Cannot stream HBO GO/NOW/NORDIC - But this does work in ChromeOS
Hi,
So I installed Cloud Ready on an old Netbook and I am very impressed. it uses much less CPU resources when streaming video content than even the lightest Linux distro I could find. So far so good. However it have the same issue as all other Linux distros, that it cannot stream HBO web shows (GO/NOW/Nordic). So how come that it DOES work on the real ChromeOS?? I know because I have seen it working on a true ChromOS system and we can watch HBO.
I also have a Linux PC where it doesnt work - same issue that when a show is started you just get a blank screen. And dont even bother with all the `did you try this and did you try that` questions - of course I did!! - You try if you dont believe me... And yes I can stream Netflix and Amazon Prime and Youtube and other streaming services OK and my extensions/plugins are up to date. It does NOT work with HBO no matter what, but it does work on the real ChromeOS, so ChromeOS includes some kind of work around that makes it work that Cloud Ready does not have. I would encourage you to figure it out.
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I should add that when I said that HBO streaming does not work in Linux (Ubuntu), I meant that this is when using the latest official Chrome browser (not Chromium). for linux So the issue does not seem to be Chromium vs Chrome for linux. The fix seems to be something implemented in ChromeOS (the OS) itself, In which case if you can find out the fix, it should be possible to apply it to Cloud Ready.
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Hi,
I did take this up in the Google Chrome support site (to try and get it to work with Chrome on Ubuntu) but the so called 'Expert' that answered was pretty clueless - didnt seem to know more than to suggest changing settings. I doubt the person really was a software expert. Eventually they ran out of suggestions and stopped replying.
I found a link to test the issue on an Adobe website, the case in question is way out of date but the test still reveals the difference.Follow the instructions on this link:You open a video player container, paste in a link to sample content and press play.In ChromeOS it works fine. In Chrome running on Ubuntu it hangs. I havent tried in CloudReady yet... -
Just hangs for me:
If you open the image in a new tab and zoom in you can kind of read the DRM output - all seem to list "null"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I would guess there is some form of verification that HBO does with only approved OSs. I also know that Widevine has multiple "Levels" of protection and that services can opt to only playback their content on higher "Levels" where the processing is done in increasingly secure ways. 4k Netflix playback is an example of something gated by this functionality. I believe an application or device must be certified in advance for that kind of thing, so perhaps this is something HBO intends.
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I did wonder about that - but the Adobe test player is nothing to do with HBO, the test content is nothing to do with HBO, and yet it exactly correlates with the results when trying to play HBO content on the various platforms. ie if it doesnt work on the Adobe test, HBO doesnt work either.
Also, I did try spoofing Chrome in Ubuntu to report different OS's and browser versions using a User Agent Switcher but it made no difference, HBO would not play.
So all this would indicate that it is not due to HBO filtering but something more basic.
If you try the test again on a Windows machine running Chrome and on ChromeOS you might see more details, I certainly got a long string of info when I tried it on my windows machine..
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Could it be due to Linux read/write file restrictions? I looked in the home/.adobe/Flash_Player/ folder in Ubuntu where (I think) licenses are supposed to be stored but I couldnt find anything. Maybe there are permission restrictions blocking the flash player write/read of the required license files?
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Unfortunately for me and millions of others, HBO streaming platforms use DRM Flash and I cannot use Cloud Ready exclusively as I have an HBO subscription, because of Westworld, Game of Thrones, Bill Maher, Silicon Valley, etc, etc.... Cloud Ready still doesnt work even though ChromeOS does.
And there is no sign HBO will change. So this is a big deal for me. The fact that ChromeOS even the 32 bit edition which is still updated, plays HBO means that it is possible so I am sure that some forensic probing will find out how they do it. I am convinced it is something relatively trivial and easy to implement.
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Ahh I see - that's an ARM chipset where 32bit builds are still supported by Google. x86 32bit builds are completely deprecated.
While I agree that there must be some way of getting this working, I think you've jumped to a conclusion a bit too quickly in being convinced that it is something relatively trivial and easy to implement. If this were the case, I expect the wider Linux world would have a solution for this already.
Cartoon Network is another streaming source that fails on CloudReady regardless of what we try on our end. I believe, in both of these cases, it is possible there is a blocker on the server-side from HBO/CN, or an issue with the Widevine implementation that's available to non-mainstream OS (as mentioned in my comments a bit back) that could make solving this outside our control.
If you find something that indicates a path forward please do share - we're happy to work on something like this if it turns out to be technical, rather that administrative/logistical/legal.
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OK well I come back to my earlier comment that the DRM test fails even when the provider is not HBO er whatever (its an internal Adobe tester). So until proven otherwise its not the provider.
That tells me its something more basic. And it doesnt work on 64 bit system either, other than ChromeOS.
I am surprised that the technical people at Cloud Ready cannot figure this out by some kind of clinical probing of the differences between systems . I mean if you can look into each system and see how they interact it should be easy to locate . but I am no expert.
I have taken this up in the Adobe Flash support website - first they said DRM was not supported in Linux but the fact that it works on ChromeOS had the team stumped so they sent me on a to new forum for Adobe Access DRM
No reply there yet....
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Hi On Air,
Appreciate your passion for this particular feature. As a business, our core customer base is Education and Enterprise customers. Right now the demand is not there for those users to facilitate a deep dive into why the HBO streaming network is not functional on CloudReady. We spent time developing the feature set to support Adobe Flash, Widevine and Proprietary Codecs because our Education and Enterprise users demanded it, we don't hear the same demand for this.
I would also caution against trivializing development work to support this or any feature. We certify CloudReady works on over 200 devices, which includes a regular cadence of rigorous QA testing for a stable release schedule every 6-8 weeks. No feature is easy to implement and maintain.
Thank you for using CloudReady and I hope you can find other uses for it even if this feature is not feasible.
Thanks,
Jesse Pierce
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Jesse:
Thanks for taking the time to explain your position on this. I can only hope that HBO move away from Flash sometime soon but from what I have read they are not about to. I will still be chasing this up with Adobe to see where I get, there does seem to be something not quite right there. I am sure you would have to admit that HBO is a fairly big player and the lack of access might be a deal breaker for a lot of people, enough that they just go out and purchase a real chromebook but I appreciate that this s not your primary focus - although it could have a knock on effect. From a commercial point of view, I for one would be willing to pay a one off fee for an OS that did give me slick access to all my media outlets.
Phil:
Thanks for your input. Lets agree to disagree :)
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