, or just the rental management?

android netflix
the app is out and netflix said they are going to add phones/devices

i guess netflix finally figured out that android is the real deal

FYI, I've installed the apk directly on my device and it will not play videos on the A500 currently. You click to launch a video and the screen flickers and then goes back to the page you were on before clicking play.

They have only released Netflix for select phones. Don't even bother trying it on the a500, it won't work.

rushless said:
The actual Netflix app that stream movies from Netflix, or just the rental management?
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Click to collapse
this was the leaked official app from the LG phone. but like others said, the official release is out now but only supports certain phones.

Yeah, Work's great on my Nexus one hope they release an optimized honeycomb version for A500 soon...

Works really well on my evo. Even the hdmi out is nice. Hopefully netflix will show some tablet love soon.

I suspect the problem is with the tegra and not the os. It may not be optimized to be decoded on our tablets yet, but I guess software may be a limitation also. Does the optimus 2x have a netflix app? That might be more useful for us to try if it does...just a thought?

There's been a work around that can get it to work w/ other non-supported devices posted over at android police (would post link, but I don't have enough posts under my belt). Haven't tried it yet, so no idea if it works for the A500.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App

I tried the work around. No dice. Tried both build props for HTC vision and Nexus S. Worked on my G tablet running CyanogenMod 7 though.

It does not work on the gTablet that uses Froyo, either.
Netflix is SUPPOSED to be device specific, but there has already been hacks for Droid X (certain rooted roms it works). Folks that should be ticked are official rom users that own bloatware infested devices that use Blockbuster.
Blockbuster bloated devices will probably "never" see official support for Netflix, but rooters might luck out.
Netflix works great on my Incredible, but it is an officially supported device.

rushless said:
It does not work on the gTablet that uses Froyo, either.
Netflix is SUPPOSED to be device specific, but there has already been hacks for Droid X (certain rooted roms it works). Folks that should be ticked are official rom users that own bloatware infested devices that use Blockbuster.
Blockbuster bloated devices will probably "never" see official support for Netflix, but rooters might luck out.
Netflix works great on my Incredible, but it is an officially supported device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well....the blockbuster infected Evo was added to the list yesterday....so I wouldn't give up.
For those that have a subscription there are options, but as mentioned it does require a host computer

minotauri said:
i have a netflix app for my G2 which works great. It also worked on my Nook Color. But it doesnt work on my brand new acer. It says my device isnt supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried the method mentioned today 5/13 about changing a line to HTC vision or nexus s?
you can find this over androidguys.

[APP][IN-Developent]Grooveshark for Metro[Unofficial (Yet) ]

Hey everybody!
I am (unofficially) working on a Grooveshark App for Win8. I am trying to contact somebody from Grooveshark to make this official, integrate their API, etc. But here is some look at the UI as of now, and I will be updating this post as I proceed. I have a Splash Screen, A useable UI take from the Win8 API and Icons (planning to add live ones)
Regards,
Tom
P.S. Attached Screenshots.

Hy, nice to hear about such a project
How are you doing and how far have you got??
A link to a nice icon-set:
"icongal.com/gallery/icon/105542/128/grooveshark_metro_apps"
If you need an alpha-tester, just let me know!
cheerio

Don't kill the messenger but they run from a Flash Object/Streaming. I also don't think they have the license for streaming on Win8 or maybe mobile platforms. I wouldn't expect your dreams to come true just yet or at all.

Grooveshark offers a number of API's to interact, so there's no need for Flash.
Grooveshark itself runs a version based on html5. So, html5 is the prefered way how metro-apps should be build.
I think there are plenty of options how this could be done!
cheerio

