Cannot watch Netflix

[tho9504]

Hi,
I am not sure if the issue is Mint or Firefox. When i login to netflix through my computer and watch a show, i am getting an error stating i cannot watch and need to update to latest version of firefox. But i do have the latest version. So i am not sure if it's cause of Linux mint 18.2 or firefox in general? Anyone else had/have this issue?

[MintBean]

From the 'hamburger' menu at the top right of Firefox, Preferences->content->Enable DRM content

[Mattyboy]

Try it with Chromium and/or allowing DRM content in Firefox options.

[tho9504]

I do have Enable DRM Content checked, it still gives me error. I wonder if it has to do with Firefox extensions? i do got :
httpseverywhere, Ublock Orgin, Privacy Badger.

Can i download Chromium from terminal? (sudo apt-get install Chromium)

[MintBean]

Disable your extensions and see.

[Mattyboy]

Can i download Chromium from terminal?

Pretty sure its in software manager.

[JerryF]

Can i download Chromium from terminal?

Pretty sure its in software manager.

It is.

[Retic1959]

I do have Enable DRM Content checked, it still gives me error. I wonder if it has to do with Firefox extensions? i do got :
httpseverywhere, Ublock Orgin, Privacy Badger.

Can i download Chromium from terminal? (sudo apt-get install Chromium)

I have the same extensions enabled on Firefox and I have no problems with Netflix , Amazon video or Hulu . I don't believe the version of Chromium available has Widevine support , You might wanna try downloading the Google Chrome Browser instead , it has Widevine built in and should solve your problem .

[Penn]

Can i download Chromium from terminal? (sudo apt-get install Chromium)

Yes but unless something has changed since I last looked into it that won't help. Chrome comes with something called widevine which allows DRM material but Chromium doesn't come with it. In the Mint versions of Chromium (Ubuntu and Debian 7) you can't install widevine as a plugin (but you can in Debian 8, so someday maybe in Mint) but you aren't limited to just those Chromium versions if you install it from somewhere else.

So to directly answer your question even though it won't help (the "-browser" part may need to be left out depending on your Mint version)

Code: Select all

apt install chromium-browser

You can just download the .deb of Chrome and install that which will come with widevine.

None of this approaches the original issue of Firefox though since you have something less obvious happening. To my understanding enabling DRM and restarting the browser should be enough. Maybe try Firefox with a clean profile or in safe mode to temporarily disable those extensions?

Code: Select all

firefox --safe-mode

edit - forgot to add a way to try clean profile. Rename the hidden folder in your home ~/.mozilla with Firefox closed then start it up. To go back to your established profile delete the newly created .mozilla and change the original's name back. To make hidden files and folders visible in your file explorer <ctrl+h>. The dot at the beginning of the name makes it hidden.

[MintBean]

What version of Firefox are you running?

[tho9504]

Sorry for the late reply.
I am running Firefox version 56 (latest)
i tried safe mode and still get the error. I even manually disabled all the extensions and still getting the error.

[MintBean]

Well that's odd since it worked for me back when I had Netflix and appears to still be working for others.

Is there anything unusual about your system? Is it 32 bit, or a single core CPU?

[JerryF]

I just checked my Netflix on Chrome and it works.

[tho9504]

I have 64 bit laptop recently purchased.
Specs:
7th Generation Intel Core i5-7200U Processor (Up to 3.1GHz)
15.6" Full HD Widescreen Comfy View LED-backlit Display supporting Acer Color Blast technology
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX with 2GB of GDDR5 Video Memory
8GB DDR4 Memory, 256GB SSD + 1TB harddrive (Linux is run on 1 TB harrdrive, Windows is on 256GB SSD)

I guess i am going to try Chrome... . A bit hesitant because data mining is Googles primary business. I felt firefox was more privacy oriented.

[MintBean]

Did you opt to install the multimedia codecs when you installed Mint?

Type this in a terminal Window if you're not sure.
apt install mint-meta-codecs

[tho9504]

i have not installed that. Whatever came with Mint 18.2 is what i have. I will install the multimedia codecs to see if that works when i get home from work. Thanks for your help. Hopefully this fixes the issue.

[MintBean]

It's just a check-box option during install. I'm not particularly confident it's the issue, but worth a try.

[tho9504]

It's just a check-box option during install. I'm not particularly confident it's the issue, but worth a try.

Thanks MintBean ... Unfortunately, you are correct. it did not fix the problem. when i type the above code in to terminal, it said i already had latest codecs and no change was made.
i guess i am going to have to download Chrome.

[ralplpcr]

I just checked my Netflix on a virtual Cinnamon 18.2, and it did work correctly.
I can think of 3 possibilities that may be causing you trouble:

1. Do you have the correct Firefox Plugins installed & activated? You can check this by going to about:addons in the address bar where you'd normally enter a web URL.
The Plugins that I have installed & activated are:

• OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Shockwave Flash
• Widevine Content Decryption Module provided by Google Inc.

2. Are you certain that you have the 64-bit version of Firefox? You're not running a 32-bit version, or trying to run a Windows version through WINE?

3. One of your other extensions is conflicting with your ability to play videos on Firefox.

I will say that in my experience, Firefox support for Netflix has been somewhat flaky. They were over a year behind Chrome's support on Linux, and it does seem that they have more random glitches in their support. Sometimes it'll fail for me, and then 15 minutes later will work perfectly fine - - with no changes/updates at all on my side.

If you'd rather not install Chrome, you may wish to try SlimJet. (http://www.slimjet.com) It's built from the same Chromium project, but by default blocks most ads and DOES NOT send data back to Google. Just download & install the latest 64-bit .DEB file, and it should work fine for you.

[tho9504]

I got the same playback error when i tried to use Firefox in Windows 10 also, so i am assuming whatever the issue is, it's Firefox related and not Linux. I was able to play videos using windows Edge browser.