- Oct 23, 2012
- 12,527
It’s been seven years since Netflix introduced its video streaming service to computer browsers. Even though Windows and Mac users can easily access the service, Linux users have to jump through hoops to be able to enjoy a show.
Things are finally about to change and the open-source OS is finally getting Netflix support, especially since the company’s streaming is moving towards HTML5 and away from the Silverlight media player plugin.
Paul Adolf, Netflix Senior Software Engineer posted on a forum dedicated to Ubuntu developers that Netflix will play with Chrome stable in 14.02 if NSS version 3.16.2 or greater is installed. “If this version is generally installed across 14.02, Netflix would be able to make a change so users would no longer have to hack their User-Agent to play,” he said.
As Linux users will know, NSS stands for Network Security Services, which enables developers to build secure applications. It is a joint effort from Mozilla, Google and RedHat and it’s not something that regular users interact much with, but rather something destined for developers.
Netflix is available on a whole number of devices, such as Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo 2DS and 3DS, TiVo, Apple TV and a number of smart TVs. Furthermore, if you stream movies over a laptop or mobile device and own a Chromecast, then that’s another way to see the movies and TV shows straight on the big screen.
The Next Web has asked Netflix about more details about this new added support and didn’t get much out of the company, outside of a really concise comment. “Netflix on Linux = html5” is all that the video streaming giant said.
Up until now, Linux users have been getting inventive in order to watch Netflix, tinkering with their browser’s user-agent in order to get the desired effect.
Things are finally about to change and the open-source OS is finally getting Netflix support, especially since the company’s streaming is moving towards HTML5 and away from the Silverlight media player plugin.
Paul Adolf, Netflix Senior Software Engineer posted on a forum dedicated to Ubuntu developers that Netflix will play with Chrome stable in 14.02 if NSS version 3.16.2 or greater is installed. “If this version is generally installed across 14.02, Netflix would be able to make a change so users would no longer have to hack their User-Agent to play,” he said.
As Linux users will know, NSS stands for Network Security Services, which enables developers to build secure applications. It is a joint effort from Mozilla, Google and RedHat and it’s not something that regular users interact much with, but rather something destined for developers.
Netflix is available on a whole number of devices, such as Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo 2DS and 3DS, TiVo, Apple TV and a number of smart TVs. Furthermore, if you stream movies over a laptop or mobile device and own a Chromecast, then that’s another way to see the movies and TV shows straight on the big screen.
The Next Web has asked Netflix about more details about this new added support and didn’t get much out of the company, outside of a really concise comment. “Netflix on Linux = html5” is all that the video streaming giant said.
Up until now, Linux users have been getting inventive in order to watch Netflix, tinkering with their browser’s user-agent in order to get the desired effect.