stroebi said:
Grooveshark offers a number of API's to interact, so there's no need for Flash.
Grooveshark itself runs a version based on html5. So, html5 is the prefered way how metro-apps should be build.
I think there are plenty of options how this could be done!
cheerio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may be not understanding me or I didn't elaborate properly, either way, I hope maybe this helps (keep in mind, not trying to be an ass, trying to be helpful)...
As quoted from their site:
use our flexible flash widgets to stream music on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source: http://developers.grooveshark.com
In order to stream, you must use Flash for the Widgets. Unless your App is Desktop-based (non-Metro) and even then we still don't know what the outcome will be, Flash isn't likely going to be permitted and if it is, like we've heard previously, it will be very limited and a list of "accepted" sites/content will be enforced.
Yes in IE Metro you can download/use Flash by side-loading the installer but as we've all heard, a light weight Flash is probably going to be permitted in the final public release, which most likely will mean you can't implement it in your App.
Sure, the API exists for streaming but is it supported with the licenses Windows 8 Codecs Offered? Which we hear is going to be limited. Also, you'll have to host their Ads or enforce only premium users to use your App. Question then is, how do you make a profit from it? Unless you're selling it to them, such a large project you should profit from it.
As for grabbing the Artists and stuff like that via the API, yeah that exists but really they're offering nothing better than anyone else. The only reason you'd want a Grooveshark App is because you want to play the content of the Artist/Album you're reading about and unless Grooveshark can change their license agreements & whole way of doing business? I would hold off putting any steam in to this project but just a suggestion from a developer to another developer as we don't know the Codecs W8 will be shipped with and if Grooveshark will have supported it.
Thanks,
Lance

Thank you for your ideas. This may need a bit more time for groove shark devs to look into this
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Maybe someone can shed some light on this?

After reading and watching multiple demonstrations of the Ubuntu phone os. I just can't seem to find features that I can't already do on my android. The notifications drawer is pretty neat in that you can pull it down at different places, but other than that, it just seems like a lightly modded android.
Sent from a galaxy far far away.

luc.highwalker said:
After reading and watching multiple demonstrations of the Ubuntu phone os. I just can't seem to find features that I can't already do on my android. The notifications drawer is pretty neat in that you can pull it down at different places, but other than that, it just seems like a lightly modded android.
Sent from a galaxy far far away.
Click to expand...
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I think for most users, they may not find value in this yet (until more apps are available and/or cheaper phones come out), but for those familiar with linux it will make a lot of sense.
I have been a linux developer for 3 years now (as a full time job) and I am just imagining all the cool stuff I can do with this device (at home and at work).
For one thing, you will likely be able to develop (native) apps on the phone itself instead of having to have a separate computer to do it. It might even be possible to develop Android apps!
It's basically a PC in your pocket so the apps will not be as limited as Android and iOS apps. There is still software out there that is not available on Android and iOS because those systems are designed for phones and tablets and don't fully support a desktop style interface. The appeal to an Ubuntu phone is that it can function as both, and you can develop software that will be interchangeable as both.

Thanks for your reply.
I'm not a developer (yet) so I can't say much on the subject. But I do know that you can develop apps directly on an Android device. There's even a Linux terminal Window.
I guess I'll just have to wait and see what people can make out of the phone. till then, I'll just stick to my beloved android
Sent from a galaxy far far away.

If you love linux, this *could* be a game changer if it's done right. As BukaKing mentioned, the ability to run native apps on the OS is a huge plus, as you would then be able to make the most of the hardware presented rather than utilising a java engine.
Customisation I am assuming will also be a huge factor - Ubuntu Desktop can be so heavily customised, to function exactly how you want it to, so I am *assuming* that Ubuntu for Phones will be similar. So, just because the OS behaves a particular way on those video's circulating, does not necessarily mean that is how it is destined to remain. Once it's out there in the wild, I would even assume people unhappy with the lack of soft buttons may find them re-appear, as gnome/unity has the ability to create custom panels.
The oportunities I think this OS presents to smartphones is amazing, but in the end it comes down to 2 things for me. Will it be completely open source? If yes, then there could be a bunch of forks/derivitives explode around the webs where teams have customised the OS the way they want it. Developing for it would be far easier, so i'd expect if popularity gets high enough, apps will appear from everywhere. And, implimentation - will it be as easy for a non-linux user to pick up and use, as it will be for a linux user? Hopefully, that answer is yes too.

