Universalmediaserver: Netflix integration

[SubJunk]

I wonder what it would take to integrate with Netflix. I've been using a program called PlayOn which lets you enter your account details for that and other similar services and use them on your renderers via their server, and if it's legal it might be cool to do that.

[DeFlanko]

Just leaving some links for reference:
http://www.programmableweb.com/api/netflix

[DeFlanko]

If you want to start linking apps into UMS then can we also see about linking VUDU, or Cinimanow etc...

[DeFlanko]

Or even straitup linking the Ultraviolet Account:
http://uvcentral.com/api

[DeFlanko]

cause shit yeah i'm down for alllll that... that would totally help those without a smart tv., or some sort of app device like a Roku, firetv stick, etec...

[RandQalan]

I think Netflix would be nice as well for CFW PS3 without PSN access
I guess you all know it is a pain for ban systems to use Netflix

[Sami32]

At the beginning was the idea ;-)
https://netflix.github.io/

https://github.com/google/google-oauth-java-client
https://github.com/oauth-io/oauthio-server-java
https://github.com/scribejava/scribejava

[Nadahar]

Whether or not it is legal probably depends on the country you live in. Here is an article looking on whether it is legal in the US without managing to come to any conclusion. What's very clear is that it violates Netflix' TOS.

From what I understand the streams are encrypted, and I'm sure MAFIAA requires this for access to Hollywood material. My guess is that MAFIAA demands that the content always "stays" encrypted, so that any PVR would need to encrypt it when storing it so that it could only be played back on that device to have their blessing. I also guess that Netflix' deal with MAFIAA could be in jeopardy if the encryption scheme were publicly compromised. Playon and others obviously has found a way to compromise it, but if that knowledge became public I think there would be trouble for Netflix and they'd probably have to change their encryption scheme.

_If_ we were able to figure out how to decrypt it, publishing this as open source would essentially mean it became public knowledge. MAFIAA would probably send out their goons while Netflix would have to change their encryption scheme.

The Netflix public API only allows access to the Netflix library, not the content itself. You could use it to find things like Netflix rating, maybe a text description and cover art. You'd still need a Netflix subscription to be able to look those things up from what I can see, so it's hard to see any value in that.

[SubJunk]

PlayOn seems like a pretty successful company so I doubt they are knowingly doing anything illegal. Might be worth looking through their website to see if any statements are made about that. But yes like @DeFlanko said, there are lots of similar services that we could support. PlayOn supports dozens of them.

[Nadahar]

@SubJunk Did you read the article I linked to? PlayOn operates in a legal grayzone and its legality depends on who you ask. They are basically depending on the 1984 Betamax supreme court ruling regarding videotaping TV programs to see it at a later stage to protect them. It's "muddy/unclear if this applies or not, and they will probably keep doing it until someone tries it in the supreme court. But, that's just in the US anyway, there's no telling what applies in other countries.

[Sami32]

Yes, we currently support Netflix accounts in 18 regions and will add support for others as Netflix continues to broaden their reach.

...

Content availability depends on the content provider and your region. If you can play videos by visiting the provider's website then you should be able to stream or record those videos with PlayOn. If you are unable to watch videos from a specific content provider from your location, you might consider a DNS service like AdFreetime. It is inexpensive and reported to work quite well with PlayOn and PlayLater. www.adfreetime.com

PlayOn also supports adding new video services to PlayOn with plugins and scripts. Many of these services offer videos that are internationally available. You can browse plugins and scripts in our channel store inside the PlayOn desktop app.
There are also third-party websites run by some of our customers that offer plugins and scripts, like www.playonscripts.com.

Netflix just arrived in France and in some other european countries, so i suspect that they will try to stop PlayOn Netflix service in Europe, but for users wanting other services it could be worst a try...

[DeFlanko]

I'm not a hardcore programmer but i would have to assume that if a company willing has an API and blast open source all over their stuff its ok to use in a creative manner. Im sure there is still a way first you have to login with a valid account, then you can have access to the video streams just to satisfy the Digial Media Gods in Hollywood.

[Nadahar]

@DeFlanko Look at the API and you will see that it doesn't deliver the actual content. There is no way to "creatively" get their content via the API, you can simply use it to find what is in their library and information about those items.

It's not enough for MAFIAA that you have a valid account giving you access to the material, that's evident from all kind of other situations. If that were so, DVDs and Blurays wouldn't have to be encrypted, and there would be no need for PVRs to encrypt it's recordings.

They don't want to sell you a general license to a use a particular media, they want to sell you a license to use the media in the time period specified by them, in the quality specified by them, in the geograpical region specified by them and on the device or device type specified by them. That way they can sell the same content multiple times, as they already do. Just think of all the movies shown by TV channels you have legal access to, you pay for that as well one way or another either it is via subscription fees, via taxes or by suffering through ads. If you already paid for that content earlier
by going to a theatre, buying it on DVD or Bluray or paying for a streaming service, you will pay twice (or multiple times) for the same content. That is their core business strategy, to have you pay as many times as possible for the same content.

