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Browsers want to get rid of Flash and other plugins. Netflix was the largest site using Flash. Netflix distributes content, and the content owners aren't willin

by bla2 10y ago

Browsers want to get rid of Flash and other plugins. Netflix was the largest site using Flash. Netflix distributes content, and the content owners aren't willing to have their content distributed. I don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins (which seems like a good change) and assuming that content owners demand DRM (which makes less sense to tech-minded people).

JoshTriplett 10y ago
> Netflix was the largest site using Flash. Netflix didn't use Flash; it used Silverlight. > don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins Or browsers could just collectively get rid of plugins, and the media industry could whine ineffectually at the lack of DRM. They're not going to build their own browser, and people wouldn't use it if they did. Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.
- Klathmon 10y ago
  They 100% would "build their own browser" in the form of custom apps. Hell they already do on just about every platform except desktop...
  - cpeterso 10y ago
    Netflix already has their own Windows desktop app: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/netflix/9wzdncrfj3tj https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/netflix/9wzdncrfj...
    - wmf 10y ago
      So why corrupt the Web? Why not just tell people to install the app?
      - scholia 10y ago
        First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows. Second, many of the people running Windows 8/8.1/10 know so little about apps that they're "against" them.
        stcredzero 10y ago
        First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows. Why not port it to Windows 7?
        scholia 10y ago
        Windows 7 doesn't provide the Windows Runtime infrastructure to support sandboxed, remotely-maintained, universal apps. They'd have to write a new desktop program, and that's pretty unlikely.
        Grishnakh 10y ago
        Maybe, but Netflix isn't some little 2-bit company, they're huge and definitely have the resources to build a new program. Now obviously, building a new desktop program to support a dying OS might not make that much sense, but if the customers demand it, Netflix can do it.
        scholia 10y ago
        They don't need to build a desktop program for Windows 7 when they can show video in a browser. The advantage of building a Universal app using Windows Runtime is that it will run on Windows 8/8.1/10, Xbox One and Windows Phone. That's more than half a billion users....
        Endy 10y ago
        Even understanding them doesn't make you necessarily 'for' them!
- nemothekid 10y ago
  >Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working. The Media industry would likely rally behind a platform that decided to play ball (like HBO Go), which would then implement some frankenstein DRM solution. "Get rid of plugins and the studios will adopt non-DRM solutions" seems about as useful as "Get rid of Limewire and people will stop pirating."
- jeena 10y ago
  I never understood why it needed to be build into the browser, why isn't Netflix just a (native) app like Popcorn Time?
  - samsonradu 10y ago
    Native apps need to be installed and kept up-to-date, bringing portability issues. I now have to install the app on all devices I need to watch Netflix on. Meanwhile, all devices have a browser installed.
zanny 10y ago
It is only inevitable insofar as the old open web was incompatible with proprietary DRM. The real ethical answer would have been for the W3C and browser ecosystem to ignore the MAFIAA and let them flounder without baked in user freedom destroying DRM. They would have to start shipping their own proprietary apps to support their DRM, which is how things should have been. Browers could have gotten rid of plugins without DRM by forcing the old publishers to not be able to operate exclusively through web sites.

by bla2 10y ago

JoshTriplett 10y ago

> Netflix was the largest site using Flash. Netflix didn't use Flash; it used Silverlight. > don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins Or browsers could just collectively get rid of plugins, and the media industry could whine ineffectually at the lack of DRM. They're not going to build their own browser, and people wouldn't use it if they did. Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.

Klathmon 10y ago
They 100% would "build their own browser" in the form of custom apps. Hell they already do on just about every platform except desktop...
- cpeterso 10y ago
  Netflix already has their own Windows desktop app: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/netflix/9wzdncrfj3tj https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/netflix/9wzdncrfj...
  - wmf 10y ago
    So why corrupt the Web? Why not just tell people to install the app?
    - scholia 10y ago
      First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows. Second, many of the people running Windows 8/8.1/10 know so little about apps that they're "against" them.
      - stcredzero 10y ago
        First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows. Why not port it to Windows 7?
        scholia 10y ago
        Windows 7 doesn't provide the Windows Runtime infrastructure to support sandboxed, remotely-maintained, universal apps. They'd have to write a new desktop program, and that's pretty unlikely.
        Grishnakh 10y ago
        Maybe, but Netflix isn't some little 2-bit company, they're huge and definitely have the resources to build a new program. Now obviously, building a new desktop program to support a dying OS might not make that much sense, but if the customers demand it, Netflix can do it.
        scholia 10y ago
        They don't need to build a desktop program for Windows 7 when they can show video in a browser. The advantage of building a Universal app using Windows Runtime is that it will run on Windows 8/8.1/10, Xbox One and Windows Phone. That's more than half a billion users....
      - Endy 10y ago
        Even understanding them doesn't make you necessarily 'for' them!
nemothekid 10y ago
>Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working. The Media industry would likely rally behind a platform that decided to play ball (like HBO Go), which would then implement some frankenstein DRM solution. "Get rid of plugins and the studios will adopt non-DRM solutions" seems about as useful as "Get rid of Limewire and people will stop pirating."
jeena 10y ago
I never understood why it needed to be build into the browser, why isn't Netflix just a (native) app like Popcorn Time?
- samsonradu 10y ago
  Native apps need to be installed and kept up-to-date, bringing portability issues. I now have to install the app on all devices I need to watch Netflix on. Meanwhile, all devices have a browser installed.

zanny 10y ago

It is only inevitable insofar as the old open web was incompatible with proprietary DRM. The real ethical answer would have been for the W3C and browser ecosystem to ignore the MAFIAA and let them flounder without baked in user freedom destroying DRM. They would have to start shipping their own proprietary apps to support their DRM, which is how things should have been. Browers could have gotten rid of plugins without DRM by forcing the old publishers to not be able to operate exclusively through web sites.