"WMC support for Netflix ends September 15", apparently

The Lurker said:
I
Setting up TV on Kodi was a breeze and works surprisingly well. Just need to reconfigure my harmony for Kodi.
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So does Kodi work as well as WMC for use with digital ota antenna, pvr and epg ? Is guide data free?
 
jmsnyc said:
So does Kodi work as well as WMC for use with digital ota antenna, pvr and epg ? Is guide data free?
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Kodi uses WMC as a back end for providing the EPG and PVR functionality. It's literally controlling WMC but presenting the video and user interface through Kodi. For example. When you set something to record, its updating the schedule in WMC. When something records, its stored in the WMC recorded TV folder. It all works surprisingly well and as quick as if you were watching through WMC. I just dont like that you need to re-invent the wheel to get Kodi to work from the harmony and the way it works is a bit more complicated than WMC. Personally, ill be using WMC until its dead.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220677

You also need this app: http://xbmccustomregis.sourceforge.net/remote_auto.html to make Kodi start instead of WMC when you initiate the watch tv activity.

The only thing it doesn't do is protected channels.
 
The Lurker said:
Kodi uses WMC as a back end for providing the EPG and PVR functionality. It's literally controlling WMC but presenting the video and user interface through Kodi. For example. When you set something to record, its updating the schedule in WMC. When something records, its stored in the WMC recorded TV folder. It all works surprisingly well and as quick as if you were watching through WMC. I just dont like that you need to re-invent the wheel to get Kodi to work from the harmony and the way it works is a bit more complicated than WMC. Personally, ill be using WMC until its dead.

http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220677

You also need this app: http://xbmccustomregis.sourceforge.net/remote_auto.html to make Kodi start instead of WMC when you initiate the watch tv activity.

The only thing it doesn't do is protected channels.
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Thanks. I just dumped cable and went to internet only using OTA and streaming so WMC is still my best friend. I find navigating between video and menus in Kodi cumbersome and I am still not sure how to get back to the same point in a video especially when I am using streaming. Also does the fact that it is using WMC as a backend mean that it only works on a W7 or earlier version of windows ?

I have been using Netflix in a browser on my W7 pc and I downloaded the app for W10 on my other. I still prefer the WMC interface. I think there may be a grace period but I still don't want to get use to it if only for a few weeks. I wish they would just leave Netflix and instead of a message saying it will not longer be available, provide a message that this is no longer supported and just leave it there.

How does WMC remove it if you do not do windows updates ? Is there a way to bootleg it or is Netflix just completely closing the api ?

I just tested the W10/W8 Netflix app, my 2011 Samsung Smart TV App, My 2014 Samsung Bluray player app and Amazon Fire Stick. In order of ease of use I will rank from 1 to 5 including browser with 1 being best
1. Amazon Fire Stick (probably similar experience to Roku)
2. Windows App (will probably be better once I can this autohotscript working that can make remote buttons better posted on avs forum)
3. Browser
4. Samsung Bluray player (similar to Amazon Fire Stick app but seems a little more cumbersome and not as responsive_
5. Samsung smart TV app (awful - takes a long time to load, no profiles, slow, also cumbersome)
 
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jmsnyc said:
How does WMC remove it if you do not do windows updates ? Is there a way to bootleg it or is Netflix just completely closing the api ?
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There is a mechanism called "mcupdate" that updates TV guide listings (and runs daily or so). Through mcupdate is how they're going to remove Netflix (and also how they added the warning). Updates pushed through mcupdate is also how they removed the "Internet TV channels" and the "Sports Strip". You could possibly turn off mcupdate, but Netflix is probably going to shut down the API and you would lose TV guide listing updates. You're probably better off using a different method to watch Netflix.
 
jmsnyc said:
How does WMC remove it if you do not do windows updates ? Is there a way to bootleg it or is Netflix just completely closing the api ?
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Note that if you're running Kodi there is a Netflix plugin for it. I personally just went Win10 on my recording box so I use the windows store netflix app. NextPVR does the recording and I use Kodi for playback. Just point Kodi at the recordings folder and it sorts things out. I schedule new recordings and delete watched ones via NextPVR's web UI.
 
