how can ROKU run netflix streaming ?

[bloomstomb]

Its a simple request. Why can roku , a linux based OS, run netflix while I cant in ANY OTHER linux operating system.

What do I have to do that roku did?

Thanks.

[bloomstomb]

Hello ? Anyone out there?

Drops pin.

[coopstah13]

12 hours isn't an especially long time to wait for a response, this is an open source community of volunteers after all

that aside, it is my understanding that in order for netflix to deliver content to a platform, they have to have an underlying DRM scheme that is usable and built into OS

DRM violates some of the main principles behind FOSS (note i said principles),, so i don't anticipate it being implemented any time soon

[bloomstomb]

12 hours isn't an especially long time to wait for a response, this is an open source community of volunteers after all

that aside, it is my understanding that in order for netflix to deliver content to a platform, they have to have an underlying DRM scheme that is usable and built into OS

DRM violates some of the main principles behind FOSS (note i said principles),, so i don't anticipate it being implemented any time soon

Thanks for the response.

I just imagined the linux community was a bigger one heheh. Great OS and all.

So to get this straight, did Roku (for example) create their own DRM scheme, or does netflix have a cookie cutter drm scheme they want people to run?

[elija]

I just imagined the linux community was a bigger one heheh.

Well, we sleep, work, eat and some of us have families and social lives also*.

So to get this straight, did Roku (for example) create their own DRM scheme, or does netflix have a cookie cutter drm scheme they want people to run?

It looks like Roku is a rather cool little media streaming device which sadly looks like it won't be available over here According to Wikipedia, it does run Linux but I have been unable to find out which one although given that it is very specialised, they have probably rolled their own.

As to how they handle the DRM, the only guys who can answer that with any authority are the guys who make it.

Here is an interesting discussion on open DRM at Stack Overflow

* No really!

[coopstah13]

roku would have had to create a compatible client, they would have had to implement something that was deemed acceptable

[HROAdmin26]

Google and you will find that Netflix uses MSFT's Silverlight (SL) as the streaming platform. SL includes DRM. While MSFT/Novell has released a *Nix version of SL called Moonlight (ML), it does *not* have the DRM libraries included. And after 3 releases of ML, that doesn't appear likely to change any time soon.

Any non-MSFT platform doing NF streaming has come to an outside agreement with MSFT/NF and done their own code development to get NF streaming support (after getting access to the necessary DRM libraries/code.)

GOOGLE

[dethklok02895]

So, if Roku runs a version of linux it's code should be open source right? Can't we use that to find the missing element and give a nice big slap to the world as an Open Source community?

Or cant Novell work with Microsoft to get the missing part needed to be compatible with Netflix? That would be the easier wouldn't it?

[reed9]

So, if Roku runs a version of linux it's code should be open source right? Can't we use that to find the missing element and give a nice big slap to the world as an Open Source community?

Or cant Novell work with Microsoft to get the missing part needed to be compatible with Netflix? That would be the easier wouldn't it?

You can mix proprietary and open source code. This is one reason for example that many wireless cards which work out of the box in Ubuntu don't work in Debian - Debian has removed the non-free binary blobs of code from their distro.

Roku provides the code for the open source parts of their system here.

Roku uses something called Playready DRM. It's Microsoft technology and it looks Microsoft hasn't licensed it for general use with Silverlight. Obviously, it must be useable by silverlight already though, or Netflix couldn't license it.

There's an interview here with a Roku guy who pretty much ignores the question when asked.

[dethklok02895]

There's an interview here with a Roku guy who pretty much ignores the question when asked.

I read this interview. You know it's kind of funny that if they took a minute to go out of their way they could support a much wider group of people.

We're an open source society you give us something we can give you something in return for free. So honestly they wouldn't have to go out of there way to expand their support at all. And on the same thing it would be open source so any problems that arise would be solved by a whole community of people not the people at the company.

Otherwise they should just allow the missing component to be used in Moonlight....but then again this is Microsoft we're talking about and they don't want people to be able to do all the stuff on a linux you can do on a Microsoft. Because we all know: WHere is the money in open source??