Hacker News Reader

Comment by JoshTriplett | Hacker News Reader

> Netflix was the largest site using Flash.

Netflix didn't use Flash; it used Silverlight.

> don't disagree with what you say, but it's possible to see EME as a pragmatic inevitability, assuming that browsers want to get rid of plugins

Or browsers could just collectively get rid of plugins, and the media industry could whine ineffectually at the lack of DRM. They're not going to build their own browser, and people wouldn't use it if they did. Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.

View on HN

>Netflix wouldn't go away; millions of people would complain if it stopped working.

The Media industry would likely rally behind a platform that decided to play ball (like HBO Go), which would then implement some frankenstein DRM solution. "Get rid of plugins and the studios will adopt non-DRM solutions" seems about as useful as "Get rid of Limewire and people will stop pirating."

They 100% would "build their own browser" in the form of custom apps.

Hell they already do on just about every platform except desktop...

Netflix already has their own Windows desktop app:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/netflix/9wzdncrfj...

So why corrupt the Web? Why not just tell people to install the app?

First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows.

Second, many of the people running Windows 8/8.1/10 know so little about apps that they're "against" them.

First, the app only works on Windows 8/8.1/10 and a lot of people are still running earlier versions of Windows.

Why not port it to Windows 7?

Windows 7 doesn't provide the Windows Runtime infrastructure to support sandboxed, remotely-maintained, universal apps. They'd have to write a new desktop program, and that's pretty unlikely.

Maybe, but Netflix isn't some little 2-bit company, they're huge and definitely have the resources to build a new program. Now obviously, building a new desktop program to support a dying OS might not make that much sense, but if the customers demand it, Netflix can do it.

They don't need to build a desktop program for Windows 7 when they can show video in a browser.

The advantage of building a Universal app using Windows Runtime is that it will run on Windows 8/8.1/10, Xbox One and Windows Phone. That's more than half a billion users....

Even understanding them doesn't make you necessarily 'for' them!

Really? Why not?

I never understood why it needed to be build into the browser, why isn't Netflix just a (native) app like Popcorn Time?

Native apps need to be installed and kept up-to-date, bringing portability issues. I now have to install the app on all devices I need to watch Netflix on. Meanwhile, all devices have a browser installed.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com