4 ms·

Not sure if it's still the case, but it used to be that Firefox on Linux could only stream 720p videos.

gsnedders 8y ago
This depends on the agreement that the media distributor has with the media owner; there's no technical reason behind the 720p limitation. Widevine is offered with different levels, depending on the length of the secure path. On mainline Linux, there is no secure path to the screen AFAIK, so you can always read the unencrypted video from a recompiled graphics driver, and as such it only is supported in Widevine's lowest level.
pmontra 8y ago
Firefox on Ubuntu 16.04 NVIDIA proprietary driver here. I searched for 1080p on YouTube and the first result is this harmless video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQuhA5ZCV9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQuhA5ZCV9M It started at 720p, then I switched it to 1080p and it started playing at that resolution. However I didn't count the lines and I don't know if this is the kind of streaming you're writing about. Maybe Netflix? I can't check that.
- jhasse 8y ago
  Most YouTube videos (including the one you linked) don't use DRM, that's why 1080p works on Linux. Netflix only works with up to 720p on Linux.
  - floatboth 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure YouTube doesn't support DRM at all. Premium originals (e.g. Mind Field) play in 4K for me on FreeBSD (for which no one has ever compiled Widevine or anything like that)
    - jhasse 8y ago
      Premium is DRM-free, but Google Play purchases, which you can watch on YouTube, use DRM.
    - phh 8y ago
      VEVO (the music producer) have most of their free video clips under DRM
spear 8y ago
For Netflix on Linux, both Firefox and Chrome are limited to 720p. However, there's an extension to enable 1080p playback: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/force-1080p-netflix/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/force-1080p-n... You can also find a link to the Chrome extension there. I'm not sure if there's a cat-and-mouse game here -- the first time I tried it, the Firefox extension didn't work. However, it started working a few months later.

This depends on the agreement that the media distributor has with the media owner; there's no technical reason behind the 720p limitation. Widevine is offered with different levels, depending on the length of the secure path. On mainline Linux, there is no secure path to the screen AFAIK, so you can always read the unencrypted video from a recompiled graphics driver, and as such it only is supported in Widevine's lowest level.

pmontra 8y ago

Firefox on Ubuntu 16.04 NVIDIA proprietary driver here. I searched for 1080p on YouTube and the first result is this harmless video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQuhA5ZCV9M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQuhA5ZCV9M It started at 720p, then I switched it to 1080p and it started playing at that resolution. However I didn't count the lines and I don't know if this is the kind of streaming you're writing about. Maybe Netflix? I can't check that.

jhasse 8y ago
Most YouTube videos (including the one you linked) don't use DRM, that's why 1080p works on Linux. Netflix only works with up to 720p on Linux.
- floatboth 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure YouTube doesn't support DRM at all. Premium originals (e.g. Mind Field) play in 4K for me on FreeBSD (for which no one has ever compiled Widevine or anything like that)
  - jhasse 8y ago
    Premium is DRM-free, but Google Play purchases, which you can watch on YouTube, use DRM.
  - phh 8y ago
    VEVO (the music producer) have most of their free video clips under DRM

spear 8y ago

For Netflix on Linux, both Firefox and Chrome are limited to 720p. However, there's an extension to enable 1080p playback: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/force-1080p-netflix/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/force-1080p-n... You can also find a link to the Chrome extension there. I'm not sure if there's a cat-and-mouse game here -- the first time I tried it, the Firefox extension didn't work. However, it started working a few months later.