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Netflix Downloads

media.netflix.com

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Re: Netflix Downloads

#111

Post by JadeNB »

erelde wrote: post #4

What kind of DRM would they use to store local copies? EDIT: On Android 7.1 VLC for Android, was able to "open" (duration etc) a large file I found in Netflix directory (.hidden), though not decode sound or video. There were two smaller files besides I suspect are audio tracks. And several other very small files, subtitles maybe.

How much are Android apps able to hide things in the filesystem? It drives me crazy sometimes not being able to figure out where Amazon Music puts my downloaded music files; there's an `amazonmp3` folder, but all it has in it is `.prefs.bak`.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#112

Post by MBCook »

johansch wrote: post #108
MBCook wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course they do. That's how an iPod could play FairPlay content without a network connection. They didn't strip the DRM upon upload the the iPod. I'm sure the Netflix files on your iPad are still DRMed. They just give you some kind of key that's only good for a limited amount of time.

I guess the practical question here is whether that functionality is usable via the javascript API:s.

I'd expect it is if the browser implements the security plugin infrastructure that Netflix (and others) have been pushing.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#113

Post by JadeNB »

MBCook wrote: post #105
ziszis wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neil Hunt a year ago [ http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2015/09/the-real-reason-netflix-won... ] “I think it's something that lots of people ask for. We'll see if it's something lots of people will use. Undoubtedly it adds considerable complexity to your life with Amazon Prime – you have to remember that you want to download this thing. It's not going to be instant, you have to have the right storage on your device, you have…

He wasn't wrong, it does add serious interface complexity. But we all know that it's a very desirable feature and most people are willing to pay for that complexity to be able to watch offline. So it was mostly spin, like Steve Jobs saying they'd never make a tablet at a point where it had to be in final development internally.

> He wasn't wrong, it does add serious interface complexity.

How? I don't have Netflix, but, for Amazon Video, you get a download button—that seems to be the only bit of the interface that reflects the ability to download at all. After that, you don't have to worry about whether you're watching a local or streamed copy; the movie plays just the same.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#114

Post by jokoon »

fastball wrote: post #68
jokoon wrote: post #53

Good! Now fix subtitles and expand the catalog...

I've never had an issue with Netflix subtitles, what exactly is your problem with them? And yeah, it would be swell if Netflix could snap their fingers and expand their catalog, but they can't.

Some subtitles just fail to load or appear on an android device.

Also sometimes the last character is trimmed.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#115

Post by MBCook »

JadeNB wrote: post #113
MBCook wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He wasn't wrong, it does add serious interface complexity. But we all know that it's a very desirable feature and most people are willing to pay for that complexity to be able to watch offline. So it was mostly spin, like Steve Jobs saying they'd never make a tablet at a point where it had to be in final development internally.

> He wasn't wrong, it does add serious interface complexity. How? I don't have Netflix, but, for Amazon Video, you get a download button—that seems to be the only bit of the interface that reflects the ability to download at all. After that, you don't have to worry about whether you're watching a local or streamed copy; the movie plays just the same.

It was "click on anything and it plays".

Now it's "click on anything and it plays. Unless your offline. Where search also doesn't work. And when you're offline you probably go somewhere else to see what you're looking for. When online we need to show that too. And buttons to let you download or see the download status. And....

I'm not saying it's insurmountable, but it's quite a bit more than the old "everything you see you can watch now and that's all there is to it" model.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#116

Post by JeremyBanks »

izacus wrote: post #62
greg7gkb wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who would license content to a company without any DRM protection?

Your question implies that there's any practical use for that DRM in streaming services. There's not and it does nothing useful but annoy users. Anyone with ounce of motivation can easily bypass and extract the media content, so the only thing DRM does is piss of paying users which can't watch content on flaky connections, flights, travel and alternative operating systems. Meanwhile on torrent sites you find Netflix…

Anyone with ounce of motivation can easily bypass and extract the media content

This is obviously untrue. For at least 95% of Netflix users this is inconceivably difficult. Peek out your bubble and you may also notice that torrent use is massively declining in popularity because they're a horrible user experience.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#117

Post by JadeNB »

MBCook wrote: post #115
JadeNB wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> He wasn't wrong, it does add serious interface complexity. How? I don't have Netflix, but, for Amazon Video, you get a download button—that seems to be the only bit of the interface that reflects the ability to download at all. After that, you don't have to worry about whether you're watching a local or streamed copy; the movie plays just the same.

It was "click on anything and it plays". Now it's "click on anything and it plays. Unless your offline. Where search also doesn't work. And when you're offline you probably go somewhere else to see what you're looking for. When online we need to show that too. And buttons to let you download or see the download status. And.... I'm not saying it's insurmountable, but it's quite a bit more than the old "everything you…

> It was "click on anything and it plays".

> Now it's "click on anything and it plays. Unless your offline. Where search also doesn't work. And when you're offline you probably go somewhere else to see what you're looking for. When online we need to show that too. And buttons to let you download or see the download status. And....

But it seems that your 'before' is not quite right: if you can't download videos, then it's "click on anything and it plays, unless you're offline", full stop! That is, by allowing download of videos, a total-failure mode has been replaced by a mode with different functionality. Although it's technically true that "you can do some things" is more complicated than "you can't do anything", I'm not sure that it's really worse.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#118

Post by johansch »

MBCook wrote: post #112
johansch wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess the practical question here is whether that functionality is usable via the javascript API:s.

I'd expect it is if the browser implements the security plugin infrastructure that Netflix (and others) have been pushing.

Up until very recently Netflix has been saying that offline viewing is not something they want.

Maybe they were just doing a Steve, though.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#120

Post by MBCook »

JadeNB wrote: post #117
MBCook wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was "click on anything and it plays". Now it's "click on anything and it plays. Unless your offline. Where search also doesn't work. And when you're offline you probably go somewhere else to see what you're looking for. When online we need to show that too. And buttons to let you download or see the download status. And.... I'm not saying it's insurmountable, but it's quite a bit more than the old "everything you…

> It was "click on anything and it plays". > Now it's "click on anything and it plays. Unless your offline. Where search also doesn't work. And when you're offline you probably go somewhere else to see what you're looking for. When online we need to show that too. And buttons to let you download or see the download status. And.... But it seems that your 'before' is not quite right: if you can't download videos, then…

No, because if you were off-line the app wouldn't let you in. The app set that condition clearly and enforced it. So there was no confusion, 'cause if you could see it you could play it.
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