I managed to finally get Netflix installed on Vero 4K + after installing several Python libraries which all the tutorials and posts claimed to be installed by default. Anyway, got it working and started a video only to find out that the Vero 4K + can’t play Netflix videos. All the CPU cores max out at 100% and the video just stops playing. I am guessing that the device just is not powerful enough. A bit odd since several users have reported to get Netflix working in this forum but I guess they have just been happy with SD quality. For me anything below 1080p just is not accetable in 2019. Is there anything to be done or is this just the sad reality?
720p is the max for now.
There are so many devices that do Netflix, so it’s not been a big focus for us.
Will this be a priority in the near future ?
Netflix - being the most popular streaming platform - perhaps deserves better support.
I guess that Amazon, HBO and so forth have the same limitation ?
I’m using Vero 4K+ myself.
Very pleased about it, but as the name says, I kinda expect better than 720p.
Have a feeling, that you cut off potential users also, by not supporting better resolution.
I know that DRM just got introduced, but this is a potential crowd-pleaser…
One device to view them all… In high-res…
Theres not a lot Sam can do, the device just doesn’t have the grunt to achieve it with HW accceleration out of the question.
He’s bloody good but he’s not a magician.
I personally use the apps on my TV for Netflix and Prime…I get 4k content this way.
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Amazon did 720p; but this isn’t possible anymore as they’ve introduced some further restrictions.
There might be some performance optimisations in the future to permit 1080p; but currently this isn’t possible. There are better devices for accessing these services.
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What’s the main difference that allows Andorid-based devices with Kodi to take advantage of hardware acceleration using this Netflix add-on and the Vero 4K+? Is it the same for the Amazon VOD add-on?
I’m trying to understand how some places in Kodi can take advantage of hw accelerated graphics whereas others can’t in OSMC.
They are licensed by Netflix and Amazon to do so.
I don’t understand why you need a license to use hardware acceleration on a Kodi add-on?
Because Netflix and Amazon have decided in their business practices to maintain a walled garden so that they have ultimate control over the user experience. Not to mention the licensing revenue they get.
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So the license pertains to both the data and what device you can use to process that data? Interesting.
I’m not sure what you mean by a license pertaining to the data? Your subscription gives you rights to access the data, not rights to stream it on any hardware you like. This is quite likely spelled out very specifically in the TOS, but I’m not a user of subscription services so idk.
I’m referring to the license that you mentioned a few posts ago with “They are licensed by Netflix and Amazon to do so.”
What does this license pertain to? Just the data? Or how the device can interact with the data?
Yes. It licenses a particular piece of hardware to use proprietary code that allows hardware acceleration of the data.
The add-ons in use with Kodi for Netflix and Amazon are essentially just reverse engineered hacks that can access the data but cannot offload it to be accelerated in hardware, so software decode is the only option.
I’m curious to see if my understanding of this is correct!
As I understand it, the Kodi Netflix add-on cannot directly access the Netflix video stream - that is, it can’t directly obtain the h.264 or h.265 data. Instead, the add-on uses something called Widevine, which is third-party code (and, I assume, closed-source). Widevine gets the video stream from Netflix and decodes it, and the Kodi add-on receives the already-decoded video at the end of the process. Since the decoding of the video is done by Widevine and not by Kodi, there isn’t much control over how the decoding is done. And Netflix only permits Widevine to access its video streams on the condition that Widevine does not use hardware acceleration for its decoding.
Maybe someone else would be better to fill in such details. My descriptions are very general and limited to my vague understanding of the process.
Yes, but you also need a Netflix ESN, although some users spoof this.
Amazon Prime Video have their own serial numbers too.