syncomm/netflix repository overview

⁠syncomm/netflix

A docker container to enable a Netflix player through PipeLight and Firefox.

⁠Table of Contents

1. Overview⁠
   • Features⁠
2. Installation⁠
   • Requirements⁠
   • Run docker-netflix.sh⁠
   • Build From Source⁠
3. Usage⁠
4. Limitations⁠
   • Todo⁠

⁠Overview

Using Netflix on Linux is a cumbersome process today. Getting it up and running requires Microsoft Silverlight⁠. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't have native Silverlight for Linux yet. This means deploying Silverlight on a Linux host involves a variety of workarounds, config changes, and even wine patches. The syncomm/netflix container simplifies the process of launching and using Netflix on Linux.

⁠Features

• Launch, log in, and enjoy Netflix!
  • Silverlight (using PipeLight⁠)
  • Video (via X11 sockets and cookie transfer)
  • Sound (through Pulseaudio socket)

⁠Installation

⁠Requirements

• Linux OS
• X11 and Pulseaudio
• docker
• This should be run as a normal user in the docker group⁠

⁠Run docker-netflix.sh

Installing the syncomm/netflix container is very simple, as it is in the Docker Registry⁠. The easiest method is to download and run the docker-netflix.sh script:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/syncomm/dockerfiles/master/netflix/docker-netflix.sh
chmod +x ./docker-netflix.sh
sudo mv ./docker-netflix.sh /usr/local/bin

OR, you can always stay up-to-date by invoking the script straight from github:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/syncomm/dockerfiles/master/netflix/docker-netflix.sh | bash

⁠Build From Source

To build this container yourself, please follow the instructions below:

git clone https://github.com/syncomm/dockerfiles.git
cd dockerfiles/netflix
sudo docker build -t syncomm/netflix .

Then run with the supplied script docker-netflix.sh⁠.

⁠Usage

1. Invoke docker-netflix.sh
2. When the firefox window appears on the very first run it will indicate it is installing Silverlight⁠ and display the various License information. If you do not agree with the eula, then hit ctrl-c and do not proceed. This container doesn't distribute those components as they are not GPL.
3. When installation of the plugins to your local docker volume is complete, close the firefox window
4. Launch docker-netflix.sh again and log into Netflix
5. Play a movie! (Hit "Activate Pipelight" and "Always Remember" if prompted)

⁠Limitations

Hardware acceleration is disabled, and the OpenGL piplight system test will fail. However, there are no known issues with viewing content on Netflix. If you discover a problem, please report it at https://github.com/syncomm/dockerfiles/issues⁠

###Todo

1. Currently, the container is very large (1.3 GB) and I need to trim down the size
   • Difficult due to the dependencies to install firefox and pipelight
   • Investigating other base containers such as debian and ubuntu
2. Enable HW acceleration
   • Still trying to determine how to map the devices from the host