Netflix Downloads

#1

Post by LukeB_UK » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:16 PM UTC

Re: Netflix Downloads

#2

Post by danso » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:27 PM UTC

Fantastic, this has been a welcome feature on Amazon Prime and even moreso on Netflix where the selection is currently more to my liking.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#3

Post by Desustorm » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:28 PM UTC

This has been the differentiator between Netflix and Amazon Prime - very welcome news indeed. I do wonder how limited the number of allowed downloads will be, though...

Re: Netflix Downloads

#4

Post by erelde » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:32 PM UTC

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.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#5

Post by kevinbluer » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

Oddly not everything is downloadable though. No Luke Cage here on Netflix Hong Kong (which is odd given it's Netflix made).

Re: Netflix Downloads

#6

Post by CmdrSprinkles » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:41 PM UTC

kevinbluer wrote: post #5

Oddly not everything is downloadable though. No Luke Cage here on Netflix Hong Kong (which is odd given it's Netflix made).

I would imagine agreements regarding distribution rights. Netflix (distributor) can only offline stuff they have the rights to.

HK in particular I would assume Netflix (content producer) are interested in partnering with a Chinese company as that region tends to favour those quite heavily.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#7

Post by AlexRobNewton » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:41 PM UTC

Looks like it's only going to be on Netflix originals at the moment. But at least it's a step in the right direction! Wonder how long you can keep the content for after download?

Re: Netflix Downloads

#8

Post by jbob2000 » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:43 PM UTC

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.

They probably aren't storing the videos as you are traditionally thinking about them - you don't get to download a video file which you can play anywhere.

Most likely what they've done is stored the video chunks locally and then the Netflix app is "streaming" these chunks from the local storage rather than the netflix servers. If you looked through the folder that holds these chunks, you'd probably just see a bunch of randomly named 100mb files. That's all the DRM they need, you have no ability to consume these files without the Netflix app.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#9

Post by taleoftwohumans » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:46 PM UTC

Huh? Just updated the app, doesnt work - no downloads ready. Not even the Netflix shows they promote in the blogpost. Im on android 5.1.1. Hopefully theyll get it together, nice feature.

Re: Netflix Downloads

#10

Post by pilsetnieks » Wed, Nov 30, 2016, 2:48 PM UTC

It's probably not a coincidence that this is coming out at the same time as AT&T is zero-rating their own streaming service.