I want to point out something I recently discovered about using WMC, Kodi or rather Silverlight to watch Netflix. I never realized until I got a Roku last week, but watching Netflix through either of these does not output a Dolby Digital audio stream. Also the quality of the video, more accurately the bit rate, seems to be higher when watching through the Roku. WMC or browser based video is noticeably worse. I did some searching and it turns out Microsoft doesnt pay for Dolby licensing in silverlight and the stream boxes get a different stream than silverlight.

I wish I knew about the latter sooner, I would have stopped using WMC for netflix a long time ago. I urge everyone to compare for themselves.

On a side note: With the Roku I was also able to utilize many of my cable providers services like HBO GO and Showtime Anytime.
 
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The Lurker said:
I want to point out something I recently discovered about using WMC, Kodi or rather Silverlight to watch Netflix. I never realized until I got a Roku last week, but watching Netflix through either of these does not output a Dolby Digital audio stream. Also the quality of the video, more accurately the bit rate, seems to be higher when watching through the Roku. WMC or browser based video is noticeably worse. I did some searching and it turns out Microsoft doesnt pay for Dolby licensing in silverlight and the stream boxes get a different stream than silverlight.

I wish I knew about the latter sooner, I would have stopped using WMC for netflix a long time ago. I urge everyone to compare for themselves.

On a side note: With the Roku I was also able to utilize many of my cable providers services like HBO GO and Showtime Anytime.
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Yeah, the browser version still doesn't do "Super HD" or 5.1, even after they've ditched silverlight. I've seen indications that the Win store app version will output 5.1 but only bitstreaming via HDMI or something along those lines.
I used to like using my PS3 to do Netflix as it got both 5.1 and Super HD but it's been unable to run the netflix app for quite a while now.
 
I said screw it and snagged the newer Roku 2. Works good with the harmony and wife agro has not worsened so almost all is well. Unfortunately I lose my HD Audio option with plex this way though...
 
The Lurker said:
I want to point out something I recently discovered about using WMC, Kodi or rather Silverlight to watch Netflix. I never realized until I got a Roku last week, but watching Netflix through either of these does not output a Dolby Digital audio stream. Also the quality of the video, more accurately the bit rate, seems to be higher when watching through the Roku. WMC or browser based video is noticeably worse. I did some searching and it turns out Microsoft doesnt pay for Dolby licensing in silverlight and the stream boxes get a different stream than silverlight.

I wish I knew about the latter sooner, I would have stopped using WMC for netflix a long time ago. I urge everyone to compare for themselves.

On a side note: With the Roku I was also able to utilize many of my cable providers services like HBO GO and Showtime Anytime.
Click to expand...

Yup, switched to my PS4 for Netflix for this very reason. It's also just much more stable in general.
 
For those moving on for WMC look at Kodi TV with Psuedo TV Live.

Get an HDHomerun and setup your own cable top box solution.
 
XvMMvX said:
For those moving on for WMC look at Kodi TV with Psuedo TV Live.

Get an HDHomerun and setup your own cable top box solution.
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Interesting looking project there. No recording support though so that's rather a non-starter at the moment.
 
FnordMan said:
Interesting looking project there. No recording support though so that's rather a non-starter at the moment.
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He is getting there.

I would say the majority of Kodi.tv users get most of their content by questionable means (though he is adamant about only support legitimate sources) so DVR isn't an issue or high priority.

I have followed that project closely and once he has his "On Demand" feature setup (basically a fancy way of saying browse your own content inside PSuedo TV) or the PVR that app will become an all in one solution.
 
How does this replacement work? Is it same as the original or is it a wrapper for a browser window?
 
run it and poof it's like sept 15th never happened....

awesomesauce
 
thanks for posting... ill have to look at the amazon plug in also, one i was using a while back stopped working
 
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