Is it possible to play DRM content in Linux?
 

I am trying to access a client's video content. With their permission, yes. They are VERY protective of their content so they use DRM.

I swear I have spent three hours already trying to make it work on Chromium or Firefox. I've been reading a lot about the topic and found many kludges that supposedly would make it work, but they're all very old, they involve packages that don't even exist anymore and that solution (or some other) should have been officially implemented by now.

Should. But has it?

Among those countless pages, I found a few that say that changes have been implemented in Flash and as a result Linux is just simply out of that game for now.

What is the current situation? Is it possible to play DRM content in Linux or not? How can I achieve that?

BTW, I use Debian Stretch, not Ubuntu. That makes things more difficult.

1. Anything that's purely flash in a browser just plain will be a pain now. Most browsers block ALL flash by default, and you must turn it on for EACH PAGE individually, and it will no longer remember settings. And not much longer (later this year, I think, if not next year) it will be just plain and simple disabled, without being able to be enabled.
2. Yes, DRM content works just fine for me that I've always tried. I'm required to do online training that has DRM for work and it works without a single issue, but it's also using html5, not flash.

What type of video, and what means of DRM?

I don't know the answers to those questions and I don't know how to find them.

ffmpeg may be able to analyze it. You could ask this client maybe?

I have been exchanging lots of emails with the client's technical support for hours. They are evidently clueless.

Come on, this is Linux. You know how the world treats Linux. They have no idea. They are probably just pretending to help and buying time until I find a solution by myself or just give up. It's always that way with Linux.

Just to point this out. You have not provided a ton of details for us. :)

How do you access this media? Can you download it or is it streamed only in browser? Can you view web page information (source) in browser? Can you use supported system to gain clues. Can you access this resource in VLC? Can we access this resource? Can they access it from their system and offer more clues? Do you see anything in browser that offers help. Why do you think or know it is DRM?

Maybe you've already tried this, but recent versions of Firefox have a setting in Edit-->Preferences to allow playing DRM content. In my experience, at least, an update to Firefox will restore that setting to its default "off" condition.

It's geared towards DRM media (Netflix, etc.--I'm watching Netflix on Firefox Quantam as I type this), so Firefox can compete with Chrome in that arena.

If your client is using some DRM created specifically for them, that may be a whole different ballgame.

DRM content can be accessed by default with the Linux build of Chrome - it's been one of Chrome's major 'selling-points' for years.. For Firefox Quantum, it's as simple as ticking a checkbox in Preferences.....and disabling is as simple as removing that tick.....

It can be made to work in Chromium/the Chromium-based 'clones', although it takes some messing about, and every developer has their own ideas about how to implement it. If you just want 'hassle-free', and don't mind using Chrome, it's probably the most straightforward option That, or Firefox.....and Mozilla's implementation is slicker & smoother than most..

I've been building these browser packages for the Puppy community for a while now, so probably have more experience of how it all works than most.


Mike. :hattip:

The short answer's yes. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, for example, work in Linux web browsers.

If the client's videos are in Flash, then I remember hearing about stuff you had to do with hal to get that working. Look here:

https://danielmuller.me/2013/05/ubun...-and-drm-hell/

I got the latest Firefox and it plays the DRM content I need.

But I don't like Firefox both for personal reasons and because it is not very compatible with the client's Web-based app. There are glitches. Chromium works better but it can't play the DRM content.

If anybody knows how to make Chromium play the DRM content and will tell me how to do it, I'll appreciate it.

Thanks.

I found this page with two similar methods to make DRM work in Chromium:

https://www.andreafortuna.org/2019/0...n-on-chromium/

Neither works. Where video should play there is this error message:

------------
PLAYBACK ERROR
DRM: com.widevine.alpha.update, XHR status is "Invalid request" (400), expected to be 200.
readyState is 4. Response is [object Object]
------------

You can potentialy save time and effort by a quick installation of Windows into a virtual machine. Most things virtual machines struggle with is 'close to the metal' 3D game stuff, not 'regular applications'.

Sure wish someone would tell me what type of drm you have if any.

I want to remark that also the Browser Vivaldi can play DRM content.

Regards
Stephan