According to Shuttleworth, it will be 100% opensource! I can't wait till the code is released and we can all play with this. Since it will be using an android kernel and drivers I'm hoping it won't be to hard to compile from source for my phone.

onlychevys said:
According to Shuttleworth, it will be 100% opensource! I can't wait till the code is released and we can all play with this. Since it will be using an android kernel and drivers I'm hoping it won't be to hard to compile from source for my phone.
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Helllooo! This what i was waiting for....Open source! so that ports can be made for devices that cant be officially supported by ubuntu. For those who keep saying ubuntu cant on GT-$5660 just STFU! No offense but Samsung said ICS or JB cant fully run properly on gio! and look it runs almost perfectly! So a bit of tweaking ubuntu for my device and we can run this!
Sent from my GT-S5660 using xda premium

batman38102 said:
Helllooo! This what i was waiting for....Open source! so that ports can be made for devices that cant be officially supported by ubuntu. For those who keep saying ubuntu cant on GT-$5660 just STFU! No offense but Samsung said ICS or JB cant fully run properly on gio! and look it runs almost perfectly! So a bit of tweaking ubuntu for my device and we can run this!
Sent from my GT-S5660 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:banghead: :banghead: No.. It won't work on the S5660... Ubuntu phone is not android... Have you ever wrote a program? Compiled software? The binary is compiled using the arm hard float v7 instructions, you will need to recompile the kernel, the OS and every damn app.. the native apps are made with C++ not java ... You may be able to get a running build on a arm v6 like the S5660 but you can't install 3rd party apps from the store or proprietary apps unless the developer thought about that and supports it .. Likely not, they will be natively for arm v7 hf only...
If canonical would have chosen soft float instead of hard float then it would have worked, but it will be freaking slow and laggy..
Getting JB on that device is something else, it and android apps are running of a virtual machine .. That is the good thing about managed code and virtual machines and the reason sun Microsystems invented java in the first place ...
QML and c++ is not running off a virtual machine.. Its 100% native ...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

I'm wondering if native C++ Apps will not only be more efficient than Java on Android but if Ubuntu can take more advantage of multi-core systems than Android does. At least I have heared that Android isn't that optimized for multi-core phones.

jscurtu said:
:banghead: :banghead: No.. It won't work on the S5660... Ubuntu phone is not android... Have you ever wrote a program? Compiled software? The binary is compiled using the arm hard float v7 instructions, you will need to recompile the kernel, the OS and every damn app..
Click to expand...
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Why does it have to be him that has to do that, some one else could do it and provide an image.
the native apps are made with C++ not java ...
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Yeah, who ever heard of making native apps in java!
The Ubuntu Phone OS equivalent to java will be HTML5.
You may be able to get a running build on a arm v6 like the S5660 but you can't install 3rd party apps from the store or proprietary apps unless the developer thought about that and supports it .. Likely not, they will be natively for arm v7 hf only...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You go from saying "No.. it won't work" to saying "You may be able to get a running build", nice!
And what proprietary apps are there right now? The only apps that I have seen are either HTML5 or the one native app (the gallery app) that Canonical made which will be open source and can be rebuilt for any device.
Also this same problem exists for Android native app (android has a lot of them), the developers have to build binaries for the different Android devices. So you can port Android to an x86 device but you will not be able to run a lot of games unless they include binaries that support it. Games built with Unity 3D are native apps, games built on Adobe Flash/Air are native apps. Native apps *can be* more efficient in performance, memory and battery than Java apps. Also C++ in the case of mobile devices is more cross platform than Java, since it can be used on both iOS and Android, and the libraries in Android Java are not available on other platforms with Java.
QML itself is not technically native, it depends on how it is used. QML is a mix of objects/widgets and javascript (similar to HTML5), but native C++ code can access QML objects/widgets through Qt.
But that said, if Canonical doesn't officially support a device I would steer clear of updates. I just spent the weekend trying to update my HP Envy from Ubuntu 10.10 to 12.10 and I had a ton of problems, and while it works now, my USB is disabled for some reason (even though internal USB devices work). This isn't the first time this has happened to me with Ubuntu updates.
I wouldn't worry about it for the Galaxy Nexus since it is an officially supported device, but for devices that are ported too by some one else, I would avoid updates coming from Canonical.

Valve is testing Steam games for Ubuntu so we could be playing some real games on our phones soon.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

getrdy said:
Valve is testing Steam games for Ubuntu so we could be playing some real games on our phones soon.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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ARM != x86 .....

blackout23 said:
ARM != x86 .....
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What about those x86 based phones?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Lesicnik1 said:
What about those x86 based phones?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
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The smartphone GPU drivers and chips probably don't support OpenGL 3.0 like Steam games require.
Smartphones never had full blown OpenGL only OpenGLES (Embedded System).
Desktop PCs are still waaay more powerful than any smartphone. Any cheap Celeron CPU for 40 bucks will obliterate your Intel Atom powered smartphone.