In addition to protecting the above "business strategy" they want to make it impossible to copy their content without regard to if such a copy is permitted by law or not. They know that if it's possible to copy for "legal" purposes it will also be copied for "illegal" purposes. In addition it's much better for them to charge you again if you want access to it at a later time or under different circumstances.

I am 100% sure that anyone that want access to MAFIAA controlled content will have to sign contracts that force them to take part in protecting the above described arrangements. If you don't want to accept it all, you simply won't be allowed access. Since Hollywood delivers such a huge part of what is consumed whitin "motion picture", they have something closely resembling a monopoly and can dictate the terms. Imagine Netflix or any similar service without access to MAFIAA content, and you will quickly see that they wouldn't exist.

I'm therefore sure that it won't be any way to access streaming MAFIAA content without breaking some law or agreement in the forseable future. That applies to Netflix and any similar service. When it comes to non MAFIAA content it's a whole different matter. MAFIAA also generate a substantial amount of export revenue for the US, which means that they to a large extent can dictate US law as well - and as we've seen with e.g. the pirate bay - they have the means to significantly exert pressure on other governments as well. In the end, my guess is that anyone that want to be a part of NATO or a "NATO partner" and/or want to have a trade agreement with the US will have to abide by the rules set by MAFIAA.

[SubJunk]

I doubt we will ruffle any feathers by offering an alternative path to access on-demand content via the user's own paid account, especially considering we aren't a paid product. If the user stops paying for whichever streaming service we are logging them into, they lose the ability to access that content via us just as they would via that service, which is much less than what PlayOn (which has recording functionality) or any cheap DVR offers.

[Nadahar]

@SubJunk Yes, I doubt Netflix would mind per se, but to be able to deliver it we'd first have to decrypt it. It's the decryption part that I think would be a huge problem. PlayOn does that already, but they are closed source. If we managed to figure out how to decrypt it in an open source program, the cat would be out of the bag and their encryption worth null and void. It would allow anyone to copy their content in any shape or form imaginable.

But by all means, if you can figure out how to decrypt it go ahead, any legal scare tactics would just have to be handled as they appeared.

[DeFlanko]

opened a support ticket with Vudu: https://vudu.custhelp.com/app/account/questions/detail/i_id/1500164

[DeFlanko]

if anyone has better verbiage please let me know, i'll go around to each of the sites and open support tickets for this enhancement... it doesn't hurt to ask right?

[DeFlanko]

Ticket with USTVnow - https://support.ustvnow.com/requests/154309

@SubJunk Can you help me fill this out please for USTVNow?
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtyaNyw-Q_oovkkK8GPzjKtkBO5s5zZwxhGntaEe0fcsoQRQ/viewform

[DeFlanko]

Spotify API and Developer section: https://developer.spotify.com/web-api/code-examples/

[DeFlanko]

PlayOn Support Ticket: https://support.playon.tv/requests/269413

[Nadahar]

@DeFlanko I can't view a single one of the tickets without signing up to the different services. Maybe you should paste the conversation here (given that you get any replies).

[DeFlanko]

As soon as i get one i will. Just using the posts as placeholders for now.

[DeFlanko]

Hulu replied:
Thanks so much for writing and you interest in Hulu!

I am sorry that we are unable to provide the information you're asking for.

If you had any issues or questions related to your Hulu account, I'd be happy to answer those for you. Please feel free to reply to this email and let me know, or give us a call at 1-877-HULU-411. We are available from 5am-10pm PT, and we'd be happy to help.

Thanks,
Jeanine L.
Hulu Support

[Nadahar]

Bullshit2k, copy and paste answer.

[DeFlanko]

That's what I thought too :/

[DeFlanko]

PlayOn Support (Skip) (Support Center)

Aug 29, 12:10 EDT

Hi James,

My apologies for the delay in responding to your question. PlayOn itself is a media server...While there is an API available for folks to build plugins to add to PlayOn, there isn't any sort of API that would allow for integration into another media server like that.

It is possible to record streams from those providers using PlayOn. The recordings are made in mp4 format and could be streamed using UMS.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Skip
PlayOn Support
www.playon.tv

[RandQalan]

another words they do not want competition and free version to boot

[Sami32]

I just read that Netflix loose 100000 customers in just 1 day because of them: http://www.247.tv/
It's told that it's much better..

[Nadahar]

@Sami32 I can't even see (from their annoying, information-less presentation page) that 247.tv offers anything but sports. How can that even be considered a competing service to Netflix?