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I tried creating a web browser, and Google blocked me


steven36

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After 4 months of waiting, that is the response I got from Widevine, Google’s DRM for web browsers. For the last 2 years I’ve been working on a web browser that now cannot be completed because Google, the creators of the open source browser Chrome, won’t allow DRM in an open source project.

 

google widevine gmail

 

The browser I’m building, called Metastream, is an Electron-based (Chromium derived), MIT-licensed browser hosted on GitHub. Its main feature is the ability to playback videos on the web, synchronized with other peers. Each client runs its own instance of the Metastream browser and transmits playback information to keep them in sync.

 

If someone is creating a browser that wants to playback media, they’ll soon discover the requirement of DRM for larger web media services such as Netflix and Hulu. There are a few DRM providers for the web including Widevine, PlayReady, and FairPlay.

 

As far as I’m aware, Widevine is the only available DRM for a Chromium-based browser, especially so for Electron. Chromium accounts for roughly 70% market share of all web browsers, soon to include Microsoft’s upcoming Edge browser rewrite. Waiting 4 months for a minimal response from a vendor with such a large percentage of the market is unacceptable.

 

This isn’t something I’m alone in either, several Electron users have waited months for a response. More prominently, the creators of Brave Browser also had issues waiting for replies from Google Widevine.

“This is a prime example for why free as in beer is not enough. Small share browsers are at the mercy of Google, and Google is stalling us for no communicated-to-us reason.” - Brian Bondy, Co-founder & CTO of Brave

I’m now only left with two options regarding the fate of Metastream: stop development of a desktop browser version, or pivot my project to a browser extension with reduced features. The latter requiring publishing to the Google Chrome Web Store which would further entrench the project into a Google walled garden.

 

If you know of any way to help out, please get in touch.

 

See post on Hacker News for discussion thread.

 

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:tooth:  :fist:  Google !!!  That why i  :pirate:  my media  i can download 4k and under  or i can stream it   on Kodi from my paid download service and it;s cheaper  than buying  Netflix  . Google Chrome or Firefox  itself can't stream but 720p Netflix .  Linux  don't have Edge browser were you can stream  1080p  or change DRM to play ready and watch 4k  . Also Windows 10  has the Netflix app were can you stream 4k .   Google DRM is crap anyway piracy  works  better,. To stream legal  4k or 1080p you need  Microsoft Apps or a Smart TV box .  All these streaming services are being pirated  2 times Group A: the scene and p2p releases everything they show DRM free .and people download or stream it  Group B : use someone else's   logins .  Group C do both methods of piracy  . I'm in group A.  :lmao:

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17 minutes ago, dhjohns said:

That's   true  but  you don't need a browser on Windows 10 to watch 4k  because you can just use the app from the store , once they make Edge Chromium  i doubt it will work the only reason you can play it  in EDGE  is you can switch to PlayReady DRM . Chromium don't have this DRM  . But they have and extension they use in Linux  and Windows they use on Google  Chrome witch  cracks 1080p Netflix  .

 

 

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5 minutes ago, steven36 said:

That's   true  but  you don't need a browser on Windows 10 to watch 4k  it you can just use the app from the store , once they make Edge Chromium  i doubt it will work the only reason you can play it  in EDGE  is you can switch to PlayReady DRM . Chromium don't have this DRM  . But they have and extension they use in Linux  and Windows they use on Google  Chorme witch  cracks 1080p Netflix.

 

 

That IS Edge Chromium.  I am using it now.

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1 hour ago, dhjohns said:

That IS Edge Chromium.

That means i could boot into Windows 8.1 and watch it without addon  because they going make it for it too,  But  I just download anything  Netflix do in 1080p  drm free  my internet is not fast enough  to stream 4k  and  besides you need  to have at lest a GeForce GTX 1080 Graphics Cards  to stream 4k good on Windows ,  If you have high speed fiber your best bet is to buy a NVIDIA Shield TV   | 4K HDR Streaming Media Player for less than $200 US . 

 

To   watch  4k good on PC  it's going set you  back  4 Bills  $400 US  and that's for a used one   or much more for new   Graphics Cards .

https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-hardware-do-you-need-to-run-stuff-at-4k-resolution-on-your-pc/

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Concerning this. I wonder if Chrome based Android browsers have any such problems with it. Reason I say this, if they can do it then desktop based ones can do it too. Or maybe they are not open source there.

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Netflix won't play on mobile browsers like Chrome you need the official app.. looks like widevine libs aren't part of the mobile browser.. plus it does a verification of hardware to play at least HD

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